Exciting title, isn't it? I know you're wondering what that powerful marketing
tactic is, so we'll just get straight to the point.
No matter how you feel about pop-up ads now, you will hopefully realize by the
end of this lesson that they are the single most effective way of increasing your
opt-in email list - Hands Down!
Before we start, I'd like to first do a little bit of "myth busting". Myth: 'Pop-up
Ads Are A Nuisance and Do NOT Work'. Of course, we have all encountered an annoying
pop-up advertisement over the past few years of surfing the web. You're bound to
run into a website that delivers you an incredibly absurd pop-up advertisement -
one that has absolutely nothing to do with the content on their site. Obviously,
these pop-ups will never be effective at increasing click-throughs. All they will
do is push away the visitors. Typical examples I'm talking about might include golfing
sites, guitar tab sites, and vacation sites.
These website owners are using their pop-ups irresponsibly. Think about it...Who
in their right mind that is looking for fishing equipment would opt-in on a pop-up
ad dealing with lawn mowers? I know you want to laugh about this - but you would
be surprised with what some website owners are doing with their pop-ups. Some of
these website owners have been given an opportunity to advertise for a another company
(possibly another business that the same individual owns) and they decide to waste
their precious pop-ups with these absurd ads - in this case, a fishing site is advertising
for lawn equipment.
It's all fine and dandy to advertise for another website, but there is absolutely
no reason for the fishing website owner to waste his pop-up advertisements on lawn
equipment - and in turn, annoy any visitor looking for fishing gear. Not only will
this do no good in terms of "click-throughs" and sales, but the fishing website
will certainly push away its visitors who truly want to purchase fishing stuff.
These website owners are the exact same ones who are giving the rest of us who
properly use pop-ups a bad wrap. Internet marketers are experienced and intelligent,
so they would never do that. It's those irresponsible website owners that have turned
the 'once well-liked pop-up' into a nuisance for many people. These businesses are
simply not using pop-ups properly and maturely.
And quite honestly, I don't like all of the negative hype about pop-ups when
I know for a fact that they work - if used properly.
If visitors seem to be irritated by all pop-ups, why are so many well-known and
recognized Internet marketers still using them? According to Nielson-Netratings
(a premiere online statistics resource), in the last 2 years, the number of pop-ups
delivered to web users has more than tripled.
The truth is...the concept of pop-ups works - why else would you see a dramatic
2-year, three-fold increase in their usage? Any good marketer will tell you they
are an extremely powerful tool for instantly increasing your sales and dramatically
skyrocketing the number of new subscribers to your newsletter, creating loyal buyers
of your product.
I was recently reading an article on Entrepreneur.com, written by the late Corey
Rudl. If you don't know who Corey was, he was once one of the biggest Internet marketing
gurus on the planet until his untimely passing. Anyway, in his article about techniques
for increasing opt-ins, he provides the reader with several success stories of fellow
Internet marketers who implemented pop-up ads into their marketing plan. If you're
like me, I think you'll be astonished with the results.
§Paul Colligan of FrontPageWorld.com, increased his opt-in rate by 10 times,
by simply adding an entry pop-up ad onto his website.
§Richard Grady of TheUSTrader.com uses an entry pop-up to help add 1,500 to 2,500
subscribers to his opt-in list each month!
§Jim Tarabocchia of Just-Binoculars.com generates several hundred "extra" visitors
per day using pop-under ads.
§Eric Aafedt of InvestmentHouse.com converts 30 to 40 percent of his daily visitors
to subscribers with the help of pop-ups.
§Jermaine Griggs of HearandPlay.com has dramatically increased his opt-in email
list by 900%! That's right...pop-up ads have radically increased his subscriber
rate by 10 times! *Source: Entrepreneur.com & Corey Rudl research
These are real people. Ordinary people just like you and me. These success stories
aren't the geniuses of the Internet world. They're simply hard-working people who
put into practice the exact same strategies that I'm teaching you. This is great
news for you! ANYONE can be successful on the Internet! You just have to work a
little at it.
I don't want to say that the other techniques for driving subscribers to your
list that I showed you earlier are worthless, because that is certainly NOT the
case. Each and every strategy in Lesson #3 is very effective at list building too
- and I strongly urge you to implement as many of those tactics as you can in your
marketing plan. But, I want you to realize that the most powerful, and most well-researched
technique to boosting your opt-in subscribers is to employ pop-up ads on your website.
