Website popups have developed a reputation for being intrusive and rather annoying for users. And many website visitors will tell you they even hate seeing popups.
As a result, you might be tempted to drop popups from your marketing arsenal altogether.
But wait a second. Are popups always awful? Only if you use them the wrong way.
When used the right way, popups have features that convert more website visitors into valuable leads and customers without eroding their user experience.
Fortunately, in this article, you’ll learn why popups are vital to conversions, 15 popup examples that can inspire your design, popup best practices, what Google says about mobile popups and more.
Let’s get into the details.
Why are popups vital to conversions?
Marketers who continue to use popups do so because it results in high conversions. Here are the reasons responsible for that:
Popups guarantee maximum views
When you set up a popup to show up on a specific page, every visitor to the page who meets your conditions will see the popup. You won’t get This level of exposure on other marketing channels such as social media, email, search engines, or even your sidebar lead capture form.
Apart from popping up in front of the visitor, another advantage is that it promotes a single offer that the visitor can understand within 30 seconds. As a result, you can eliminate the risk of having too many choices.
What’s the significance of this? If you have a highly relevant lead capture form that has boasted a high conversion rate on a blog page or landing page, popups will increase conversions due to more exposure.
Read this guide to learn how to create popups in five easy steps.
They allow you to capture emails for targeted sequences
Considering that you can set your popup to trigger based on page, time on page, amount of page scrolled, and many other factors, it’s easy to capture leads based on their interests. For instance, if visitors on your website submit their details in a popup to get more valuable content, you can automatically add them to an automated email sequence for lead nurturing.
This allows you to add leads to personalized email sequences, which increases your chances of converting them to customers.
Popups make it easy to share promotional offers
Nobody says “no” to promotional offers for a product they want to buy. But it’s impossible to exploit a promotional offer you’re unaware of.
Popups on product pages allow you to call a visitor’s attention to a promotional offer they love. Also, popups about promotional offers can be site-wide if the promotional offer covers all products or services.
Pro tip: Read our Guide to Ecommerce Email Marketing to learn other ways to grow your online store.
They make it easy to acquire user feedback
What do visitors think about your website? Why are they leaving? What products do they want that are unavailable? What does a customer think about a newly purchased product?
With feedback popups on the right pages, you can obtain more information about your audience to improve your marketing campaigns and services.
Here’s an example of a feedback popup from Neil Patel:
He can obtain more details about visitors – their needs and challenges – and even qualify leads through this.
Types of popups
There are many types of popups, depending on the conditions set for the popup delivery. Here are 5 common types:
Exit-intent popups
Often, website visitors exit a page and never come back. With the right popup, you can capture their details before leaving or bring them back to engage with your content for longer.
Thus, exit-intent popups can reduce bounce rates on essential product pages. They trigger when a visitor moves their mouse towards the “x” button at the top of the browser tab.
Time-delay popups
Some offers are more successful when delivered to engaged users. And one crucial signal for engagement is the time spent on a page.
Time-delay popups trigger when a visitor has spent an amount of time on a page.
Here’s an example of a popup form template that asks website visitors to follow the brand’s Instagram account:
Scroll popups
Like time spent, the portion of page scrolled can be a signal of the level of engagement. If you think a visitor who has navigated 50% of a page has a high chance of taking up your offer, then a scroll popup at 50% of the page can increase conversions.
A scroll popup triggers when a visitor has scrolled a portion of a page.
Click popups
When a visitor clicks on a page link, they already have an idea of your offer. That’s why a click popup will likely capture more leads than other popup types.
Click popups trigger when a visitor clicks on a page link. In most cases, the page copy would have explained your offer a bit.
Entry popups
Even though entry popups are generally rare, they’re useful for the right offers and common on ecommerce websites. As the name implies, entry popups trigger a few seconds after a visitor lands on a page.
Also, entry popups can be in the form of welcome mats for visitors. So, you’re saying “welcome to this page” but also making an offer in exchange for their email. For this to work, the offer has to be highly relevant to the visitor. Here’s an example by Jeff Goins:
Of course, you can experiment with these different types of popups and track the one with the best performance for each page.
15 popup examples and what you can learn from them
Here are great pop up examples from 15 websites around the web:
1. CountryLiving
About: An exit-intent popup that promises great dinners after stressful workdays.
CountryLiving is an American lifestyle and home magazine. This popup is highly relevant to the audience as it shows up on a page about chicken dinner ideas.
Frankly, it’s difficult to go wrong when you connect with your audience’s problems. And this popup copy has stressed the benefits that most viewers on this page are looking for. The value proposition is clear and on point.
For instance, they’re looking for easy dinner recipes that won’t waste their time after a stressful workday, and the copy promises that. The image is beautiful and shows the end result a viewer is trying to achieve.
