Creative Opt-in Strategies for This Site

[BobGW]

Hi,

Can you help us come up with some creative opt-in strategies for this site?:

nlpca.com

Right now we have several good downloads with opt-ins and after people are on the article page for a while there's a popup that gives people the option of giving us their email address.

We'd like any additional opt-in strategy to be very respectful of the person browsing the site. We want opt-ins to be fairly gentle.

Thanks!

[Christy-Correll]

Hi Bob,

Thanks for your question! Rather than jumping into ideas for creating new creative opt-in strategies, I'm going to offer you a few basic suggestions for improving the opt-in opportunities that are currently on your site.

• I just took at peek at your home page, and the popup actually ended up covering the opt-in box. I would consider nixing the popups altogether, and focus on the opt-in box. Keep it where it is, and consider making it stand out with an eye-catching graphic or contrasting background color.
• Focus each CTA on your site on how it will benefit your audience. That is, don't just your audience to download something. Offer your audience a solution to a problem they are likely experiencing.
• Tell people what you will and will not do with their email address (reassuring them that you will never give it to a third-party, for instance) should also help grow your opt-in list.
• You may also want to consider adding opt-in boxes at the end of each blog post (and increasing the blog's page load time).

Best of luck, and let me know if you have any questions!

Christy

[BobGW]

Christy,

How will non-popup opt-ins perform better than carefully using popups? I realize you said to make them standout using eye-catching graphics or colors.

Thanks!

[Christy-Correll]

Hi Bob,

I'm actually having trouble finding the case studies supporting my recommendation regarding nixing the popups, ahem. The ones I've saved... somewhere, ahem. Will post here when I track them down!

The thinking behind my recommendation is that pop-ups are often disruptive, especially when they are difficult to close and/or on mobile, and cover up essential content. People visit your website to do something specific, and it is rarely to  opt-in to a popup. That said, best practice is to test, test, test. And disable popups on mobile, please. In this case, test if the signups you are getting from popups outweigh their contribution to a higher bounce rate. I'd say the same thing applies to all changes, including improving your static opt-in form.

Christy

[BobGW]

Christy,

What can I tell my client is important about disabling popups on mobile devices? He looked at his site on his iphone and it didn't seem hard to click out of the opt-in box.

The popup is only once (cookies) and only in website article area.

Thanks.

[Christy-Correll]

Hi Bob - Good question! Well, what is easy for one person is difficult for another. (And what is manageable on an iPhone may be impossible on another type of mobile device.) To know for sure what your specific audience prefers (and that's what it all boils down to), test, test, test! A/B testing tools like Optimizely can show you how users respond to design changes based on device and browser.