Case Study: A/B Testing the Sweepstakes Sign-Up Flow

I led the research, design, and testing of the sign-up experience, using A/B testing to determine which approach drove higher conversions and better long-term engagement.

Role

Product Design Lead

Timeline

2 months

Impact

Total list growth from campaign: +43% over 3 weeks

Total list growth from campaign: +43% over 3 weeks
Referral-driven traffic: +19%
Surveyed user satisfaction: 4.6/5

Overview

Big Recipe, a daily cooking newsletter, launched a sweepstakes campaign offering participants a chance to win the HexClad 12-Piece Hybrid Cookware Set (valued at $999). The goal: increase newsletter sign-ups while improving user engagement and data quality.

Business Goals

Increase sign-ups to the Big Recipe daily newsletter
Drive higher-quality subscriber data (dietary preferences for personalization)
Encourage social engagement and referral traffic

UX Goals

Reduce friction in the sign-up flow
Increase trust and clarity in the sweepstakes experience
Make the process feel rewarding, fair, and transparent

Hypothesis

Variation B (the popup with Bonus Entry actions) will drive more conversions and referrals
because users feel they have a greater chance of winning and see more opportunities to engage.

Research & Insights

Audience	Key Pain Points	Competitive Inspiration
Home cooks aged 25–45 Budget-conscious but loves premium kitchen tools Active email users; interested in meal planning and saving money Values simplicity and transparency in sign-up flows	Users dislike long, complicated forms They want reassurance the giveaway is real They respond positively to incentives that increase their chance of winning	DTC referral loops (Morning Brew, Honey, Caraway) Secondary-entry gamification (Rafflecopter, Gleam) One-click opt-ins from large cooking blogs

Audience

Key Pain Points

Competitive Inspiration

Home cooks aged 25–45

Budget-conscious but loves premium kitchen tools
Active email users; interested in meal planning and saving money
Values simplicity and transparency in sign-up flows

Users dislike long, complicated forms

They want reassurance the giveaway is real
They respond positively to incentives that increase their chance of winning

DTC referral loops (Morning Brew, Honey, Caraway)

Secondary-entry gamification (Rafflecopter, Gleam)
One-click opt-ins from large cooking blogs

A/B Test Setup

Control: Single entry - Landing Page with Embedded Form

The full sign-up form is visible immediately
Simple, non-intrusive experience

Fields collected:

Name
Email
Dietary preferences
Cross-promotion (optional checkbox)

Hypothesis:
This version may increase trust and reduce friction due to its clear layout and no pop-ups.

Total list growth from campaign: +43% over 3 weeks
Referral-driven traffic: +19%
Surveyed user satisfaction: 4.6/5

Overview

Business Goals

Increase sign-ups to the Big Recipe daily newsletter
Drive higher-quality subscriber data (dietary preferences for personalization)
Encourage social engagement and referral traffic

UX Goals

Reduce friction in the sign-up flow
Increase trust and clarity in the sweepstakes experience
Make the process feel rewarding, fair, and transparent

Hypothesis

Variation B (the popup with Bonus Entry actions) will drive more conversions and referrals
because users feel they have a greater chance of winning and see more opportunities to engage.

Research & Insights

Audience	Key Pain Points	Competitive Inspiration
Home cooks aged 25–45 Budget-conscious but loves premium kitchen tools Active email users; interested in meal planning and saving money Values simplicity and transparency in sign-up flows	Users dislike long, complicated forms They want reassurance the giveaway is real They respond positively to incentives that increase their chance of winning	DTC referral loops (Morning Brew, Honey, Caraway) Secondary-entry gamification (Rafflecopter, Gleam) One-click opt-ins from large cooking blogs

Audience

Key Pain Points

Competitive Inspiration

Home cooks aged 25–45

Budget-conscious but loves premium kitchen tools
Active email users; interested in meal planning and saving money
Values simplicity and transparency in sign-up flows

Users dislike long, complicated forms

They want reassurance the giveaway is real
They respond positively to incentives that increase their chance of winning

DTC referral loops (Morning Brew, Honey, Caraway)

Secondary-entry gamification (Rafflecopter, Gleam)
One-click opt-ins from large cooking blogs

A/B Test Setup

Control: Single entry - Landing Page with Embedded Form

The full sign-up form is visible immediately
Simple, non-intrusive experience

Fields collected:

Name
Email
Dietary preferences
Cross-promotion (optional checkbox)

Hypothesis:
This version may increase trust and reduce friction due to its clear layout and no pop-ups.

Experiment: Popup with Bonus Entry Actions

Same form fields as Control
Enter to Win CTA
Includes “Bonus Entry” section with gamified referral actions:

Refer friends (+3 entries)
Follow Big Recipe on Instagram/TikTok (+1 entry)
Share link on social media (+1 entry)

Hypothesis:
Gamification will increase engagement and referrals, generating a viral loop effect.

Trade-off: Users might think this is too lengthy to sign up, but the chance to earn more ++ entries makes it worthwhile.

Testing Metrics

Primary KPIs

Conversion rate (completed sign-ups)
Email verification rate
Referral actions per user
Time on page

Secondary KPIs

Bounce rate
Social engagement
Long-term email open rate (first 14 days)

Results

Control: Landing Page with Embedded Form

Conversion rate: 31%
Bounce rate: 28%
Average time on page: 52 seconds
Verified emails: 92%
Referral behavior: None (no referral option)

Insights:

Users appreciated the direct approach
Fast sign-ups
Lower excitement because no incentives
Higher quality email list due to intentional sign-ups

Experiment: Popup with Bonus Entries

Conversion rate: 42% (+11% higher than A)
Bounce rate: 35% (slightly higher)
Average time on page: 1 min 36 sec
Referral actions: +18% of users referred at least one friend
Social engagements:
- +12% new Instagram follows
- +7% TikTok follows

Insights:

Pop-up increased engagement but added slight friction
Bonus incentives created viral amplification
Lower email quality (88% verified) — common with incentive-based sign-ups

Key Learnings

Gamification increases conversions but slightly decreases intent.
Some users enter “just to win,” but referral loops massively boost traffic.
Transparency builds trust.
Variation A saw more verified emails due to the more traditional presentation.
Dietary preference data were valuable.
Personalized recipe emails improved click-through rate (CTR) by 22% after integration.

Final Recommendation

Hybrid Approach:
Adopt Variation A as default landing, but introduce the Bonus Entry options AFTER successful initial sign-up.

This maximizes:
High-quality email sign-ups
Engagement + referrals
Better personalization data

Outcome

Total list growth from campaign: +43% over 3 weeks
Referral-driven traffic: +19%
Surveyed user satisfaction: 4.6/5

The refined hybrid design drove a balance between quality and volume, positioning Big Recipe for stronger engagement long-term while capitalizing on the excitement of the HexClad sweepstakes.

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