How to get the most out of your pop-up. Capture attention, collect more zero-party data, and convert more site visitors.

An email list is unarguably the most important asset that a business owns.

It’s the only source of traffic that you can tap into whenever and however you want without paying for it.

Social media is cool, but you don’t own or control your audience on those platforms. You’re subject to the whims of Meta or the government’s oversight on tik tok.

Building a great website that’s optimized for SEO and generates organic traffic each month is awesome. But SEO can change. And while organic traffic is awesome, you can’t target it.

Paid Ads are probably the best way of driving regular traffic and getting new eye-balls, but do you have enough capital to scale up your paid ads? And when does the cycle stop?

Your email list is yours. And always will be.

You can use it to build relationships with your customers, develop community, increase customer LTV, and generate consistent monthly revenue.

So how do you build a great email list…?

It starts with one thing.

A pop-up and an offer.

Why A Pop-Up?

Pop-ups are annoying…

They add friction between a new site visitor and a purchase…

They don’t look good…

Whatever…

They WORK!

Pop-Ups consistently perform better than embedded forms and fly-outs.

The best performing Pop-Ups can convert at over 10%. Some even convert over 20%.

Pop-Ups do one thing REALLY well.

They grab attention.

So if you’ve got a simple design, eye-catching image, good copy, and a great offer…

A pop-up is going to be successful.

Types of Pop-Up Offers to Use

There are multiple different types of pop-ups that you can use and many different offers to test.

Some offers that I’ve seen used and used myself with good results include:

• Discount code
• Free shipping
• Free gift
• Spin the Wheel (might seem overused, but it converts like crazy)

Test different offers and see which ones do best. You can also cycle through different offers depending on the time of year and other sales/promos that you might have going on.

You also have a variety of styles of pop-ups that you can use.

• Timed 
• Intent 
• Exit 
• Product viewed

You don’t have to bombard a visitor with a pop-up the second that they land on your page.

Timed pops work really well. You can delay your pop-up to only show after 5-10 seconds. Meaning that you’re going to have subscribers with a higher buying intention.

You can also have pop-ups that are triggered by certain clicks or product pages.

And you can have pop-ups that are triggered when someone goes to exit the page.

“WAIT, before you go. We have something special for you.”

Pop-ups aren’t a one-size-fits all. Try on some different ones and see which one(s) fit you and your brand. (And which ones convert!)

Getting A Micro-Commitment

I more than doubled the conversion rate for a client by making this one small change.

It wasn’t a different offer. Or a change in the style of pop-up. Or adding a timer.

All I did was get a micro-commitment.

Rather than asking for an email in exchange for a 10% off coupon…

Start with a pop-up that asks if they want 10% off. Or if they’d like free shipping. Or a free gift.

With two options

“YES” and “no” (you could get creative with the no, but make it smaller than the Yes button)

When they’ve clicked YES, then ask for email.

By getting that micro-commitment earlier, you increase the chance that they will give you their email address.

Collect More Data

How much friction is too much friction?

Many people will tell you to ONLY ask for the email.

Don’t ask for any other information because it can cause too much friction between you and that juicy email address.

But here’s where I disagree.

I want a little friction.

Because I don’t want just any email addresses.

I want emails that have a higher intent.

Plus, if you look at the data… there’s no real drop off with pop-up conversion when you ask for a few additional pieces of information.

So start with getting a first name (you want to personalize your emails right?) and then grab a few more key pieces that’ll really help you target your customers as you create campaigns.

Sportswear and apparel? Ask what sports they play or how they exercise.

Food and beverage? Ask for favorite drinks or snacks.

Supplements? Ask which ones that they’ve tried before

Don’t ask for their life story. But subscribers are more than happy to share a little information if they know that it’ll help them get personalized suggestions.

As a general rule I stick to three questions. But I’ve seen data showing that you can go for as many as five before seeing conversion rates drop.

Test it.

