One of the best ways to attract new customers to your subscription-based services is a free trial offer.  A lot of sites offer free trials.  Some are extensive (30 days - 3 months) while others are simply a few days.  The benefit of a free trial is that is lets customers see and use the product before making the decision to purchase.  Customers who are sure they want to use a product generally keep their subscriptions longer and spend more money with you than customers who don't.  So it's always a good idea to let customers make sure they really want your service before forcing them to sign up for something.  Free trials are also nice because they can hook customers and convince them to subscribe if they weren't sold before.

The problem then becomes getting folks to sign up for your free trial.

The Marketing Experiments Journal ran a couple of tests to see if free trial subscription rates could be increased with a simple layout and copy redesign.  They didn't change anything about the service or the free offer.  Instead, they focused on copy length, positioning, and other layout changes to see what affect, if any, those changes could make.

In their first test they made the following significant changes:

• Critical sales copy was put in a center, uninterrupted column with testimonial information on the right.
• The headline was changed to include more specific information.
• The copy was lengthened and styled like a letter, complete with a signature at the bottom.
• Subheadings, indentations, and check-marked lists were increased to help break up the flowing text.
• Repeated emphasis on the risk-free aspect of the free trial.
• The text of the "buy button" was changed to be more descriptive.

The results were quite impressive:  the simple copy and layout changes increased conversion by 89.47%.

In the second test, Marketing Experiments Journal made the following significant changes:

• All copy and graphics were shortened to a single, confined column.
• All photos and graphics that didn't relate to the offer were removed.
• The free trial offer was mentioned in the headline.
• The copy is reader-centric, not company-centric (they didn't mention much about the company… only what the service could do for the customer).
• All headings and subheadings began with an active verb

This time the results were even more impressive:  the new page increased conversion rates by 178.998%.

The approaches were different.  One lengthened the copy and focused on the company.  The other shortened the copy and focused on the customer.  But changes had a significant impact on conversion rates.

So which approach should you take?  It depends, really.  As the Marketing Experiments Journal article points out, each service and offer is different.  The best advice is to try different variations to see which one works the best.  Testing and experimentation is always a good idea and, as you can hopefully see, it can make a huge difference in your business.