Showing users partial content to entice them to sign up?

Question

I was trying to get one of my designers to check out a great question on Quora yesterday and he found to his annoyance that he had to sign up to read beyond the first answer

I was wondering if this was a poor design practice or if there is any research on whether showing some partial content to user actually entices users into signing up full time. Or would this be considered as a dark pattern which builds upon the expectation that people would be curious about something after seeing a small teaser

Note: Quora does try to sell it by saying that by having you signed in we can ensure we are showing you relevant content based upon your previous browsing information but wont this be a big turn off for first time users who want to just read about something.

Answer 1

I hate all the sites that use these technique to get more signups. I may signup but when I find out that the 'hidden content' is not interesting and unique I will never ever get back to that site again.

Answer 2

This is probably the exact reason why Stackexchange sites are more popular than experts-exchange. Unless and until your content is really unique and there is no other site is giving it, or there are some PHDs and professors who only give answers on your site, you should never irritate your site's visitor like this.

Answer 3

Doing that will probably result in more people signing up, but will also likely result in fewer people using the site. I'm extrapolating here from other sites that for example only allow registered users to see images, or news sites that only allow a certain number of articles read per month for non-registered users. In both situations they have been found to increase registrations.

So it all depends on which is more important to you. More registered users or more total people reading the site.

Answer 4

i own over 3000 apps across all apple machines (including adobe software on mac), and many android apps as well. what gets me to buy is this: the app provides me with an eexcellent, fully functional, open ended experience for free. it also lets me know i can have more of the same if i buy. it informs but doesnt nag and doesnt do sneaky self-promotion, and is mostly free of other such nuisances).

if two apps are equally good, or close, the one with the handsomer icon wins. if an icon is really ugly, i will always be searching for its replacement that does the same thing but doesnt make my eyes hurt.

: hipstamatic is a prime example. its filters are so good you want them all. they regularly give new "freepaks" (that revert to paid after a day or so, meaning get them free quickly or buy them at your leisure) and also regularly offers new paid ones. i buy every single one. as do many, many people.

other examples: alien blue, camera+, friendcaster, fruit ninja, talkatone, angry birds, paper by 53, twitterific...notice anything? these are all top apps. users can have a complete and excellent experience without every buying anything. if they want more, they buy. its hard to imagine anyone /not/ wanting more.

teasers -- for me anyway -- are basically ads. as such i tend toward skepticism and if they are frequent, they become increasing irritants. occasionally ive permanently deleted an otherwise good app -- which i might later have upgraded to paid -- from sheer annoyance at being nagged.

this, from someone who eschews adblock. my son programs professionally and i occasionally beta test. i understand that people need to live. but im guessing teasing (unless done really, really skillfully and sparingly) would yield more losses than gains. let me /know how it is to enjoy the app./ let me use it daily until it becomes essential to what i do. then I'm hooked and will certainly upgrade.

while I'm here: dont remove features after someone's paid for your app. or if you do, please read reviews amd if the feature is loudly missed, restore it. i quit using one app because they removed the two reasons i used it: it was the fastest of its kind, and it had a stunning fliter no one else had (i do a lot of iphoneography).

i quit using another app -- that had paid me to help with filters as they were growing -- because they force users to add tags to everything. i don't have time for it. if the image cant speak for itself, then its mute and I'm onto the next one.

if you make a great app, let people actually use it so they /know/ its great, and refrain from being bossy and/or pestering them, you should be able to get many upgrades to paid.

Answer 5

If user experience is a top priority, than making the content as accessible as possible is paramount. You should be empowering your users, not inhibiting them. The comment from Quora wanting you to sign up for a better experience is self-centered and seriously deters from the users experience.

In your example, the user isn't randomly browsing the web. They were sent here pointedly and already found what they are looking for. The blurred text is just an artificial boundary to build membership.

There's nothing wrong with Quora wanting to encourage new member signups, but I think this approach is inconsiderate and shows that they care more about themselves than their users. It's hard to create a great experience with that attitude.