Like any other online form, they're not terribly interesting, creative or even, innovative. Content is content; required fields are required fields.
The information gathered from online forms is universal, regardless of the reason for a customer to sign up for your form.
Figuring out what's critical versus what's truly chaff (crap or useless) helps you ensure that your form is effective and ultimately, productive.
What Information Do You Really Need?
For email subscription signup forms, you really only need a handful of information. Name, email and type of email(s).
However, on your form, including other quick questions that are entirely optional will help you provide greater customer service and customer benefits.
• Name (*required, including title, first, middle initial and last names. It is good form to allow people with hyphenated names to have their own space.)
• Address (*optional)
• Email (*required)
• Subscription Choices (*required, only if you offer different email subscription options)
• Account Sign Up (*optional, only if your subscription comes with an account)
• Screen Name (*optional, for account purposes)
What Information Do You Kinda Need?
Subscription signups are a treasure-trove of information. Anything and everything you may ask, whether its optional or not, helps fill in the picture of your customer.
Sure, these questions are entirely optional, but those who choose to answer, fill in the blanks of your customers' profile.
Essentially, these seemingly frivolous questions give you an idea who your primary customers are: average age range or even sex. These questions may point to an emerging demographic that you weren't even aware of.
• Sex (*optional)
• Age (*optional)
• Martial Status (*optional)
• First time or regular customer (*optional)
• Purchase History (*optional)
What is the Ideal Number of Questions, Then?
Regardless of the type of online form you're creating, there's no perfect number of questions. Ideally, your form needs to be a balance between questions that are necessary and those that aren't.
Honestly, the best way to figure out what the ideal number of questions for your subscription online form is to test. Try out only the necessary questions first – name and email address – and watch the response over a couple of months.
As your subscription list grows, then slowly add other less invasive questions and watch how the response is.
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