Registration Forms Attendees Want to Fill Out

The registration form, after a basic landing page form fills to get more event info, is the first place you’ll collect attendee info. Registration forms can be clunky, cumbersome, and long. But they’re only that way because planners want to utilize the interaction for all it’s worth. If set up the right way, the form you create could be a powerful step towards personalization and begin to get attendees excited about the event.

Brand It

A basic, black and white form with no imagery doesn’t create much excitement. Incorporate subtle (or aggressive) branding to let attendees know whose event they’re registering for. Make use of the event and company logo and add in some color. Match company font to create a consistent look and feel.

Ask for Just Enough

Everyone is wary of sharing their data. Don’t ask for information you don’t need. If you ask for more information, let attendees know how that information will be used. You can always ask for more information in follow up email marketing campaigns. This is the foot in the door moment – the individual wants to go to the event and the only thing stopping them while they’re filling out the registration form is it asking questions they don’t want to answer, don’t have time to answer, or can’t answer without going elsewhere for information.

Keep it Short

The worst thing you could do is create a long form that takes an hour to fill out. This will lead to a high registration abandon rate. It shouldn’t take more than five to ten minutes to register for an event – depending on the complexity of the event. If you can get someone through a registration form in less than two minutes, they won’t have time to question if they really want to attend the event.

Make it Fun

Phrase things in a fun way, use color, use images, whatever is possible with the registration platform you’ve chosen to use. Take every opportunity to make the registration process more enjoyable. Your event starts before they register. The experience is a culmination of every moment leading up to the event, the event itself, and post event. Every piece of collateral they see, how the website looks and functions, if the registration form is complicated, impact the total experience they have.  Make the registration form a positive part of the experience.

Generate Buzz

Add an option to share the event on social after they register. This will get them excited, create more excitement, and make them feel more tied to the event. This will also entice people they know to attend and increase registrations. When they share the event on social media, it gives you more insight into the likes and dislikes of your attendees – depending on if their accounts are public or private.

Check out these event marketing tips!