Collecting Phone Numbers

I’d be amiss if I didn’t mention collecting phone numbers as well as email addresses with your pop-ups.

SMS marketing is another powerful way to connect with your subscribers. So if you’re not already doing so, make sure to start collecting phone numbers.

Here are a few do’s and don’ts for collecting phone numbers…

DO… follow all of the rules. Whichever platform you are using to collect cell phone numbers will walk you through these, but you are going to need to make sure you are compliant with all rules and regulations around SMS marketing.

DON’T… ask for an email address and phone number at the same time. Use a two-step form and ask for email and phone numbers separately.

DO… have a special offer for SMS marketing. Are you giving away 10% off discounts for email? Make your SMS discount worth 15% or 20%. Incentivize your SMS channel.

Targeting Specific Customers

If you stop reading now you’re going to be in good shape.

But if you want to get more granular… 

Did you know you can set up specific pop-ups to target customers based on where they are coming from?

Starting a Facebook ad campaign? Set up a unique pop-up that only shows for people that click from that campaign.

Want to re-target customers? Set up a pop-up that only shows to customers that have bought a particular product.

You can create pop-ups that are unique to where the person is coming from, what device they are on (more on that in a minute), or other data that you have.

As much as I’d love to dive into the “how” of this, that’s going to have to wait for another blog post.

Optimizing for Mobile

For one of my clients, almost 60% of their pop-up views come from mobile devices.

My guess is yours are probably about the same (depending on your target demographic.)

But at a bare minimum, you’re probably going to see 50% of your pop-up views come from mobile devices.

So if you aren’t optimizing your pop-up for mobile, your conversion rates are going to suffer.

With mobile devices you have less space to play with. So eliminate any large photos and go with something smaller that really pops (pun intended.) And minimize copy so that it’s easily readable.

If you’re concerned about the negative effects that this might have on desktop conversion, then create a separate pop-up for mobile.

As with everything else… test, test, test. 

Testing and Updating Your Pop-Up

With all of my clients, I include at least one pop-up test or update per month.

That’s because your pop-up should always be fresh and seasonal. It helps new customers build trust and view you as a “living, breathing brand.”

In addition, you can always play into different seasons or holidays with your pop-up to make it even more relatable.

And just because you have a pop-up that’s converting at 10% doesn’t mean that it’ll never drop.

Also doesn’t mean that you can’t get to 15% or 20%.

Never stop testing, updating, and improving your pop-up.

It’s the heartbeat of your email list.

Because the second your email list stops growing… it starts dying.

Summary – TL;DR

Whew… we covered a lot there.

Here’s a quick breakdown:

Why A Pop-Up?

• They work!
• Pop-Ups convert better than embeds, or fly-outs

Types of Pop-Up Offers to Use

• Spin the Wheel
• Free Shipping
• Free Gift
• Exit Pop-Up
• Timed Pop-Up

Getting A Micro-Commitment

• Get a “YES” before asking for an email

Collect More Data

• Bare minimum… get a first name!
• What else could help you personalize your emails?
• How much is too much?

Collecting Phone Numbers

• Do collect phone numbers
• Don’t ask for phone number AND email at the same time
• Do have a unique offer for SMS

Targeting Specific Customers

• Where are you running ads?
• Target people coming from Facebook, Google, Insta, or tik tok
• Create specific offers and welcome emails

Optimizing for Mobile

• At least 50% of site visitors are on mobile
• Either optimize or create two different pop-ups

Testing and Updating Your Pop-Up

• Keep your pop-up fresh and “seasonal”
• A/B test frequently
• Make sure to monitor the important metrics

What Should YOU Do Next?

1. Follow me on LinkedIn and Twitter for daily email tips and what’s working now
2. Leave a like or a comment on this post to let me know what you thought. 
3. If you need an email list manager for your brand or business, send me an email at ben@henkenmarketing.com or fill out this form and I’ll be in touch.
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