Email pop-ups are ubiquitous in the online world. Almost every website you visit seems to have one eager to capture your email address in exchange for a discount, newsletter, or other incentive. While they can be a powerful tool for building your email list and increasing conversions, a poorly designed pop-up can quickly turn visitors away.
Unfortunately, many pop-ups fail to meet this standard. Intrusive timing, irrelevant offers, and clumsy designs can quickly turn potential subscribers into frustrated clickers. Poorly designed pop-ups can damage your brand image sms promotional campaign and hinder your lead generation efforts.
However, a well-designed popup can be a powerful tool. By providing clear value, appearing at the right moment, and respecting the user experience, popups can be effective in capturing leads and growing your email list. In this article, we’ll equip you with the knowledge and strategies to design email popups that not only convert, but also leave a positive impression on your visitors.
Reasons why most poorly designed pop-ups annoy visitors
Timing and appearance of invasiveness
This is a common reason most users don’t think about before creating an email popup. For example, a popup with a spinning wheel disrupts their browsing flow and feels intrusive before they even see your website. The same goes for displaying a popup when someone lands on your page. This appears pushy and dismissive of their intentions. It prevents them from exploring your content and understanding your value proposition before you even ask for their email.
Websites that use large pop-ups to block the content users are trying to access are disruptive and hinder their progress. This forces users to take unnecessary detours by closing the pop-up before continuing with their intended task, thus creating frustration and slowing them down.
Additionally, pop-ups that overlap essential buttons, menus, or calls to action make it difficult or impossible for users to interact with the site as intended. This disrupts the natural flow of their experience and hinders their ability to achieve their goals.
Lack of relevance and value
Most pop-ups annoy visitors because they don’t provide value in exchange for their precious attention and email addresses. Here are three main ways that pop-ups lack relevance and value and cause visitors to annoy.
Display generic offers : These do not cater to individual needs. For example, a generic pop-up video in an online clothing store offering a 10% discount on skirts will not appeal to someone who is specifically interested in shirts, hats, or shoes.
Sometimes, these offers tend to feel impersonal and spammy. They show a lack of effort to understand the visitor’s interests. Additionally, too many generic options can overwhelm visitors, reducing their engagement.
Unclearly stated benefits : Offers that fail to effectively communicate the value proposition can easily 9 best popup builder software in 2024 annoy visitors. Visitors need to understand what they are getting in exchange for their email address. If the benefits are unclear, visitors may question the legitimacy of the offer.
Additionally, visitors may close their tabs quickly if it requires more mental effort to engage. A mobile popup that can’t be easily deciphered will most likely be closed by visitors who are doing multiple things on their phones.
Mismatch with content : Pop-ups about irrelevant content interrupt visitors’ attention from the page they are actively engaging with. It often feels irrelevant and out of place. For example, a pop-up offering a shoe discount in the middle of a blog post about gardening creates a jarring disconnect. This inconsistency between content and pop-up messaging demonstrates a lack of attention to detail and personalization, and damages a brand’s trust and credibility.
Difficult to dismiss pop-ups
Having to click through multiple layers of website pop-ups or go through a multi-step process just to close them feels like being trapped in a maze. It’s unnecessary and time-consuming, adding to the feeling of being forced to do something you don’t want to.
Some pop-ups have multiple buttons, some of which are disguised as “fake” close buttons that lead to further actions that you don’t want.
Imagine being engrossed cell p data in an article and a pop-up appears, only to find a tiny “X” hiding in the corner, forcing you to hunt for it while trying not to accidentally click and trigger the action you were trying to avoid. It’s a frustrating interruption that feels like a game of hide-and-seek, leaving you in a passive, frustrated state. No one wants to go through that experience.
Pop-up frequency is too high
Human cognitive resources are limited. Constant pop-ups overload our attention, leading to fatigue and frustration. When pop-ups appear frequently, especially with aggressive close buttons or multiple steps, visitors may feel trapped. Excessive pop-ups create a sense of desperation and reduce the credibility and professionalism of a website. Visitors may perceive them as a tactic to force information collection, eroding trust and potentially damaging reputation.
Basic principles for creating user-friendly pop-ups
Non-annoying pop-ups are designed to enhance user experience and engagement without interrupting or irritating your visitors. Here are some principles to follow when implementing non-annoying pop-ups:
1 – Timing
Use targeting rules to show popups at the right time, such as exit intent . This allows you to show popups only when a user has spent a certain amount of time on your site or is about to leave. Immediate popups interrupting a user’s browsing experience can be annoying.
2 – Relevance
Make sure the content of your pop-up is relevant to the user’s current activity or interests. Use what you know about your audience to personalize the offers they see. Personalize messages based on user behavior or demographics to increase their relevance.
3 – Value Proposition
Communicate the value proposition of the pop-up in a clear manner. There’s no need to be vague or unclear. Let users know what they’ll get by using the pop-up, whether it’s a discount, exclusive content, or helpful information.
4 – Easy to fire
Make it easy for users to close your popup if they’re not interested. This shows that you respect their time even if they don’t engage with your popup. Include a clear and prominent close button and make sure users can find it easily.
5 – Frequency
Limit the frequency of pop-ups to avoid overwhelming users. For example, if you designed your pop-ups in Poptin, you can set the display frequency to show only once a day, every few days, or always. It all depends on the strategy you adopt, but keep in mind that showing pop-ups too often can frustrate visitors and lead to a negative perception of your site.
6 – Aesthetic Appeal
Design popups that are visually appealing and fit in with the overall aesthetic of your website. Many popup builders offer full customization options, so you can make your popups visually appealing using high-quality images, fonts, and colors.