Sign up in seconds...and then what?
37signals.com
Sign up in seconds...and then what?
1–10 of 19 posts
Re: Sign up in seconds...and then what?
#2While I love the process outlined in the last sketch (and think many people will try it out), 37signals discovered back in 2009 that adding a similar tagline to their headline boosted signups by 30% so the confusion over its popularity surprises me: http://37signals.com/svn/posts/1525-writing-decisions-headli...
Re: Sign up in seconds...and then what?
#3While there's some quality fodder there, I couldn't get beyond this line:
"I’ll bet that the time-to-signup isn’t an important anxiety factor."
This isn't the only reason that sign-ups have been pared down; the current trend of thought on the matter is that it also reduces barriers to conversion.
Engaging your audience without making them jump through numerous hoops is a great practice, even if that means the occasional company adopts the practice a little too quickly before the rest of their process is fleshed out. I'd certainly prefer that to the alternative, where I've invested a great deal of time with a long form, just to have the same end result, 'and then what?'
Re: Sign up in seconds...and then what?
#4Another kind of evil (but effective) approach is to allow the user to do all those post-signup activities (like set up a dashboard or create some content), and then say "now sign up" at the end.
They're already invested, so you get better conversion.
Re: Sign up in seconds...and then what?
#5Another kind of evil (but effective) approach is to allow the user to do all those post-signup activities (like set up a dashboard or create some content), and then say "now sign up" at the end. They're already invested, so you get better conversion.
Can you explain to me why that is evil? I'm sincerely interested in hearing that thought process.
Re: Sign up in seconds...and then what?
#6Another kind of evil (but effective) approach is to allow the user to do all those post-signup activities (like set up a dashboard or create some content), and then say "now sign up" at the end. They're already invested, so you get better conversion.
That's not evil, quite the opposite - you don't bother the user and ask them for the required information until the very moment it's needed.
It's called gradual engagement and I consider it good practice.
What's structurally similar to this and definitely a dark pattern is letting the user work towards their goal and at the end tell them suddenly they have to pay for the result.
That would be evil. Gradual engagement as you describe it is not.
Re: Sign up in seconds...and then what?
#7Wasn't 37 signals one of the first groups to evangelize saying "Sign up, it only takes 30 seconds" ?
Re: Sign up in seconds...and then what?
#8Another kind of evil (but effective) approach is to allow the user to do all those post-signup activities (like set up a dashboard or create some content), and then say "now sign up" at the end. They're already invested, so you get better conversion.
Can you explain to me why that is evil? I'm sincerely interested in hearing that thought process.
Deception. More verbosely, you allowed the user to assume something, yet contradicted this assumption. Somewhat similar when a woman strings a man along, then requests payment.
Re: Sign up in seconds...and then what?
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
Can you explain to me why that is evil? I'm sincerely interested in hearing that thought process.
Deception. More verbosely, you allowed the user to assume something, yet contradicted this assumption. Somewhat similar when a woman strings a man along, then requests payment.
I would consider it deception if I was being told it was free the entire time until the sign up step told me it cost money. Allowing me to try this before registering is more likely to get me to sign up.
Re: Sign up in seconds...and then what?
#10Another kind of evil (but effective) approach is to allow the user to do all those post-signup activities (like set up a dashboard or create some content), and then say "now sign up" at the end. They're already invested, so you get better conversion.
Certainly not evil. It allows me (as a user) to properly gauge whether or not I'm interested in your service before I provide any personal information. It's a win for me.