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Are Popup Opt-in forms really a smart business move?

by David Braybrooke
21 replies
I'm torn whether or not to install one. They do markedly increase opt-ins in many cases and hence profits. Pop-unders are a little less intrusive.
Or should I just install a static one above the fold?

I know this topic has been raised before but web trends change from time to time. The more obtrusive the opt-in form is, the better the 'free offer' should be? Free trip to Hawaii if you sign up?

Thanks for your comments. (no first class enquiries).
#business #forms #move #optin #popup #smart
  • Profile picture of the author icoachu
    I use popup domination and it has literally exploded by email collection. I have email collection sections on my blog network but without the popup they are flat. The great thing about PD is you can't close them with a popup blocker.
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    • Profile picture of the author David Braybrooke
      Originally Posted by icoachu View Post

      I use popup domination and it has literally exploded by email collection. I have email collection sections on my blog network but without the popup they are flat. The great thing about PD is you can't close them with a popup blocker.
      I Googled Popup Domination and have read so many stories from disgruntled purchasers! The sales page sounds Amazing! But the narks?
      Sleeping on it ...
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      • Profile picture of the author icoachu
        Originally Posted by David Braybrooke View Post

        I Googled Popup Domination and have read so many stories from disgruntled purchasers! The sales page sounds Amazing! But the narks?
        Sleeping on it ...
        I use it and I am happy with it. I'm not gaining anything mentioning PD. Just trying to help other webmasters looking for a powerful way to get email addresses.
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        • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
          Banned
          Things like "Pop-Up Domination" are good for people looking for a quick/easy way of "opting in the highest possible number of visitors" without giving much thought to the purpose of list-building and its underlying continuity-processes.

          Much of this thinking rests on the (deeply mistaken) belief that the biggest list built from the traffic is also necessarily going to be the list that will produce the most income. Many people have reliably found, through split-testing, that this actually tends not to be the case at all, and there are reasons for that. (I've regularly found that with my own split-testing of opt-ins and list-building, in slightly different contexts).

          Misunderstandings and erroneous assumptions are rife, throughout this subject. Many of them rest, ultimately, on a fundamentally flawed and unhelpful "quantitative" approach to internet marketing.

          I haven't tested Pop-Up Domination myself (and won't), but my former clients who have, have abandoned it.

          As a simplistic, theoretical example only, it would be easy to imagine that opting in 40% instead of 20% of the visitors would mean that you have all the same people, and 20% more, too. It doesn't actually work like that. What you'd typically have, to a significant extent, is different people, and they may well include a far smaller number of real customers (and there are reasons for that being quite a likely outcome). Don't fall into the trap - as so many do - of "measuring by numbers rather than by quality".

          Test for yourself, by all means, but don't try to judge the outcome just by "the numbers of people opting in"!!

          On the subject of pop-ups and their alternatives, this thread may interest you: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post4985800

          And on the subject of list-building in general, this thread might be helpful to you: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post6123982
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  • Profile picture of the author dcristo
    I have the same predicament. I have no doubt it increases opt-ins but wonder if that's at the expense of something else.
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  • Profile picture of the author dcristo
    Gosh you sound like a 65 yr old already hitting the sack at 9pm. The night has just begun.
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    • Profile picture of the author David Braybrooke
      Originally Posted by dcristo View Post

      Gosh you sound like a 65 yr old already hitting the sack at 9pm. The night has just begun.
      Cheeky! I have sleep apnea so tired is the new 'now'!
      Do I really want to focus on email lists with the rise of social media? Decisions, decisions.
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      • Profile picture of the author Troy_Phillips
        Originally Posted by David Braybrooke View Post

        Cheeky! I have sleep apnea so tired is the new 'now'!
        Do I really want to focus on email lists with the rise of social media? Decisions, decisions.
        With the rise of social media can you afford not to build a list.

        In the 12 plus years I have been doing this I have witnessed many things rise and many things fall. The email list is still strong.
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        • Profile picture of the author David Braybrooke
          Originally Posted by Troy_Phillips View Post

          With the rise of social media can you afford not to build a list.

          In the 12 plus years I have been doing this I have witnessed many things rise and many things fall. The email list is still strong.
          Thanks Troy,

          Stats that I've been reading, from believable sources, are stating that email is on the way out, especially for younger demographics. The future of online marketing is increasingly heading towards social media apparently. Cheers
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  • Profile picture of the author Dan A
    We have found that introducing the signup form at an appropriate time increases our sign-up rate.

    Typically for us that means (I'm speaking primarily about a site/blog with content) after the visitor has spent time reading and scrolling. Then towards the bottom of the page, slide in a form with a nice offer.
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  • Profile picture of the author gustoking
    Unfortunately, they do work! if your main goal is to gather email etc.

    But, if your primary objective is sales, than maybe not best always.. also depends on your price point.

    Say if you doing $997 offer with 4 exits on sales page going down to like $99 its going to be like dude WTF? but if you got main offer for say, $47 and you down sell max to $37, than maybe a another one for email capture and the last capture goes straight to the payment page.