Moreso, the call to action (CTA) text defines the benefit, which is to see the recipes. Besides, you can easily dismiss this popup by clicking on the “x” button or outside the popup.
2. Social Triggers
About: An exit-intent popup that lures you back with a sweet bait: 5,000 subscribers for free?
Social triggers is a marketing blog by social media marketing expert Derek Halpern. This is one of the best pop-ups you’ll see. It uses a simple copy that’s super attractive to his audience. I mean, learning to acquire 5,000 subscribers is attractive, but for free? You can’t go wrong with that.
He also promises to teach through real-world examples. This copy makes the popup irresistible to his audience. Likewise, the call to action button color is noticeable, and the popup is easy to dismiss with a simple text beside the call to action.
If you’d like to use a similar approach, as is visible in this example, I’d watch out for the bold claim. While Social triggers can most likely deliver on their promise, most marketers won’t be able to do that. That said, even if you’re going to use a smaller number in your headline, it’ll most likely work great for your online business. Especially if you make sure the design’s eye catching and whoever sees the popup had the chance to get familiar with your brand (it’s not their first time on your site).
3. Tim Ferriss
About: A time-delay popup that promises a life-changing ebook.
Tim Ferriss is a self-help guru and author of The 4-hour Workweek. This popup uses a simple but powerful copy since his visitors are trying to change their lives. Also, his audience knows what they’ll get with the call to action text.
Beyond that, Tim uses a smiling picture of himself, which is attractive. The popup is a 3-step popup that allows viewers to enter their email address and access the book. Finally, it’s easy to dismiss and has no annoying text under the CTA button. Truly a great example of a popup that’d help you build an email list if you’re a content creator, consultant, or author.
4. Misen
About: A sharp entry popup that promotes a contest.
Misen is a kitchen utensil company. For their ideal audience, there are few things better than winning a knife. Also, Misen uses clear copy to mention the benefit and the odds of a subscriber winning.
This clarity makes their marketing honest and more appealing to their audience. The design is simple with a lot of white space and block font. With the Misen-branded knife image and a prominent CTA button, the viewer has little choice other than enter their email address. Notice the name field missing? That’s how simple an experience Misen wants for their visitors.
5. Jeff Bullas
About: A welcome mat that says, “submit your details and double your traffic.”
Jeff Bullas is a marketer who runs a popular marketing blog. But rather than make an offer about many marketing topics, the popup has focused on increasing traffic alone. Due to the narrow interest, it’s easy to add subscribers to an email drip campaign.
Also, the attractive image depicts the ebook a subscriber will receive. Beyond that, the image design and the call to action button color fit the website’s overall design. The form is eye-catching, simple to fill out (has only two input fields), and has strongly contrasting colors. A great example that likely gets many email subscribers.
6. Esquire
About: A time-delay popup that wants to change your perspective with Netflix documentaries.
Esquire is an American men’s magazine about fashion, politics, culture, and more. This popup offers a lead magnet of the best documentaries in exchange for the visitor’s email address.
Any viewer can easily see the green CTA button color and text. Also, the black-and-white image looks like a picture from one of the documentaries, and it can pique the viewer’s curiosity. Easily, you can dismiss through the “x” button or by clicking outside the popup.
Once again, there’s only one input field, which makes the form simpler, which offers you to build an email list faster.
7. Old Navy
About: An entry popup that throws a 20% discount at you. Just because you’ve earned it.
Old Navy is a clothing and accessories company for men and women. In light of this, how can they go wrong with a 20% discount? Even if they are not ready to buy, they’ll sign up just to get that discount.
In addition, the copy is short and states the benefits for a potential subscriber. Beyond the discount, Old Navy lists other benefits for a subscriber like getting information about new arrivals, big deals, exclusive sales, and more.
This offer is highly relevant to a shopper. Also, the image displays smiling people using their products. Furthermore, the CTA button color is obvious, and the text states the benefit.
If you’re an ecommerce business, you’ll want to build your email list with these kinds of pop ups.
8. BigCommerce
About: A straightforward time-delay popup asking for a trial. Free, of course.
BigCommerce is an ecommerce platform. Even though this popup is on a blog post, it’s relevant to the post which is about ecommerce website designs.
Here, this popup example is just making a clear and simple offer. Likewise, it makes the offer totally risk-free for potential users with the “No credit card required” line. Finally, there’s an image of an ecommerce store that further explains the benefit.
Although this popup wouldn’t help you grow your email list, it’d help you drive more conversions – which is the metric most marketers are really interested in.
That said, the success rate it would generate would mostly rely on the type of post the visitor was reading. If it was a typical top of the funnel post, then it’d most likely result in a bounce. But if it was presented on a blog post announcing a new feature, then it’d have the chance of succeeding.
