What's the deal with pop ups and exit pops?

I feel satisfied with my conversions (20-30%) even without pop-ups.

Never have used one, even though they're not particularly difficult to install.

I've also never used one as, let's say, a light box on a blog. On the one I'm working on right now, I think I'll take the liberty to put just a simple opt-in form to the right of some cool content without a pop-up of any kind.

I just think that the positive effects of the more qualified visitors is something not worth passing up. Essential if you want awesome long term relationships with your readers.

Lots of good sites that are interesting to read DON'T have light boxes or pop-ups of any kind on them, and still convert well.

Probably it would piss me off if they did have these pop-ups, because they would interrupt my reading!

By split-testing carefully the proportions of visitors who return and opt in at later visits with and without the pop-up, the point being that if you're willing to measure that, rather than mistakenly assuming that "you either get opt-ins or you don't", you can actually learn what proportion of your traffic a pop-up is driving away, and whether you're making a net gain or a net loss.

Some people do that, and discover that the exit pop-up, even though some people are opting in to it, is actually costing them money overall, because the number of potentially returning visitors they're losing is significantly greater than the number they're gaining on the exit pop-up.

Other people don't quite understand that, and mistakenly imagine that "you either get opt-ins or you don't", and that that's all you need to know to judge whether you're gaining or losing.

I won't keep saying the same thing over and over again, but this is mistaken, for the reasons explained and exemplified above and in other threads.

The proportion of people unnecessarily driven away, never to return, some of whom would otherwise have returned (both parameters can be measured, but as observed above, it's a little bit more complicated than it looks).

No, I agree that it's not rocket science, but it is a little bit more complicated than it looks, because (as explained above rather repeatedly, including with a specific, numerical example), it's possible to have people opting in to an exit pop-up but still make an overall loss on the deal.

If that weren't so, then everyone who ever uses an exit pop-up and has even one person subscribing through it would necessarily be benefitting, by definition, wouldn't they? I certainly don't see anyone alleging that! We can all tell how much it means you to be argumentative around here, but I suspect that even you wouldn't be willing to suggest that (not with a straight face, anyway).

Chris evidently understands it, because he says he's tested it in many different niches, and he agrees that pop-ups can sometimes lose you money.

It might be better if you asked him to explain it to you, don't you think? You seem either unable or unwilling to discuss anything with me without what you say turning into a personal attack of some kind, and that helps nobody.

I've answered it repeatedly.

But just for you, here's the answer yet again: "By driving away people who would otherwise have returned and opted in later". (Nor am I alone in saying this. It's what people who test it carefully for themselves, without assumptions, tend to learn.)

Yet again, I seek to make the point that people should test it carefully for themselves, without making assumptions, and without imagining that just because some people opt in to an exit pop-up that means they're necessarily going to gain, overall, by using one.

I honestly don't know whether you understand it or not, DM. As others have commented in the past, sometimes it's not clear whether you're "just trolling", here. Occasionally you've even admitted that yourself (which was decent of you, I will acknowledge).

If you still really don't get it, then either I've been less articulate than I hoped, or possibly you haven't actually read the thread very carefully. I don't know which, and to be honest I don't really mind much, either.

Over the last hour or so, I've had quite a few PM's telling me that I'm wasting my time, because however clearly and repeatedly I explain it, and however many examples I provide, and however many other people who've tested it extensively agree with me, your response will only be to repeat how much I annoy you and how your friends earn more than I do. I suspect the people telling me that may all be right, too, because it does rather seem that discussions with you are so often destined to descend into ridicule and cheap jibes from your side about things like "who earns more", which I dare say is all very interesting to you, but it actually has nothing at all to do with the point of the thread, and is just a huge distraction and an irrelevance. Nor does it detract in any way from my repeated point that people should test carefully for themselves and not make assumptions.

Anyway, it's taken up enough of my time now, so be my guest and have the last word, by all means. I don't intend to reply again. I've said about 7 or 8 times now that people should test carefully for themselves and not make assumptions, and that was "what I was here to say", however much you disliked it.

Knock yourself out (please).

Just because people are opting in for your 'free gift', or whatever, doesn't mean that you will make any money from them, OR that they will ever return to your site...

What's so wrong with inspiring/motivating your visitors to return with an ad-free (for the most part), uncluttered, easy to read/navigate, informative blog, that provides a great user-experience?

Are we really so desperate that we have to have a pop-up everytime someone arrives, tries to leave, attempts to scroll down, or EVEN when they try to BOOKMARK the page. And what's with disabling the 'back' button.. Do we think that a user doesn't know where they want to go or, that if we forcibly hold them on our site, somehow they will decide to stay??? LOL!!!

(Ok, so it's probably an attempt to reduce 'bounce' penalties but, if you need that, doesn't it indicate that perhaps you are doing something very wrong?)

I don't care about the 'numbers'.. personally speaking, if my content, resource box, and offer isn't good enough to inspire people to join my list, then I need to put more work into it.