Sign-up form test results
Latest posts | Feed | By Mark Brownlow on July 10, 2008
It's advice we never question. But is it really necessary to have the actual form on every page? Can we, instead, have a smaller newsletter box with no form, but a link to a more detailed sign-up page?
Why would we want this? Because forms take up valuable space on a web page. Remove the form and you free up space for alternative uses. And if someone wants to sign-up, surely the extra click won't matter?
I did a rough and ready test using two different newsletter sign-up boxes in the right-hand column here at the Email Marketing Reports website. Here the results:
The "website visitor to subscriber" conversion rate for the box on the left was 8.3% higher than for the box on the right.
The result's not a big surprise: the box on the left likely grabs more attention on the page, leading to more sign-ups. But could we tweak the box on the right to eliminate that 8.3% difference?
What if we kept the box the same size, but dropped the form and replaced it with more copy "selling" the subscription? It wouldn't free up space, but it might lead to even better conversions.
And what about the extra space we gained? Can we measure the benefits and compare with the costs (i.e. fewer new subscribers). Maybe that 8.3% loss is worth it.
And what about subscriber quality? Those "forced" to visit the main sign-up page will have clear and accurate expectations of subsequent emails. Those who sign-up without using that "more info" link might not. Will the latter unsubscribe quicker?
How many do sign-up directly in that box? An average 72% do so, meaning at least 28% visited the "more info" sign-up page before submitting their email address.
A lot of sites have a sign-up form everywhere, but with no link to a more detailed page outlining subscription benefits etc. Are they missing out on that 28%?
Testing continues...fun, isn't it?
Tags: list building, list acquisition
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2 Comments:
As always, great insights. The first thing that sprang to mind for me was what the unsubscribe rate might be as well.
I think moving beyond click and even convert to long term value is a far better way to measure contacts, though it may not always be feasible.
By 
Adam Covati, on
15 July, 2008
Thanks Adam,
Yep, I agree that long-term subscriber quality is an important measure. Especially if people are signing up without full expectations of what they're getting and/or if they sign up for any other reason than for the email content (e.g. in order to access an incentive or enter a competition.)
By 
, on
16 July, 2008
