Good popup vs Bad popup

Happy Wednesday!

Today I wanted to share with you a few quick tips on how to create higher-converting popups by analyzing 2 good examples and 2 bad ones.

Let’s start with the bad ones.

Bad example #1

First of all, it’s very unclear what users are getting by leaving their email.

The copy offers $200 on your next purchase… but only for qualifying purchases. So even if you subscribe, you have to make a purchase to (maybe) get a discount on your second order.

Not very exciting.

Then, the second part of the copy is a completely different offer. Basically a newsletter subscription plus free shipping on $90+ orders.

Hardly convincing either.

Bad example #2

There’s one main thing this popup does wrong. Asking for details unrelated to the offer.

They surely don't need your birthday to give you a free shipping code, right?

So if you’re asking for users’ personal details (and you’re actually gonna use them in your campaign), explain why you need them and how it will benefit the user.

Otherwise, a popup like this will result in a low conversion rate and lots of incorrect data.

Aside from that, the formatting of copy in this popup is far from perfect.

Now, let’s have a look at two popups done right.

Good example #1

Here’s what Aloha’s popup does right:

• The offer is clear (15% off)

• The headline is enticing (unlock is a strong word that works great in offers like this)

• It uses a priming step (asking users about the product type they’re most interested in) that works twofold:

  • Provides users with a very low-effort decision (selecting one of the options instead of leaving an email right away). Completing this step gives them the impression that they’re almost done with the signup process and creates the need to finish it (completion bias).

  • Gives Aloha a data point they can use to personalize the lifecycle email campaign in case a user doesn’t convert right away.

Good example #2

Supply gives a different twist to the priming step technique by asking a question users just can’t say no to.

Once they click the button on the first screen, leaving their email seems like an obvious choice, thanks to the same psychology effects as in Aloha’s example.

And also, the CTA copy is not a generic ‘continue’ but ‘enter to win’ which sounds much more enticing.

This popup comes from Supply’s Starter Set Offer landing page which I analyzed here.

To sum up, here’s what makes a high-converting popup:

• Clear offer that leaves no doubt about what users will get by subscribing.

• Ideally, an instant reward.

• Compelling headline.

• Collecting only the details you need to provide the reward (and personalize the email drip in some cases).

• Using a priming step to lower the perceived effort.

• Strong, benefit-driven CTA copy.

• Right timing - ideally displaying the popup on exit intent.

🛒 Get access to the whole 215 ecommerce tactics database here.

Cheers,
Kacper