How to Effectively Use Popups in Your Ecommerce Strategy?
- August 22, 2022
Do Popup Ads Work?
Though pop-up ads generally have a bad rep, they actually work when used well. You only have to look at some stats to get an idea as to how. Sumo tested almost 2 billion pop-ups, of which the average converted at 3.09%, and the best at 9.28%. You’d have between 92 and 274 subscribers a month for those kinds of numbers, even if you had 100 visitors a day. There are several reasons why pop-ups work, including the following:- Pop-ups are visible to everyone: Users have a 100% viewing rate.
- Pop-ups can deliver engaging messages: When properly implemented, a pop-up message provides a prompt precisely at the right time.
- Pop-ups offer value: Well-placed, relevant pop-ups give value to the audience.
- Pop-ups are difficult to ignore: Unlike an inviting sidebar blog subscription button or a footer advertisement, a popup is (by definition) seen by every web page visitor.
Generate a Sense of Urgency and Boost Seasonal Sales
Seasonal sales bring about an influx of eCommerce shoppers, particularly around the Christmas period. More than 60% of Americans prefer to buy holiday gifts online. Let that sink in. This information translates into fantastic opportunities to boost season sales with smart placement of marketing pop-ups. In fact, there are many ways to go about this, from promoting Black Friday sales to offering exclusive discounts for your most loyal customers. Let’s look at some of the urgency strategies you can use to boost those seasonal sales:Entry Pop-ups
Direct your visitors straight to the sales section of your website and ensure that the copy in the ad emphasizes not missing out. You can use actionable words such as hurry, be quick, and exclusive deals to do this. However, be certain that the popup brings them directly to the pages where they can shop the sale products, since what’s the point otherwise?Countdown Pop-ups
Of all the types of pop-ups, by far, countdown pop-ups create the greatest sense of urgency. According to psychology, people tend to value things on offer more than anything else.
Showing a sense of urgency and excitement has been proven effective. In a specified period, you can convert more website visitors without any further distractions.
During these times of intense rush, it is also hard for consumers to reject a deal, especially when they find it fits their standards. eCommerce marketers should take advantage of this opportunity by creating time-limited, targeted offers.
Put a countdown timer on your popup to prompt your prospects to take action immediately. You can also add a picture and emphasize the clear and upfront offers to visualize the offer.
First-Time Visitor Pop-ups
There is no better season to be excited about, pretty much anything, than the winter holidays. During this time, new visitors can convert, and relationships built.
Show first-time visitors an enticing popup that displays a deal too hard to refuse, along with a popup that welcomes them to your website.
Since Christmas is such a busy season, you likely won’t get another opportunity to form a lasting impression if you miss this. Establishing a good relationship early on with your new buyers increases their loyalty and brings about brand affinity.
Use Exit-Intent Pop-ups
A spike in abandoned carts is inevitable throughout the holidays, too, as most eCommerce shops can attest. Because everyone has their own set of promotions to attract customers, keeping up with the fierce competition is one big challenge in itself.
The good news is that exit-intent pop-ups offer some potential for overcoming this obstacle.
As the visitor approaches the exit, they are triggered. You can use exit-intent pop-ups to encourage them to retake another look, offer additional discounts, or other attractive offers.
Emotional Impact and Privilege
Sometimes it’s just a simple design with a clear message that inspires emotion. The key here is to hone in on empathy as it helps you tap into the user’s intent, where they are in the journey, and what value they will find in the next step.
When looking to create empathetic pop-ups, there are a few things to consider:
Use Relatable Language
First and foremost, the type of language you use to write the copy for your pop-ups matters. Most marketers get pop-ups wrong, forget about a user’s feelings, and end up shoving unhelpful information into a user’s face.
Think about the words you are using and how your user is going to relate to them. Are you using language they understand? Does your copy have a human behind them? What sort of feelings do your words arise?
Give Your User an Option
Prospective buyers want to know they can make their own decisions when they visit your impressive eCommerce store. This isn’t to say that you cannot influence their choices, but freedom remains very important.
Ensure they can quickly and efficiently exit a popup should they not wish to be redirected or see it. Also, be sure they aren’t bombarded with overloaded information they didn’t ask for by clicking on the popup.
