You’ve created a badass website. Hired an even more badass designer who whips up the sleekest logo in your industry/niche.
Copywriters fill your homepage with creative flow that entices and captivates.
But there’s one problem.
Your visitors never sign up to your email list. That sucks, right?
An email list is a vital part of your overall strategy. Maybe you need a lot of customer interaction to sell your product. Or maybe you just want to hedge against future social media meltdowns.
A great popup is an effective way to get more sign-ups. It takes your CTA directly to your readers, as opposed to waiting for them to stumble upon it.
You can get it wrong, or you can get it so right that your visitors sign up to your email newsletter in droves and your conversions go through the roof.
In this article, we’ll explore creating and designing high-converting popups.
In the meantime, however, if you need any help figuring out the complex dynamic nature of email marketing, Our team of experts will readily assist you.
First things first. What is a popup?
A popup is an informational or promotional offer that appears (pops up) over your content. It is designed to capture your users’ attention. It takes your offer, or information, and puts it right in their faces where they can’t ignore it.
But as useful and effective as they are, popups have a dark side. They are infamous for being overused, annoying, and causing users to click away.
The secret to success with using popups is to use them with finesse, only displaying the most important information to your users.
Traditionally, when people talk about popups they’re referring to lightroom popups, those superimposed boxes that appear over the content you’re viewing and darken the page behind them. But in reality there are many types, as we’ll see later.
Why use popups at all?
Popups greatly increase the visibility of your signup forms. Heatmap analysis shows that most website visitors never scroll to the end of the page, where most marketers put their signup forms and CTAs.
By using popups, you can bring your content above the fold where it can more easily grab the attention of your users.
One other reason why popups are so useful is that they help with targeting and segmentation. Instead of showing the same popup to every user, you can segment your audience and show different content to different segments, greatly increasing conversion rates.
Lastly, because popups aren’t embedded in your website, they give you a lot more room to be creative with your designs. Sometimes a beautiful design is all you need to spark curiosity in a visitor and lure them to sign up.
The types of popup
Just as there are different types of cutlery for different types of food, there are different types of popups for different devices and purposes.
An ecommerce site and a SaaS website will use popups in different ways. The former would most likely be offering a 10% discount, while the latter may be offering a free case study for download.
In this section, we’ll explore the different types of popup and the unique situations in which you can use them.
Exit-trigger popups
Ever decided to leave a website and suddenly had a popup all in your face? As though the site knew you were about to leave?
And did the popup text read, “Before you leave, take a look at X”?
This is the exit-trigger popup. It uses mouse monitoring to determine cursor speed and direction, accurately predicting when your visitors are going to close a tab, open a new one, or simply press the back button in their browser.
This feature is non-existent on mobile devices because there are no cursors to track on touch-screens.
Exit-trigger popups interrupt the user’s speedy exit with a message which can sometimes be perceived as an annoyance, though they are very effective when offering free content such as a white paper, or an ebook.
If you posted a killer article and want to lure visitors to sign up to your list, an exit-trigger offering them a downloadable version of the article can be just the ticket. Never underestimate people’s vulnerability to freebies!
In the case that a user has clicked away from your popup and you want to offer a trial or a demo a second time, after they’ve read your content, an exit-trigger popup works well because once they’ve finished reading, they’re more responsive to your marketing messages.
Scroll-trigger popups
Scroll-trigger popups trigger at defined (specific) scroll depths. As soon as a user scrolls to a certain point on the page, the popup activates.
This type of message works best on long-form content. When a user spends time on your website, it shows that they’re engaged with your content. A timely popup can persuade a genuinely curious reader to give up their email address in exchange for more value…
But where should you set the trigger?
There are two effective options: halfway through the content, or at the end (but before the footer and any “you might also like” links).
But there are certain things you must consider. If there is a lot of text on the page, using a popup will only be intrusive, interrupting the user’s learning process. In that case, move the popup trigger to the bottom of the page when they’ve finished reading the article.
As with anything in marketing, putting yourself in their shoes will help you create the best experience for your visitors. Think carefully about how visitors consume content on your website and use that information to work out where to trigger your popups.
Social proof popups
Social proof popups usually appear at the bottom left of the page. They indicate in real time that another user has just performed a significant action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a deal.
This type of popup provides encouragement and improves trust. “If John and Jane have bought this product, it must be wonderful,” your user thinks.
