4 Reasons Your Online Registration Might Be Failing

No matter the event that is being organized, from festivals to corporate events and black-tie dinners, registering the intention to attend has never been easier than with online registration.

There is no more bulky, and environmentally unfriendly, paperwork that has the potential to be lost or incorrectly entered into databases. Accuracy and analysis have improved due to the inherent robustness of the digital systems. You may be surprised, then, that with this increased efficiency in the registration process, there are still online registration portals that haven’t managed to get it quite right, so are not capitalizing on this excellent resource.Here are just some of the more common reasons that your online registration might be failing to hit the mark.

Your form is too complex

As an event planner, you need to ask yourself ‘What is the minimum amount of information I need to register my guest?’. Do you really need to know a person’s ageor their street address? Is it necessary to know how they found out about your event? There are far too many forms that ask seemingly irrelevant questionswhen a person’s name and contact details would be enough.If your prospective attendee feels the need to ask themselves why you need a particular piece of information, they may begin to question your judgement, which in turn will reflect on the value of your event. Keep it as simple as possible, and your conversion rate will likely be much greater.

There are too many steps

Is your prospective attendee required to click away from your form at any point during the online RSVP process? If so, you are seriously increasing the risk of losing that conversion. If a person needs to sign in to your website, then confirm subscription via their email, then come back to your site to register, then confirm registration via email… well, if you think that sentence is convoluted, think about how that reflects on your registration process. Simple one-click registrations are the answer, as that first point of contact is when your attendee is the most emotionally invested.

Your form is hard to find

How deeply is your registration embedded in your website? If you have multiple dropdown menus before a registration form is available, you are again reducing the likelihood of conversion. If a person is visiting your site with the express purpose of registering for an event, make it easy for them to find! For the duration of the registration period, keep the form or registration details clearly available on your home page.

Your email subject line is not optimized

Email invitations can help to remove some of the barriers created by complex website design, as they give you the option to link people directly with your form. Unfortunately, many emails go unread by their recipientsor are deleted, because they are not correctly targeting the audience. Make sure that your subject line succinctly describes what your invitation is for. Take into consideration the amount of characters in your subject line that will be displayed on different devices (e.g. as few as 27 on some Android phones, and up to 70 with Gmail on thedesktop). With some demographic research, you can figure out where your prospective attendee is most likely to open their email, and tailor your subject line for the appropriate device.When it comes down to it, the most effective thing for any aspect of online event registration is simplicity. Make your registration easy and enjoyable, and you will reap the rewards.

WRITTEN BY KANE GROSE

Kane is an event merchandise specialist who's passionate about branding and marketing. He works with Promotive, a specialist promotional products company that aims to change how you feel about branded merchandise. Find out more at www.bepromotive.com.au