5 Tips to Make the Signup Forms on Your Website More Effective!

Your database is the most valuable asset in your business, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to grow your list when people stop by your website. Signup forms are the place that visitors enter their information on your website in return for access to ongoing communications, newsletters, instant reports and offers. Here are 5 tips to help you implement them effectively.

1. Get a sign up form - if you are not asking people to give you their details when they visit your website then you are really missing out on the perfect opportunity to build your extremely valuable database. Give the customer the information they are searching for or advice, tips, tools and offers that will entice them to part with their name and email address. Things like a free e-book , information pack or video work really well.
2. Put it where they can see it – keep your signup forms above the fold on the page and give people the opportunity to sign up on every single page, you will get different results depending on where you position the form so test what works best for you. (testing the design and layout of the form will also give you different results – use this knowledge to maximise your sign up rates)
3. Reassure the visitor – ‘rest assured we will never share your details with anyone else, we hate spam just as much as you do’, it’s the first thing that goes through the persons head when filling out the form - will my details be safe? Make it clear that they can trust you with their information.
4. Too much too soon – in most cases it’s easier to collect data if you ask for just a name and email address, asking for too much information will scare some people off. If you do need more info then try a two step signup process that first of all asks for email and first name and then a second page asks for any further information you require. The two step process ensures you are at least getting the email and name even if they decide not to share any further details in the second step.
5. Double opt in – this is the process of sending a confirmation email after someone has signed up that asks them to click a link to confirm they have opted into your mailing list.  If you use an email system or CRM this feature will come as standard. The process ensures that that your emails go into the inbox and not the junk box! (You should also add a line in your emails that asks people to add your email address to their safe sender list to ensure they don’t get lost along the way!)