Encouraging Membership Registration
Thursday, January 31st, 2008Encouraging your readers to register on your website is a great way to make them feel “invested” in your community. And the more users feel invested, the more likely they are to return to make future contributions to your community.
Your registered members, even if registration is free, need to get something in return for their trouble. Designate some “special” areas of your site or your content for registered members only, and make sure it’s compelling. For example, anonymous members might be able to read forum posts, but only registered members can post. On many sites, like PocketPCThoughts.com, registered members are eligible for entry into regular free give-away contests. Other sites, like Manager-Tools.com, offer special members-only podcasts for their registered users. In all cases, registration is free!
In keeping with the theme of “If They Build It, They Will Come Back“, having your members register makes them feel just a little bit more invested in your community. In turn, your community will benefit from having repeat visitors. You can also poll your registered members (if they opt in, of course) for demographic data that can be useful in generating paid advertising sales.
Those are my ideas. What have you used to help encourage anonymous users to register with your community?
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