Registration Forms: How to Make Them Irresistible with Scarcity
"Space is limited so register now" is a powerful
statement to motivate registrants. Scarcity statements like this
one make events appear more exclusive, important, and popular.
They create a sense of urgency that will cause potential
registrants to act now!
Demonstrate Scarcity
The more clearly you can
demonstrate that your event is exclusive - and that only a
select few can attend - the faster people will sign-up. You can
add believability to your space-is-limited statement by
providing specifics. Spell out the actual number of people you
are limiting your event to. Provide the actual reasons for
limiting your event such as room capacity, web conferencing
capacity, or a more intimate learning environment where no
question goes unanswered.
Add Credibility
To add even more credibility, explain
how your wait-listing works. Warn your potential registrants
about booking non-refundable plane or hotel reservations prior
to securing a spot at your event. And, if you have a history of
sold-out events, definitely share that with your potential
registrants.
Maintain the Sense of Urgency
Use your confirmation
and reminder emails to reinforce that your event is limited and
that notification is important if they are not going to attend
so you can let people off the wait-list. This will also
reinforce the popularity and demand for your event... in effect,
reminding your registrants of the good decision they made in
signing up right away. It will also increase your word-of-mouth
power, because registrants will contact their friends and
colleagues to remind them to sign up while they still can.
Be Honest with Yourself and Your Registrants
Be real
with your limited space. If you promote a highly-interactive
seminar limited to just 25 people, and there are actually 50
people there, some attendees may feel they are not receiving the
advertised value. On the other side, if only 5 people show up,
the attendees may feel the scarcity statement was misleading. It
is ok to somewhat overbook your event if you take into account
your no-show rates. Make sure to use a waitlist to manage your
capacity so you can fill the inevitable cancelled
registrations.