Hot on the heels of the four part series on list builiding, this guest post by Sarah Arrow seemed appropriate to feauture. Sarah posted a comment in one of the list building articles and mentioned a WordPress plugin she had been using to quickly build a list on her blog. I checked out the plugin, WP Subscribers, and was impressed with the depth of options. It's now on my list to get and test.
Then, Sarah submitted this guest post, reviewing several pop-up list builiding plugins and I decided immediately that you could benefit from this information. Now before you get crazy on me, I know that pop-ups are controversial, and they work, so read with an open mind, check out the different options and then decide. Some of the plugins can be used in multiple ways and you do not have to implement the pop-up option.
Zero to Email List in 10 Days
If you are just starting out blogging or waking up to the the power of having an email list then this post is for you. Back in the summer I realised that my personal blog was growing fast and I actually needed to have an email list to support my blogging and maintain relations with my readers.
I did a little research and decided that as blogging is a business – it costs me time and effect to create useful blog posts. I needed to grow my email list with more than a half-hearted effort. I decided that I would use a pop-up to capture the data as I had read that they were the most effective list building tools. I know not everyone likes them and some people are Pop-Up blind and just automatically close them but they still work, so I'd give them a try. At the very least I'd have enough research and testing to be able to write blog post about them.
For the purposes of comparison I only used the basic options of each form, the minimum requirement. All of the list gathering tools have extensive customisation options and can be completely customised to fit the look of your blog or website. All except Aweber require an external email list management software to store the email addresses that you gather.
The killer question: which email Pop-Up system works the best?
I used Aweber's lightbox to start with.
The Look –
Aweber – email list building service with multiple web form options.
Cost – $19 as part of using Aweber to build your list.
Technical skills needed – The ability to customise your web form settings and the ability to add HTML to the right part of your theme. Suitable for beginners.
Sites supported: Any site that you can add a snippet of Javascript to.
Support: Not used but ample videos and tutorials available.
In a week this captured 19 email addresses.
I have to admit that if this was a coaching client getting these results I would have been pleased. But it was for me and I wanted better results. Okay, as we are being honest here I'll share with you – I wanted more and I wanted the email addresses faster.
Pop-Up Domination
Created and marketed by Michael Dunlop (a fellow Brit) this plugin was next on my list. I had read great things about Pop-Up Domination in forums and was quite excited by the thought of trying it out.
The Look –
How Pop-Up Domination is described on their site
- WordPress Plugin & Stand Alone Version
- 7 Beautiful themes with 15 Colour Options
- Works with ALL mailing list providers
- Works with all caching software
- Select specific pages for PopUp to appear
- Exit PopUp functionality
- PopUp after a certain number of impressions
Cost: at the time of purchasing it was approx $47 for a one site, personal license.
Technical skills: I grabbed a copy. Clickbank doesn't like me and didn't make it easy for me to download. I also didn't like that VAT (sales tax) was added after, I thought I was purchasing at one price point and it turned out to be a higher price point.
I installed it with ease and activated the plugin. I adjusted the settings so the Pop-Up showed after 30 seconds and I tweaked the settings, I did not play around with any CSS, I used the standard look, added the Aweber list code and unleashed it upon my readers. Suitable for beginners to intermediate.
Sites supported: WordPress
Support: Videos and support system, still awaiting a reply from support ticket submitted in May 2011
In a week this captured another 30 email addresses, still a good result.
WP Subscribers
I read a review of WP Subscribers and thought hmm, might be worth a try. So I purchased a copy, again it was from Clickbank and I jumped through the multiple hoops required of me to download the plugin. Jenni R the creator is based in Japan.
The Look –
How WP Subscribers is described on their site
- Add An Optin Form with a “lightbox” (a popup with the background darkened, so that all your visitor sees is your Optin Offer, so they either have to subscribe or dismiss your form in order to see the page underneath…)
- Have a Footer Bar or Header Bar Opt-In Form — especially if you want to attract the visitor’s attention, but not hit them with an “in your face” popup requiring them to take action
- Display hidden content: Rarely seen outside of expensive WordPress membership software, but you can have it — get your visitors salivating to see more, and show it to them after they’ve opted in.
