The solution was simple: find a way for developers to add the code once, and then a marketer could tweak and change the design, messaging, and behavior on their own.

To add popups to your website: First, you need to choose a Popup provider: Hello Bar is a leading solution used by over 600,000 websites, but there are also other companies that offer Popup solutions.

Second, you will need to create an account: Like any tool, you will need to sign up for an account. Some providers offer very basic free accounts that you can use to get started and test. However, the great thing about Popups is that the premium features you get from a paid subscription to a Popup solution usually pay for themselves quickly.

Next, you’ll need to set clear goals for how you plan to use your Popups and the actions you want them to help drive:   For example, do you want to capture email addresses? Or do you want to gain new social followers? Or do you want your visitors to go to certain target URLs? The good news is that you can test different approaches here to see which one drives the most activity on your site.

Next, you will need to add a script to your website:  This is usually quite easy and the best Popup providers will give you clear instructions on how to do this. However, if you are new to building a website, you can also ask a developer to add the script line. You can also add Popup plugins from many of the popular app stores such as WordPress , Shopify, etc…

You will then need to design your Popup(s): Most Popup providers will provide a set of templates. You can choose a template or design your own custom Popup design.

Activate Popup in real time: You can then activate your Popups. Usually you can set your Popups to be on all web pages or just on certain web pages. Make sure you look for a Popup provider that offers good targeting capabilities, because this will make or break your site.

Optimize/optimize/optimize: Once you’re up and running, you’ll want to regularly monitor your Popup’s performance and optimize it. Solutions like Hello Bar provide great analytics and lots of built-in optimization tools. You can target different Popups to different pages. You can easily test different Popup formats. You can create automated A/B tests. And much more.

Is it possible to target popups to a specific audience?

Yes, but you will need to choose a Popup provider that offers good targeting capabilities and features. For example, basic popup tools can sometimes be part of email services. However, these typically have very limited or no targeting capabilities.

However, if you choose a Popup solution with targeting capabilities, you can target your Popups to a specific audience, specific content, specific pages, etc.

Hello Bar is known for having some of the best targeting capabilities in the industry. Since the company has been in business since 2012 and was co-founded by well-known internet marketer Neil Patel, the company understands the importance of targeting different messages to different audiences. Other Popup solutions also have targeting capabilities.

What are the pros and cons of popups?

People often ask about the pros and cons of Popups. We often answer that it depends a lot on how the Popups are implemented. If a website owner thinks about the user experience, chooses the Popup formats well, designs these Popups to match their brand, and directs the Popups to the right audience, the pros far outweigh the cons.

In fact, the biggest cons of Popups come from poor Popup implementation. This can lead to annoying users, slowing down pages if a lot of Popups are added at once, and creating an overall poor user experience. However, these cons are more the exception than the rule.

Benefits of adding popups to your website:

• Engagement and Action: Popups can dramatically increase the actions people take when they visit your website. Remember that only about 1 in 100 website visitors typically take action. If you can increase that to 5-10%, then you can transform your business. In fact, that simple change can often make the difference between profitability and not.
• Strong ROI: Popup solutions have a very strong ROI. As a website owner, you should understand the value of every person who joins your email list, or becomes a lead, or buys something. If you know that, your ability to track the ROI of a Popup solution is very easy. And most Popup solutions generate a very high ROI. In fact, Hello Bar regularly generates 83% more leads, sales, and subscribers for their customers. Imagine how much your business could grow if you could turn your website visitors into customers.
• Flexible: Popups are extremely flexible. Unlike changes made to websites and web pages, popups can be changed very quickly and easily. This means you can add richness to your website in just a few minutes a month.
• Customizable: With Popups, you can personalize the experience for your website visitors. This can lead to your visitors connecting more with your business and this can lead to much higher conversion rates.
• Easy to use: Popup Solutions like Hello Bar are very easy to use. They are quick to learn and can be operated by people in your organization without significant design, development, and copywriting skills.