The Art of..."Pop-Up Marketing"
Just like anything else in Internet marketing, there is an art to using these
ads on your site. You don't want them to be "popping up" all over the place - obviously
that'd be very disturbing and annoying to your visitor, and you would lose your
chance of collecting their address right from the get-go.
The problem doesn't lie in the principle and validity of the power of pop-ups.
As marketers, we love the capabilities of them! Research shows that they work. Pop-ups
are 13 times MORE effective at generating clicks and opt-in subscribers than standard
banners.
The problem that Internet users face is not the pop-ups themselves, but simply
how they are used. As I'm sure you're familiar, email spamming is another nuisance
on the Internet. So just as spammers have made email marketing more difficult for
the rest of us, the wrongful misuse of pop-ups have given them a 'bad wrap'. The
solid truth is, when used properly, pop-up ads can dramatically increase your opt-in
list, help effectively promote your products, and boost sales at the same time.
There is a strategy of using pop ups that will not irritate your website guests
and will without a doubt benefit you in a variety of ways in the long run. Impossible,
you say? No! If you implement a pop up correctly, your guests will not be annoyed
at all.
Let's face it: the majority of people who put pop ups on their sites go about
it all the wrong way. Below I've compiled a list of proven pop-up techniques for
any marketer's site. Many of these are tips and strategies are used by very recognized
Internet marketers, like Internet millionaires Corey Rudl, Marlon Sanders, and Stephen
Pierce.
§Opt-In Offer Pop-ups
Honestly, you should include some sort of "sign-up" offer with any pop-up ad
you decide to use. This is the most powerful when you employ an offer for a free
newsletter. Your visitor is most likely interested in your website info, so don't
miss out on the opportunity to capture their email address with a Free Newsletter
Opt-In Pop-up. §"Special Offer" Pop-ups
If you're running a special discount on a product, this is a very effective means
of grabbing the customers' attention. Remember; if at all possible, try to grab
your visitors' email address with this "special offer".
§Free Information Pop-ups
Who doesn't want free information? This is a perfect way to promote your Free
download, e-Book, e-Course, special report, and so on. Include a 'sign-up' form
within your pop-up ad to ensure an increased opt-in list.
§Contest Pop-ups
This one is rather tricky to use with pop-up ads, although it can be very effective.
Many times though, visitors will find a 'contest pop-up ad' somewhat annoying. If
you decide to use this tactic, be careful not to turn your visitors away because
it takes them longer than a minute to register for your contest. All I can say with
this idea is...Be Careful.
§Survey/Polls Pop-ups
If you're running a survey on your site, a pop-up can be a handy way to ask visitors
to take part, and then lead them through your questions. When they're finished,
the original window they started on will still be open and they won't have lost
their place. At the end of the survey, be sure to ask them if they would like the
results of your survey/poll to be sent to them via email. Once again, another great
way to capture your visitors' email addresses.
Remember, you never want to have more than one pop up window. Nothing makes a
surfer madder than having two or three windows open up and possibly crash their
browser in the process. You can even set it up so that only first time visitors
see the pop up window. By using a script that sets a cookie you can ensure that
your popup never appears to the same user more than once.
Now that you know the strategies many Internet gurus use, it's time to show you
how to apply your pop-up ads responsibly.
§Entry Pop-ups
These pop-up ads appear as visitors open your website or webpage. By using an
ad as soon as the surfer arrives at your website, you will surely grab their attention
right from the get-go. If you decide to use entry pop-ups, I recommend using a script
that sets a cookie, ensuring that your pop-up doesn't appear to the same user multiple
times (you can usually set the amount of times the pop-up will appear to each user).
§Exit Pop-ups
The name practically explains what they do. They appear as a visitor exits your
site. These are a great way to say to your visitors "Before you go, here's another
offer to opt-in..."
§Delayed Timer Pop-ups
These are pretty fascinating little marketing tools. You can design a pop-up
ad to appear a certain length of time after a surfer comes to your site. This allows
your visitor to check out your site first, without being slightly interrupted by
an entry pop-up ad. It will give them time to "browse" before you make an offer
to them.
As you can see, there are several places where you can make a mistake and turn
a future opt-in into an annoyed visitor. But provided you employ the techniques
and strategies that I've suggested, and take advantage of the technology available
to customize these ads for your visitors, I can personally testify, along with many
other successful business owners, that pop-ups continue to be an excellent way to
increase your opt-in e-mail list as well as your sales. It's been researched and
proven - Pop-up advertisements will help to increase your opt-in subscriber list...guaranteed!
Get ready for our next lesson. It's the most eye-opening one of them all!
