Your signup form is the single point of entry between a visitor and your email list. It can make or break the decision to subscribe.
The copy, design, type, and placement of your form all affect whether someone signs up or moves on.
Here is what works, why it works, and how to apply it.
Where to place your sign up form
Tips to write sign up form copy that gets results
Tips to design your sign up form
Testing and optimizing your sign up form
Case Study – 150% lift in engagement
Type of email sign up forms
There are several signup form types, and each serves a different purpose. The right choice depends on where and when you want to capture attention.
1. Inline forms
Inline signup forms are embedded within the body of a webpage. You can place them at the top, bottom, in the sidebar, or anywhere within your content. You can place them on all pages of your site or on specific pages.
Pro tip: Use the AWeber for WordPress plugin to quickly and easily place your sign up forms on various pages of your website, and track the performance of your sign up forms.
2. Pop-up forms
Pop-up forms are not embedded within your content. They appear or “pop up” at specific points during someone’s visit to your website.
These forms can pop up or slide in from the side, top, or bottom of your page. They can blur out the surrounding page or appear over it without blurring.
Pop-up forms increase subscriber signups because they grab attention. But they can also impact user experience. You can adjust display settings so they are less disruptive.
There are four variations of pop-up forms:
Time-delayed pop-up
This form does not appear right away. It lets visitors view your content before presenting the form. When deciding on the ideal delay, check your web analytics to see the average time on page, and set the delay just before that. You can also control how often someone sees it: every visit, only once, or every certain number of days.
Scroll-delayed pop-up
This form appears after someone scrolls to a specific point on your page. Because it appears after scrolling, the visitor has already engaged with your content.
Exit-intent pop-up
This form appears when someone is about to leave your site. It is effective at saving lost opportunities. If someone did not find what they were looking for, you can present an enticing offer to encourage them to subscribe.
Learn more about exit intent popups and how to capture leaving visitors.
Two-step pop-up
This form appears after someone clicks a link or button on your page. It typically sees high conversion rates because the visitor has intentionally clicked to receive your offer.
3. Landing page forms
Unlike a website with multiple pages, buttons, and navigation, a landing page has a single purpose: to capture subscriber signups.
Landing pages do not have navigation bars, menus, or other links. Your visitor has two choices: subscribe or leave.
Landing pages are effective because they keep visitors focused on one thing. You can use images, videos, text, and more to emphasize the value you provide when they sign up.
Where should you place your email signup form?
Using different types of forms helps improve each visitor’s experience with your site. Some will immediately interact with a pop-up form. Others respond better to a form embedded in your content.
When deciding where to put your signup form, find the most noticeable yet natural placements that do not interrupt the experience someone has with your website.
Keep your form contextual. Make it relevant to the content the visitor is consuming, without feeling intrusive. You will capture more signups when the form appears at the moment someone is most likely to convert.
Where to place inline forms
You should have an inline form on every page of your website in your footer or sidebar. No matter where someone is on your website, they’ll have the opportunity to subscribe. The incentive you offer on this form should appeal broadly, even if visitors have different interests. For example, a 10% discount coupon or your latest tips and best practices.
Related: 25 brilliant lead magnet ideas to grow your email list right now
Where to place pop-up forms
Most of your traffic arrives on your homepage first. Add a pop-up form there to capture as many visitors as possible. This should promote your main incentive.
You can also place pop-up forms on other high-traffic pages. Identify these pages using a website analytics tool like Google Analytics.
Similar to inline forms, you can add pop-up forms that are specific to the content on each page.
How do you write signup form copy that converts?
Your signup form copy plays an essential role in highlighting the value you are offering. Here are the principles that turn visitors into subscribers.
1. Use a clear, concise headline
There should be no question what subscribers will get by signing up. Use a headline that clearly conveys what you are offering and how it will help.
Example:
Coconuts & Kettlebells uses a headline that communicates the offer immediately: a free home workout program. The description adds value points, including that it is 72 pages and designed to help you get fit from home.
2. Clearly communicate the value
Below your headline, expand on the value you will provide. Explain how your offer solves a problem or answers a question. Show what changes for the subscriber after they sign up. You can do this with a sentence or two, or a bulleted list.
Example:
Stepmom Magazine’s landing page articulates the value by including bullets of the types of content subscribers will receive.
3. Set clear expectations
Your signup form should set expectations about what subscribers will receive, how often, and what kind of content to expect.
This reduces spam complaints and unsubscribes. It also builds trust and helps you remain GDPR compliant.
Example:
Cat’s Meow Village tells subscribers to expect fun, light-hearted emails every day for 21 days. As a subscriber, you know exactly what is coming.
4. Write conversational copy
Phrases like “Oh hey!” or “Hey you!” grab attention because visitors do not expect them. This copy hooks them in so you can tell them the value they will get from your email list.
Example:
Really Good Emails uses conversational copy that grabs the visitor’s attention and feels personal.
5. Be creative, witty, or humorous
Being creative or humorous with your copy builds trust and allows subscribers to relate to you more easily.
Example:
How Not to Sail uses witty copy that ties into the sailing theme of his brand. Instead of a button that says “Sign Up,” the form uses sailing terminology. The visitor imagines climbing aboard a ship and sailing away.
How should you design your email signup form?
Design can have a major impact on how people perceive your form. That’s because 90 percent of first impressions are based on visual or color cues alone.
In order to maximize your sign up form’s potential, here are a few things to consider:
1. Keep form fields to a minimum
Every additional field you ask for at the point of signup increases friction. Forms with fewer input fields convert better because visitors spend less time signing up.
