{"id":643,"date":"2016-01-04T10:10:00","date_gmt":"2016-01-04T04:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.plugmatter.com\/?p=643"},"modified":"2016-01-04T10:10:00","modified_gmt":"2016-01-04T04:40:00","slug":"intrusive-and-non-intrusive-opt-in-boxes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/plugmatter.com\/spark\/intrusive-and-non-intrusive-opt-in-boxes\/","title":{"rendered":"Intrusive and Non-Intrusive Opt-in Boxes: A Detailed Analysis"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cShould I use pop-ups on my site?\u201d<\/p>\n

This is a question you\u2019ve asked before, isn\u2019t it? The early years of the internet really spoiled the word for everyone. Whenever you mention pop-ups to someone not <\/i>into internet marketing these days, their minds quickly drift to a time where their computer screen was overloaded with ads.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s not the case these days. Pop-ups have evolved.<\/p>\n

Pop-ups are less intrusive now. They\u2019re more fluid, easier to get rid of and actually aren\u2019t that detrimental (if at all) to a user\u2019s experience. But the question still remains, should you use them on your site? And that\u2019s exactly what this article intends to address.<\/p>\n

What can we compare to?<\/h3>\n

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\u2019ll serve the function but either do it better, worse or differently.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

What is the key difference?<\/h3>\n

So there are a few distinctions between the intrusive and\u00a0non-intrusive opt-in boxes. While most people are already aware of these distinctions, it\u2019s worth going over what exactly makes something intrusive or not.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> as an example, this is their intrusive pop-up:<\/p>\n

\"example<\/a><\/p>\n

However, when we close the pop-up, we\u2019re left with a non-intrusive opt-in box that\u2019s clearly set fluidly into the page\u2019s content. This means that it\u2019s not intruding on the user\u2019s experience in any capacity, as they can just scroll right past it like they would any other page element.<\/p>\n

\"further.net<\/a><\/p>\n

What are the pros and cons?<\/h3>\n

Now that we\u2019re aware of the stark differences between a intrusive and non-intrusive opt-in boxes, it\u2019s probably time to weigh them up against each other. As with all things opt-in \u2013 the way to do this is mainly through the conversion rates people report on average.<\/p>\n

Intrusive Pop-ups<\/b><\/p>\n

\"pro-blogger<\/a><\/p>\n

Average conversion rate:<\/b> Around 4%<\/a>. With significant optimising, they can potentially crack around 6-7%.<\/p>\n

Pros:<\/b><\/p>\n