Over at the productivity consulting company I run, we do a ton of public seminars. We do the standard event marketing stuff: we’ve got the microsite, we’ve got the email newsletter, and we’ve got the online registration system. But we’ve got one more idea that we’re thinking about trying, and it’s a little crazy. Maybe you can help tell us if this is a good or bad idea: we call it one-click registration.
Here’s the concept. You sign up for an email newsletter, which contains information about an upcoming event. When you click the button, we immediately consider you signed up for the event. You don’t have to fill out a form. We would use a unique link in the email newsletter to determine who you are and track that click. Check out the mockup below:
It seems pretty straightforward, but there are some complications that we’ve been thinking through. For example:
- What Does Instantly Registered Mean? Event marketing really depends on people actually committing to showing up. So clicking the button might take you to a webpage where you could add in the rest of your details. Or it might take you first to an interstitial page that informs us you were ready to register, so we can follow up if you don’t actually complete the rest of the registration process.
- What About Special Discounts? We already provide exclusive pricing to newsletter subscribers. The Sign Me Up button could also embed that discount into the registration page. That’s pretty neat, but do we want to make the special deals more obvious and intentional?
- What happens if the email is forwarded to somebody else? – This is a big sticking point. If you forward the email along to a friend, and they click the Sign Me Up button, they will actually be signing you up for the event. Of course, we could ask them to confirm that their name is Bob Smith, but does that make it too difficult in the normal case?
- Do we need to offer both a I’m interested and a Sign Me Up Now link?
The current email newsletter just has an Additional details link, which you can click to see pricing and event descriptions. There’s no danger in clicking on that link. But a Sign Me Up button sort of implies that you are making a commitment. Is that a good or bad idea?
So, what do you think? We’d love your feedback on this new marketing idea: should we do it?
(And if you love it, feel free to try it yourself and let us know how it goes!)
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