37signals shares a headline test they did at their Highrise signup page. Why did the winner win?
- Eliminates user risk (30 day free trial)
- Illuminates Instant gratification and minimizes usage friction (sign up in 60 seconds)
- FInishes with strong call to action
Every sentence provides valuable information to the user, and together they walk her through a mental process of justifying and then finally going through with the signup. Justify first, then ask for the action.
What else could they experiment with?
- Case study style testimonials near the signup buttons. They use these thoroughly on the main page, but the extra push could be useful near the point of action.
- Video demo?
- Reference the already sizeable userbase – humans love joining a tribe of like minds.
- Test an additional signup box at the bottom of the page.
Unrelated bonus link: Craig Newmark on growth and monetization (also via SVN).