Pop-ups are an easy way to grow your email list or social media following. Despite their questionable reputation, pop-ups can actually help people stay connected with your organization. This guide will show you how to revitalize your organization’s email list or social media following — the smart way. We cover strategies that will help you reach the right people and get the most out of this tool. We'll also take a look at a gallery of fantastic nonprofit pop-ups and a list of free and paid pop-up tools you can use on your website.

1. Rebecca Reyes
Digital Marketing Consultant, Spring Media Strategies
Evil Pop-Ups
For the Greater Good
#16NTCpopup
@mnrebs #16NTCpopup
March 23, 2016

2. Housekeeping
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Link to collaborative notes:
http://po.st/popup-16NTC
Tweet about this session:
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3. What we’ll be talking about today
• Why you should give popups a chance
• Types of pop-ups
• How to use pop-ups without being annoying
• How to analyze your results
• Tools to get you started
• Plus: A lot of nonprofit pop-up examples along
the way!
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4. Are you experiencing any of these?
• Your email list is declining
• You’ve hit a plateau in your social media followers
• You want to increase your list but don’t know
how
• You feel like you’re doing everything right, but
your numbers aren’t going up as fast as you’d like
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5. Are you also…
scared to try out pop-ups because
you don’t want to be annoying or
turn people away?
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6. Online Trends for Nonprofits
Average website visitors are up (increased 11% over 2013)
BUT
Average donation per website visitor is down (decreased
nearly 12% from 2013)
Source: 2015 M+R Benchmarks Study
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7. Online Giving
is More Important Than Ever
Online gifts increased…
• 14% in 2013, and
• 13% in 2014.
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10. Email is an Important Source
of Online Revenue
Source: 2015 M+R Benchmarks Study
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11. Bottom line:
More emails = More revenue =
More resources to
advance your mission
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12. @mnrebs #16NTCpopup

13. The result?
I added two more subscribers per month, on
average.
Two
2
1…2…
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New Email Subscribers Per Month
Before After

16. “We have also had great success using our
website's popup function... We learned this by
surprise when I decided to set our splash page
to pop up over the weekend and ask for email
addresses -- when I came in on Monday, we had
nearly 50 new email addresses.”
Kimber Wukitsch
Digital Marketing Manager
Galapagos Conservancy
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23. Pop-ups are a secret
weapon against
inattention blindness
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25. 2.21
2.39
2.44
2.59 2.59
2.73
2
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6
2.7
2.8
Flyer
Templates
(Squeeze
Page)
Events or
Webinars
Pop-Up Internal Pages
(Not
Homepage)
Homepage Grant List
(Squeeze
Page)
AvgEngagementScore(Outof5)
Subscriber Source
Engagement Score by Subscriber Source
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26. 21.74 21.47
5.88 5.63 4.48
1.75
0
5
10
15
20
25
Events or
Webinars
Flyer
Templates
(Squeeze
Page)
Pop-Up Grant List
(Squeeze
Page)
Internal Pages
(Not
Homepage)
Homepage
PercentChurnRate
Subscriber Source
Churn Rates by Subscriber Source
Over One Year
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27. Let’s Hear What Some Internet
Users Say About Pop-Ups
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28. “I also find pop ups annoying – especially when
I’m already signed up to the mailing list, BUT…
it’s not going to stop me from reading the
content.
I just close the pop up. Simple!”
@mnrebs #16NTCpopup

29. “I’ve always hated popups… but it is true that they
are effective in generating visibility for a sign up (or
whatever) and if the content or site is legit, then
people won’t mind,
in the same way that I don’t mind watching a short
commercial for a good Youtube video (but only from
a quality producer who I like).”
@mnrebs #16NTCpopup

30. “Feelings vs outcomes.
I hate pop-ups. They annoy me.
But, since I began using them last month on our
sites…opt-in rates are up 527%!
I still don’t like pop-ups, but I absolutely love
those numbers. I’m ready for some more emotional
divestment that nets outcomes like that :-).”
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31. Types of Pop-Ups
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32. Entry:
Pops up right away when they visit the page
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33. Welcome Mat:
A cousin to the pop-up that displays a
full-screen call to action right away
when they visit your page
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34. Exit Intent:
Pops up as they’re leaving your site
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35. Timed:
Pops up after a specific amount of time
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36. Countdown:
Closes the pop-up after a
specific amount of time
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38. Content-Based:
Only pops up on specific pages
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42. Yes or no popupsYes or No:
Asks visitors a question before asking
them to take action
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45. Click-Based:
Pops up when they click within your site
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46. Scroll:
Pops up after visitors scroll down the page
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48. Slide-ins:
A cousin to the pop-up that slides in on
the bottom of the page, usually after a
visitor scrolls down
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50. You + Pop-Ups
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51. What to Ask For in Your Pop-Up
• Subscribe to email (recommended)
• Follow you on social media
• Donate (recommended only during December and specific
fundraising campaigns)
• Read about an announcement
• Take a survey
• Sign up for a training or webinar
• Sign up to be a volunteer
• Renew membership or become a member
@mnrebs #16NTCpopup

