How to Make Your Opt-In Impossible to Ignore

Last week, I shared four tests you could run today to crank more revenue out of your retention setup.

One of them? Dark vs. light opt-ins.

Turns out, that wasn’t a one-hit wonder. It’s working again.

This time, the glow-up belongs to Mylk Labs… a delightful little oatmeal cup biz run by my friend (and former model turned Oat Queen 👑.)

Amaaaazing product. Solid brand. But like most DTC sites, the original opt-in was polite. Light background. Soft tone. Easy to ignore.

And that’s the big bum-out.

Why "Polite" Opt-Ins Are Revenue Killers

There’s a school of thought that says your opt-in should be as unobtrusive as possible. Don’t scare the rabbit. Blend in. Respect the vibe.

Respectfully? That’s how you get 2% conversion rates.

If your ad strategy is "don’t get noticed," let me know how that’s going.

At Zee.Media, we do the opposite: high-contrast takeovers that snap people out of their browsing daze. We use color inversion to grab attention without being annoying.

Here’s what that looked like for Mylk Labs:

Desktop Results:

• Light Opt-In: 3.51% submission rate

• Dark Opt-In: 5.07% submission rate

• Revenue per View: $0.54 → $1.12 🤑 

Big win.

Mobile Results:

• Email Opt-In: 6.75% → 11.05% 💌 

• SMS Opt-In: 2.15% → 6.40% 📱 

• Revenue per View: $0.71 → $1.21 🤑 

Even bigger win.

Same copy. Same offer. Tweaked colors. Added an image block because we may as well. And no loss on the SMS this time.

But Was It Still On Brand?

Yes. Dark doesn't have to mean dull or edgy. In this case, the darker overlay made the visuals pop and actually improved the brand feel.

It felt more intentional. More premium. Still fun and vibrant.

TL;DR:

If your opt-in looks like the rest of your site, it’s probably being ignored.

Invert the palette. Add contrast. Pull the eye. Collect the data.

You’ve got darker colors in your brand kit. Time to use ‘em. 🌈 

You might just like it on the dark side.

Need someone to test this for you? Let's talk.

Until next time,
Zee