In most cases, name and email address are all you need. If your goal is a new subscriber, ask for name and email. That is it. If your goal is lead generation, you might ask for more information to qualify the lead. Think about your goal to determine how many fields are right.
You can always gather additional information later through multi-step forms or post-signup surveys.
Example:
Ann Handley uses a signup form with just two fields to make the subscription process quick for visitors.
2. Use a clear call to action
Your CTA button should remind visitors of what they are signing up for. A button that says “Sign Up” is a missed opportunity.
The text on your CTA button should relate to the action the subscriber is taking. If you are offering a free guide, your button could say “Send me my free guide!”
Placing urgency in your CTA encourages action. Think “Join now!” or “Yes, I want in!”
Using personal or possessive language increases clicks. Phrases like “Send me updates!” or “Start my free trial” or “Download my free templates” help subscribers connect with the offer.
Example:
Paul Kirtley uses possessive language on his CTA button that relates directly to the action the subscriber is taking.
Related: 10 Call to action best practices to get more email subscribers
3. Follow a hierarchy for font sizes and types
When writing headlines, subheads, and description text, follow a typographic hierarchy. Your headline should be the largest text, followed by subheads, then description text.
Stick with one to two font types on your signup form. If you use more than one, make your headline font distinct from the rest.
Example:
FroKnowsPhoto uses good typographic hierarchy with the headline as the largest font, followed by a smaller subhead and description. Various font styles (bold, italicized, all caps) add visual interest.
4. Stick to 1-2 font colors
Too many font colors are distracting and make your form difficult to read.
Example:
The Daily Skimm uses just white for their font color, and it works.
5. Create color contrast
Contrasting colors help your signup form stand out on your website. A bright color on a neutral page draws attention to the form, which can increase the number of completions.
Example:
Teach Me To Talk uses a form where the color scheme attracts attention while clearly spelling out the incentive.
6. Visually represent your incentive
A visual representation of your incentive can be the extra push someone needs to subscribe. Signup forms with images receive significantly more views than those without.
Example:
Spoon Graphics adds a fun visual graphic to represent their incentive.
7. Let subscribers choose their preferences
Letting subscribers choose their email preferences helps engagement rates because they can customize the content they receive. When subscribers personalize their experience, they get more value and engage more.
Example:
The Intrepid Guide’s signup form lets subscribers choose topic preferences for a more personalized email experience.
8. Try presenting an unfavorable alternative
Positioning opting out as an unfavorable alternative gets visitors to think about the negative consequences of not subscribing. This tactic works for pop-up forms or any type that can be dismissed. It does not work for inline forms or landing pages.
Example:
Boast gives subscribers a discount for signing up. If visitors do not want to subscribe, they click “No thanks, I prefer paying full price.” That alternative makes subscribing the obvious choice.
If visitors don’t want to sign up, they can click “No thanks, I prefer paying full price.” at the bottom of the form. Who wants to pay full price? Not many people would like that alternative.
9. Use social proof
Social proof works on a basic principle: if other people have done something, it must be worth doing. It makes visitors feel confident that you are not a spammer and that they are making the right choice.
Example:
Nerd Fitness lets visitors know that over 300,000 people are subscribed to their email list. This builds trust. If that many people signed up, the content must be valuable.
10. Try use a big CTA button
More than half of website visits come from mobile devices. Make it easy to enter information and tap the button on a phone screen.
Example:
Mark Asquith’s signup form has a big, bold button that reads “Download Now.” It is easy to see and easy to tap.
11. Use plenty of white space
Give your copy room to breathe by spacing out the text, images, and form fields. This makes your form easier to read and helps it feel professional, which increases trust.
Example:
1 Chic Retreat uses plenty of white space to give their copy room to breathe.
Or have AI create the form for you
That is a lot of design decisions. Typography, color contrast, white space, CTA copy, field count. If you would rather skip the blank canvas, the AI signup form builder in AWeber handles all of it.
Describe your business in one sentence. The AI generates a complete signup form with your brand colors, a headline, description copy, the right input fields, and a designed layout. A bakery collecting emails for a weekly recipe newsletter gets a different form than a fitness coach promoting a free workout plan.
Every element is editable. Adjust the copy, swap colors, add or remove fields, change the button text. The AI gives you a working draft. You make it yours.
The form connects directly to your AWeber email list and automation workflow. New subscribers flow straight into your welcome sequence.
Learn more about how the AI signup form builder works.
Testing and optimizing your sign up form
Publishing your signup form is the beginning, not the end. It is important to continually improve and update your form by testing various elements.
You can run A/B tests (or split tests) to compare two versions of your signup form and find out which one performs better.
Over time, your signup form can become less effective because visitors have seen it multiple times. If it did not entice them to sign up previously, it most likely will not now. Test updates to your form with a fresh look periodically.
You can test anything on your signup form:
Headline text
Image vs no image
Image vs video
Description text
CTA button text
CTA button color
Whether you ask for a subscriber’s name or not
Timing of your pop-up form
Placement of your sign up form
Case Study – 150% lift in engagement
When AWeber was looking to freshen up our popular “What to Write in Your Emails” course, some subscribers said they wanted more frequent emails. Others requested less frequent emails.
So we decided to let subscribers choose their own course email frequency on the signup form. Then, email automation delivered the course at their preferred pace.
This change increased open rates by 47% and click-through rates by 150%.
Research from AWeber found that 94% of small business owners write their own marketing emails. If that is you, giving subscribers control over frequency is one of the highest-impact changes you can make to your signup form.
Want to see how we did it? Check out our step-by-step explanation.
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