How to build your first Systeme.io opt-in page on the free plan

An opt-in page asks for one thing: an email address, in exchange for your free guide. For a faceless Instagram page, it is where your bio link, story stickers and DMs all land. This guide is the exact Systeme.io opt-in page build we use, on the free plan, from an empty account to a tested sign-up.

To keep it simple, the examples use a demo page, "Pip · Puppy Workday Tips". Menus and labels below are as they appeared on our free account. Systeme.io's editor changes now and then, so if a label differs slightly, pick the closest match.

Last checked against Systeme.io's pricing page and help center: 29 Oct 2026.

What the free plan covers

From Systeme.io's pricing page, as of 29 Oct 2026, the free plan includes:

• up to 2,000 contacts
• 3 sales funnels
• unlimited email sends
• 1 custom domain
• 0% transaction fees

The free plan also limits how many steps your funnels can have. Every page in this guide (opt-in, thank-you, three legal pages) is a step, so check the limit in your plan details before you add extras.

Two things we ran into on our own free account. The "Footer text" email setting is locked. And Systeme.io won't send campaigns until you authenticate a custom domain; a Gmail address can't be used. We cover that in how to connect a Namecheap domain to Systeme.io.

1. Open your free account

1. Open Systeme.io, sign up with your page's email and confirm it.
2. Answer the onboarding questions. The dashboard shows Sites/Funnels, Emails, Automations, Contacts and Settings.
3. In Settings, enter your business name and a postal address. Use one you are happy to show in your email footer, such as a PO box or virtual mailbox, not your home. Save.
4. In Settings, set the time zone to your audience's zone. On our account, scheduled emails followed this clock.

2. Create the funnel

1. Go to Sites → Funnels → Create.
2. Name it (ours in this example: "Pip guide funnel").
3. Choose the goal Build an audience.
4. Save.

You get a squeeze page and a thank-you step. The squeeze page is your opt-in page.

3. Edit your Systeme.io opt-in page

1. Open the squeeze page step → Edit page.
2. Delete everything except five elements: headline, text, image, form and button.
3. Upload your cover image.
4. Click the form and delete the name field, so it asks for email only. Systeme.io's help says the form must keep an email field.
5. Set the button text to something specific, like "Get the free guide".
6. In the button settings, set Action when button clicked to Submit form, and the redirect to To the next step. That sends people to your thank-you page.
7. Keep the footer row. The legal links go in later.
8. Open Page settings, add a page title, and Save.

4. Write the copy

Keep it to a headline, one sub-line and three bullets. Our example for Pip · Puppy Workday Tips:

• Headline: Work from home with a puppy, without the chaos
• Sub-line: A free guide with simple routines for your workday.
• Bullets:
• Set up a calm corner your puppy will actually use
• Plan short breaks around naps and play
• Keep a simple daily checklist you can reuse

The headline says what they get. The bullets say what's inside. Promise only what the guide delivers, never an outcome you can't control.

Paste each piece into its element, then check the page in mobile preview. The headline, form and button should all show without scrolling.

5. The thank-you page

Open the thank-you step → Edit page. Keep it simple:

1. A clear headline saying the guide is on its way.
2. Three short lines: check your inbox (and the Promotions tab), what comes next, and why it's worth staying subscribed.
3. One button only.
4. A small cover image and a line inviting people to follow on Instagram.
5. Check it in mobile preview.

6. Legal pages

Do this before you send any traffic.

1. Start from Systeme.io's page templates. Fill in the page name, contact email (hello@yourdomain.com in our example), postal address and date.
2. In your funnel, add a step → Privacy policy → Edit page, paste the text, and Save. Repeat for Terms and an Earnings disclaimer. Each one uses a funnel step.
3. Set each page's URL path to privacy-policy, terms and earnings-disclaimer. Add a title and Save.
4. In the privacy policy, name every tool that handles visitor data. For us that's Systeme.io, ManyChat, Gumroad and Google. List the ones you actually use.
5. In the opt-in page footer, add links to all three pages plus "Not affiliated with Instagram or Meta". Save.
6. Under the form, add one consent line, for example: "Enter your email to get the free guide and tips from Pip · Puppy Workday Tips. Unsubscribe any time." Save.
7. Add the same three links to the thank-you page footer.
8. Open every page in phone preview.

Templates are a starting point, not legal advice.

7. The welcome-email rule and a real test

The rule is what sends the first email when someone signs up. Connect and authenticate your domain first (guide); without it, no email sends. You'll also need a campaign first (Emails → Campaigns → Create; ours is called "Guide emails") with your welcome email inside.

1. Go to Automations → Rules → Create.
2. Trigger: Funnel step form subscribed, then choose your opt-in page.
3. Action: Subscribe to campaign, then choose your welcome campaign.
4. Save.

Now test it on your phone:

1. Open the opt-in page and sign up with a second email address, not your Systeme.io login email. In our test, the rule ran for the login email but the email never arrived.
2. Confirm you land on the thank-you page.
3. Wait for the first email. Ours arrived in about 51 seconds.
4. Reply YES to it, so you also see the reply side working.
5. Open Contacts and confirm the contact is there and in the campaign.

8. Tracked links for each place you share

Knowing which link brings sign-ups tells you where to spend your time.

1. Go to Settings → Sales funnels and tick Store UTM parameters. Save. This keeps any UTM codes on the link with the contact.
2. Make one link per place by adding a ?ref= code to your opt-in address. With an example address of https://www.yourdomain.com/:
   • ?ref=bio for your profile
   • ?ref=story for story stickers
   • ?ref=dm for DMs
   • ?ref=guide anywhere else you share it
3. Why ref and not your own UTM codes? In our tests, Instagram added its own UTM codes to bio-link clicks and ours were lost. A ref code came through untouched.
4. On Instagram: Edit profile → Links → Add external link, paste the bio link, and tap Done.
5. Test one: open the dm link in a private window, sign up with a test inbox, then check Contacts. On our account, the contact's source URL showed ref=dm.

Final checklist

• Business name, postal address and time zone saved
• Funnel created with the goal "Build an audience"
• Squeeze page has only headline, text, image, form and button
• Form is email only; button submits and goes to the next step
• Consent line sits under the form
• Privacy, terms and earnings disclaimer pages live and linked in both footers
• "Not affiliated with Instagram or Meta" in the opt-in footer
• Welcome campaign and automation rule saved
• Test sign-up with a second email passed
• ?ref= links made and "Store UTM parameters" ticked
• Every page checked in mobile preview

What to do next

Your page is ready, but two pieces are still missing: a domain so your emails can send, and a DM that brings people to the page.

• Connect your own domain to Systeme.io
• Set up ManyChat comment-to-DM on the free plan

Want to see a finished version of this page from the visitor's side? Ours gives away a free 7-step guide, The First Commission Blueprint. Sign up for it here and watch how the page, the thank-you step and the first email fit together.

Our full page copy, email sequence and checklists are in The Faceless Playbook.

Not affiliated with Instagram or Meta.