- Subscribe on commenting: Get the ideal subscribers — those folks already commenting on your blog … this makes it super simple for them to do — all they have to do is click a checkbox…
- Subscribe on registration: Not something most blogs offer, but if you offer user registration, why not make it so it adds them to your email list (the one of your choosing, of course!)
- Put a “Subscribe” Box In All Your Posts: Hey, a sweet, quiet, simple request for them to signup to your email list to get more … you just gave them great content, show them how to keep getting more…
- Put a “Subscribe” Box In Particular Posts…(shhhh…remember the “Get The Rest Of This” from the Optin statistics above? He split a great post into two, kept the first half in the post and the second half in a pdf. The visitor had to opt-in to the subscribe form in the post to get the second half.)
- Create a “Cascade” of Exit Popups…under precise “fighter pilot” control…each popup with its own content, each sending the user to a unique URL…and you can add the “cascade” to all your pages or any of your pages…you choose…!
- Put Your “Subscribe” Form anywhere you want on your WordPress blog…
Cost: Approximate price at time of purchase $97
Technical Skills: Uploading caused a small hiccup. The standard WordPress site has a limited upload of 2mbs. This is ample for a normal plugin upload. I needed to raise the upload limit to have WP Subscribers installed via the WordPress dashboard. Once installed I nearly cried. At first glance it can be overwhelming but there are plenty of videos showing you how to customise the the opt-in forms and after 45 minutes I had an opt-in pop-up and an under content box showing under each post. Suitable for beginner to intermediate.
Sites supported: WordPress
Support: Lots of video tutorials and Jenni the creator is very responsive to potential problems. An issue that was nothing to do with the plugin was resolved by Jenni in 30 minutes – support above and beyond what is promised.
On the first day I had 30 new email addresses. In ten days my list was 250 emails.
It converted it's socks off and I am not using WP Subscribers full functionality, I am using just a fraction.
Pippity
A gentle pop up for those that don't really like them. I don't know why I wanted to have Pippity, I find the ability to control when the Pop Up appears intriguing. Pippity is created by the team behind the Headway theme.
The Look –
How Pippity is described on their site
- Create your first popup in 5 minutes
- Choose from 12 designs (+6 popup bars)
- Easily customize images, fonts, colors and overlay to craft the perfect popup for your site
- See your popup in real-time as you edit
- Quickly add product images
- Easily add bulleted lists
Cost: $49 for one site at time of purchase, this is for a one year subscription.
Technical Skills: More fiddly than I thought it would be but otherwise suitable for a beginner. Possibly the easiest Pop-Up to customise, no CSS needed. With the exception of Aweber, the Pippity email form is the easiest to create.
Sites supported: WordPress
Support: Again plenty of video. I emailed a question in and 2 weeks later I am still awaiting a response. Have to confess to being a bit disappointed about that.
In 3 weeks 21 new subscribers.
Conclusion: Which Pop Up Works best?
If you wish to build your email list fast, WP Subscribers is the tool to do it. The majority of my list has been built using this highly converting Pop-Up. Zero to 250 subscribers in 10 days.
If you have never used a Pop-Up before then Pippity is a good starting point, it is gentle and it does work. If Pop-Ups have never bothered you and you want list building on steroids, the WP subscribers is the way to go.
If you have read this and don't have a WordPress site, the Aweber lightbox is the tool for you to build your email list.
About the Author:
Sarah Arrow is the co-author of the soon to be published Zero to Blogger and director of a Same Day Courier company which beat the first economic down-turn through creative blogging.
Now it's your turn: Do you use pop-ups on your blog to build your email list? Why or why not?
What is the best time delay for the pop-up? In other words, how long do you leave visitors to look at the site before the pop-up appears? Any stats on that? Also, would you ever use a pop-up on a landing page, or just on a home page? Or on every page of your site? Thanks!
