Whether you like them or not, the reality is irrefutable… popups (or pop-ups, whichever you prefer) simply work.
And when a popup is done well, it converts like crazy and can add substantially to your email list.
5 Rules Of High-Converting Popups
1. Don't have pop-ups on your site that are difficult to close.
Even the best popup can leave a potential subscriber with a bitterness and resentment toward your brand if he or she can’t make it go away effortlessly.
Make those little shutdown X’s nice and clear.
2. Delay your popup from showing at first.
Don’t allow your pop-up to show the second someone lands on your site.
Instead, set it to show after they have been engaging with your content for at least 30 seconds.
Even better, set them to show when your reader is showing signs of exit intent. After all, you have nothing to lose at that point.
3. Each pop-up must be relevant to an action or content.
Make sure pop-ups are always highly relevant to the content, so be specific about which pages they show on.
Don’t show a popup to your lead magnet about gardening on blog posts relating to pet care or dog nutrition.
4. Don't ruin the page experience for your visitors.
Make sure pop-ups don’t interfere with your reader engaging with your post. So make sure they don’t obscure your text.
What does this mean exactly? If you’re using a full page pop-up, you can cloud or darken the page underneath it. But, if your pop-up is a less intrusive box for a lead magnet that stays on the page or floats, make sure it doesn’t get in the user’s way.
5. Use behavioral triggers and cookies, so you don't annoy anyone.
How often have you been enjoying content on a blog and find yourself closing pop-up boxes or exit intent boxes designed to entice you to join an email list when you’re already a subscriber?
These days, there’s no excuse for this. It’s lazy and sloppy, as there are tools designed to ensure that your pop-ups are only directed at relevant candidates. After all, if someone already subscribed to your email newsletter, why force them to keep closing the sign-up pop-up?
Try not to show your pop-up to people it’s no longer relevant for. You wouldn’t show a newsletter pop-up to someone on your list already, or promote one of your products they have already bought.
Use tools like ConvertKit or Akzis.shop to hyper target your site visitors.
