OptinGate [review]
POS:
Easy to use, lots of featuresNEG:
Not manyI knew about OptinGate for a while now and frankly I was not planning on reviewing it because I felt that it might compete with some of my own products. However I had so many people ask me to look at it that I really could not ignore it anymore. So what is OptinGate? Well […]
I knew about OptinGate for a while now and frankly I was not planning on reviewing it because I felt that it might compete with some of my own products. However I had so many people ask me to look at it that I really could not ignore it anymore.
So what is OptinGate? Well its a WordPress plugin that lets you put optin pages on your site. At first it did not sound to remarkable frankly but when I started using it and questioning Alex Costan the picture changed quite a bit.
The plugin itself is laid out very well and is easy to use. It allows you to turn any page on your WordPress site into an opt in page. One of my favorite pet peeves is when plugin creators dont have support or tutorials built inside of the plugin. I think its just lazy to not have them and require the user to log into some separate members area because they need some help. However I was very pleased to see that this has both support and video tutorial links readily available inside of the software. This makes sense actually though because one thing I can tell for sure after using OptinGate is that the creators where not lazy. They did not spit out some quick product to make a quick buck. This is a well thought out and planned program.
Anyone who has used my own software probably knows that I favor fully drag and drop interfaces. While OptinGate is not fully drag and drop in this case that’s actually a good thing. First it makes it faster to create your optin. I built my test optin in about 60 seconds. Second it lets the optins be fully responsive. Something that is impossible with a drag and drop system. So while I may like fully drag and drop in this case I will have to admit that its a bit of a hindrance. The OptinGate interface for creating your optins is fast and mobile friendly, two very good reasons not to use a drag and drop interface.
Something that every squeeze / optin builder needs is autoresponder integration. When I was testing I almost thought that they forgot this. But then I realized how it works. In fact when I realized how it works I got a little jealous. You see what it does is it lets you add your own ugly, generic form code from your autoresponder into the system. It will then ‘map’ all of its nice forms to your autoresponders form. So basically the user sees the nice form that is part of the template you use but it actually uses, behind the scenes your own form code. The net result of this is that this basically will work with any autoresponder! Also since its not using an API there is not going to be automatic double optin requirement.
Software developers are a proud breed and I’m no different. As much as it hurts my pride to admit it I will say that this form mapping is something that really impressed me. In fact Ill swallow my pride even further and admit that I tried to write a function to do this kind of mapping for some of my own software, but couldn’t make it work. So good for them, awesome feature, and also I hope they know that as soon as I’m done writing this review I’m going to look at the plugin code so I can see how the heck they did it.
While all of this is cool I still haven’t gotten to the extremely cool part yet. You see some of the templates that come with this let you collect phone numbers as well as name / email. While that in itself is not ground shattering it becomes really cool when you get the OTO for this product.
Normally I dont review the OTO but in this case I did. Why? Because the OTO for OptinGate gives you a functionality that you are for sure going to want to have. What it does is integrate with Twilio and let you send out SMS (text) messages to the optins right inside of the plugin. While Twilio is not free, it is super low cost. Currently they charge something like $1 per month and 7/10ths of a cent per text message.
The advantages of sending a text message should be obvouse. People can ignore an email and never open it. In fact its accepted in email marketing that 80% or more of your list is not going to open your emails. But people will always open a text. Email is hard to ignore but a text is next to imposable.
Besides all the advantages sending out texts will have for the online marketer it will also be a great thing to have for anyone who has offline clients or a brick and mortar business. What if you could build up a local list for restaurants and then once a week text them the restaurants specials? That would be something that a resturant would for sure pay for. In fact Im sure they would pay a monthly fee. How can I be so sure? Because ‘back in the day’ I use to have a similar business sending restaurant specials out by fax and yes I charged restaurants a monthly fee for this service. But your not limited to restaurants. You could build up a ‘local discount club’ charge business’s a monthly fee to be a part of the club and then regularly text your list their special offers, discounts, etc.
Because the OTO / texting option is going to be a great tool for both the online / affiliate marketer and someone who wants to set up a service for local businesses Im going to say that everyone should strongly consider it.
As if all of this is not enough the creators of OptinGate did not stop there. They included a huge bonus package for anyone who buys through my link (see the graphic below). The bonuses themselves are worth more than the cost of OptinGate.
So whats my final word on this plugin? Given that its easy to use, mobile friendly, works with any autoresponder, and (with the OTO) lets you send out text messages Im going to call this one a huge win, an awesome value, and a solid investment!
A quick note about the reviews I do on this site. The product vendors give me access to their products for free in order for me to do my review. However I make no promises to them regarding the results of my tests or what I will write in my review. Should you click a link that takes you to a sales page for a paid product for sale this link will be an affiliate link and I will be paid a percentage of the sales price should you decide to invest in it.
About the Author
I purchased via your affiliate link: But no bonus on JVZoo?
Here is my receipt below ..
{edited for commenter privacy}
When you click to access your OptinGate purchase you will be taken to a download area. The bonuses are in there Colin 🙂
I purchased OptinGate via your link as well, but don’t see your bonuses anywhere in the download area after clicking the JVZoo’s green “Access Your Purchase” button. My receipt is included below:
John, the bonuses are provided by the vendor and are included inside of the OptinGate members area, not in the JVZoo download area.
Gotcha, Brett.
Just so you know, I first looked in the OptinGate “Download” area and then in the OptinGate “Bonus” area. The only thing I did at JVZoo was click their green “Access Your Product” button.
There were no bonuses at all in the OptinGate “Download” area and while there were bonuses in the OptinGate “Bonus” area, none of them were what you’re offering here on this page.
This is no big deal to me at all. I mention it to let you know why I inquired about this and that you perhaps were not aware that none of the bonuses on this page are to be found in the OptinGate “Bonus” area.
I also mention it (and have bought through your link) because even though you and I have had a disagreement in the past, I respect your commitment to trying to do things the right way.
They might have changed the bonuses since the initial launch is over now. I will remove the bonus graphic just in case.