User Onboarding: Getting Visitors to Accept Your Offer

[djbaxter]

How to Get Users to Embrace Your Offer (Without Resorting to Shady Marketing Techniques)
KISSMetrics Marketing Blog
June 8, 2015

We?ve all seen them. Those questionable sites that throw a smattering of popups and lightboxes and offers at us in an attempt to reel us back in. We simply can?t go unless we get their free e-book, sign up for their newsletter, or we?re otherwise happy with the situation that caused us to click them in the first place.

But why resort to these kinds of last-ditch effort techniques at all? Most usability experts would have you roll out the red carpet to your prospects and pepper them with deals and discounts, but I?d like to propose a different idea ? getting them so accustomed, familiar and eager to do business with you gradually ? until it seems so easy and convenient, they?ll wonder why they didn?t think of it in the first place.

This process is known as User Onboarding, a term coined by designer Samuel Hulick. The story goes that Samuel was considering using online accounting service LessAccounting, but he struggled during the sign up process ? so much so, that he wrote a review about it on his site. It was useful and informative, but didn?t back away from necessary criticisms either. Word spread to LessAccounting?s co-founder, who (much to Samuel?s surprise) was thrilled with the review and started making the necessary changes on the site right away.

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