The pop-up window can be annoying, especially if you visit a website and get hit with a half a dozen of them. But there’s a reason why so many internet marketers use pop-up windows on their website. They definitely have a place for many sites because they can work.
The thing is to learn how to use them without turning off your customers and potential customers. Below are some tips for effective use of pop-up windows.
Pop-Up Windows – Limit Them
If you are going to use pop-ups as part of your Online Marketing strategy, limit the amount you use on your website to just one if possible. People probably won’t find it too annoying if there’s just one. If you’ve ever been on a site with more than one, you’ll know it feels like blatant spam most of the time.
Give People A Choice
Make it easy for people to close the pop-up window if they don’t want to view it. There’s almost nothing that will turn people off a repeat visit more than feeling trapped into reading a message. Twisting someone’s arm with Online Marketing is not a good way to win over customers.
Make It A Good One
The best way to make the pop up effective is to use it to entice people. You might open a pop-up chat window with an online sales assistant that could help people through a sales process or you could make a squeeze page that offers something if people visit a site or sign up for a subscription or special offer. When you offer people help or something that brings them value, they probably won’t mind the intrusion of a pop up window.
A lot of people use pop-up blockers so that they don’t have to read these types of messages. You might choose to instead put it on your screen instead of through a pop-up window. Or, you could advise visitors that they may need to disable their ad blocker in order to view a special message.
Analyse Your Online Marketing Results
It’s important to test and analyse results when you implement this type of Online Marketing on your website. You might do some split testing with and without the ad as well as with various types of content, fonts, and colours in the window to see which results work best.
It’s pretty typical practice for websites to use this method to try to stop people from leaving before they buy and to capture their permission for future marketing pains and if you do things well, this type of online advertising could prove very lucrative for you.
About Sean Rasmussen
Great article with some good tips. We have experienced an increase in traffic recently but I think that can be increased using the tips that are outlined above.
Hi Sean,
Interesting post. I have a pop-up blocker and so, I don’t really get to see them. I never worry about disabling the blocker to see the message. I’m not sure how effective they would be. Maybe other people like them, though. I would have to try it.
Hi Sean
I would have no problem with using pop-ups in online marketing as long as it was only one per site.
I think they are effective when leaving a site and a deal is offered before you leave, Sometimes the deals are really good like the price of a course slashed by 50%.
As far as my own personal blog site goes It would be unnecessary to have one.
Hi Elly,
You’re right; sometimes you are offered a great deal in a pop-up when you’re leaving someone’s site. Sometimes I really dislike that the deal in the pop-up is cheaper than the one I was considering on the site.
I feel like I would have been ripped off if I’d purchased the offer on the site only to find out that I could have got it cheaper in the pop-up. But, on the flip-side, now I know if I want to buy something just exit the site and chances are I’ll be offered a cheaper deal in a pop-up.
Pop ups just annoy the absolute crap out of me…I have a slow internet connection as it is…i can see the commercial value in having them re giving away a free newsletter or an exit offer, but to me they just take away from the content of the site.
Thanks Jody,
that is something we can think about by seeing another aspect of it.
I can understand from your point of view why pop ups are so annoying.
Hi Sean,
I have to agree that pop-ups need to be used with caution. I’m also inclined to agree that offering a big discount on something because I’m leaving the site could have a negative effect.
I think it’d be better to say something like, “it may not be at this price again so grab it while you can” I think it better to offer an extra gift rather than reducing the price.