
We are nearly half way through 2016, and we can announce with great confidence that email marketing continues to top the charts when it comes to digital marketing tactics.
How can we say this with such certainty? It’s simply because multiple studies continue to report that email marketing is the most effective way to get and convert new leads, build awareness and retain customers.
But, you have to have an email list to send emails to, right? The email signup form on your website is one of the best ways to acquire new leads.
While many people can put a signup form on their website and send out an email, they aren’t necessarily doing it in the most advantageous way. Today we tell you how to create a really good signup form so you can send out top-notch emails.
Let’s look at email signup form best practices and stats for 2016. We’ll discuss the best way to create your forms so you can begin and nurture a relationship with your current and future customers using email marketing.
Here are the best practices for your email signup forms:
Use a Limited Amount of Fields
In the case of your email signup forms, shorter is better. Eliminate distractions and save your website visitors time by using only the amount of fields that are absolutely necessary.
Your goal is to reduce “friction” for your customers. What do we mean by friction?
Friction is your customer’s psychological resistance to your form. Consider the form that asks for 10 fields. One might say this form is full of friction. It forces your potential subscribers to think. It makes them rethink their decision to sign up.
Forms with friction take too long to complete and result in interrupted momentum that may keep customers from taking your desired action – completing the form.
Every single time you ask for a new field, you risk increasing your form’s “friction.” This is why we recommend using very few form fields. If you can get away with it, just ask for the email address or if you absolutely must, the email and first and last name.
Consider one study that shows a form with five fields outperforming a form with nine fields by 34%.
Remember – the goal is ultimately the lead. Your sales staff can get the rest of the details later.
When creating your forms, always ask yourself, “Is the additional information I think I need worth losing a potential lead?” If the answer is no, and it usually is, stay away from multiple form fields.
You can also ask yourself if you’ll lose anything if you have to wait for additional information? Remember – the lead is more important than the extra info. Only ask what’s absolutely relevant.
Consider Internet giant, Expedia. They saw an increase in profits of $12 million a year after removing “company” from their booking forms.
Keep It Simple
Consider using simple, straightforward graphics to direct users to your contact forms. Help your user focus on the call to action you want them to take.
Keep your page simple, without any distractions, so your customers have a clear path to your signup form. This helps your overall conversion rate.
Tell Them What They’ll Get
At the top or bottom of your signup form, tell your website visitors exactly what they can expect. Here are a few examples of things to include to make it personal:
- If it’s a sales lead, let them know when they can expect an email or phone call.
- Tell them how many emails you’ll send them each month.
- Let them know what kind of information they can expect in your emails.
- Promise to keep their information private.
Use Only Mobile-Friendly Forms
According to Litmus, who tracks open rates of more than 12 billion emails, April 2016 saw an increase of email open rates on mobile rise to 56%. Desktop opens remained steady at 19%, while web mail decreased to 25%.
What’s this mean for your email signup forms on your website?
It means that your signup forms must be mobile-friendly and responsive to screen size because your website customers expect it. Having mobile-friendly forms also means it’s easier for customers to signup which in turn leads to a higher conversion rate.
It’s worth noting here that you need to pay special attention to your website, your website forms and your email marketing. The entire digital package should be responsive to screen size for increased ease of use.
Use Social Proof
These days, more than ever, web-surfers feel better doing something if they know others have gone before them.
You can use any of the following ideas to “prove” that it’s a good idea to join your email list:
- Use customer reviews or testimonials.
- Use quotes, like “thousands sign up each week” or “join a community of 10,000 subscribers.”
- Mention who they’ll be joining, especially if they are well-known names.
Use Large Buttons
Large buttons serve two purposes. First, they make it easier for mobile users to click.
Second, small buttons can get lost. Use large, bright submit buttons that can’t get lost on the page. Make the button as wide as your input fields.
While talking about the button, we encourage you to test your call to action. While “submit” may work for some, “get pricing” may work for others. Test and test again to learn what works for you.
Use Double Opt-Ins
For years people have used captchas on their signup forms. Unfortunately, that’s just another form field.
You can try the double opt-in – it not only helps you avoid unwanted spam, but it eliminates a form field. Again, we encourage you to test which method works best for you.
Stay Clear of Long Drop-Down Lists
This falls into the category of asking for too much information. Plus, drop-down lists are often difficult to complete, especially on mobile phones.
If you must offer options, consider the check box or radio buttons. Only use these when your choices include less than six.
Use a PopUp
One last best practice is to use the email signup form pop-up. This allows you to grab visitors as they arrive or get ready to leave your website. It’s a great way to reach out to customers one last time before they click away.
Final Thoughts
To improve your conversion rate optimization, you’ve got to acquire a lead. How? You get your leads and increase your conversions through your email signup forms.
Online lead generation depends on your signup form. Continuing the relationship with your customer continues through your email marketing. The two are forever tied together.
One of the biggest challenges for email marketers is getting into their customers’ inboxes. Today, we’ve looked at some email signup form best practices and stats for 2016 so you can grow and nurture a healthy email list.
Email signup forms are a great strategy for increasing your conversion rate optimization. It’s time to optimize your landing pages with great signup forms.
If you are ready to squeeze more profit out of your website by using email marketing to skyrocket growth among your current customers, that’s great! We’re here to help you optimize your landing pages to increase email conversions. In fact, we promise you we’ll do just that.
With our guarantee, you can rest assured we will increase your profits through landing page optimization.
If you’re ready to work with the leader in landing pages and conversion rate optimization, contact us today.
We’ll provide you with our FREE site performance analysis so we can work on your landing page conversion rates.
Image: Fabian Irsara