Forms and Popups Aren’t What They Used to Be: The Stigma is Gone.

Having popups is essential to a growing business. It will help you get more customers and grow your business.

If you’ve been online for a while, you’ve probably seen how popups and forms have changed. They started out as a nuisance, but now many brands use them to offer discounts and special deals.

Back in the old days, these things would suddenly appear on your screen, cluttering it and ruining the experience. We called them popups back then, and they were often seen as annoying and untrustworthy.

This was back when people were spamming everyone with their sales pitches and we had no idea what we were doing online. Even though the people we were trying to connect with were just like us, we didn’t know how to do it properly.

Even though that was long ago, the stigma has stuck around to a degree. Yet the practice, and the value of a popup, as evolved immensely.

Popups are a great way to get information from your visitors. They offer true value for the user and clear consent is given. Popups usually appear strategically and have a beneficial purpose, such as presenting a special offer in exchange for an email address.

You can get information from people who visit your website by giving them something in return. This is called a “perk.” If you give out your email address, for example, you can learn a lot about the people who visit your website.

Adding popups to your website and landing pages is the best way to grow your email list.

Upgraded technology and improved forms will help you use the tools to their fullest extent. They are easy to use and have a great interface.

But your popup needs to be strategic — both in timeliness and placement. More so, the form on your pop must be presented in an approachable, inviting manner.

Figuring out when, where, and how to use popups and forms can seem complicated. But don’t worry! We’re here to help you understand the best practices and tips for using these tools.

Why?

You can use popup forms to promote a sale, give people coupons, make an announcement, or get people to sign up for your email newsletter.

You can use popups and forms for more than one thing. We’re going to show you how in a moment, but first, let’s go over why they are important now, and why they are no longer a nuisance.

Using a popup or form on your site falls into three basic categories:

• Promote
• Sell
• Engage

It’s all about what you need – for your business and from your audience.

Consider the times you, a normal person, have visited a website and had a form pop up on the page. If it’s not something you want, you simply click X, and away it goes.

If you like what you see on a popup, you might give your email, phone number, and other information. People filling out these forms feel like they can trust giving away this information without getting a lot of spam emails in return.

What a relief!

No reputable site has more than one popup appear these days, and they certainly don’t have 10 showing up in flashing lights and colors that you can’t get to disappear.

The best question to ask yourself, and to ask your users, is why. Why are they using your product or service? Why should they trust you with their information? What is the benefit for both parties?

You might want to use a popup because it can provide useful information about your brand and it can offer something of value that will make people want to fill out the form. Popups should be designed in a way that does not annoy customers or make them feel uncomfortable.

The better answer to why is two-fold: so your audience is engaged to perform the action you are hoping for, and to grow your presence and sales all at once.

What?

On to those three precious categories we alluded to ­– promote, sell, engage.

Promotion is when you draw attention to something. You can do this by making it stand out or by telling people about it. When someone sees your promotion, they should think, “Wow, that’s cool. I want to be a part of that!”

When you sell something, you are offering it to people on a screen so they can click and buy it.

Engagement usually involves getting people to sign up for something, like a rewards program, a waiting list, or to receive a special item from you in exchange for signing up. This can be done through email, but make sure the item you offer is enticing enough to get them to open your email.

There can be some overlap between selling and promoting your product or service. For example, you might ask people to sign up for your newsletter to get a special offer if they buy something in the next 24 hours. Or you might give them a bigger discount or freebie if they share your info with a friend who also signs up.

How – can you do it?

There are traditional methods that still work well. But we have improved them to make it easier for you to create a popup and form, as well as deploy it for your audience. With a popup and form creator, which you can plop down onto the very same website or landing page you created in the very same platform, you can:

1. Customize simply with the drag-and-drop builder
2. Optimize for mobile or desktop view
3. Try out various formats, including the literal popup, a floating bar, full screen, and slide-in
4. Use one editor for both forms and popups
5. Time it perfectly with event-based triggers: landing on a page, upon exit, after scrolling, when visitors have been inactive, or with a specified delay
6. Elevate your game with advanced targeting: Present the popup based on the type of website visitor (new, returning, all), the device (desktop, mobile), or location
7. You can set a start and end date or let it run for a while
8. Take control over recurring visibility (with OR conditions)
9. Page-level targeting: choose specific pages in which to show your form/popup

And don’t forget, you can use brilliant marketing automation to trigger those timely popups right when you want them!

