Pop-up not so black, or how to use it without putting off your customers

If pop-ups have so far been associated with intrusive advertising, it’s time to change that way of thought, because they can be a very useful tool. Learn how to use popups to expand your newsletter database, as well as what Google thinks about them and how they affect eCRM.

Probably most of us know what pop-ups are. We see them on the Internet every day. The history of pop-ups dates back to the end of the twentieth century. It is then that they appeared for the first time, during the Internet boom. At first, they were mainly used for advertising, but today they carry far more possibilities.

Do pop-ups have to be annoying?

Perhaps many of us associate pop-ups with annoying advertising. This does not have to be the case, however. Pop-ups are a great tool. You just need to know how to use it properly. If we are too obtrusive, you will probably discourage customers. A well-designed and well-used pop-up will allow getting a positive effect.

The advantage of pop-ups is that they draw the user’s attention. It can, therefore, be used to promote the content you want to reach the customer. These may include, for example, temporary promotions, special offers or upcoming news.

Image 1. To encourage a customer to leave his email address you can offer them a discount code.

Pop-up with a newsletter signup

This is one of the most common pop-up applications and a very effective way to generate leads. When the user stays on the site, an attractive pop-up comes up, encouraging them to leave their email address. Internet store owners often use incentives in the form of discounts that the customer gets if they subscribe to the newsletter. This makes it a win-win situation: for the store owner, because another email address lands in their database, and for the customer who has received a discount on purchases.

What if you do not want to offer discounts?

Not every seller wants to offer discount coupons, especially to new or prospective customers who have not bought anything yet. This is a very individual matter and every online store owner has to take that decision themselves. Are there any other ways to encourage a customer to leave an email address? Yes, you can inform your customer that they will receive information about news, promotions and discount coupons for special occasions upon subscribing to your newsletter.

Image 2. If you don’t want to give discount codes, there are other ways to encourage a customer to sign up for a newsletter.

Do not be intrusive

Surely you have come across websites where pop-ups with the incentive to subscribe to a newsletter appear immediately after the page has loaded. This is not a good idea. First of all, you are discouraging the user at the very start, making it difficult to access the content. This may also be reflected in the SEO of your website. At the beginning of this year, Google introduced an algorithm that makes search engines drop pages that use mobile pop-ups that block access to content, such as those that appear immediately after entering the website and cover it in its entirety.

This way, Google has come to the users’ aid. It is worth taking this policy not as a hindrance, but as a good advice on UX and giving up pop-ups that hinder access to content also in the desktop version. There is another argument in favor of such a decision. If you suggest customers to subscribe to your newsletter immediately, it is unlikely that they will leave you their email address. After all, how are they to know if they want to receive news from you, before they can get familiar with the content and your company’s offer?

Is there an alternative?

An exit pop-up is a great solution. It appears when the user moves their mouse cursor outside the page, which may indicate that they want to leave. A pop-up appearing at this point will attract their attention, and at the same time will not interfere with browsing. Also, it will appear when the user has already viewed the page, knows what the company offers and whether they are interested in receiving additional content.

What do pop-ups have to do with eCRM?

Obtaining email addresses is more than just expanding your mailing list. It is also the basis for engaging customers with marketing automation and eCRM systems. Having an email address, the system connects it with data about the user’s behavior in the e-store. For example, it may send a customer a shopping cart recovery message, even if they are not logged in to the store.

Image 3. edrone pop-up creator

Design your pop-up with edrone

edrone is an eCRM system that aims to get to know and engage e-store customers. It works by sending automated, personalized messages to customers, but as mentioned earlier, an email address is required. Therefore, within the edrone system, you can easily create your own pop-up to get the leads. It is easy as pie and allows quickly creating a pop-up, so you can expand your newsletter database and run a successful marketing campaign.

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