Five alternatives to pop-ups

Aaaand sliding into first place to win the not-so-coveted spot of ‘The Interwebs Most Loathed Digital Marketing Tool’ is …

POP-UPS!

Wait, what are pop-ups?

Pop-ups are the opt-ins or ads that, well, pop up on your screen when you visit a website. They’re typically used to capture your email address or direct you to new content.

Marketers and companies that sell pop-up software tend to sprout positive conversion figures when they’re talking about ‘em.

Which means pop-ups aren’t so bad, right?

Well, it depends who you ask.

If you ask Google … well, they’re decidedly anti pop-ups.

In fact, Google now penalises sites using pop-ups that make it difficult for users to access content.

If you ask the public … well, okay, they’re not fond of them either.

According to research from Jakob Nielsen, 95% of web users state that pop-ups impact their online experience negatively and or very negatively.

I did a poll recently on my Instagram and asked my peeps what they thought of pop-ups. 70% of them said ‘kill me now’ at even the idea of a pop-up, while the other 30% were okay with them.

To put that in perspective, seven out of ten people that visit your site could potentially be peeved off by your pop-up.

So, what’s a savvy biz babe to do? You’ve got an awesome opt-in and/or offer to promote. How do you get your visitors to pay attention to it?

I’ve got you. Here are five ways to promote your opt-in and/or offer without using pop-ups.

Five alternatives to pop-ups

1. Use a splash page.

This is a special landing page that promotes your opt-in or offer. You can set it up so that when somebody visits your site they get redirected to that page first. Because it’s a regular full page, Google won’t penalise you for it. And feedback suggests it’s way less annoying than a pop-up.

 

2. Try sidebar ads.

If you have a sidebar on your site (or even just on your blog page), then you can use it to promote your opt-in. It’ll still draw your audience’s eyeballs … without annoying the heck out of them.

 

3. Share a link and/or ad in your footer.

Your footer is a great spot to place a promo for your opt-in because it doesn’t interfere with user experience AND it gives your audience an action to take once they’ve reached the bottom of the page. Win win!

 

4. Promote your opt-in at the bottom of your blog posts.

This is such an easy tweak to your site but it can have a huge impact on your conversions. Why? Because your audience is already engaged and interested in what you have to say. You know that because they’re reading your stuff. Now you can give them something to do that ensures you’ll stay on their mind!

 

5. Use exit-intent pop-ups.

And if you really can’t live without your pop-ups, then why not use exit-intent pop-ups? These are clever pop-ups that track when your mouse is heading for that ‘bye bye’ button and slide in with a quick ‘wait, before you go, have you seen my awesome offering?’ It’s kinda like a last shot to grab someone’s deets before they leave (potentially forever).

And voila – five alternatives to pop-ups that’ll have your audience feeling all kinds of ‘whoa, you’re awesome.’