Signup copy for the three places a venue captures first-party data: the site-wide popup, the embedded form on the venue page, and the checkout opt-in at ticket purchase. Email-only, SMS-only, and email-plus-SMS variants per surface.
How to use it
Copy the SKILL.md below, paste it into a Claude chat, and tell Claude to remember it as a skill. Claude will save it and pull it in the next time you ask for signup copy.
To make it match your venue, tell Claude the details it doesn't know yet: your venue name, what your list actually delivers (early access, recommendations, recap content), your standard send cadence, your SMS compliance language by region, anything your team does differently. Then ask Claude to update the skill with that information. The file will be tuned to how you actually capture first-party data, without you ever opening a code editor.
Works best with: install the venue-voice-profile-builder first. Signup copy is short and high-leverage. The voice matters because the copy is the first thing a stranger reads from the venue. The skill checks for the profile and writes in your venue's voice when it finds one. Without it, Claude falls back to a generic event-marketing voice.
Once it's saved, trigger it by telling Claude "use the signup popup copy skill" and naming which surfaces you want copy for, which channels each surface collects (email, SMS, or both), and the substantive benefit your list delivers. Do not use it for reactivation of cold subscribers or for artist-specific segmented sends. Those have their own skills.
---
name: signup-popup-copy
description: Draft signup copy for the three places a venue can capture first-party data, namely the site-wide pop-up, the embedded form on the venue page, and the checkout opt-in at ticket purchase, with email-only, SMS-only, and email-plus-SMS variants per surface. Trigger whenever an operator says "write the signup popup", "draft the embedded form copy", "we need new opt-in copy at checkout", "rewrite the SMS opt-in", "build the signup copy across the site", "grow the list", or asks for the copy that converts a site visitor into a fan in the database. Also trigger when the operator wants to refresh existing signup copy or test new framing. This is the top-of-funnel skill for list growth. Distinct from reactivation (use `fan-reactivation-tactics`) and segmented sends (use `audience-segmentation-brief`).
---
# Signup popup copy
## What this skill does
This skill drafts the copy that lives in the three places a venue captures first-party data: the site-wide pop-up that triggers on the homepage, the embedded form on artist or venue pages, and the opt-in at checkout when a fan is already buying a ticket. Each surface has a different job and different friction. The skill writes for all three.
The point of the copy is to convert a visitor into a known fan with the lowest possible drop-off. Generic "join our mailing list" copy works on no one. The copy in this skill leans on what the venue actually delivers (early access, real recommendations, recap content) and matches the friction level of each surface.
## When to trigger
Trigger when an operator wants signup copy for any list-growth surface. Trigger on "popup copy", "signup form", "embedded form", "checkout opt-in", "SMS opt-in", "grow the list", "list-growth copy", "Klaviyo signup form", or when the operator pastes existing signup copy and asks for a refresh.
Do not trigger for re-engagement of cold subscribers (use fan-reactivation-tactics) or for artist-specific dedicated sends (use audience-segmentation-brief).
## Required inputs
Ask for these in one message before drafting.
The venue name and a one-line description of the room. Same baseline input as every Backstage copy skill.
Which surfaces the operator wants copy for. Default is all three (popup, embedded form, checkout opt-in). The skill writes only the surfaces requested.
Which channels each surface is collecting. Email only, SMS only, or both. The opt-in language flexes based on this.
The actual benefit the venue delivers to signups. Examples: early access to all on-sales, presale codes 24 hours before public on-sale, hand-picked weekly show recommendations, recap content from past shows, a free monthly print mailer. The skill writes around the real benefit. If the operator says "just the list", the skill asks once whether there is anything tangible to lean on.
Compliance language the venue's region requires. SMS opt-in needs a specific consent disclosure in most US markets. The skill defaults to standard US-market language if the operator does not specify, and flags the disclosure for the operator to confirm.
Any existing signup copy the operator wants to depart from or hold onto. Tone, sign-off, branding language.
## Voice
Read the venue voice profile if one exists. Signup copy is short and high-leverage. The voice matters because the copy is the first thing a stranger reads from the venue.
Default Backstage operator voice if no profile exists: direct, specific, no padding. The copy names the benefit and asks for the email or phone number. No throat-clearing.
Hard voice rules:
No em-dashes. Use commas, semicolons, or periods.
No fragment chains.
No fabricated benefits. If the operator did not say the venue sends early access, do not write that.
No "join our community" framing. The reader is signing up for a list, not joining a community. Be honest about what is being offered.
No "be the first to know" without specifics. "First to know" is meaningless. "First to know" + "presale codes 24 hours before public on-sale" is specific. State the substance.
No urgency. There is no on-sale here. There is no deadline. Urgency in signup copy reads as manipulative.
