Whoa! What is with those sites that have audio that turns on the second you visit the site? Don’t they scare the hell out of you? Or how about pop-ups that show up just as you start reading a blog post?
Can You Have Audio That Works?
Here are three different examples of audio on blogs that work without scaring the crap out your readers. Each one gives your reader the choice to turn the audio on.
Marketing For Smart People Radio, is a weekly radio show by Copy Blogger Brian Clark his host Robert Bruce. This audio is created with the Audio Player WordPress plugin. You can upload this plugin right from your plugins menu.
Trapper Sherwood has used the PodPress plugin on his site. This is another audio plugin that can be uploaded right from your plugins menu.
Now those two plugins do have a learning curve but don’t worry Michelle Shaffer has found an audio tool anyone can use.
Michelle uses Cinchcast on her site. Record your voice and add it to your site with this easy to use tool. You can connect to Cinch right through Michelle’s site and create your very own Cinchcast.
Pop-ups, In Your Face Marketing
There is no doubt that Pop-ups are in your face marketing that manages to be a hotly debated topic. In fact people pay for pop-up blockers. The term “pop up blocker” has 165,00 global searches a month. And the term “popup blocker” has another 74,000 in global monthly searches.
Still pop-ups are a great way to give your visitors a clear call to action. Whether you are using them for your an optin for you email list or to offer a product.
I am going to weigh in here and say that pop-ups are a great way to grab your readers attention; The key is to use them in a way that is not irritating. You want results. You want: THE READER TO TAKE ACTION.
Subscribers Magnet by MaxblogPress gives you several options for your pop-ups. You have control of your pop-ups. From how many times a visitor sees the pop-up and when they see it.
Pop-ups are only 1 of 5 ways that Subscribers Magnet can be used to add a subscribe box to your site. The best part is that once your visitors have commented the optin boxes be come auto filled with their information, increasing your call to action.
Exit Pop-ups
Here are two sites that do well with using “exit pop-ups”. Which is a good way to use pop-ups that do not scare or irritate your readers.
Allex Whalley invites you to optin and make money with “Build Rank Profit.”
Fran Ashlam of FransTips.com uses her exit pop-up to advertise her WordPress product.
Pop-up Poll
Here is your chance to weigh in. First take the poll and the tell me what you think in the comments.
[polldaddy poll="4675661"]
Sheila
P.S. As a part of this landing pages series, do have some pet peeves that bug you when you go to a site?
I have had some audios turn on when I entered a site, and they always surprise you. As for exit popups, I never turn into a lead for them. If I want to leave a site, then I want to leave, PERIOD. I do not mind a regular lead popup though, and occasionally use them. I just don’t want them to show up every single time I visit the site, so they should be set to only display once a month or so for a single ip or cookie.
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Brandon,
Thanks for your input. It is good to see what people think so we can make decisions for ourselves.
I’ll be honest and tell you which two I ticked…
They annoy me and I leave the site.
I dislike pop-ups that interrupt my reading.
Its quite rare that I will return to a site that has popups on them. Regarding music and videos that auto-play I don’t tend to re-visit. I don’t mind advertisements that are on the sidebar or in the middle of content because they are not an annoyance.
Phil recently posted..What Makes An Awesome Blogger
Phil,
I am not a pop up fan either and I have not used them on my site. Others claim they do well with them. I like the fact that we can click away from those things we dislike.
Thanks for taking the survey. All votes count.
Hi Sheila:
There you go another new post. Do you ever sleep or go out, You are always doing your next thing needed. I wish I could be this motivated. I try but it is so hard there is a to do list on my mind about online work. As usual very good topic. About pop ups and people being annoyed. Actually I myself do not like pop ups, this was a suggestion from a good friend and he did for me. Hey but it worked, it got my blogs mentioned with picture on your site. However, thank you for doing that.
With your post you have touched a very sensitive topic for online marketers, you have written and formatted this post very well.
Sheila I will love, for you to read my current blog post as it is about celebrating Women’s International day tomorrow and it is the 100th anniversary.
Thank you for every thing you do for.
Fran A
Fran Aslam From Onlinewriter recently posted..Women’s International Day Centenary 1911 – 2011
Fran,
I was wondering if you get sales from your pop up? I have seen product pop-ups on niche sites and I have considered using them on a couple of niche sites.
Happy Women’s International Day. I loved your post and honor you.
Thanks for the kudos.
I really don’t like to see pop ups,or audio scaring me as soon as i enter.I likes blogs that are simple yet informative
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Barn,
I like going to sites that are informative too. And the simpler the better. At the same time big sites like Mashable give tons of good info but they are not very simple. Of course at this point in the game they could do just about anything they want. Finding a happy medium and one that works Newbies and the average blogger is a must.
I do appreciate the fact that each site can advertise what and how they want. Whether pop-ups really work is what interests me.