    When downselling in terms of sales, if youi do too much just looks desperate and de values the offer.
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  • Profile picture of the author Troy_Phillips
    I suggest using an exit pop up. This way you are not interfering with readers and are only bothering those that are leaving anyway. That is .. if you just must use one.
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  • Profile picture of the author WriterWahm
    I've had this dilemma too. I get really irritated when I see popup opt-in forms and I'm not sure I've ever signed onto an email list from one. Still I've heard it really works for list building. Do you think a form right beneath a post, like the one Pat Flynn uses might be a better option?
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by WriterWahm View Post

      Do you think a form right beneath a post, like the one Pat Flynn uses might be a better option?
      I do - far better.

      (And I think a pop-under is a far less intrusive and alienating form of display, to many people, than a pop-up, too.)

      Many people make broadly the same mistake with exit pop-ups that they do with other pop-ups: they see that some people are completing them, and they say to themselves "These people were leaving anyway, so that's all gain". :rolleyes:

      The reality, of course, is very different.

      What they've typically failed to take into account are all the people who would otherwise have returned to the site, but don't, once they've seen an exit pop-up. They really do put some people off!

      Again, proper split-testing, correctly interpreted, can allow for this, but few people do that. It's much quicker and easier to say to themselves "Well, this stuff must work, otherwise so many people wouldn't be using it, would they?", not realising that such a high proportion of them are people who didn't test adequately themselves but simply made the very same mistaken assumption!
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      • Profile picture of the author MissTerraK
        I've not tested them myself, however, from a consumer standpoint, I can tell you that I hate them.

        When I'm looking to purchase something, I shop around and if I am barraged with popups while trying to leave a site, I won't return, period. They are beyond annoying. They scream desperation at times and at others make me feel as though I'm trying to be trapped. I think to myself if you have to resort to trying to trap me and hold me hostage to your site, then you have no confidence in what you offer, and so neither do I.

        Sorry if that sounds ridiculous, but that's how I feel. And if I feel that way, what are other visitors thinking? Just some food for thought.

        Terra
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      • Profile picture of the author Troy_Phillips
        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

        I do - far better. And I think a pop-under is a far less intrusive and alienating form of display, to many people, than a pop-up, too.

        Many people make broadly the same mistake with exit pop-ups that they do with other pop-ups: they see that some people are completing them, and they say to themselves "These people were leaving anyway, so that's all gain". :rolleyes:

        The reality, of course, is very different.

        What they've typically failed to take into account are all the people who would otherwise have returned to the site, but don't, once they've seen an exit pop-up. They really do put some people off!

        Again, proper split-testing, correctly interpreted, can allow for this, but few people do that. It's much quicker and easier to say to themselves "Well, this stuff must work, otherwise so many people wouldn't be using it, would they?", not realising that such a high proportion of them are people who didn't test adequately themselves but simply made the very same mistaken assumption!
        If you noticed in my post I said an exit pop up would be my choice if I felt I needed to use one lol. I can't stand the things in any form personally. Of course this comes from an old fool who still prefers two or even three stage squeezes to anything else.

        I am a firm believer in, if I have made the person jump through hoops to get there they will be more responsive. This means I am probably getting 25% less sign ups at the end of the day but those I do get want to be there.
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  • Profile picture of the author mootonandy
    I recently installed popup domination but I can see from my stats that a lot of people bounce off the site when it pops up. Only got 1 opt in over about a 2 week period.
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    • Profile picture of the author Michael Shook
      I don't like them. If I am going to sign up for something, I will do that. But a jumping up box is not going to entice me to subscribe.

      I realize the world is not run on what I like or don't like, if that was the case nobody would have ever made Nutella, but I also have to live with the business I am running, and if I dislike something because it is rude and annoying, I won't be subjecting someone else to that.

      I am testing a home page like copyblogger and big brand system to see how that converts. So far that works on the home page. I suspect that between using that design and an optin after each post, is probably going to be the best results for me. But that remains to be seen yet.

      Or vegimite either. :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author ResultsDriven
    When in doubt... Test it.

    The only thing that matters is results and it can and will vary depending on the lander, the offer, the audience, and the creatives.
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    • Profile picture of the author cjreynolds
      Just my personal preference - If I have to put up with a pop-up opt-in, I'd rather wait till I've read some of the site's content to see if I would even be interested in reading more. When I get to a site that puts an immediate opt-in in front of my face, I always close it and browse the site for awhile before making that decision.

      There was a day when, if the site looked good at all, I would opt-in right off the bat. But that was many years ago, and I'm considerately more "internet enlightened" now, as are most internet dwellers nowadays.

      But then, as many here will tell you, "I am not my customer", therefore take my preferences with a grain of salt
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      I just added this sig so I can refer to it in my posts...

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    • Profile picture of the author smallbusinesstoolkit
      I`ve put pop up on one of my websites .
      It is actually direct marketing blog, after 3 months literally 0 subscription , even when I gave "bait" - free ebook , still the same .
      Blog has about 2k visitors a month.
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