How to Do Website Pop-ups Right

Want to know how to get the right promotional pop-up message out there without being overbearing?

Believe it or not, website pop-ups are still a thing and can easily become your secret sauce for growing your subscriber list and promoting your business, especially if you are in e-commerce. Just make sure you don’t disrupt the customer experience by placing your pop-up in the wrong place, at the wrong time.  

For example, if you have a 50% off sale or a new line coming out, you’ll want your visitors to know about it! So, what is the best way to spread that message without interrupting your viewers’ experience on your page?

Here are two tips to make your pop-ups less annoying while converting:

1. Set your pop-up behavior

Had no idea you could set a pop-up timer? Well you can and it’s easy! You can set your pop-up to appear at a later time, usually no less than 45 seconds, to give your customers time to land on your site and browse it a bit before getting overwhelmed with a pop-up.  Waiting just this short amount of time will ensure they don’t accidentally click the ‘x’ on the pop-up or miss out on a discount. You can also set your pop-up to appear once a customer has scrolled through a certain percentage of your page, say half way through, or just before they go to leave, giving them one last chance to consider making a purchase or signing up for your newsletter.

2. What is the first thing that should appear on my pop-up?

Your promotion!!! Think of the last time you stepped foot in a store. Do you recall seeing signs throughout the store pointing you the right section or informing you of a new sale for a product?

Did those signs interrupt your shopping experience or enhance it? Promotional pop-ups in a store work the same way on your website; don’t interrupt the experience and grab your viewers’ attention without being too much. 

Here are some examples of promotional pop-ups include:

1. Offering promo codes while the user is still shopping

Website Pop Up Example

BONUS

Here are a couple more important things to keep in mind when it comes to your website pop-ups:

1. Make sure to have a subscribe form

Be sure not to overlook this step! Although your promotion should always be the first thing your viewers see when your pop-up appears, don’t miss out on an opportunity to convert them into newsletter subscribers.

2. Pay attention to your conversion rate

Because pop-ups come in all shapes and sizes pay attention to the message you are trying to convey to your website viewers and the content you are covering. The great thing about any of these types of pop-ups is that you can change it at any time.

Some examples of different pop-ups include:

1. Middle of the page. This type of pop-up will go directly over your content and appear when you set it to.

2. Floating bar at the top or bottom of your page. This type of pop-up will always appear on your page, but is less intrusive to your viewers because they can control their experience as to whether or not they utilize it or not.

3. Full screen. Be smart when it comes to using this type of pop-up.

When using any of these types of pop-ups it is important to know your why and what goal you want to achieve. Is it converting a certain number of viewers? Regardless of your goals, be sure to set up conversion tracking on your website. By doing this, you can monitor how many viewers saw your pop-up and how many clicks were generated and where. All of this can help inform you what is working and what is not to continuously make your pop-ups more meaningful to your audience.

All in all, websites pop-ups work. They are the secret sauce that gives an incentive to new subscribers, but if done wrong or too often they can easily deter someone from returning to your site. The best part? Setting these up correctly takes only a few minutes of your time. And it can tell you a lot about your site and your customer’s journey map. Just be sure to take time to plan the design of your pop-ups so they reflect your business and your brand.

Have questions about how to update your website or what type of pop-up is best for your site? Comment below!

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