Signup forms

The signup form is your list-building infrastructure. Placement, timing, and offer determine conversion.

Forms that work

• Inline in content (after value delivered)
• Exit-intent popups
• Slide-ins after scroll %
• Dedicated landing pages for lead magnets
• Footer (last resort)

Forms that don't

• Immediate popup on landing
• Sidebar noisy sign-up
• Forms with 8 fields
• Generic 'subscribe to newsletter'

The offer

Specific value: '7-day email series on X' beats 'subscribe to newsletter'.

Fields

Email only is the highest converter. Adding name drops conversion 5-10%. More fields, more drop.

What to do with this

• Ask only for what you need to take the next step, every additional field costs 5-15% of conversions
• Match form length to offer value, high-ticket lead magnets can support more fields than newsletter signups
• Use progressive profiling, capture email first, enrich later via behavior or survey emails
• Test form placement (hero vs sidebar vs footer vs exit-intent), the same form can convert 3-5x differently by location
• Auto-prefill any fields you already have (return visitor), reducing typing burden lifts conversion meaningfully