Why You’re Missing Out If You’re Not Using Popups (Pt 2)

Welcome to part two of our two-part series on how to use popups correctly in your ecommerce store. If you haven’t already seen part one, you can hop on over and read that here.

In part one we looked at:

• What happens when you get your popup wrong
• What happens when you get your popups right
• Different types of popups you can use
• Essential things to consider when setting your popup up.

In part two we’ll be covering:

• How to create a call to action that makes people..errr..take action (including a handy pinnable graphic)
• The importance of branding your popups
• What to do once you’ve got your customers email?
• Software options (FREE & PAID) for you to choose from to get started

But in case you’re still undecided on this whole popup thing, I want to share one example of a small business owner who went from getting her popup opt-in wrong, to getting it so right her email provider reached out personally to find out what she was doing differently! Going from 5 sign-ups a day to over 1300 in a week will do that.

Let’s dive in:

Create a call to action that people respond to

While ‘SUBSCRIBE’  is only a word it doesn’t sit well with lots of people. Why? Well it implies long-term commitment, or that they are signing up to be a part of something they’re not sure they want to be a part of just yet. This can be daunting, and in that split second of doubt they decide to give your offer a miss and just click the back button instead.

Here are some other calls to action (CTA’s) you can use on your popups that have a more positive effect.

• Grab yours
• Join us
• Send mine now
• Sign me up
• Keep me updated

Don’t forget your branding

Yes! Your popup should stand out and get attention, but it needs to feel like an extension of your website. This means your copy, images, colors, and possible fonts should blend in with your branding.

Many of us more savvy net users are familiar with the different popups and overlays that cover our web content now, and we’re not phased by it. But for less savvy users these types of interruptions to their viewing experience can be alarming and concerning. They’d rather back away than find out more.

Coherent branding improves brand recognition, and reassures your customer that your popup is related to your brand and they are not being redirected to spam. One of my favourite free tools of all time for designing graphics quickly and easily has got to be CANVA.

You’ve got their email – but what next?

When someone takes the time to give you coveted access to their inbox, it’s only polite (and smart marketing) to take a moment to send a welcome email – easily customisable and automated with all email marketing services.

Failing to introduce your brand and what they can expect from you is a massive wasted opportunity for you to start relationship building with your customers.

Brands that don’t have some sort of engagement strategy – short of blasting their all too frequent sales at their new list members – will soon be tuned out and quickly unsubscribed from. Don’t be that guy!

I always train my clients to use welcome emails is to see them as a way to also get those mailing list subscribers over to their social channels – places where these new prospects can be exposed to and publically share their content and offers if they like what they see.

One of your goals as an online marketer is to shorten the time span it takes to build a relationship with you where your prospect feels engaged and confident enough to actually buy something. If you have your prospect engaging with you on multiple channels – Facebook, Email, Instagram etc, they will begin to know, trust, and like you sooner.

Okay, so that’s it for this two-part series, but before we go I want to share with you a list of Shopify friendly popup plugins you can use to get started.

• Picreel – Shows a popup right before a visitor attempts to leave your site.
• ExitIntent – Shows a popup right before a visitor attempts to leave your site.
• Bounce Back – Shows a popup right before a visitor attempts to leave your site.
• Pop-Up Window – Standard customizable popup for your store.
• Email Pirate  – Standard customizable popup for your store.
• Smart Popup Box – Allows for email capture and social follows to reveal discount.
• Exit Offers – Only shows a popup if a visitor has added an item to their cart and attempts to exit or close the page.

Not on the Shopify platform? Check out the  App Sumo’s Sumo Me suite of website products which has both a popup and a popout application.

Did you get a lot of insight and value from this article? We’d love if you left any questions or comments you have in the comments, and shared this article with your communities.