One huge advantage of using social proof popups is that they’re less intrusive than full-page messages that steal the whole screen and interrupt navigation. They pop up (slide in) and arouse curiosity without being intrusive.
They work best on your homepage, or the product detail page when the user is still forming an opinion that may lead to a purchase.
Mobile popups
As we mentioned in the case of exit-triggers, mobile devices cannot use any popups that rely on a cursor the way a desktop does.
And because desktop and mobile are so different, there are many more things to consider when creating popups for mobile devices. For instance, you can use time triggers for your mobile popups instead of exit-intent triggers.
You should also make sure that your forms aren’t overpowering. As mobile interfaces only offer limited screen real estate, try to achieve a minimalist effect, and restrict the number of fields in your forms.
A word about frequency
If you don’t implement your popups thoughtfully, you will annoy your users.
Once someone gives up their email and resumes consuming your content, imagine how annoying it is if your popup activates again.
In another scenario, where the visitor doesn’t want to fill in their email, a popup that displays every minute makes for a terrible user experience. This kind of harassment may drive them away permanently.
So, to make sure that your pop-ups aren’t infuriating, here are some tips:
Only show popups on a specific page. This way, users aren’t inundated with visual stimuli every time they navigate to a new part of your website.
Limit the number of popups in each session. Show your visitors two or three popups at most per session. Getting up in their faces all the time won’t help your conversion rates.
Don’t show the popup until after an action. If the user has filled in their email address, it would be absurd to show them the signup popup again. Set a 30-day cooldown so that it doesn’t show up again once the visitor does what you desire.
4 strategies for designing high-converting popups
Now that you know some of the types of popups there are and some best practices, all that remains is actually designing your popup..
Details like these are important because in the end, bad copy or crappy design will only lead users away from your website.
Four things you should focus on are the copy, the visuals, the overall design, and color choices..
Control your copy
No matter what your website looks like, your copy ultimately tells the user what your offer is all about. It must be clear and to the point, devoid of any negativity.
Many eCommerce brands use button text that says “Yes, sign me up” versus “No thanks, I don’t like cool stuff”. The first time a user sees that kind of messaging, it is humorous. But it quickly becomes annoying.
Instead of negative language that tries to shame the user into doing something they’d rather not do, use humor, use puns, flex your creative muscles, and engage in some wordplay.
And if your creative juices dry up, just tell them what you’re offering, simply and clearly. You’d be surprised how effective that is.
You can also leverage the power of a community. People always want to feel like they are part of something. Use words like ‘exclusive’, ‘club’, and ‘community’. People find the idea of exclusivity exciting and desirable.
Use that to your advantage!
Focus on visceral visuals
Once you’ve written your popup copy, you need to add images.
Why use images? Images are interesting to look at. Images help to tie your branding together. They work together with copy to deliver a more robust experience to your users.
You can use interesting images, employ visual metaphors, and in short, any trickery you can think of to help your bottom line.
The important thing to note is to keep the images relevant to your offer. Incongruity will often lead to a user exodus..
Design separately for mobile and desktop
To avoid annoying Google and to make the most of the limited space mobile affords, design separate popups for a variety of screen sizes.
Remember that there isn’t so much real estate on a mobile device. Remove background images, as they look confusing when combined with text in the limited space most mobile devices offer.
Don’t use more than two fields in your popup foms. This improves clarity and ensures you collect the most important information.
Lastly, shorten your copy so that it contains only the most important information.
Use color to differentiate the text and CTAs
One way to present your offer clearly is to use contrast to make sure your copy and text ‘pop’. Pun intended.
The CTA needs to be bold so people can easily see it and click on it. In addition, your fonts must be legible, so that users can read and understand your offer.
Use contrasting or complementary colors to guide your users’ attention where you want it, make the fonts more legible, and highlight the CTA.
Be tasteful too, and make sure that whatever colors you choose tie together very well with your brand colors.
Email marketing is king and popups are its best ally
If you’re thinking about including email marketing as part of your strategy, popups are your best friend.
Done well, they can dramatically increase conversions and foster genuine connections with your users in a way other channels can’t.
Put in the work to design and create brilliant popups, and your conversions will thank you with their loyalty and engagement.
Email marketing can be tricky especially if you have little to no experience. If you ever need guidance, . Our team of marketing experts is eager to talk to you.