Should I use a pop-up on my blog?

[Gary Jinks]

Hey Guys,

I'm wondering what the feeling is about subscriber pop-ups on a blog?

After split testing my results show that the pop/fade-in out performs the in-line form significantly (on my blog anyway).

My worry is that a pop/fade-in feels far more intrusive on a blog than it does on a straight sales page.

What do we think?

Gary

[ProfitMan]

You're going to have to test mate.

Whichever you get the best results then this is the right answer.

[SEOsoftware]

Do not use popups man, you will loose your bookmarks this way!

[Texas_Guns]

I've never used pop-ups on blogs, personally. One big
reason is because I immediately X out of a blog if one
pops up on a search. They drive me crazy.

There are better ways to get subscribers on a blog.

Hook them with good content first, offer a valuable
ebook, report, or whatever on the top left or right
side bar that is above the fold is one way...

[DotComBum]

It would be better if you put it into side bar so those repeat visitors don't have to close the pop-up every time they return to it.

[BurgerBoy]

I hate pop-ups and so do most other people. I leave a site with PUs just as fast as I can and I never go to that site again.

[Kevin AKA Hubcap]

Have you ever tried one of the pop-ups that come from the bottom of the page. (footer ads?)

They're less intrusive but I don't know how they perform.

[JayXtreme]

I've built some BIG lists with light boxes on blogs..

Like ActionPopUp from Robert Plank..

But.. and it is a HUGE one, I often found the return visitor rate on the blogs was extremely low after they got the freebie. Not so bad if you have them on a list and develop a further relationship through content etc...

But if you are looking at the blog as a running concern, I would probably advise against it.

It's good to use them on blogs for list building, because:

a) Plenty of blog content to get high search engine ranking

b) You can flash the list option at them right away

Use the content as bait in the search engine and then hook the traffic on the blog with the pop up (although, as I mentioned, I use ActionPopUp, not a shady pop up)

Peace

Jay

p.s. Ian Del Carmen has a cool Footer Ad software that you might wish to use, too/instead. Great way to collect names without being intrusive.

[livewellfinancial]

I thing you should not used pop-up in your blog, you will loose your bookmark....

[tandren544]

Test it, but I'd have to advise you against using popups.

They never worked well for me.

[ericmartinez]

Well it depends what you are trying to do with your blog.

I have a blog in a niche that I do not care much for emotionally.
I rank #1 in my keyword with 257,000,000 competing pages.

Here is what I do which is pretty sneaky, but works for me.

I have content, real valuable content, on the site.
I am not gathering a list because, quite frankly, I don't want to get further involved in this niche.

Google crawls and indexes my content.
I bookmark and link-build my homepage and content.

BUT... I overlay a popup with an honest an sincere message. I tell them..
"I'm sorry.. this website has slowed down and become out-of-date. If you are still interested in ____ please click here ---Webmaster"

The link redirects them to a better content site that I am also an affiliate for.

What has this done for my commissions? Before I used to make only $30/month in commission. After implementing this, my commission skyrocketed to $250/month.

Originally I used to do this same technique but with an opt-in box that would only display on the persons first visit. I had great results in getting people to opt-in.

If you feel uncomfortable, let them know in the opt-in text that you know they are probably annoyed but just to bear with you for a moment because the content is just too good for them to miss out on. Make your opt-in only display once for that person. Then tell them you will never show them that message ever again. (kinda adds scarcity especially if you do not have another inline optin box) (you would have to implement some form of ip address logging and check their ip address with a database of previous visitors, if you can't do it outsource it to elance)

Hope this helps and offers a different viewpoint.
Forcing people to take action does not have to be rude. Just apologize and give them a good reason for it.

[Valeriu Popescu]

I just delete the popup (fade) from my blog couple of minutes ago. It doesn't perform well for me. I will try a footer ad but I'm still uncertain this a good idea. Anyway, I will test it to see the results.

Valeriu

[shoaibonline]

hi warrior
Do not use pop-up on your site because people "ll shift from your site to another site.A pop-up ad appear meant that you were either on a page that distributed illegal software or looking at something that isn't suitable for the eyes of under 18-year-old.

[Robyn8243]

Action Pop Up by Robert Plank, which was mentioned previously, allows
you to set up as an exit pop so you are not disturbing anyone until
they are getting ready to leave.

Personally, I am only annoyed by pop ups that do not allow you to
close easily. If a site has good content, the fact that there is a pop up
would not affect my decision to visit again. Some people may find
them annoying, yet many marketers who track and test everything have
found them to be effective.

Ultimately the only way to determine your best strategy is to test and
track your results.

Robyn