The Dilemma
I have sales targets to hit, but I also have a premium brand that needs protecting. So there is a lot of pressure on my sign up unit to be brand-right and to perform. To be bold. And subtle.
The Solution
Today I am going to show you 3 different tests I ran on my sign up units and the actual results. I used Alia, a Shopify app that helped me schedule and evaluate the A/B tests, specifically for pop ups. Within 30 days I increased my signups by 40% and learned something that really surprised me. Cliffhanger!
This issue includes:
What happened when I A/B tested 4 different sign up units
How to encourage sign ups without looking too discount-y
One more way that iOS26 may be crushing your performance
And a fun job opening for email / SMS specialists who love sports
Test 1
Let me warn you up front this first test was a flop.
For months we had been running a pop up with a $20 discount. Performance seemed good. But I wanted to know how much would sign ups fall if I removed the discount altogether. We found out quickly. When we removed mention of the discount, and invited visitors to “Join Our Community” instead, we lost 60% of sign ups.
Test 1
The sign up rate for both email and SMS fell by ~60%
We turned it off quickly and tried Test #2.
Test 2
My team suggested this language instead, alluding to an “Exclusive Offer” without mention of the $20 discount. This design also adds an extra step. The user has to tap “Claim Now”, then enter their email, then their phone number. I was skeptical.
But the results were huge. Email capture rate increased by 15%. SMS capture rate increased by 39% and attributed sales up by 33%.
Note we never changed the welcome email or the underlying discount. All customers are still getting $20 off.
Test 2
SMS capture rate increased by 39%
Test 3
We continued testing, and in this version we made a small tweak, removing the “No Thanks” button at the bottom.
That small change increased the Email and SMS sign up rates by another 25%. Attributed sales increased by 40%.
Test 3
Removing “No Thanks” increased the Email and SMS sign up rates by another 25%.
Now I’m not suggesting that these exact changes will perform similarly for all brands, but this is a strong recommendation that you A/B test your pop up asap.
Thanks, iOS
Here’s another way that iOS26 may be hurting your SMS performance lately.
iOS26 users can now filter text messages from unknown senders out of their main inbox. So if you are texting new subscribers for the first time, your messages may be getting caught and sent to a secondary inbox.
This is why you’re going to see some brands testing this QR coded sign up unit on desktop. It’s a new design from Attentive to encourage customers to use their mobile device to start the sign up flow, so that the brand gets identified as a known sender.
The “Desktop Two Tap”
Helpful Links
I conducted the sign up unit A/B tests with help from the app Alia. Pricing starts at $100/month, but I recommend you start with the 30-day free trial for their managed service. The team moved the first tests along much faster than I could alone.
If you are an Attentive customer you can join the beta for the QR code / Desktop Two Tap here.
Next, if you are looking for a new role and you’re a basketball fan, this job post from Made Hoops looks awesome.
And I’ll be posting more roles as I get them on the Tiny Texts LinkedIn page, so follow us there.
And Finally, My Feel-Good Text Of The Week
Two Tap your feet to this
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See you next week!
