Our getting started guides begin with setting up shortcuts so that you can start collecting emails and see results quickly! But what if you want to design your own form, instead of using our preconfigured shortcuts? That's where our List Builder app comes in handy! With List Builder you can change change your form from an email collection form to a Call to Action form, switch from a popup to a full-screen Welcome Mat, customize what pages the form displays on, set tracking and conversion pixels...and more! Let's dive in!
Creating a new campaign form
The first step is to sign in to BDOW! (formerly Sumo). On the Your Sites page, find the site you wish to work on and navigate to Manage > Visit Site.
After you log in, select Campaigns, then Create New Campaign (you can also use Create Form if this is your first one).
Selecting your goal
While you will be designing a form, that is just one piece of a campaign. Begin by selecting the goal you wish to achieve in this campaign. Your choice will help to define various customization options in List Builder:
Collect Emails. Choose this option to collect email addresses (and any other information you wish to collect) from your visitors and save them in your email list.
Add a Call to Action. Choose this option to direct visitors to a specific URL or to offer a downloadable file (also known as a Content Upgrade).
Get Social Shares. Choose this option to build your presence and following on these major social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
Collect Info With Custom Code. Choose this option to display your own HTML/CSS Form. *Note: Conversions cannot be tracked with custom Forms and JavaScript is not supported*
Display Social Proof. Choose this option to configure a social proof event stream. As this goal has a unique design experience, we recommend following the dedicated guide.
We're going to focus on building your email list first, so let's choose Collect Emails.
Choosing your form type
From banners to popups to Inline Forms, List Builder has a number of different Form Types to best capture the attention of your site visitors. There are six different Form Types to choose from.
Popup. Choose this type to display a popup in the center of the page. This can be set to appear based on a manual timer or when visitors attempt to leave the page.
Scroll Box. Choose this type to display a popup in one of the corners after visitors scroll down a certain percentage of the page.
Inline Form. Choose this form to insert an HTML code snippet that displays as an embedded inline form.
Click Trigger Popup. Choose this type to create a popup that is triggered by clicking on an element on your page: a button, text, or images.
Welcome Mat. Choose this type to create a full-page form or landing page.
Smart Bar. Choose this type to display a banner at the top or bottom of your page.
You can use the links to our help center articles for deeper dives into the specialized form types, but for now, let's go over our most popular Form Type, the Popup.
Designing your form's look
In this section, we're going to cover how to design your new email list building popup!
You can begin with the Default template, but we also have numerous pre-made templates for you to choose from if you are on a paid plan. Feel free to pick a template as a starting point (or even download one from the community). All the templates all customizable, granting you control to match your campaign form's design to the overall feel of your site. Select one by clicking on it.
After choosing the template, you must select the size of the popup. The display size determines the largest dimension of the form. This has a few consequences regarding the display, but basically, if you choose Medium - 512px and the form is tall (like a portrait), it is going to have a maximum height of 512px. If you have a wide form (like a landscape) and choose Medium - 512px, then it is going to have a maximum width of 512px.
Continue to build and tweak your form with the WYSIWYG editor. Almost every part of the popup can be customized. Try it out and have some fun with it! Note that when adding images to your form, it is important to use an image file size around 100kb-400kb. This will help ensure that the image is loading at optimal speed. And be sure to change all of the text to fit your website—using your own copy will be more engaging for your visitors!
Finally, you can always use the Preview button to take a look at how your form will display on your site (without having to publish until you are ready to do so).
Customizing the success message
When a visitor subscribes, your popup will be updated to show that everything was submitted successfully. Don't forget to edit that variant of the form! To do so, use the Success tab at the top o the editor.
Configuring your form's visibility
Hey, your Form is starting to look pretty awesome! Now let's make sure that your visitors can see it at the best possible time by customizing exactly when and where your campaign form appears on your site.
The main choice here is whether to leave your form in Smart Mode. If you keep Smart Mode enabled, we will optimize the timing of your form's visibility for you. For some extra customization, you can disable Smart Mode to configure the popup's timing and establish Display Rules to determine exactly where on your website the form will appear.
You have a lot of power there, so be sure to check out our dedicated guides to Smart Mode and Display Rules for details. For the purposes of this overview we will just stick with the default option.
Configuring success events
The Success tab is where you can determine what actions to take after a conversion. You can set up an automatic email response for new subscribers, redirect subscribers to a specific URL, allow the subscriber to download content, or fire tracking pixels! You can also enable email notifications to receive subscriber alerts and organize your new contacts in groups.
Feel free to explore the linked content for more information on setting up these features.
Connecting to an Email Service Provider
The last step in creating a campaign form is choosing an email service provider.
Ultimately, you want to use your new subscriber emails to establish relationships and grow your business. In addition to BDOW!'s integrated email service, you have the option to connect with a number of third party email service providers.
While you can set a site-wide service provider (hover on your profile pic and select Settings > Integrations), you can also configure service providers on a form-by-form basis. Toggle the Override Global Settings if you already have a global selection but need unique settings on the campaign. Or configure a new provider right from the campaign form editor!
What's next?
Congratulations! You made it through the Getting Started Guide! In this guide we covered how to install BDOW! (formerly Sumo), how to monetize BDOW! by setting up a shortcut, and the basics of building your own customized form. You're well on your way to BDOW! mastery!