Congratulations! Your reader made it to your sign-up form. It must have taken you a tremendous amount of time and effort to reach this step. After all, the sign-up form is —traditionally— one of the final steps in a publisher’s sales conversion funnel.
Yet, for some reason, people are leaving halfway through, not finalizing their sign-up forms and submitting them. This brings us to your sign-up form’s formula and the fact that it might not be set up in the best way to suit your readers.
Here are the top four best practices for your sign-up form, and how you can implement them today.
1. Write a Value-Oriented Headline
Your readers already decided to sign-up for your service, once they’ve made it to your sign-up form.
However, it doesn’t hurt to remind them why they decided to choose your service in the first place. You can do so by reminding them of their free trial period, or the perks of your membership program.
Simple and straightforward is the way to go here.
2. Set All Your Fields to “Required”
It’s essential to understand that this best practice means is about making sure that you’ve picked the right fields for your form, not forcing your readers to complete your form.
For example, if you’ve decided that a form field can be optional, it’s better for your conversion rates to remove it from the form. It indicates that you’re not fully vested in getting this specific type of information.
Therefore, if getting to know your readers’ company or their position, or even their favorite TV show isn’t a priority for you, then don’t ask. The fewer fields your readers have to fill, the better.
3. Break Down Your Big ‘Asks’ in Small Steps
In some cases, you’ll need what might be considered “extensive” amounts of information in order to register a new user. However, that doesn’t mean you have to stuff your form with a million fields all in one go.
It’ll overwhelm your readers, and they might decide to stop halfway and leave the form unfinished.
A great fix would be breaking down this big “ask” into small digestible steps. For instance, The Hockey News’s platform, so their sign-up process is optimized for speed and convenience to the readers.
A similar breakdown is available in our MishMash’s L’Actualité Case Study, so make sure to check it out.
Moreover, keep in mind that you don’t have to remove any essential fields out of your form. Yet, don’t cram all of them in one page and clutter your page.
By dividing them up in small chunks, your design is streamlined, and your conversion rates will increase due to your readers not getting overwhelmed in the process of filling in your form.
4. Use Modal Windows
A modal window enables your reader to stay on the same page while filling in your form, instead of being whisked away to a new page.
A modal sign-up form dims the homepage graphics, which gives the reader the sense that their process will be quick and painless. This way, your readers will know that they can get back to browsing in no time at all.
Ready to Give Your Sign-Up Form a Makeover?
Nothing can be more heartbreaking than losing your readers in the final stage of conversion. Nonetheless, if your sign-up form isn’t optimized and streamlined, you can’t blame them for getting lost along the way.
However, now that you’ve learned the main four best practices for sign-up forms, you’re in a much better place to increase your reader revenue.
Furthermore, having your whole platform optimized for your readers’ convenience by Pelcro can truly bring your memberships to life. Schedule a demo with our team for a tailored demonstration of what Pelcro can add to your business.
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