15 Pop Up Examples
Contrary to popular belief, most internet browsers do allow pop-ups. In fact, according to a report by Business Insider, less than 20% of Americans actually use pop-up blocker software. And, even if the software is enabled, pop-up blockers don't always work.
But what does it take to make a pop-up truly work without frustrating and annoying your site visitors? To help inspire your next creation, let's take a look at 15 real-world pop-up examples that utilize all of the elements necessary to create some of the best pop-ups in the marketing world.
1 - The Animated pop-up
By Lemonstand
Have you ever noticed that your eyes are naturally drawn to movement? The human brain is hardwired to attract to motion, so why not use movement and motion in a pop-up? This example from Lemonstand embraces animation to drum up qualified leads by offering a free eBook.
If you're unable to include animated elements on a pop-up itself, animating the whole module can be a great solution. Build a fly-in pop-up that is triggered by a specific event and you'll achieve the eye-catching movement that makes this technique work so well.
2 - The countdown timer pop-up
By Mobile Monkey
A leading psychological hack that marketers can—and should—use is scarcity. The “going, going, gone” mentality can be incredibly persuasive. If you have ever opted into a limited-time offer or sale, you’ve fallen for this sales hack!
Scarcity refers to someone’s attraction to things there are either available in limited quantities or are available for a limited length of time. When someone thinks “what I want now I might not be able to get later down the road,” they are more apt to pull the trigger to click, opt-in, or buy something. Ergo, using a timer on a pop-up page is a very effective lead generation strategy.
3 - High contrast pop-up
By Drip
Imagine scrolling through a page. What grabs the attention of your eyes? Movement? Yes. But what about those colorful high contrast images?
One sure-fire design principle that is effective across industries and businesses is color contrast.
According to a psychological principle known as the Isolation Effect, an item that stands out "like a sore thumb" is more likely to be remembered. Psychology Today also backs the idea that colors play an important role in branding and influencing the mind. People are able to recognize and recall things far better (be it text or an image) when it blatantly sticks out from its surroundings.
Additionally, the Aesthetic Response to Color Combinations and Consumer Preferences for Color Combinations studies also reveal that the majority of consumers favor high contrast colors in marketing.
Here’s a great example of a high contrast pop-up from Drip. It effectively utilizes white space, simple shapes, and the fluorescent colors make the pop-up practically pop off the page.
4 - The value-driven pop-up
By Leadpages
As with any marketing strategy, it’s always important to answer “why” and address the question: “What’s in it for the reader?”
When writing copy for pop-ups, it's important to be persuasive, but not annoying.
If your copy doesn’t show your brand’s value, you will lose out on opt-ins and subscribers. Marketers should include a unique selling proposition that compels visitors to take the next step in their journey with your brand.
In the value-driven pop-up example below, Leadpages clearly states the “why” in the text by edging business owners who may be flailing with their landing pages to seek inspiration for their page design by downloading a lookbook file that is filled with real-world examples of landing pages.
Oh, and if you want the Landing Page Lookbook (it's one of our most popular pieces of content) you can download it here.
5 - The access offer pop-up
By MarketingLand.com
Do you want to make your pop-up different than those of the dreary masses? Rather than promoting the same old messages, spend some time brainstorming a unique or unexpected offer that you can give access to in exchange for a prospect customer's email address.
The access offer example (below) from Marketing Land features a pop-up that offers access to a video replay of a recent webinar. The pop-up design features high contrast colors and social proof (by listing the names of their two presenters). By combining the colors and social proof, visitors are enticed by the pop-up ad, rather than annoyed by it. This is exactly what to aim for when creating a lead capture pop-up: a compelling offer that aligns with your audiences and catches their attention (and interest) at just the right moment.
6 - The social proof pop-up
By Social Media Examiner
Visitors who are confused about making a purchase decision of some kind are likely to turn to other businesses. This is why reviews are powerful and effective marketing and sales tools.
Otherwise known as the “bandwagon effect,” the consensus principle is about making a decision based on others who have made the same choice. So why do customers make decisions this way? Many people naturally assume that others are more knowledgeable about particular areas or subject matters, so these people turn to others to make a final decision.
To really make your pop-up pop, include social proof mechanisms. The term “social proof” is a psychological or social phenomenon where people are more likely to take action or make a purchase because other people like them or companies they know and trust already has.
In the example below, Social Media Examiner includes the number of subscribers (500,000) to create social proof that its Marketing Industry Report is worthy download that will be beneficial to its customers. In this case, the social proof is simply: this may people have benefitted from this, so will you.
Many other brands have found success by adding social integrations and share numbers on a pop-up.
By Shoe Money
While visual design is important to consider when creating a pop-up, generating copy that is enticing and persuasive is equally important. By incorporating an intelligent button or call to action (CTA) into a pop-up, your business can easily help to guide customers toward conversion with your brand. See if there's an opportunity to implement a CTA button with text that makes a customer feel like they will miss out on important information or a once-in-a-lifetime deal if they don't click on the button. But be careful here; don't exaggerate your claim to a point where it's unbelievable (or worse, untrue).
In the example below, rather than offering customers bland "Yes" and "No" options, Shoe Money offers two reader CTAs: “Yes, Hook it Up” or “No, I Have Enough Money.” Both options capture the reader's attention through the use of fun and snappy copy that encourages a customer to think twice about turning down a great offer.