I don’t like the audio nor the pop-up. I think both are “Rude.” The fact that contact is made online seems to give some marketers the idea they can be “in the face” of their readers. Something they would never do if they were meeting potential customers off line.
Can you imagine greeting your customer with a “Bull Horn” the minute they stepped into the door of your “brick and mortar” business? Or, two minutes into a conversation… someone sticks a “buy me” sign in front of their noses? Wouldn’t go over very well face to face and in my opinion is in poor taste online too.
Kathryn Griffiths recently posted..The Power Of Three In Online Marketing and Promotion
I hate pop-up, quite annoying as it shows every time whenever you visit that blog.
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Vivek,
If you are going to use a pop-up having good control is important.
Sheila, I knew I was going to love this post the minute I read your title. YES! Those things scare the crap out of me when they pop up. Especially the audio, depending on how loud my sound was set the last time I used it. Sometimes the volume can be really high.
Yep they are annoying. And my first reaction every time is to close them or ignore them.
But here’s the thing. As an internet marketer, shouldn’t we be paying attention to what other people are doing? Shouldn’t we be taking a look at their offering e.g. price, product, packaging, call to action, sales copy, sizzle, and close, to name a few?
Rather than get annoyed at sales pitches, I like to analyze what’s being done.
This was another great post Sheila. I don’t know how you manage to deliver every time! Nicely done thanks for the great resources!
~Theresa
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Theresa,
Theresa,
Great question. I like to analyze what is being done too. Internet marketing can move into so many different directions fast. Deciding what works best for you and your niche can be a trick.
I thought it would be a good idea to ask blog visitors what they think. When I saw the number of people that are searching to block pop-ups I was amazed at how many people claim they are doing well with them.
I know I do not see as many pop-ups as most people seem to see. My Mac helps to prevent them and so does my browser. I use FireFox and they have several really great pop-up blockers.
Yep they are annoying. And my first reaction every time is to close them or ignore them.
Tom, Thanks taking note of your vote.
AudioBoo’s are the one’s that scare me LOL!
I think pop-up’s, whether visual and/or audio, can really help conversions if they’re done right.
I see you’re using MaxBlogPress Sheila. Any results on conversion rates yet?
I’m about to test a top of page one like you have above (Because you want to learn…), and also an exit pop-up–both free with other software than MBP.
Mtn Jim
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Jim,
Hehe,
I think you are right, both can increase conversions when done right. It is a matter of being effective.
Yes, my stripe ad has been great! This is one of MaxBlogPress’ free plugins. It is so easy to set up. It is one of the best things I have done.
http://www.newbielifeline.com/recommends/stripeads
I use 3 free MaxBlogPress plugins. 2 of them work behind the scenes.
I also use 2 paid plugins that I absolutely love:
Ninja Affiliate cloaks and hyperlinks my affiliate links in my posts. It also has an easy stats tracker so I can see how many people are looking at my different ad campaigns.
http://www.newbielifeline.com/recommends/ninjaaffiliate
I can’t say enough about how much I like Max’s Subscribers Magnet. I am still in the testing stages for optin placement etc. But I am thrilled with the increase in opt ins so far.
You get 5 choices for opt ins. It works great with aWeber and I love he auto fill feature. Plus you control when, where and how your pop-up is seen.
http://www.newbielifeline.com/recommends/optinmagnet
Hope it is Spring up your way. Thanks for commenting
There you go again Sheila– making me laugh and raise an eyebrow as I read your witty prose
This was great though, and I actually learned a little about pop-ups.
Personally, I kinda hate the things, especially if they’re interruptive to me reading a new article. Alex’s method isn’t too bad. Honestly, I hope I never have to do ‘em.
Thanks again for being awesome
Marcus
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Marcus,
I am trying out some new headline tactics. The interesting ones are drawing more people from Twitter and from Comment Luv.
I have avoided using them on this blog, but I am testing the exit pop-up on another site.
I really am interested in just how effective they really are. Do people click and do they convert? Especially with ads.
Always good to have you comment. Thanks
Sheila, I don’t use a pop-up or auto audio/video on my site….at least yet…:)
When I have used videos for a post, they are not automatically on, it is my viewers option to turn it on.
Whenever I am surfing though, I do keep my volume down, just in case one jumps up to surprise me…:)
As for pop-ups, I realize that most websites need to build their list and I don’t mind it if I am given the option.
I am considering a plug-in that builds lists, but it slides in anywhere you choose and has an X to get rid of it, (not sure of other options at this point).
Most sales pages these days tend to have several pop ups, or on exit and it does tend to be annoying, but if I don’t like the offer, I just click to leave page.
My feeling is that if we expect someone to look at our offers, then we should expect to do the same.for them as well.
Bottom line is I don’t want to harass anyone, but I do want an opportunity to make some money, after all, it is why we do it.
