Ryan J Bell

Your first task is to cover the basics that every registration form needs to cover. Here are the basic elements of any registration form:

• Your logo
• Date & title of the event
• Location of the event
• The cost of registration
• The agenda for the event
• An indication of how long the registration process will take (for paper forms, this would be a pagination number like ‘Page 1 of 5′, for online forms it is a completion timeline)

It can be difficult to include all of this on a paper registration form (a great reason to go paperless!) but it should definitely be included within the registration materials packet.

Once you have the basics covered, there are several extra items you can add to a registration form. Each one of the following helps provide your potential attendee with extra motivation to register. Try these out for your next event:

• Add a money-back guarantee
• For online forms: add indicators of security like a Hackersafe logo, and a privacy policy
• Also for online forms: add an ‘Invite a Friend’ link
• Provide reasons the registrant should attend, or a “What you will learn/gain…” section
• Photos from previous events
• Names of famous speakers or guests who will be attending/speaking
• As many ways as you can provide for registrants to get in touch with you when they have questions

The addition of these items will greatly increase the likelihood that your potential attendees will register right away.

An online form is light-years ahead of paper registration, but it’s not useful if you need to contact your IT department every time you need a headcount. An online system can have your event up and running in minutes and be able to create, view and send reports whenever and where you want.