Should You Use Popups?

I hate popups.  They are annoying.  However they work.  If you are building an email list then, trust me, popups have been known to increase an email opt-in list. 

Why Use a Popup?

One thing to consider when thinking about using popups is that popups are annoying and you don’t want to annoy or chase away your online visitors.  Think of it this way though, if you are offering something that your customer really wants then a pop up will not deter them from staying on your site. 

Another thing to consider when determining whether or not to use a pop up is your content.  Do you fill your webpage with value or are you offering second rate content?  If you are offering value then a pop up will not chase a visitor from your site. 

One very good reason to use popups to build your email lists is the phenomena known as inattentional blindness.  Wiki.org defines this type of blindness as “a failure to notice an unexpected stimulus that is in one’s field of vision when other attention demanding tasks are being performed.  Think about this definition and imagine what is happening to your email form that is in the side bar of your site, especially if you have really good content.  The reader will be so focused on your content that they will not notice your email form.  So it really is in your best interest to use a popup to get the reader's attention and hopefully their email address.

What Are The Numbers?

Wpbeginner.com makes a big claim regarding the percentage increase of opt-ins they experienced once they started using a popup.  Prior to the use of the popup they claim that they got 70 to 80 new opt-ins per day.  After installing the popup they claim that their email signup rate rose 600% to 445-470 new subscribers per day.  The popup plug in that they used to bring about such an increase is Optin Monster.

Kissmetrics.com has also released some noteworthy data regarding popups.  They report that Socialmediaexaminer.com experienced a 375% increase in their email list between January 2012 and January 2013.  Nearly 70% of that increase was attributed to the sites popup form.

What Could Go Wrong With Popups

Sometimes a popup can interfere with your sites functionality if it is not performing properly.  A popup that is not operating properly could leave a floating box over your text that will force the reader to exit out of the page in order to get rid of it. 

Another thing to be mindful of when using popups is the number of times your popup appears.  People who are fully engaged in reading do not like to be interrupted.  One popup could be forgiven however no matter how engaging your article might be a popup that appears to the same visitor each time they visit your site could leave a bad taste in the reader’s mouth and consequently hurt your brand.  To rectify this you could always use popups that allow you to set them on a timer. For example, you could set the popup to only appear to each unique visitor once every thirty days.   

Conclusion

To use popups or not use popups that is the question.    Popups have definitely increased opt-ins for some users.  They definitely get your attention.  The conversions do happen especially if you offer a value filled site with a good opt-in offer.  I think that a lot of success could be had with the use of popups if they are used correctly.  It's like so many other things, it is often not what you do that matters but how you do it.

If you learned anything new from this article then please leave a comment.