Intrusive and Non-Intrusive Opt-in Boxes: A Detailed Analysis

“Should I use pop-ups on my site?”

This is a question you’ve asked before, isn’t it? The early years of the internet really spoiled the word for everyone. Whenever you mention pop-ups to someone not into internet marketing these days, their minds quickly drift to a time where their computer screen was overloaded with ads.

But that’s not the case these days. Pop-ups have evolved.

Pop-ups are less intrusive now. They’re more fluid, easier to get rid of and actually aren’t that detrimental (if at all) to a user’s experience. But the question still remains, should you use them on your site? And that’s exactly what this article intends to address.

What can we compare to?

Before we can know whether or not we should use pop-ups, we need an alternative reference point. We need something that we can look at as a replacement for the intrusive pop-up boxes, that’ll serve the function but either do it better, worse or differently.

The alternative to intrusive pop-up boxes in this case is non-intrusive opt-in boxes. A non-intrusive opt-in box is any box that you have on your site, or have seen on a site, that allows for the user to opt-in without it being shoved in their face. A good example of this is a feature box.

What is the key difference?

So there are a few distinctions between the intrusive and non-intrusive opt-in boxes. While most people are already aware of these distinctions, it’s worth going over what exactly makes something intrusive or not.

An intrusive pop-up box is exactly that. It comes up on to your screen. It intrudes on your experience, and you have to click away from it or close it. To take Further.net as an example, this is their intrusive pop-up:

However, when we close the pop-up, we’re left with a non-intrusive opt-in box that’s clearly set fluidly into the page’s content. This means that it’s not intruding on the user’s experience in any capacity, as they can just scroll right past it like they would any other page element.

What are the pros and cons?

Now that we’re aware of the stark differences between a intrusive and non-intrusive opt-in boxes, it’s probably time to weigh them up against each other. As with all things opt-in – the way to do this is mainly through the conversion rates people report on average.

Intrusive Pop-ups

Average conversion rate: Around 4%. With significant optimising, they can potentially crack around 6-7%.

Pros:

• They isolate the user and force them to give their entire focus to the opt-in process. This leads to a lot less confusion, and usually a lot more opting in.
• You can be certain your visitor hasn’t missed your plea for them to opt in, which gives valuable information about what your targeted audience do and don’t like.
• They’re ridiculously easy to implement. You could literally search for a plugin on Google and find 10 different very effective results.
• They take up NO page space. The space on your page is real estate that needs to be expended wisely. A pop-up gives you flexibility with your opt-in boxes without the worry of drawing attention away from other things on your site. (Provided they continue to browse after closing the pop-up.)

Cons:

• They are intrusive. They will annoy some people. Sadly this is the reality of popping something up on someone’s screen unwarranted and without warning.
• The intrusion will cause some people to leave your site. Even if they would’ve potentially opted in by any other method, pop-ups annoy people.
• Can cause you to lose potential subscribers while you’re testing to figure out whether or not they’ll work for your blog.

Non-intrusive Feature Boxes

Average conversion rate: It varies massively depending on who you speak to. On average, the conversion is somewhere around the 5-10% area. Others have reported as large as 30%. This is definitely down to the audience in question and how relevant the incentive offer is.

Pros:

• They’re very visible. As feature boxes are above the fold, they’re always seen by the user. This makes for a great way to be both non-intrusive and very visible simultaneously.

• Doesn’t distract the user from your content. Once they’ve scrolled past the feature box to read your post, that’s all they’ll see. There’s no distracting or intrusive quality to it.

• They convert massively considering they’re not at all intrusive. They’re actually the top converting ‘general incentive’ opt-in option.

Cons:

• Because they’re not distracting, once a user has scrolled past them – there’s no guarantee that it’ll be seen again. You really need to make your first impression the impression that converts.
• As they appear on every page of a blog, the incentive has to be rather generalised, which can lead to a lot lower conversion rates. (But there are plugins being released that are addressing this issue!)

Non-intrusive Sidebar Opt-in Boxes

Average conversion rate: The average conversion rate for a sidebar opt-in box is less than 1%. There are anomalies, of course, but most people do not regard this as the most effective way to grow your list.

Pros:

• They’re always seen, much like feature boxes, but without adding a huge gap between your header and your content. This is nice if you want people to get straight into your content, but you also want to give them the option to sign up at the same time.

• They’re very simple and easy to implement. Nobody can get confused with the simple sidebar opt-in box. They’ve been around for as long as blogging has. (Almost?)

• Easy to customise. The sidebar is a very versatile patch of real estate on your blog, if you’re a WordPress user at least, so it’s easy to tweak it to make it very you.

Cons:

• They do not convert well. Point blank, that’s the killer here. They’re just not as effective as other techniques out there. That’s one of the prices to pay for simplicity.
• Sidebars may be on their way out in regards to conversion rates. That would make sidebar email opt-ins rather obsolete if this becomes the new online marketing trend.
• They can look pretty damn tacky when they’re not done right.

Content Upgrades

Average conversion rate: Content upgrades average at 20% conversion rate, sometimes way more. There’s even reported spikes of 62%. This makes them the highest converting opt-in technique currently in usage, as far as we know.

Pros:

• They’re highly relevant, causing huge opt-in rates. Users are getting incentives directly related to the post they’re reading, so they’re far more enticed to sign up as a result.

• They create a far greater user experience. By providing solely relevant incentives with content upgrades, users are not bombarded with things that may have no relevance to their interests.

• They’re relatively easy to implement, especially if you’re using tools such as LeadBoxes and Promo Box.

• They are the highest converting non-intrusive opt-in technique out there. And no intrusive method can even parallel the rates they produce.

Cons:

• They take a fair bit of work. You need to create a highly relevant offer. You need to write highly relevant copy for said upgrade – there’s no re-using and generalising when it comes to this specific targeting.
• They’re not always as visible as other opt-in methods. You really need to put across in your post the value of the content upgrade, and do a good job of selling it without giving a sales pitch.
• They can be finicky to set up. You need to create new opt-in boxes for every single upgrade you make. This means a lot of tweaking around on plugins, which to some can be a pretty massive seeming chore.

Which is the best?

So, if you’ve read through those pros and cons of intrusive and non-intrusive opt-in boxes; you likely know which is best. In case you missed it, intrusive pop-ups fall short in conversion rates by around 2 to 18% on average. That makes the non-intrusive opt-in options best. (Because they even provide a better user experience.)

But, with that said, you must remember that just because non-intrusive options are the better choice in most cases – pop-ups still have their place. 3-6% conversion rates are certainly not small or negligible amounts. You just have to know when and where to use them.

Conclusion

Yes. You should use pop-ups on your site. Provided they work well with your audience, because in this ever-changing technological landscape – what works for one group of people is not going to work for another. You’ve got to look into it yourself.

Perform your own tests. Find out what works best for you and your audience. While it’s clear some options here out-perform others significantly, it doesn’t mean that you can’t use all of them in conjunction with each other.

We’ve analysed the options, but analysing can only do so much. Eventually you have to get out there and put things into action. This post is merely your starting block. Your guide as to what you should be aiming to surpass. Now get out there and build your list, you’re ready.

If you know someone trying to figure out whether or not to use pop-ups on their site – or if you just know someone that would enjoy reading it – consider sharing this post with them. Got any words of advice on using pop-ups? Drop them in the comments below!