NextAfter

How using a ‘reverse funnel’ design that places the form above the fold affects email acquisition rates

Experiment ID: #187324

NextAfter

Experiment Summary

Ended On: 07/25/2024

If we’re being honest, we don’t think a prospect should have to read several paragraphs of copy to see the value in exchanging their email address for a content offer. It’s generally accepted that 8 out of 10 people will read your headline/subheadline and nothing else, which means your “above-the-fold” copy is, without a doubt, far and away, the most important copy on the page.

Knowing this and working forward from the assumption that someone had to land on our landing page from somewhere — presumably some form of marketing communication that has already, at least, teased the offer …

We wanted to test what would happen if we seized the existing funnel momentum to drive the conversion by placing the form above the fold (directly beneath the headline and subheadline) and moving the ‘explainer’ copy down the page where a user could scroll to read if they so desired.

The treatment kept the headline and subhead copy unchanged and simply moved the body copy ‘below the fold’ where people could continue reading if they wanted to know more about the offer.

**Important note: although they do not show up in the renders below, both the control and the treatment featured 3D renders of the asset being promoted in the upper righthand space of the page

Research Question

We believe that moving an email acquisition form above the fold will increase sign-up rates by capitalizing on the momentum created by earlier steps in the funnel and giving the user the option to read more if they choose.

Design

C: Control

T1: Treatment #1

Results

	Treatment Name	Conv. Rate	Relative Difference	Confidence
C:	Control	8.6%
T1:	Treatment #1	13.5%	56.3%	99.9%

This experiment has a required sample size of 306 in order to be valid. Since the experiment had a total sample size of 1,924, and the level of confidence is above 95% the experiment results are valid.

Flux Metrics Affected

The Flux Metrics analyze the three primary metrics that affect revenue (traffic, conversion rate, and average gift). This experiment produced the following results:

0% increase in traffic
× 56.3% increase in conversion rate
× 0% increase in average gift

Key Learnings

Moving the form above the fold resulted in a statistically valid 56.3% lift in email acquisition rates.

By giving people the option to 'fast-track' the download process, we were able to see more conversions. Importantly, this test is in no way meant to suggest that 'less copy is better.' We did not remove the copy; we simply moved it down the page so that people could forego additional reading if they were already 'sold.'

What this test does show is that your headline and subhead should be strong enough to carry the conversion on their own and that placing the form above the fold may create a more frictionless experience for enough users to make a significant difference in conversion rates.

It also shows the importance of analyzing each asset on its own and as part of the broader funnel. Avoid repeating the same message in your ad, email, landing page, donation, page, etc. Consider the momentum your other awesome assets have already created and capitalize on that to drive the conversion!

In future experimentation, we will focus on testing the headline, subhead, button copy, and any other above-the-fold elements, as this test shows that 'above-the-fold optimization' likely has an outsized impact on conversion rates

Experiment Documented by NextAfter

Question about experiment #187324

If you have any questions about this experiment or would like additional details not discussed above, please feel free to contact them directly.