52. What to do if Your Boss/Team is
Still Not on Board
• Use a different name besides “pop-up.” For example,
overlays or splash pages
• Do an experiment:
– Monitor bounce rate w/ and w/o pop-up
– Track conversions w/ and w/o pop-up
– Track email engagement by subscriber source
• Show examples of other nonprofit pop-ups
• Compromise: Only show on top exit pages. These visitors
leave your site anyway.
@mnrebs #16NTCpopup

53. Disadvantages of Using Pop-Ups
• Yes, some people may leave and never come
back (not likely)
• Some kinds of pop-ups may slow your page
load time which could put a ding in your SEO
(especially ones with scripts)
• Without the right message at the right time, it
can distract from the user experience
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54. Align Pop-Ups with Your
Communication Strategy
• What goal(s) will they help you reach?
• Do you have time to monitor the stats and do
testing?
• Do you have follow-up communication in
place?
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55. Choose the Pop-Up Type
That Fits Your Style
• Click-based, scroll-based, content-based, and slide-ins:
These will help ensure visitors are interested in the
content
• Exit intent: You aren’t interrupting them in the middle of
reading an article, and they’re leaving anyway
• Entrance and welcome mats: Only use these if you’re
ready to test them and make adjustments
• Timed: Show within the first 30-60 seconds
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56. How to Not Annoy Your Web Visitors
(As Much)
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57. “The problem isn’t the idea of
‘pop-ups.’ It’s the implementation
of annoying, repetitive and
inescapable pop-ups.”
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58. How to Not Be Annoying
• Don’t show to returning visitors, at least for a
few days
• Don’t show on membership pages, donate
pages, thank you pages, etc.
• Put on your top exit pages if you’re worried
about turning people away
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59. Be Kind to Your Email Subscribers
Block Pop-Ups for People
Visiting Your Website From Email
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60. Make It Relevant
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61. Make It Easy to Sign Up
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62. Make It Accessible
• Pop-ups may be annoying for some, but can
prevent people using screen readers from
accessing the information on your website.
• Use this guide to help make your pop-up
accessible: http://bit.ly/25leagF
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63. Have a Clear Exit
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64. Best Practices
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65. #1 Rule: Deliver Good Content
This will keep visitors on your site and negate
any annoying feeling they got from the popup
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66. Ask For Something Small First
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67. Make Sure It’s Mobile Friendly
(Or Disable Them on Mobile Devices)
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68. Let Them Know They’re Safe From Spam
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69. Let Them Sign Up Within the Pop-Up
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70. Make It Timely
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71. Another Timely Pop-Up Example
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72. Tap Into Emotions
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73. Use One Compelling Image
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74. Make It Stand Out
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75. Add Something of Value
• Training, report, tool, etc.
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76. Use Social Proof
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77. Be Clear About What They’re Getting
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78. Use Action Words in Your Button
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79. Another Example
of Using Action Words
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80. Tailor Content to Your Audience
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81. Test, Test, Test
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82. Mobile Pop-Up Test
• Cousteau.org
• Rememberingjordan.org
• Actionagainsthunger.org
• Adl.org
• Edf.org
• Humanesociety.org
• Hrw.org
• Pih.org
• Fhfh.org
• Kidneyfund.org
• Firstcandle.org
• Foe.org
• Rmi.org
• Bornfreeusa.org
• Greenpeace.org
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83. How to Analyze Your Results
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84. The Two Most Important
Stats to Track
#1: Number of subscribers, social media
followers, donations, downloads, or anything
else you’re using the popups for. See if you have
a spike in activity when the popup is on.
#2: Use built-in analytics to track conversion rate
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85. Conversion Rates
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86. My Conversion Rate
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87. Track Email Engagement
Sort your list by subscribe source. Compare how
engaged your subscribers are in these areas:
• Open rate
• Click through rate
• Member rating (MailChimp)
• Churn rate (how many people leave your list due
to unsubscribes or bounced emails)
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88. Track pixels
See data in your website analytics for people
who were shown the popup and who subscribed
Insert code here that tells you the popup showed up on the page
Insert code here that tells you that the person subscribed
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89. Tools
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90. What to Look for in a Pop-Up Tool
• Compatibility with your current email program
• A/B testing
• Analytics
• Tracking pixels so you can track your results
• Being able to adjust features
• Mobile friendly
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91. Pop-Ups That Work on Any Website
• Sumome
• Wishpond
• Optin Monster
• LeadBoxes
• OptiMonk
• Picreel
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92. Pop-Ups Just for WordPress
• Popup Ally
• List Fusion
• OptIn Ninja
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93. What You’ve Seen Today
• Why it’s a good idea to use pop-ups
• Types of pop-ups
• How to use pop-ups without being annoying
• How to analyze your results
• Tools to get you started
• A lot of nonprofit pop-up examples
@mnrebs #16NTCpopup

94. Questions?
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95. Thank you for attending!
My contact information:
Rebecca Reyes
rebecca@springmediastrategies.com
@mnrebs
Evaluation link: http://po.st/jXZPT4
(also in the collaborative notes: http://po.st/popup-16NTC)
@mnrebs #16NTCpopup