Splash page tricks

Here's another use of forms: many internet marketers use 'splash pages,' pages with a two-field form for signing up for their '$199 Value Internet Marketing Course. Sign Up Now!' newsletter. People who have become savvy in the internet marketing field will simply avoid all these splash pages, knowing that people are trying to get their email to sell them things. Making the visitor comfortable with sending you your info is the key to more sign-ups.

Make your splash page 97% free of things you would see in other splash pages. Make your form and copy short. Make sure you don't use 'conversion-pulling, action-packed' words in your copy. People who've become acquainted with these words simply ignore these words and the page.

Remember that a funny headline, a comical graphics work to bring more opt-ins! If they feel that you are not some professional web copywriter trying to sell them the latest great e-book, your will nearly double your chances of generating a productive lead!

I remember that I saw a GREAT funny opt-in page with a few icebreakers:

• The website says you can double your income in a month? Billy G. and Warren B. can't and neither can you!!
• How many hours did he spend before So-and-So Internet marketing guru could make money lying on his bed?

And so on. These help build trust with your potential subscriber. So basically, short or almost no copy, no over-used industry terms (that's no hype), no powerful words, lots of humor, and make the page short. Now, double your subscribers by next next next Monday. Have fun.

Website Form User-Friendliness

Here are some tips on form user-friendliness. A good rule of thumb is to ask, 'Will this form be inviting people to fill it in?' This article has a few examples of making your forms friendlier.

Website forms can be convenient, but are also intimidating. A form should be as helpful as possible - try to clearly identify all your fields, so that all people, from 'dummy' to geek, can easily see specifically what the field is for.

Text labels can be a great help when filling out forms. Try to direct the user to the field you want them to fill in. A subject field in a comments form can be used to nudge the user to help them say what they want to say. Of course, there would be more than five, but keep it to less than seven.

Details for what is to be filled into the form can be placed inside the text field, like the AngleBracket Newsletter signup form to your right. This is a real space-saver, whether you're tight on it or not.

A helpful form element utilizes Javascript to guide the visitor in entering their information. Try clicking inside the text input field to your right, then clicking out of it:

<input type="text" onfocus="if(this.value=='enter email address')this.value='';" value="enter email address" name="user" onblur="if(this.value=='')this.value='enter email address';" size="18">

About the OnFocus event handler: when the user focuses (puts his/her cursor) inside the box, it turns the text into ' ' and when the user clicks out (onBlur), then it turns ' ' into 'enter email address.'

Another type of form is a website opinion poll. Many webmasters have four to five fields: name, email, 'do you like [website name]?,' and a huge scary 'comments' textarea. Here's one thing to remember: textareas are scary. If you can, try to avoid using textareas and use checkboxes, radio buttons, and <select>ion boxes (see the pic).

A great way to avoid the textareas would be to replace them with radio 'rate this feature' buttons, or just a yes/no qeustion, 'Do you like this feature?'

Last, but not least, one important factor that influences the friendliness of a form is color. White seems very cold for an inviting form (sadly it's the default color). Inserting this code into your <input> fields can brighten the field and make it friendly:

<input type="text" maxlength="10" name="name" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">

Here's the conclusion to everything above: a good form will have the visitor fill it in without hassle or hesitation. They will feel at ease filling in the form. Keep this in mind when looking out for more ways to make your forms more user-friendly.