Against:

• If used poorly, popups can be disruptive: If you add too many popups at once or do a poor job of designing your popups, it can lead to annoying your users. Like any type of content in marketing, your goal should be to add value to your visitors. If you don’t consider this while managing your popups, you can annoy your users.
• Perceived Annoyance: Some people automatically perceive pop-ups as annoying. It’s just like in advertising. Some people automatically assume that ads are annoying. However, if the ads are relevant and interesting, they can add value to the user experience. The same goes for pop-ups. Therefore, it is important to choose a pop-up provider that allows customization and targeting.
• User Experience Issues: If you add a bunch of popups all at once and those popups are competing for the same attention, it can lead to user experience issues. This is especially true on mobile devices. We see some websites with 5 or 6 different popups on a web page and these popups can create an annoying user experience.

What are the best practices for creating effective pop-ups?  

Like many tools and like many forms of media, Popups can be effective or ineffective. Hello Bar has been helping large companies grow their business through Popups for over a decade. In that time, we have learned a number of best practices. Some of them are listed below:

• Add value to your users: You need to add value to your website visitors. For example, if you use a Popup to direct a visitor to a URL that is not interesting or relevant to them, then you are doing them a disservice. Think about what you want a visitor to do and balance that with what the visitor wants to do.
• Test Often: One of the great things about Popups is their flexibility. So, we encourage all our clients to test, test, test. Test different formats. Test different designs. Test different copy. With Hello Bar and other Popup tools, testing is easy with great analytics, simple A/B testing capabilities, etc…
• Reach different audiences with different popups: Target different audiences with different messages, incentives, and updates. You can target them based on the topic of a page, what you know about the user, the geography of the user, and a host of other things. Targeting can generate huge performance improvements.
• Match your brand to your Popups: To earn and maintain trust, make sure your Popups are in line with your brand. It’s not just about the look and feel, but also the language and voice you use in your copy.
• Create Urgency: Popups are a great way to create urgency with things like expiring coupon codes. Create urgency for action with your popups.

Find a solution that has people to help you: Find a solution provider that can help you when you need ideas or when you get stuck. The Hello Bar team, for example, has been helping website owners for over a decade, and we are proud to help our clients grow their businesses with Popup.

The final words

Popups are easy to add, effective, and can generate a huge ROI. Solutions like Hello Bar make adding popups quick, easy, and painless. But make sure you take the time to set up your popups properly and optimize them regularly. If you do, you can add a lot of value to your website visitors and help more of them become part of your community and business.

Happy growing and contact us at Hello Bar if you have any questions. You can start using your Popups by creating a free account at Hello Bar .

What are the best practices for creating effective pop-ups?  

Like many tools and like many forms of media, Popups can be effective or ineffective. Hello Bar has been helping large companies grow their business through Popups for over a decade. In that time, we have learned a number of best practices. Some of them are listed below:

• Add value to your users: You need to add value to your website visitors. For example, if you use a Popup to direct a visitor to a URL that is not interesting or relevant to them, then you are doing them a disservice. Think about what you want a visitor to do and balance that with what the visitor wants to do.
• Test Often: One of the great things about Popups is their flexibility. So, we encourage all our clients to test, test, test. Test different formats. Test different designs. Test different copy. With Hello Bar and other Popup tools, testing is easy with great analytics, simple A/B testing capabilities, etc…
• Reach different audiences with different popups: Target different audiences with different messages, incentives, and updates. You can target them based on the topic of a page, what you know about the user, the geography of the user, and a host of other things. Targeting can generate huge performance improvements.
• Match your brand to your Popups: To earn and maintain trust, make sure your Popups are in line with your brand. It’s not just about the look and feel, but also the language and voice you use in your copy.
• Create Urgency: Popups are a great way to create urgency with things like expiring coupon codes. Create urgency for action with your popups.

Find a solution that has people to help you: Find a solution provider that can help you when you need ideas or when you get stuck. The Hello Bar team, for example, has been helping website owners for over a decade, and we are proud to help our clients grow their businesses with Popup.

The final words

Popups are easy to add, effective, and can generate a huge ROI. Solutions like Hello Bar make adding popups quick, easy, and painless. But make sure you take the time to set up your popups properly and optimize them regularly. If you do, you can add a lot of value to your website visitors and help more of them become part of your community and business.

Happy growing and contact us at Hello Bar if you have any questions. You can start using your Popups by creating a free account at Hello Bar .