Act-On makes it easy to build Single Opt-In Forms. Follow this guide to create a Single Opt-In Form that allows contacts to enter their information to receive your marketing emails.

Instructions

Create a New Form

1. Go to Content > Forms.
   
   
2. At the top right, click Create form.
   
   
3. In the dialog that appears, select Start from scratch to create and open your Form in the Forms Composer.
   
   
4. In the Properties tab, provide the following information for your Form:
   • Title – this will help you identify and find your Form later
   • Description (optional) – provide a brief description for your Form (your Form's visitors will not see this)
   • List – Select a List to collect your Form's submission data
     
     
     
     
   • Response Page – define what your Form's visitors will see once they've submitted their information, or provide a link to gated content.
     
     

Add an Email Field to Your Form

1. Go to the Design tab in the Forms Composer.
   
   
2. If you'd like, add a Rich Text Block to create a message letting users know they can opt-in to receive your emails:
   
   
   
   
3. Next, drag a Text Box Block into your Form – this creates an input field that will capture your visitor's email address.
   • At least one Text Box is required for the Email field, but you can add more if you'd like to capture additional information like First Name and Last Name
     
     
4. In the Edit Input Field panel, enter a Text Label (e.g., "Email Address") for your Email field.
   
   
5. Complete the Field Mapping section.
   • Create a Field Name for your Form's source list (e.g., "Email"), then map it to a Column Name from Act-On (likely "Email Address")
     
     
6. Next, click the Asterisk to make your Email field required:
   
   
   
   
7. Go to the Validation tab and click Add Rule under the existing Required validation.
   
   
8. Select Email from the dropdown list – this creates a rule that requires visitors to provide a valid email address:
   
   
   
   
9. Click OK to save your field settings.
   
   

Create a Single Opt-In Field

Next, add another Rich Text Block to include a disclaimer for users. This disclaimer should let users know that they opt to receive marketing emails from your organization when they submit your Form.

Add a Single Opt-In check box for your Form visitors to confirm they agree to receive marketing emails. To create this Single Opt-In Field:

1. Drag a Combo Box Block into your Form:
   
   
   
   
2. In the Edit Combo Field panel, enter your Field Mapping labels to help you identify opt-ins in your source list.
   
   
3. Set Type to Checkboxes.
   
   
4. Add a Label and Value – we recommend "I Agree" for Label and "True" for Value:
   
   
   
   
5. Finally, drag a Submit Button block into your Form – place it below all other form fields:
   
   

Once you've finished designing your Form, go to the Review tab to test it. When satisfied with your Form's appearance, click Save in the top right corner. You can now add your Single Opt-In Form to your Act-On Landing Pages or embed it into an external web page:

Create a Segment for the Opt-Ins

If you choose to use a Checkbox to confirm the disclaimer message, you will need to create a Segment off of your Submission List defined by the value given to the field. In this example, the field is given the Value of "True" when it is checked:

Set Up a List Maintenance Program

After this segment has been created, you will need to create a List Maintenance Program to add the contacts who accepted the disclaimer to your main marketing list.

1. Navigate to Automation > List Maintenance Programs and click the Plus button on the right to add a new List Maintenance Program.
   
   
2. Give your program a Name to help find it in the future and a Description to detail the program's purpose.
   
   
3. Click Select under Program Contacts, review the message that pops up, and click OK. Select the Segment that you just created.
   
   
4. Click Add Step and select Copy to Another List.
   
   
5. Click Select List to Copy to and select your main marketing list.
   
   
6. Click Done in the top right corner of the Step box.
   
   
7. Review your program, and then click Save in the top right corner of the List Maintenance Program Editor.

Your new List Maintenance Program will not run on a schedule by default. You should set this program to run at regular intervals to ensure that contacts who have newly submitted your Opt-In Form are added to your marketing list, ensuring they receive marketing emails.