How a Simple Visual Tweak improved my Singups by over 750% – Yet Again

1. A New Experiment

I said in my last article that I’m no longer expecting an experiment to yield drastic improvements in my Email Signups. I was wrong.

My first experiment – offering a free eBook – resulted in a 625% increase, and my second – a completely new Signup Form – a more modest 125%.

So, my third experiment was simple – I fixed the position of my Email Signup Form (via plugin) when the reader is scrolling down. The idea is straightforward enough – with the form staying on the screen more, the reader will have more of a chance to actually read what it says and choose to sign up. You can of course check out the blog to see it in action.

What I didn’t anticipate was just how much this small change was going to affect my conversion rate – nothing short of a 763% spike in signups.

2. Unexpected Results

The “Before” of this experiment is of course the “After” of my previous article:

Now, here is the data after I have made the change:

And finally, just for the visual impact this always has on my – here’s my Mailchimp:

3. Learning

The key takeaway from this experiment is that a single, uncluttered Call To Action works wonders, especially when the reader will keep eyeballs on it longer.

The “single CTA” point is – for me – also very relevant. Notice that my optin form does not contain any additional, secondary options – such as social buttons or badges. These would give the reader to many alternatives and less valuable ones.

Once a reader does go for one of these alternatives – for example they follow me on Google+ – it’s highly unlikely that they would also go back and signup for Email.

There are of course more “in your face” ways to collect emails – using a popup for example (on my TODO list) – but what’s interesting about these results is that this change does not qualify as “in your face” – just the opposite in fact.

Live and learn.