Good post!
Dan Reed@internet marketing secrets recently posted..Internet Marketing Tip Prospect Geyser Review Free Lead Generation
Dan,
You make a very good point about being marketed to and marketing to others. I think we all face the same dilemma…. being effective enough to get results.
I get the game when I look at a sales page. I generally expect a “but wait” pop-up. But when there are more than one it seem desperate.
At the same time that is me. I search out what others are doing so I see one heck of a lot when it comes to sales pages and pop-ups. My target market is the Newbie, what will he tolerate?
Thanks for your food for thought.
Sheila
I can just about live with a pop up that appears the first time I go to a site.
But on the whole I find them irritating at best, and almost ‘desperate’ at worse. Now I know there are people who use them and get great results – but I never will because I personally don’t like them.
If someone likes my content enough they’ll sign up. If they don’t, to me it feels like sticking a pop up in front of his face and stopping him reading is kind of like grabbing him by the shoulders and shouting at him. It’s one of the tactics that I don’t like.
My pet peeve with pop ups is when I go to a website – and there are three that I can think of in particular, I won’t name and shame them though – and I’m already subscribed to the newsletter list. And the pop up telling me to subscribe still appears!
Now that’s just overkill – and I can’t be the only one who gets annoyed about it and wants to unsubscribe. For me pop ups are a distinct no-no. But I’m guessing I’m in a minority! (And that’s also fine with me!).
paul
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Paul,
I have always like the idea of permission marketing. Optin email marketing is permission marketing. But the idea of forcing someone to give you permission seem like an oxymoron. Once I give permission I do not like to be asked again either.
Most pop-up plugins will give the option of having the pop-up stop once the person has opted in.
You are not in the minority. With 240,000 people looking for pop-up blockers that says something. And it looks like the rest of us are tolerating them.
Appreciate your input!
I dont really mind popups. Im pretty invisible to them, its almost second nature to close them out
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Edwin,
That is what I think what is happening. They are being used so much that they are becoming ignored.
When I watch TV I pretty much ignore the pop-ups. But sometimes they are so irritating especially if they are dancing around….now how effective is that? Thanks to NetFlix my little bit of TV viewing is much more sane.
The nasty, garish colors that most of us associate with spam are what turn me off. I’m a bit forgiving about layout and design elements. But easy on the loud colors, highlighter effects on the text, and please don’t auto-play anything!
Pop-ups, I don’t mind. I’ve joined lists because of them (knowing I could have clicked away). They just don’t bug me. The funny thing is I’d rather get a pop-up soon after landing on a page then set on a timer a full two minutes in or so because then it’s a total distraction.
By-the-way, I fully intend to use PodPress when I start offering more audio. Great post – I saw you over at The Sales Lion and wanted to drop by
Jon recently posted..3 Can’t-Fail Steps to Building Trust
Jon,
Glad you stopped by and commented. I like knowing what turns people off and what they do not mind.
The color thing can kill a blog. I know it sends me running.
Good luck with PodPress. I have not used it but the schematics look really similar to Audio Press. I have used Audio Press. Learning it was easier than getting use to speaking to the world.
Thanks for coming over from Macus’ site. He is great isn’t he?
Thanks for posting your survey on my blog.
The pop ups I dislike the most are the ones that keep reappearing several times while I’m visiting a site and EVERY time I click a tab to visit a new page. Really don’t appreciate that tactic one bit! It’s beyond annoying — but, at the moment, I can’t think of a more definitive or stronger word. I don’t make a return visit to sites like that. Once is enough for me!
I’ve got to admit, though, Sheila, all I ever hear are the tons of positive comments people make about their “conversions” with pop ups. I’ve been avoiding using one like the plague but I’m on the brink of caving in. Maybe I’ll start out on a ‘gentle’ note and install something like the bar you have across the top of your blog.
Melanie
P.S. I got a bang out of reading Kathy’s comments! She really tells it like it is. Thanks, Kathy!
Melanie,
What I wonder about is those conversions. How are they measuring it? How was it tested? And then I have to look at who is saying it. I do not see sites with really big numbers using them or promoting them
You hit the nail on the head….finding what works best for you and your readers.
First of all you are a gentle person, to do anything else with a pop-up would be wrong.
I like my stripe ad, it is very effective. You can change the colors and how often it shows on your site. Give it a try, it is free and easy to set up.
http://www.newbielifeline.com/recommends/stripeads
Thanks….as always.
Hey Sheila,
Thanks so much for the mention!
Here’s a great post on the pop over style ads that’s got some solid #s behind it you might find interesting:
http://www.problogger.net/archives/2008/10/23/how-to-drastically-increase-subscriber-numbers-to-your-email-newsletter/
And this is the post that motivated me to give it a try:
http://www.solo-e.com/blog/2011/02/increase-ezine-subscriber-rate-lightbox-popu.html
But I totally agree that it’s got to be done carefully and watching both opt ins and whether it drives away visitors. I detest the ones that appear every stinking time I visit a website and won’t let me through without subscribing (even if I’m opted in, which one website I *love* does and it makes me crazy).