Inspire to Act
Every marketer wants to know how to inspire their website visitors to act. However, if you’re not careful with how you use pop-ups, you could end up doing exactly the opposite!
Inspiring your website visitors requires a combination of the two points above, along with an appealing visual design. By adding a human element into your popup design, you’ll have far better chances of increasing those conversion rates.
Think about using a literal human face as an image within your popup ad and choose colors that aren’t harsh to the eye, along with appealing and easy-to-read fonts.
Send Important Messages to Your Site Visitors
Do you have an upcoming offer? Are you looking to expand your email subscriber list? What important message do you need to communicate?
You can use your popup to convey messages to site visitors and inspire them to take action too. Of course, this is often easier said than done as many users are eager to get to the final step of their journey.
Again, it is essential to consider the type of language you are using in your communication. Be honest, to the point, and don’t use any confusing words your visitors could be put off by.
Design That Fits Perfectly With the Store
Pop-ups should look as natural as possible. While popup ads often irritate visitors, this is because they look like obvious marketing ploys.
By designing your pop-ups so that they fit perfectly with your eCommerce business and don’t just appear here, there, and everywhere, you increase your chances of converting prospects.
Think about the fonts and colors you are using and ensure they are tied to your branding. Additionally, you should also use copy that reflects the tone of voice used across the rest of your website.
Remember: Testing and tweaking how your pop-ups appear and are interacted with is key to success.
Make It Clear and Simple
You should aim to make your pop-ups as clear and as simple as possible. Nobody wants an annoying popup, let alone one that doesn’t make sense or is challenging to understand.
Use a clear message in a bold but legible font that gets the message across at the first glance. Short and snappy is vital here, along with the use of empathetic language, as discussed above.
You must catch and hold most people’s attention as quickly as possible since they will soon move toward the close button. Your headline sets the tone. People are most likely to act if the headline effectively grabs their attention.
In a way, therefore, creating winning website pop-ups in eCommerce is not that challenging. You just have to think them through to make them clear, simple, and approachable.
Offer Incentives to Repeat Visitors
Tailor your pop-ups in a way that offers incentives to repeat, loyal customers. That starts with identifying your target audience and how to inspire them to act.
Next, let’s talk about the offer itself:
Make It Clear and Straightforward
Employ everyday language instead of complicated words and expressions. Offers should be presented clearly, without going into details. And the text should be readable across every type of device.
Offer Benefits
You should highlight the benefits you provide to the customer in your offer. The offer can be a discount, a coupon, a gift with purchase, or some other action involving the purchase of two products in exchange for a free third one.
Benefits must align with what you are selling and bring you revenue rather than just cover expenses.
You must also meet the expectations of your customers. It is important not to disappoint the audience.
Use Geotargeting to Promote Free Shipping
Through the use of geotargeting customers, you can offer free shipping. As an eCommerce owner, you can use this targeting to attract local shoppers.
Use popup advertising for shoppers based near you and offer a free shipping incentive. As you’re probably aware, free shipping is a great marketing tactic to increase sales. It can reduce cart abandonment and may even encourage shoppers to add more items to their carts.
Include the CTA Button
Crafting a CTA that converts should be your ultimate goal as an eCommerce business owner or marketer. Getting the message right and inspiring the action can be tricky.
By placing CTAs on the right pages in the form of pop-ups, you can keep your customers engaged and get important messages to them.
You should suggest actions that align with their interests; someone on a product page is interested in buying, while someone on a content page is interested in learning more. They can accomplish their goals with help from the CTA.
CTA effectiveness can’t be measured precisely. Aside from language and colors, you must check placement for the best overall impact.
Here are a few pointers to help:
- Use short and snappy copy.
- Utilize a time factor with language that includes shop now, hurry, and don’t miss out!
- Choose a CTA button color that matches your brand colors.
What Next?
If you are looking to effectively use pop-ups as part of your broader eCommerce marketing strategy, we can help.
We offer a range of SEO services to our clients and take pride in applying our years of expertise and passion to what we do.
Whether your eCommerce goal is to polish up your website to get it looking amazing, or you want some advice on how best to implement the guidance set out above, we’re on board!