Let’s discuss: Are popups worth it?

It’s no secret that popups are an effective way to grow your email list quickly. With the ever-increasing number of websites using them, it’s clear that this trend isn’t going away anytime soon.

I’ve read a few blog posts lately arguing that the numbers show that popups do not deter people from continuing to visit your site. In particular, Dan Zarrella shows that after adding a popup to his site, only his subscription rate changed — increasing significantly. His bounce rate didn’t change, indicating that the popup didn’t have an effect on people leaving his site.

Now, if you’ve been following me for any length of time, you know that I’m firmly in the “I hate popups” camp. And despite the numbers, I still am. Here’s why.

I believe the numbers don’t account for the real people sitting behind the computer screen clicking around on your website. Analytics don’t record the impression you make on them. I want people to have a chance to read my content before I ask them to take the next step with me by subscribing to my email list. Even if a popup has no immediate effect of my visitor leaving my site, annoying them in any way leaves a bad impression of my brand when they do leave.

Give people a chance to read your content before asking them to take the next step with a popup.
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Furthermore, I agree with Erika that a lot of users are probably confused, believing that they must do as the popup asks in order to close it. In the blogosphere, it’s easy to assume that all of your readers are tech-savvy because they are the ones you always hear from — they talk to you on Twitter, leave comments on your blog, and probably have a website of their own. We forget that that group of people may only represent a small portion of our readership, and that a far larger portion is likely made up of people who just like to read your site during their lunch break at work.

Tech-savvy readers may only represent a small portion of your readership.
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Of course, exit intent popups do exist — meaning the popup detects when your visitor is leaving your site anyway and shows the popup then, so as not to disrupt their experience. And if you absolutely must use a popup, that’s the type I recommend (unless you’re a shop offering me a discount on my purchase — then sure, show me that popup!). But even exit intent popups have their problems, especially for people like me who browse the Internet with multiple tabs open (who doesn’t do that these days?).

But I have to admit that one of the comments I read made me think. The reader mentioned that popups don’t bother her anymore because they’re everywhere these days, and she’s used to immediately clicking out if she’s not interested. And maybe we are entering the days where popups fade into the background for us unless they are relevant to our needs.

My gut tells me that most people still find popups annoying, but maybe I’m wrong. You tell me.

Most people still find popups annoying. Do you agree?
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Do popups annoy you? Or have they just become part of browsing the Internet? Do you use them on your own site?

P.S. 7 spots for your opt-ins instead of popups.

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