8 - The personality pop-up
By Merriam Webster
“Using a conversational tone will resonate more with your shoppers and will increase your conversions,” notes BetaOut.
Have you ever heard of Merriam Webster’s “Word of the Day”? Merriam Webster humanizes its brand by using words such as “you” and “you're” in its pop-up copy. When readers see these words on a screen, they immediately feel that the text is personal, and it effectively establishes a connection to the brand. In addition, the pop-up example below contains an adorable image of a librarian cat, which displays a fun brand personality and makes people naturally like the brand.
9- The authority pop-up
By Lewis Howes
Another persuasive technique drawn from the depths of psychology textbooks involves the use of authority. As another form of social proof (mentioned above), when people are uncertain about making a decision, they oftentimes seek guidance through authoritative figures. Any person or brand with specialized knowledge, credentials, or even an air of confidence can be viewed as an authority on a given subject matter.
In this example, social media guru and self-help expert Lewis Howes displays authority in his subscribe pop-up by including the logos of the media outlets he’s been featured on, further validating visitor trust and promoting people to contribute to an email list.
10 - The unique offer pop-up
By Neil Patel
Draw customers into your brand by creating unique lead magnets. In the example below, Neil Patel offers readers access to a quiz that will teach them how to get more traffic and rank higher in Google. Patel is incredibly specific about what he's offering: a 3-minute quiz that will deliver specific results (rank higher) in less than 30 days—that's a pretty compelling and specific benefit. This unique offer pop-up delivers clarity what the person will get or achieve which, ultimately, leads to confidence. And when a visitor feels more confident, they're more likely to convert.
11 - The minimalist pop-up
By Optimonk
Your design and copy don't have to be complex in order to be effective.
In fact, website visitors tend to scan rapidly through web content and decide quickly whether they want “in” or “out.” This example from Optimonk is a perfect embodiment of simplicity. It's clean, it's concise, and it gets to the point quickly, so you're not spending more than a moment deciding whether or not you want this.
12 - The mouth-watering pop-up
By Blue Apron
Adding alluring imagery to a pop-up can help customers visualize your offer or message more clearly. In the example below, Blue Apron includes four pictures of mouth-watering meals in its pop-up to entice prospective customers to take a bite of an offer that is too good to overlook. Of course, this isn't exclusive to food—any image of something your audience finds enticing (a car, a house, a beach, textiles—you name it) does the trick here. Just make sure the quality of the image is good.
Some brands even add a video within a pop-up to elevate the visual ante.
13 - The transparent pop-up
By The 4-Hour Work Week
Typically you see pop-ups with a solid background, but Tim Ferriss of 4-Hour Workweek designed his pop-up to display a pensive image of himself in the background. This type of transparent pop-up is effective because it creates the illusion that the pop-up covers the whole screen. Plus, in this, case showing images of faces is a proven neuromarketing hack.
14 - The coupon pop-up
By Toms
Providing a coupon or discount offer is a great way to encourage your website visitors to make a purchase. It's often the one thing that turns a quick glance at a product page into a full-on conversion. Plus, if a customer isn't quite ready to hit the checkout button, coupons and discounts serve as incentives to visit the website (and complete the checkout process) at a later date. In this example, Toms cleverly offers a coupon as a gateway (lead magnet) to entice visitors to subscribe to its marketing newsletter, which contains information about new products, offers, specials, and more.
15 - The first-time customer coupon pop-up
By Baublebar
Have you ever found yourself casually shopping on an unfamiliar brand's website when suddenly—out of the blue—an instant coupon magically appears on your screen? What you've witnessed is a classic example of a first-time customer coupon pop-up. In the example below, Baublebar effectively targets prospective first-time customers who are unfamiliar with its brand by offering a first-time customer coupon. This type of pop-up can help to encourage new customers to try a new e-commerce site by taking advantage of a one-time offer.
Ready to make your marketing life easier?
The 15 best pop-up examples that we've highlighted in this article showcase the brand-awareness power that pop-ups possess. From promoting your business to growing your subscriber list, a pop-up can be an effective marketing tool to help your online business flourish.
If you're ready to take your online business to the next level, check out pop-ups from Leadpages. A pop-up window that appears when site visitors click on a designated link, image, button, or text, and pop-ups allow you to turn any webpage or blog post into a major source of leads.
Leadpages' drag-and-drop pop-up builder lets you quickly customize your pop-up opt-in forms any way you like. Add fields, buttons, images, timers, icons, and even a video. You can also change the backgrounds, colors, and layout of each individual pop-up so that it matches each special offer as well as your business's brand. You can also paste the tracking code from your favorite analytics service into the analytics fields and collect additional data.
Pop-ups are so effective and easy to deploy that some of our customers have created hundreds of them, gaining opt-ins from literally every page or post published. This includes places like:
- Sidebar widgets on your blog
- Your website’s navigation bar
- Inside your blog posts (so that you can deliver content upgrades in exchange for an opt-in)
- Links in your guest blog posts (so that you can collect leads directly from a partner’s website)
To start collecting leads, simply integrate your new pop-ups with your favorite email platform. Once you integrate, you can automatically grow any list inside your email platform with each pop-up.
