{"id":4708,"date":"2016-09-26T15:52:59","date_gmt":"2016-09-26T22:52:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thegood.com\/?post_type=insights&p=4708"},"modified":"2021-05-25T14:51:09","modified_gmt":"2021-05-25T21:51:09","slug":"email-pop-ups-controversial","status":"publish","type":"insights","link":"https:\/\/thegood.com\/insights\/email-pop-ups-controversial\/","title":{"rendered":"Email Pop-ups \u2013 The Most Controversial Marketing Tactic Ever"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A little over three years ago, I was searching for information on how ecommerce businesses can leverage social media to attract buyers. My research led me to Neil Patel\u2019s Quick Sprout<\/a> blog where I began reading about how to build an email list on Facebook. There was a problem with the post, though. I was quickly and consistently interrupted by pop-up boxes asking me to subscribe to Neil\u2019s mailing list. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, I entered my name and email address in one of the forms \u2013 more to get them to go away than to fill my inbox with more marketing messages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been a Neil Patel subscriber ever since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I still don\u2019t like pop-ups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My aim in this article is neither to slam pop-ups nor to praise them. Rather, I\u2019ll try to stay neutral and present arguments from both sides of the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The information here will help you formulate, defend, or make changes to your own marketing strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One thing is certain: it seldom hurts to test your assumptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pop-up Controversy \u2013 Do Email Pop-ups Attract Subscribers or Run Them Off?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A 2004 study by the Nielsen Norman Group, entitled \u201cThe Most Hated Advertising Techniques<\/a>\u201d listed pop-ups as the #1 tactic negatively affecting the website visitor\u2019s experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"survey<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Pop-ups were created in the 1990\u2019s as a means of showing ads on a website without explicitly tying that site to the ad shown. (The developer of pop-ups, by the way, has since apologized<\/a>, calling pop-up ads \u201cone of the most hated tools in the advertiser\u2019s toolkit.\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pop-ups today are widely used to entice visitors to opt in to an email subscription list \u2013 thus the term \u201cemail pop-ups.\u201d That\u2019s the type of pop-up we\u2019ll primarily consider here, though there are other uses for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to eMarketer, only 37% of internet users are not<\/em> likely<\/a> to employ ad blocking in the next six months. Couple that with an Omnicom Media Group saying 45% of those who do plan to block ads cite \u201cI do not want to deal with pop-up ads\u201d as their primary motivation, and it\u2019s clear that pop-up aversion hasn\u2019t disappeared. I\u2019m not the only one who hates dealing with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"pop-ups<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The big question is this: Given email pop-ups are welcome by so few, why do some of the smartest digital marketing companies in the world still use them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s talk about that\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Email Pop-Ups Positives \u2013 If You Don\u2019t Use Them, You\u2019re Losing Subscribers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Neil Patel is hailed as one of the foremost digital marketers<\/a> on the planet. His online ventures include KISSmetrics, Crazy Egg, Quick Sprout, and Hello Bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So why in the world is Patel seemingly so fixated on pop-ups?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I asked Neil that question during an interview with him<\/a> not long after I complained about the prolific email pop-up ads on Quick Sprout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In typical Neil Patel style, he cut to the chase: I use pop-ups because they work. But does the data from other sites suggest Patel\u2019s adamant loyalty to email pop-ups is well-founded?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s take a look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These Sites Saw Positive Results by Implementing Email Pop-Ups<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The only way to find out for sure whether a certain tactic will work for you is to test it on your site. Here are examples of businesses that tested email pop-ups and reported favorable outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n