Pop-up is a subject that’s been discussed a lot on the web. There are plenty of confusions as to what it is, how it works, and especially how to make it useful. It also doesn’t help that visitors are already trained to immediately close a pop-up in disgust after years and years of pop-up abuse by spammers. However, when done correctly, pop-ups can be a welcome addition to your website, keeping your visitors informed while boosting your marketing value.

Here we will discuss the basics of pop-ups and in the end you will learn how to get the most out of your pop-up system while still keeping your visitor happy.

First, the basic.

What is a Pop-up?

According to Wikipedia, pop-ups are

…a form of online advertising on the World Wide Web intended to attract web traffic or capture email addresses. It works when certain web sites open a new web browser window to display advertisements.

That explanation, in general, is true. There are exceptions that pop-ups can be used not only for advertising, but for other purposes such as informational content and multimedia display. Most pop-ups show up on a new window, but the more modern one can also show up as a new element on the currently opened page: it works like a window (can be dragged, resized, closed), but technically it’s not a new browser window so it’s one less confusion for visitors.

For a marketer and website owner, pop-up is a way to direct the attention of a visitor to a certain information. Since a pop-up shows up on top of your content, visitors are immediately attracted to it. This is a double-edged sword: people might get annoyed when what they’re reading is suddenly covered by a pop-up. However, if done correctly (by taking care of placement, making it easy to move or close), it can be beneficial for both visitors and site owners.

What Pop-ups are For

There are plenty of uses for pop-ups, such as:

• Opt-in e-mail marketing. People input their name and e-mail address in exchange of subscription to your newsletter or other offers. Many affiliate marketing experts swear by having an e-mail list of consumers, and pop-up is considered one of the best way to do it.
• Surveys. You can conduct quick surveys and polls with pop-ups as a mean to gather attention.
• Special offer. You can also use pop-ups to let visitors know about currently available special offers on your website.
• Information. A pop-up can also be used to display a more detailed information for something on your website. For example, a real estate listing can display thumbnails of a house that when clicked will show more details about it: number of floors, rooms, and so on.
• Multimedia. A recent development is the use of a new kind of pop-up, called “lightbox”, to display multimedia contents such as images and videos. When these contents are shown, the rest of the website is darkened to give more emphasize to them.
• Advertising. 78% of respondents are “very annoyed” by pop-up ads according to a study by GartnerG2, so it’s best to use it for this purpose with caution.

Types of Pop-ups

There are different kind of pop-ups depending on when and how they show up. Knowing what’s best to use is crucial to get the most out of your pop-up system.

• Entry Pop-ups: Shows up right away when a visitor opens your page. This is the one that gets dismissed frequently.
• Exit Pop-ups: Shows up when a visitor closes your page. Good for last time offers, reminding visitors about things they might have missed, and so on.
• Delayed Pop-ups: Shows up after a certain time have elapsed after a visitor opened your page. The theory is that if the visitor stays long enough in your website, they have shown interest about your content and the pop-up can help give them more useful information and offers.
• Triggered Pop-ups: Shows up when a visitor interacts with certain elements on your page. Information and multimedia pop-ups belong under this category.
• Pop-under: This is the kind of pop-up that shows up on a new, initially hidden tab or window. With this, visitors are not shown with your pop-up content right away. Instead, you give them the option to see it by actively clicking the new tab or window. This is the most unobtrusive kind of pop-ups.

The Importance of a Good Pop-up System for Affiliate Marketers

The number one use of a pop-up system in affiliate marketing is for building an opt-in e-mail list. An opt-in e-mail list is a list of subscribers who have shown interest to what you are selling and are most likely to buy more from you. You build this list by offering your visitors with related, useful contents (members-only articles, newsletter, or free ebooks, among other things). In exchange, they give you their e-mail address which you then use to contact them later. A pop-up is how you bridge this exchange of information: you show great offers for your visitors and at the same time show a subscription form in one pop-up window.

As explained by this article, by having an opt-in e-mail list you can:

1. Increase your sales conversion
2. Generate repeat sales
3. Up-sell and cross-sell products and services
4. Gain valuable feedback from your visitors
5. Drive web users to make offline purchases

A pop-up system provides the placement and prominence of an opt-in form, making it an essential tool for anyone who want to boost the subscription rate for their website. There are many different pop-up systems in the market, though, so finding the best pop-up system for your website will be a crucial first step.

WordPress 4 Internet Marketing aims to help you find the system that works best for you. First we’ll provide a list of useful features you should look for when choosing a pop-up system for you website. Next, we will also provide a comprehensive list of reviews for the most popular pop-up systems in the market. There will also be a list of alternative systems you can use, all with varying degrees of features. So stay tuned, and subscribe to our RSS feed if you haven’t.

Some Tips to Make Pop-ups that Visitors Love

Here are some goods ideas you can implement to make a better pop-up:

• Have relevant contents. This is the most important thing to keep in mind. People will appreciate more information and offer if they’re relevant to their needs.
• Make it easy to move and close. A good pop-up can be moved in case it’s covering up what a visitor is currently reading or looking at. It should also be easy to close: even your most loyal visitors might not have a need for a pop-up, so it’s best to honor them by making it easy to dismiss your message.
• Have a clear privacy policy. If you’re using pop-ups to gather people’s information, make it very clear that you are going to keep that information private. Mutual trust is key.
• Give it an interesting visual style. Check if your pop-up system allows it to be custom-styled. If possible, give it a nice, interesting look that will attract more views and make it a pleasure to use.
• Don’t use too much pop-ups. Even if all your contents are relevant, keep the number of pop-ups at minimum to keep it comfortable to browse your site.
• Test, test, test. In the end, do a lot of test and keep what works. Pay attention to when, where, how it should show up.

Finally, keep in mind that pop-ups can be good or bad to your website depending on how you use it. Those who do it right will reap the benefits that can be difficult to get with any other way. Keep our tips in mind and go build great, useful pop-ups for your visitors!