Coming Soon: Make them Care! (my new book)

A quick update on my latest project.

I’m self-publishing a new book about creating great sign-up experiences. It’s called Make them Care!. (you can get reminded when it’s published here)

Since going out on my own two years ago I’ve worked on many different kinds of projects. Some small, some big. Some simple. Some complex. But even though projects vary in lots of ways there always seems to be one constant: the problem of sign-up. If you’re doing business on the Web chances are you have some sort of sign-up process.

Make them Care! covers different kinds of sign-up: everything from email newsletters to marketing sites for products to web-based applications. It also covers the whole spectrum of design issues: copywriting, visual design, information architecture, strategy, and marketing. This is why I’m so excited about the book: it’s a comprehensive view of the entirety of the problem. (this is also why I love what I do…at various times during the day I’m writing, designing layouts, or thinking strategy)

One of the primary focal points of the book is the psychology of sign-up. I’ve been researching this for some time now (haven’t blogged about it much yet) and I can’t wait to share with you what I’ve found. I have started to get some of the ideas out there, such as my recent slide deck Designing for Social Traction.

Also, I’m looking for sign-up case-studies. If you have been working on sign-up and have a unique story to tell, please get in touch. In particular, if you have done testing (such as A/B or multivariate) and have examples of what works (or what didn’t have an effect) in your sign-up flow I am greatly interested in talking with you.

The early feedback that I have received has been tremendous. I’ve had several people approach me and tell me that this is the #1 problem they have and that they can’t wait for a book on the topic. While I (obviously) love to hear this, I also am determined to make the book a valuable one. So I’m not hurrying anything: as of right now I don’t have an official publish date. But you can get reminded when it’s published.

Published: August 17th, 2009