9. Help Scout
About: A scroll popup that makes obsession admirable.
Help Scout is a customer service tool. For their audience, the popup copy is short but powerful and convincing.
Here, Help Scout expects readers to be “obsessed with delivering great customer service” considering its importance. Furthermore, the popup is as non-intrusive as a popup can be as it covers no or little part of the page content.
The copy also uses social proof as it mentions the exact number of people (251,101) who have already subscribed to the list.
The fact that they’re using a specific number of subscribers seems more probable, especially that it’s an odd number. Keep this in mind if you’d like to take advantage of this approach and use such a form on your blog.
10. SmartBlogger
About: A highly relevant time-delay popup for freelance writers.
Smartblogger is a popular blog that provides writing tips and training to freelance writers and bloggers. The copy in this popup is simple and provides a benefit that most freelance writers are looking for: to make more money writing.
It’s specific by mentioning the amount a writer can earn per post ($200). Also, the word “Free” pulls attention, and by using the yellow color for the word, it becomes even more obvious.
The blue CTA button calls attention, and the text “Teach Me” fits the context considering that Jon Morrow (SmartBlogger founder) is an expert freelance writer.
Some marketers say that it’s a best practice to use the first-person copy in your CTAs, as it will help you establish a more personal bond and focuses more on the visitor and you (the marketer).
But before you dive into this tactic, just A/B test it and see if it’s going to work better for your audience and positively affect your email list growth.
11. Chubbies
About: An entry popup with an offer to contribute $5 to your swim trunks purchase.
Chubbies is an ecommerce store selling men’s shorts. Here, there’s a simple offer of $5 in exchange for the visitor signing up for the rewards program. The popup is highly relevant because it’s on a product page for swim trunks.
There’s a sense of urgency as visitors can start using their reward today, even though it doesn’t say specifically that this offer’s available in a limited time. It’s easy to dismiss by clicking outside the popup or using the “x” button.
In terms of design, it immediately captures visitors’ attention. It uses bright colors, a prominent headline, and a call to action you can’t miss.
If you’re going to try and imitate this example, consider the monetary value you’re offering. $5 discount may be appealing if your products cost between $20-50, but it won’t be all that interesting if they cost above $200.
12. Backlinko
About: A click popup that unlocks exclusive content.
Backlinko is a top search engine optimization blog. Here, Brain Dean (Backlinko founder) is using gated content to capture more leads.
Clicking on the “Unlock Now” button below the gated post triggers the popup. The popup design is simple with lots of white space, and the fonts and green color fit Backlinko’s overall design.
Also, the image displays the beginning of the post the visitor is trying to unlock. Using a word like “Exclusive” makes the potential subscriber feel special. The progress bar tells the viewer there’s one more step to unlock the content.
13. Revolve
About: An entry popup that promises a 10% discount in exchange for the visitor’s email address.
Revolve is a Los Angeles clothing company for men and women. For an ecommerce website, an entry popup can work quite well. After all, who will be annoyed at a popup promising a 10% discount?
The popup design is simple with lots of white space and simple black fonts. With the black color, any viewer can quickly locate the CTA button. Also, the image is captivating as it’s the ideal look a visitor wants to have.
Another thing this design has done well is the personalization options. Revolve can send highly relevant emails to people who select any of the genders and increase their chances of converting leads into customers.
This example could work just as great if it was presented when the visitor was about to leave (especially if they had something in their shopping cart). This would help reduce the shopping cart abandonment and increase conversions.
14. Digital Marketer
About: An entry popup using a live virtual workshop as a lead magnet to attract digital marketers.
Digital Marketer is a popular digital marketing website that provides insights and training for marketers. Considering this, the popup topic will always attract their interest.
Potential leads will also see a live workshop as more valuable than just another blog post or ebook. Moreso, the CTA text indicates that registration is free. Another significant part of this popup is its green CTA button which contrasts with the popup’s blue background to make the CTA obvious.
15. Loaded Landscapes
About: A scroll popup that photographers would rush to fill.
Loaded landscapes is a website about landscape photography. As a result, the offer is highly relevant to its audience.
The popup copy is specific about the number of presets it would offer to subscribers. Moreover, the CTA button color is distinct and the text mentions the benefit.
Popup best practices for optimum conversions
Having mentioned 15 popup examples and their accompanying lessons, here are 7 popup best practices to keep in mind while creating your popups.
Stress benefits for your audience
“What’s in it for me? (WIIFM)” is a big concept in marketing, and that applies to popups as well. Why should a visitor submit their details to you? A popup must have a meaningful value proposition (for instance, a lead magnet) that a visitor sees as a good exchange for their details.
