What our web developers need to update asset downloads and announcements quickly and easily.
What are Promotional Pop-ups?
Promotional pop-ups on your site are small windows that appear on your site, based on a user's action or based on a timer. They can appear at the top of your page above the header, in the middle of the page, in one of the lower corners, or pretty much anywhere!
Pop-ups can be used for welcome messages, announcements, discounts for adding an email to a newsletter, to download an ebook or whitepaper traded for an email address, new blog post announcement, a "before you go" message, event or webinar registration, and anything you want to promote for lead generation.
Tips for Effective Pop-ups
- Highlight the benefit. What is the value you are offering? Why should someone provide their content information for this asset? What is the reward for their action?
- Timing is everything. Make a good first impression. A good rule to follow is to figure out the average time spent on your website and have the pop-up activate after 30% of that time has passed. For example, if the average time on the site is 3 minutes, multiply by 0.3 and set your pop-up to appear after 1 minute on your site.
- Match your brand. Continuity with your brand builds trust with visitors. No one wants to feel like they've been beamed to another site!
- Be relevant. If you sell seasonal items or your business has seasonality, for example, make sure your pop-ups help visitors find what they need today.
- Prominent and actionable CTA. Make it easy to take action.
- Only ask for information you need. The less information a user has to provide, the more likely they are to convert.
- Easy to dismiss. Don't abuse your users with annoying pop-ups that are difficult to close, they might just go to a competitors site.
- No snark. Stay away from passive-aggressive language, like "No, I don't want more email subscribers because I don't care about my business". No one likes snarky.
- Responsive. Make sure the pop-up works on all devices and is easy to close on mobile.
- R-E-S-P-E-C-T. If someone closes your pop-up, respect their decision during this visit. It can be pretty annoying to have to keep closing it while browsing your website.
- GDPR. Make sure to include opt-in consent language to cover your basis.
Pop-up Examples
Below are some examples of pop-ups and where they can be placed.
How to Implement a New Promotional Pop-up?
Unlimited Web Dev & Graphic Design Plan
With our unlimited web development plan you steer the ship. You have an idea and we get it on your site. You can work with your Strategy Coach to answer these questions to get started!
Step One: Collaboration
- What is the goal of the pop-up? Is this to download an asset for email capture? Is it an announcement? A "before you go" message?
- What information do you want to collect? At a minimum, you will want to collect an email address. Be sure to keep it simple to drive conversions.
- Who should the information you collect go to on your team? We will need their email address.
Step Two: Content Creation
- What is the message you want to use? We will need the exact copy you would like to use. Typically this is a headline, a tag line, and a short description.
- What would you like the CTA button to say? Popular CTAs are "Download" and "Sign-up Today" - make it actionable!
- Would you like a thank you page to redirect a user to after they fill out the form? If so, what would you like that to say?
Step Three: Design
- Is there a graphic to use? An image of your ebook, infographic, or any other asset is a great addition to a pop-up.
- Do you have a style guide for our graphic design team? This will help them design a pop-up that is consistent with your brand. No guide? If you can provide a sample of what you like, we can design it to match your current website theme.
Step Four: Develop
- Where do you want the pop-up to appear? It can show up in the center of the screen, across the top as a banner, slide in from the side on the bottom of the window- our team can work with you on what is possible!
- When should the pop-up be triggered to appear? Is it appropriate for site-wide use or best used on service pages, blog posts, or other pages?
- How would you like your thank you page set-up?
Step Five: Pre-Launch Testing
- What do you think of the pop-up before we make it live on your site? This is your opportunity to get it exactly how you want it to look and act.
Step Six: GO LIVE!
- Once you have approved the new pop-up, our team will make it live and test the form. We do any final troubleshooting and let it loose upon the world.
Awesome, But I Need to Update My Promotional Pop-up! What Do I Do?
You have two options. One, you can simply send in a ticket with the information you want to replace (title, tag line, description, asset) and any changes to the form or who should receive it or Two, contact your Strategy Coach for help!