I for one get annoyed by these pop ups and would never have them on my site. I do know that a lot of people say they do work and everyone can make their own choices HUH? Thanks for sharing.. Chery 🙂
Hi Denise
First time visitor on your site. Already signed up for email.
Any idea how many vistors Sarah gets to her site. She mentions 19 signup on one plugin and 30 per day on another. How many daily vistors does she get and based on volume is this good?
Also loved the Derek Halpren video review you did with him.
Wayne Melton
very informative, like to work accordingly.Thank you very much.
Well written piece but I HATE pop-ups with a passion. They are the web equivalent of Arsenal fans. Unwanted, irritating and get in the way of anything worthwhile.
I REFUSE to subscribe to any list that is harvested with the use of a pop-up. Yes, I may be the one on ten or twenty who screw the figures re pop-ups but if that’s how you think you gather loyal customers, then I am best on your database, Mr Pop-Up.
“the web equivalent of Arsenal fans”, welcome to the conversation Steve 🙂 I am neutral on the topic, I have them and I use them and I go on sites that use them. I don’t think any less of them unless the owner of the site has them going nuts and popping on every single page. In that scenario they annoy the daylights out of me.
As you can see from the article, the blogger has a choice of what they can use and how to use it. If they are only going to use it aggressively, then they are the blogging equivalent of Arsene Wenger 😉
This is some great info, but I’d like to know more. For instance, as a percentage of your traffic, how do the conversion rates all compare? Also you noted that some used different colors. Did you change anything else? (Wording? time that the pop-up appears? etc.) It would be really useful to understand those differences, too.
Hi Tea, thanks for your comment 🙂
The wording was the same across all the pop-ups, the only thing different between any of them was the week before I moved to WP subscribers I spoke at a regional social media conference. There were 60 attendees and if I assume that all 60 subscribed, WP subscribers still outperformed the rest. I didn’t make a measurement of traffic to conversions at the time, but my traffic is pretty static around the 20k of page views a month and has been for the last 6 months. The site I tested it on was my sand pit site, not even one of my decent sites. Hope that helps
I use pop up domination for a free offer – and it’s not converting at all – getting way more subscribers on my simple newsletter signup. I am going to try wp subscribers – I will let you know the difference!
Hi Kymberley, perhaps it’s not the pop-up but the offer? Have you tweaked the wording at all to see if it coverts better? Let us know how you get on 🙂
This is really useful Sarah, thank you – has got me thinking and experimenting
Let us know how you get on Christine 🙂
Very helpful post, Sarah. Thanks for sharing!
🙂 you are most welcome, thanks for taking the time to comment.
Sarah this is a very full investigation. Is there no end to your talent. Creating an email list is next for me and now I’m excited about it! I was Pop Up blind, however now I see them everywhere. Thank you for again opening my eyes 🙂
Thanks Lisa, I have enjoyed testing them. I started out not liking them at all but over time they seem to have grown on me.
This is on my mind at the moment because I am wishing to entice staying visitors to become addicted to 2 food blogs I’m involved with.
Hi Lisa thanks for dropping by and commenting, free cake in the sign up box works for me ;). You have done really well with your food blogs so far, you should be proud. Very proud.
Do they drop a cookie to stop them appearing next time the user visits?
You would think that Jon, but I can’t see where it says cookies are used. Maybe it’s in the very small print? For us in the UK that may prove a bit of a problem when the EU law comes in that says we have to declare cookie usage. If we don’t know it’s there we can’t declare it.
Both Pippity and WP subscribers are “intelligent” so they must do something to mark where they have been.
The EU law for cookies has been operational for new sites since April you have till next April to ‘fix’ any sites that existed before April 2011. This means that adding even Google Analytics to a website is/will be illegal without the visitors permission.
Very nice comparison. I use aweber myself because I am much too lazy to do anything else 🙂
Lazy has it’s place 🙂 thanks for the comment.