Popups should show up at the right time
Timing can be the difference between a new lead and an annoyed visitor. Unfortunately, there’s no perfect timing for every popup. Therefore, you need to experiment with your popup timing to find the best performance.
Create popups that fit into stages of the sales funnel
Technically, a popup is an “interruption” to a visitor. To make it less of an interruption, a popup has to fit into your overall sales funnel. Is a page at the top, middle, or bottom of the sales funnel? The popup has to reflect that too.
For instance, showing a discount offer popup on an informational blog post is a mismatch as the visitor is likely at the top of the sales funnel while the popup is at the bottom. On a blog post, a lead magnet such as ebooks or checklists would be more suitable.
Create popup designs that fit your brand aesthetic
If a visitor sees your popup and thinks, “is this an ad from another company?”, then your popup design is poor. A popup design should feature your brand color, fonts, and voice. Essentially, it should be an extension of your website.
Optimize popup copy and CTA
In a popup, you just have a few words to convince your audience. Therefore, a lot of thought must go into it. You have to deliver your message as briefly as possible.
Another essential part is the call to action (CTA) button and text. The button must call the viewer’s attention and the text must mention the benefits a viewer will gain.
Track marketing goals and perform A/B tests
How do you judge the success or failure of your popups? By comparing results and marketing goals. Like every marketing campaign, you have to continuously experiment with your popups to improve your marketing results.
By A/B testing different elements, you can see how each popup variant performs in terms of your conversion goals. Some elements you can test include CTA text and button, popup copy, color, type, and more. A best practice to observe is to only test a single element at a time so that you can identify the changes responsible for your results.
Read more:
1. 15 Spectacular Popup Designs That Bring Results
Create popups that are non-intrusive and easy to dismiss
While you want all your visitors to convert into leads, you shouldn’t try to force it. For every visitor who hates popups or is uninterested in your offer, they should have an easy way to exit. You can achieve this by making the “x” button evident at the top right corner and/or allowing visitors to click other parts of the page to exit the popup.
Also, you have to avoid using annoying sentences under the CTA button such as “No, I don’t want to improve my life.” For mobile popups, you have to be especially careful. In a blog post, Google said pages with intrusive popups may rank lower.
However, Google didn’t outrightly forbid the use of mobile popups. If you’re using popups on mobile, you can use delivery modes such as header, footer, or slide-in popups.
How to create popups on GetResponse
To reap the benefits of popups, you can create popups on GetResponse in a few easy steps.
How to create popups for your website built with WordPress or another builder
If you’d like to use popups to be displayed on your website, just head over to Forms and popups in the main menu.
Click on create and select “In a popup”.
Pick a popup template you’d like to use and edit it to fit your website’s branding.
Once you’re done, click “Next”.
Then, you’ll have the option to choose what will trigger your popup (e.g. time on page), how often it’ll be shown (e.g. every visit), and whom you’d like to present it to (e.g. only mobile users).
Finally, you’ll get to choose what pages your popup will be displayed on, and you’ll get the JavaScript code you’ll need to place on your website to make it work.
These are your best three options if you want to add the popup on your WordPress website.
- Paste the JavaScript code manually into the header section (best option).
- Add it through the Google Tag Manager (more advanced)
- Install it through an external JavaScript installing the plugin (least recommended)
If you choose the first option and are using a WordPress theme, just go into the Theme Editor, find the Theme Header on the right side, and paste your JavaScript code at the bottom.
Here’s a full video walkthrough of how you can edit the popup and add it to your WordPress website:
Create popups for your website or landing page built with GetResponse
If you want to create a popup to be displayed on your website or landing page, first access the GetResponse Website Builder.
Then choose if you’d like to create a website using one of the prebuilt templates or using our AI Website Builder.
If you chose to use our ready-made templates, choose one that matches your brand best.
Once you chose the template, you can create a popup directly in the Website Builder arena or embed an external popup using a Custom code element. Let’s start with the first option.
To add the popup, simply drag and drop the “Popup” element to the arena and add all elements you want to include in it – image, form, text, etc.
Once you’re done editing, you can publish your website, and your popup should be displayed according to your settings.
And what if you wanted to use a popup created using our new Forms and Popups feature or another tool? Just drag and drop the “Custom code” element to the arena and paste the Javascript code.
And there you go, you have now created your popup and can start capturing leads!
Conclusion
Despite the negative opinions about popups, they still continue to be a vital tool in converting website visitors into leads. Popups that promote their offers without adverse effects on user experience capture leads that, otherwise, would have left your website, never to come back.
Do you use popups for your marketing campaigns? If you’re just planning to start, what are your favorite popup types? Share your popup experience in the comments.