1. Visibility and easy navigation
If someone wants to apply to your association, it is crucial to make that process as easy as possible. Display your application or information about membership on your homepage and on as many other relevant pages as possible so if an individual does choose to apply, they’ll know exactly where to go and what to do.
If you’re having a hard time determining whether or not the path to membership is simple enough, consider this: if a potential member has to search your site for longer than “59 seconds”, says Cody Ray Miller of CrazyEgg, you’ve already lost them. Yikes – that’s pretty quick! Luckily, CrazyEgg provided a tip on decreasing that bounce rate.
- Succinct, simple content. “We naturally want to give people all the information so they can make an informed decision” (Miller); but what you may see as beneficial information could actually confuse or overwhelm visitors. Display content that’s straight to the point in combination with a clear call-to-action (the member application) and your chances of gaining a member are much higher.
2. Break it down
If your association needs to collect a large amount of data on the member application, be sure to break up each area into separate pages or forms. If you try to include all collection fields on one page, it can be very overwhelming for an individual and look time consuming (even if it isn’t). Eliminate the friction by only including the necessary fields and strategizing the amount of fields on each page.
3. Field Types
Most of your application fields are probably collected through text boxes (like their name, email, address, number, etc.) but for anything else, using an open-ended text box could cause agitation. Create fields that can be collected with single or multiple select. That way, you’ve already decreased their workload by providing the answers for them – all they have to do is choose.
4. Post-application expectations
It’s important to remember that the journey toward membership does not end once they’ve clicked submit. Be clear about what happens after they’ve applied – will they get a confirmation email? Documentation on how to log in? A tour of the member center? Make their transition from non-member to member seamless and intentional. If you haven’t created a guide for members on how to use their new membership, consider doing so. By investing time into this documentation, you’ll save yourself time and show that you care.
AMO comes with a built-in member application, broken down into multiple pages for easy, simple application. Wanna learn more? Give us a call at 866-381-9951 today!