## The three surfaces
### Surface 1: Site-wide popup
The pop-up has the highest interruption cost. The copy has to earn the interruption fast. Three lines maximum: headline, value sentence, ask.
The pop-up is also the surface where the operator should consider the timing trigger. Default to triggering after 20 seconds or one page-deep scroll. Aggressive triggers (immediate, exit-intent on every page) burn goodwill on repeat visitors.
### Surface 2: Embedded form
The embedded form is the lowest-friction surface. The visitor is already on the page and chose to scroll to the form. The copy can be slightly longer, two or three lines, with more substance about what the visitor gets.
### Surface 3: Checkout opt-in
The visitor is buying a ticket. Friction is lowest at this point because they have already trusted the venue with payment information. The copy is a single sentence opt-in box with a clear benefit. Often pre-checked, but the venue should follow regional compliance rules.
The trade-off at checkout is that the visitor has limited attention. The copy gets to the benefit in under 12 words.
## Output structure
Always use this structure. Produce only the surfaces requested.
```
# Signup copy: [Venue]
## Surface 1: Site-wide popup
### Email only
**Headline:** [3 to 6 words. The benefit, not the ask.]
**Body:** [One sentence. The substance of the benefit, naming what the venue actually sends and how often.]
**Input label:** Email
**Button copy:** [Two to three words. Action verb. Examples: "Get the list", "Subscribe", "Join in".]
**Fine print:** [One short line on frequency or unsubscribe.]
### SMS only
**Headline:** [3 to 6 words. The benefit.]
**Body:** [One sentence. The substance of the benefit, scoped to SMS.]
**Input label:** Mobile number
**Button copy:** [Two to three words.]
**Fine print:** [Compliance disclosure. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to unsubscribe.]
### Email plus SMS
**Headline:** [3 to 6 words.]
**Body:** [One sentence on the joint benefit, or two short sentences if email and SMS deliver different things.]
**Email input label:** Email
**SMS input label:** Mobile number (optional)
**Button copy:** [Two to three words.]
**Fine print:** [Combined compliance and frequency line.]
## Surface 2: Embedded form
### Email only
**Headline:** [4 to 8 words.]
**Body:** [Two sentences. The benefit and the cadence.]
**Input label:** Email
**Button copy:** [Two to three words.]
**Fine print:** [Frequency line.]
[Repeat for SMS only and Email plus SMS as needed.]
## Surface 3: Checkout opt-in
### Email only
**Checkbox label:** [Under 12 words. One line. Names the benefit specifically.]
**Fine print:** [Optional line on frequency.]
### SMS only
**Checkbox label:** [Under 12 words.]
**Fine print:** [Compliance disclosure.]
### Email plus SMS
**Checkbox labels:** [Two separate checkboxes, one for each.]
**Fine print:** [Combined disclosure.]
```
## Hard rules
Name the benefit substantively. "Join our list to be the first to know" fails. "Get presale codes 24 hours before public on-sale, plus weekly recommendations from our booker" succeeds. The substance is the conversion lever.
Match the friction to the surface. Pop-up copy is short. Embedded form copy can be slightly longer. Checkout opt-in is the shortest of all.
SMS copy is shorter than email copy across every surface. SMS opt-in implies higher trust from the visitor.
Compliance fine print is non-negotiable for SMS. Default US-market language: "Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency varies. Reply STOP to unsubscribe, HELP for help." The skill flags this for the operator to confirm for their region.
The checkout opt-in is one sentence with one benefit. Multiple benefits at checkout lose conversions.
Button copy is action verb plus what they get. "Subscribe" alone is fine. "Submit" is not. "Sign me up for the list" is too long.
Do not promise frequency the venue does not deliver. If the venue sends weekly, the copy can say weekly. If the venue sends sporadically, the copy says "occasional" rather than overpromising.
## Common failure modes to avoid
"Join our community" generic. The signup is a list, not a community. Be honest about the transaction.
"Be the first to know" alone. Always followed by specifics, or cut.
Long pop-up copy. The pop-up is interruption. Three lines or under.
Missing compliance disclosure on SMS. Every SMS surface needs the consent line. Without it the venue is in regulatory risk.
Checkout opt-in that stacks multiple benefits. The visitor has 4 seconds at checkout. One benefit only.
Aggressive timing trigger on the pop-up. Default to 20 seconds or one scroll depth, not immediate or exit-intent.
Vague benefit. The benefit is "what does the visitor get and how often". If the copy is not specific on both, the visitor declines.
## What to deliver
Return the copy for each surface the operator requested, in the structure above, with email-only, SMS-only, and email-plus-SMS variants where applicable.
End with two or three sentences naming the single biggest assumption the copy made (often the SMS frequency or the email cadence) and which input would sharpen the next pass. Do not walk through every word choice.
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