{"id":14770,"date":"2022-02-18T15:30:12","date_gmt":"2022-02-18T15:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/18\/be-gender-neutral-on-sign-up-forms\/"},"modified":"2022-02-18T15:30:12","modified_gmt":"2022-02-18T15:30:12","slug":"be-gender-neutral-on-sign-up-forms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/18\/be-gender-neutral-on-sign-up-forms\/","title":{"rendered":"Be Gender-Neutral On Sign-Up Forms"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I was reading an article on successful landing page design for email marketing sign-up forms<\/a> and came across research which suggested that the more boxes there were to fill in, the poorer the completion rate. This comes from the University of the Blatantly Obvious. Anyone not completely new to our craft would know that.<\/p>\n

\nThe odd thing is, the article went on to give advice on gender-inclusive forms and copy, something which is becoming more or less a necessity nowadays. They suggested that a choice between Mr, Mrs, and Miss is not inclusive. I think we can all agree with that. Their preferred way was to give the opportunity to choose between six options, plus the seventh, \u2018I prefer not to say\u2019. A bit of a challenge there \"Beto their suggestions regarding fewer boxes.<\/p>\n

\nThere is an option which has become slowly more popular with companies, and possibly subscribers as well. It\u2019s obviously up to you to decide if it suits your target audience, but it has a lot going for it.<\/p>\n

\nAsk them what title, if any, they prefer.<\/p>\n

\nIt obviously leaves a little work for you with regards to completing the data on your email marketing list, but it is probably worth the time. Firstly, it\u2019s likely you won\u2019t upset potential subscribers. Secondly, you will know precisely what title they prefer and can ensure it is used every time you connect with them. Lastly, they, like me, might prefer no title, and if they leave it blank, you won\u2019t even have to fill in a form yourself. That\u2019s personalising perfection and it\u2019s got my vote.<\/p>\n

\nI don\u2019t like to be prescriptive, but here goes; your copy must be gender-neutral. There are exceptions, but these are few, and can be arrived at only with testing. There is a problem of course. The English language is riddled with gender-specific pronouns and using they instead just doesn\u2019t flow.<\/p>\n

\nGender-neutral copy requires a little effort. No one said it\u2019d be easy. In the current climate it\u2019s unlikely to upset many of your subscribers, so ask yourself if you need to know the gender of your customers.
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