What – is right for you?

Depending on what you’re looking to do, the answer will vary.

Consider:

• Are you looking for an easy solution to generate more sales?
  • This could be presenting discounts, offering add-ons, or one-time codes
• Do you want to promote certain items or services?
  • Maybe you have too much stock of an item and want to promote it as discounted?
  • Perhaps you have a new item coming out and want to offer it exclusively
• Do you want to personalize your content better?
  • You could present a form asking for more information, even preferences and wants, of a visitor or customer, in exchange for something.
• Want to grow your email list?
  • Tell them why they should give you their email address, and make sure to have a great Welcome Email series ready to go as well!

When?

Think back to visiting a website of a new brand you’ve discovered, or even somewhere you visit and/or shop at frequently.

When you are on a website, and you see a popup for their newsletter, you might think that if you sign up for their email newsletter, they will send you a coupon or discount.

Even better, some forms pop up and already tell you something such as, “Sign up for our newsletter and get 20% off your first order!” or “Want to get exclusive deals and be the first to know about our new items? Sign up today!”

Some websites ask for your email address and other personal information. This helps the website know more about you so it can show you better offers and products.

There are different times to present your popup, and of course, it depends on your goal.

You can use discounts to try and get people to buy your product. You can offer a discount if they buy in the next five minutes or so.

If it’s to sign up for a VIP club, maybe it pops up when they look at some of your higher-priced items.

Or, it could come as they click on your blog (Hey there! Sign up for our lovely blog) or it could be once they’ve scrolled halfway through your site, or spent a certain amount of time on your site, so you see they’re interested.

You can offer a bigger discount to customers if they add one more item or reach a certain amount of money. This message will appear as a popup without a form. Or as they’re about to pay, ask them to create an account for a special offer, or after they’ve paid tell them if they sign up for your newsletter now, you’ll send them something cool with their order (or there will be a discount for their next purchase).

Popups and forms are as vivid as your imagination (in purpose, execution, and design)!

So, now, it’s time for you to do the same for your customers ­– and the growth of your business!

Who?

Let’s throw another question in the mix!

What do you want from your customers? Why do you want them to come to your popup? Do you want them to buy something specific, sign up for a subscription, or just learn more about your brand?

The important factors are:

• What do you plan to present to them in newsletters?
• Will it be a one-time offer for their signup?
• Will you be offering periodic sales and discounts exclusive to subscribers?
• Do you have seasonal items that people clamor for, so do you want to give them an exclusive window to shop for them before it’s available or known to the public?
• Is your business new(ish) or established? Who is your audience? Are they steady?
• Do you know your audience? A form is a perfect way to get more info from your visitors, and by offering them something of value for that info, they’re more likely to fill in that info you covet

The neat thing is, if you have a free (totally free) GetResponse account, you can now incorporate forms and popups for whatever reason you need, wherever you need it, with customizations galore to fulfill your unique brand and audience – all of which you can also create free!

If your business starts growing and you need more than just a website, you might want to consider using marketing automation, social media ads, and webinars to help promote your business.

Pop pop!

For now, though, let’s start with getting you even more familiar with how easy it is.

The first thing though is to get inside a popup and form creator and see the options available to you.

In there, you can create the form to your liking and your brand’s style. You can add as few or as many fields as you wish. And you can simply drag and drop it onto your webpage.

You can customize your form to look the way you want it to. Do you want it to pop up on the screen? Do you want it to slide in from the side? Or do you want it to take up the whole screen?

Think about what kind of popups and forms you like. What encourages you to interact with them or fill them out? How much attention do you want on your form?

Now you’re good to go, so go and make your business – and marketing – even better!