Thanks for sharing! I currently use Pop-up Domination and have had much success with it. I’d be curious to hear what you did differently than Pop-Up Domination while using WP-Subscribers. For example, did you have it at the ends of all your posts with that but not the others? I already add it to the end of some posts manually using Aweber. I’m just wondering if it was more the technique than the tool that got you the results. Thanks!
I didn’t do anything different other than I posted one extra post that week. Instead of two I posted three. The colours where different though. WP Subscribers was orange and Pop Up Domination was green if I recall correctly.
Maybe it’s all in the colours?
Thanks for dropping by and commenting 🙂
I love pop up’s and find them hugely successful. Yes they can sometimes be annoying and put off some of your readers but I find the majority of my readers don’t mind and in fact accept them. The key is to having a really good offer on there rather than just saying sign up to my newsletter.
Thanks for this great list Sarah. I’m personally using Pop Up Domination and haven’t had any problems with it.
Hi Lilach, thanks for dropping by – the offer is really important and it can’t be rubbish because if it is people will still ignore your pop-up.
This is quite a comprehensive list, Sarah. I have never considered using a pop-up before but if I do, this will be the go-to list. The number of subscribers you gathered with WP Subscribers is rather impressive!
Thanks Suzanne, I should add I posted my socks off during that time with some top notch posts, I think that helped convert as well 🙂
Very helpful blog post Sarah. Looks like I will be adding this to my list of things I must do and soon!
Blogging is a never-ending to do list :).
Thanks for dropping by and commenting Anita
Never been a big fan of them, but can understand why they are used. Toying with the idea on and off , but as I use Drupal, will have to look for similar plugins
Hey Dan, thanks for dropping in, I am sure there are equivalents for the Drupal world 🙂 if not try tweaking the Aweber lightbox settings. Thanks for commenting 🙂
For those who “hate” popups, here’s an article by Lynn Terry about how she uses Pop-Up Domination without the popup. Seems like what she hacked is a feature of WP Subscribers:
http://www.clicknewz.com/2869/calm-the-controversy/
🙂 that’s a good post and yes, it looks a bit like one of the features of WP subscribers hacked. I have to say it looks good 🙂
I’m not a big pop-up fan — OK, I hate them because most people slam them in your face 10 seconds after arriving — but there is no disputing that they get subscribers.
Despite my dislike for pop-ups, I appreciate you sharing this research Sarah. I hadn’t heard of WP-Subscribers so thanks for educating me about that option. Sounds like there are enough options that maybe even a pop-up hater like me can eventually embrace pop-ups using some less onerous settings so people don’t leave because they feel like they got a rude welcome.
I know exactly what you mean Mike, I find those that pop up too fast are too aggressive for me. On one site it went nuts and didn’t listen to any of the adjustments we made in the settings. It was popping on every single page after each page was opened! It was a complete mare, hence my more in depth testing of WP subscribers.
Aggressive settings are down to the pop up owners and not the pop up themselves, I am sure you will find one that you can tweak to be gentle 🙂
Thanks for commenting
Great info! I’ve not used a pop-up before and still can’t decide but Pippity seems like it would make the most sense for me starting out. Nice to see them all reviewed in spot.
Thanks!
Thanks Yolanda, with Pippity you can adjust the settings so that it “pops” when a person reaches the end of the post and doesn’t interupt the reading process. This is the one I use over at birds on the blog. Thanks for stopping by and commenting 🙂
Sarah–
Wow–this review is extremely helpful. I’ve been using Popup Domination and have been pleased with it. I’ve definitely gotten more subscribers since I installed it. But now I’m salivating after WP Subscribers.
Thank you for spending the time to compare each of these tools!
http://primefit.org
@themusclediva:twitter
Go for it Mary, you’ll love it 🙂
As I’m really at the stage now where I want to build my list, this is a really useful article. Thanks again, you keep it simple and deliver. I’m going to get WP Subscribers right now
Glad you found it useful, thanks for stopping by and commenting Bridget