Michelle Shaeffer recently posted..Blogging Like a Clover- Syndication
I just had to click your link on my blog. The title is great!
OK, to keep it short, I hate pop ups and click out of blogs most of the time when I see them. Sometimes, depending on my screen resolution, I guess, I can’t close the pop up.
But still, the most annoying things are the audios and videos that start automatically as soon as you land on the page.
Love the post, this was so fun and educational at the same time!
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Brankica,
From what I understand, your browser makes all the difference on being able to close pop-ups. IE users are the biggest complainers. Plus having good anti-malware and anti- virus makes helps.
The only pop-ups I experience come on when I visit a site or a sales page. They are what I consider invited pop-ups. I use FireFox for my browser and it controls pop-ups. So does my Mac.
Thanks for coming to see what the headline was all about. I have claimed to be the worst at writing headlines, so I am trying out some new tactics.
Popup’s are always an interesting topic. It has been pretty well proven statistaly that they do what is intended. they increase the signups. But they can get annoying. When it is a site I go to a lot they do not annoy me at all.
The only thing that bugs the crap out of me (when I am in “a mood”) is when they pop on a site have never visited before before I have read a word.
Outbound popups would take care of that problem nicely
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Steve,
I would like to see those statistics. I get that they can increase sign ups but when and where were these converting pop-ups placed on a site? How were they compared to traffic that just left the site? It looks to me as if time and place are key.
Like you said, a pop-up when you first come to a site is not effective… the person hasn’t even had a chance to see what you are about and you want their name and email address. The outbound pop-up seems to be the most sensible to me too.
Thanks for taking the time to comment.
First of all, I love that title. I don’t mind pop-ups when I’m leaving. That’s a lot better than the alternative or the ones where they sit in the middle of blog post. It kills me when I see a site bursting with ads, because you immediately get the impression they’re not really in this to help or solve a problem. Great post, Sheila.
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I agree about the audio. I like the option than it just starting out on its own. I’ve seen a few sites that your barely on the page ½ second and it pops up. Alex does use his very well. I will have to checkout Fran Tips though.
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I couldn’t take your poll, Sheila. Usually, the only reason I can take popups is when
1. I visit friend’s blog.
2. When I do a blog audit, and I HAVE TO put up with them.
3. When I REALLY need some info from that blog.
Since I don’t visit blogs otherwise, I don’t have an opinion on popups. But I would guess, I’d just leave.
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Hi Sheila,
Great topic and one that I definitely have an opinion on. I despise pop-ups. I find them annoying no matter when they arise. I won’t necessarily never return to a site just because they have them there but I have never once opted into a site with a pop-up. If I find the information on that site relevant and I want to join their newsletter or get more information, I will go to their regular opt-in box and give them my information. You will never find a pop-up on any of my sites. I have heard that some marketers say they’ve had more opt-ins because of them but I guess I’ll just loose out on that. Just my opinion and I’m sticking with it!
Thanks for the post.
Adrienne
Adrienne recently posted..What a Cool Twitter App
I vote for: “They annoy me and I leave the site.” because that i’m doing when i saw a pop-up. I just don’t like it. Rhis is not call to action, this is take it or leave it.
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Sheila,
This is such an interesting topic and one we are all talking about and debating. To do or not to do! As a blog reader, all the popups, audios, videos and such get on my nerves BUT as a blog owner, I am hearing more and more about how people’s conversions are way up. The pop up I use on my blog is at the bottom and I don’t think very intrusive. It’s for a freebie to build my list and it does the job nicely. I may test one like you have at the top also. I think those are not so much “in your face.” Having said that, maybe if I wasn’t looking at blogs as an owner and could see it from the consumer’s eyes, I might not mind the pop up. I might be thrilled that exactly what I was looking for was staring me in the face! LOL
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Hi Sheila, nice post. Audio sometimes can kind of scare me but it depends. If it is a short soft welcome message, it’s ok, (like Arlene’s blog EpilepsyMoms.com) but if it pushes you to click this and that, then it’s annoying. The most annoying thing since the creation of the blogosphere, are those repeating popups which you close and they re-popup after a minute or if you go back to the homepage.
Popups, in general, do not annoy me.
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Hahah! I like your title. It’s exactly how I feel about those audios that automatically plays when you visit their site. I used podcast in my blog but it’s a different thing because it just sits there unless you click it, it won’t do play the audio.
Those blatant popups are also a turn off although some claim it increases their subscribers’ list but I don’t think I would be tempted to use it. I prefer the ones that are less intrusive.
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