This goes absolutely without saying - we live in a primarily mobile world.
It really doesn’t matter what products or services you’re promoting; you always need to put the mobile users’ needs first.
And there’s plenty of data to prove it:
For example, traffic from mobile devices has already surpassed its desktop counterpart.
Mobile market share seriously challenges desktop too. Just take a look at the recent trend here in Australia:
Heck, even Google openly refers to their users as primary mobile. Here’s an excerpt from one of their recent announcements:
But here’s the trick:
In spite of all this, a year ago the search engine tightened their mobile email popups and overlays rules.
As a result, many online retailers consider them now as potentially detrimental to their business’ growth.
But are they really?
Absolutely not!
And in this post, I’ll show you how to successfully use mobile popups to boost sales and grow your list (without evoking the search engine’s wrath, at that).
Interested? Let’s get right to it.
Look, the numbers speak for themselves - the mobile market is huge.
Here, just take a look at the Australian market alone:
Now combine that with typical results online retailers achieve with popups: Wisepops clients, on average, see email popups convert at about 5.9%
Mobile popups can help you convert a huge number of potential customers into leads.
And if you’re wondering how - the answer lies in our buying behaviour.
Because you see, often, we start the buying process on a smartphone, in a rush, far from the comfort of the favourite chair, couch or even the privy...
And more and more of us actually complete the purchase on their device too.
Here’s a breakdown of how we use our devices according to research by Google:
Furthermore, smartphones have become our primary devices to search for information:
And finally, a third of us use smartphones for shopping, both away and at home.
OK Greg, but what’s the significance of this for me, I hear you ask…
Just think about it. Smartphones have become the main device your customers use to initiate a purchase.
And so, if you don’t convert them to your mailing list at that point, you actually might not get another chance.
Yup!
But don’t beat yourself up too hard if you’ve been discounting mobile popups so far.
Soon, you’ll know exactly how to use them to convert more visitors.
So, without any further ado...
First things first, don’t display the same popup to mobile and desktop visitors.
In fact, using that same popup for both is exactly what could get your site penalized by Google.
Why, because when displayed on mobile, desktop popups tend to obstruct user experience by covering the content they wanted to read.
Just take a look at the visual below. It shows the types of popups Google considers too intrusive.
They cover most of the screen, and in the process, prevent a person from consuming the content they’ve come to the site for.
(Note, this problem is incomparably less severe on a desktop, where a popup covers only a fraction of the screen. Plus, you can position it naturally out of a person’s way.)
However, you can overcome this challenge by creating a mobile-only popup that meets Google’s quality criteria:
Using only a reasonable amount of screen space and being easily dismissible.
And the good news is, it’s not even that hard to do.
Our platform, for example, gives you the option to specify devices on which a popup will show.
And what about not triggering a Google’s penalty?
As said above, the search engine’s main concern is user experience. And so, as long as your popup doesn’t obstruct the content on the page, Google will consider it correct.
Here’s an example of mobile email popup that shows only on smartphones and passes Google’s quality criteria:
See how it covers only a small portion of the screen, about 25% - 30%?
But specifically, what would be the acceptable size, then?
To calculate it, we need to first look at the most popular screen size. In Australia, for example, most users have phones with screens at 750x1334 pixels.
Overall, however, the most common screen size is 780 x 1280, with a huge market share across multiple regions.
[Note: You can also establish the exact breakdown of popular screen sizes in your target market here.]
And so, if we take 25% as the maximum height for your popup, then it should be no more than 320px high (25% of 1280 pixels)
In Australian market, you could probably create a slightly bigger popup, at 333px (25% of 1334 pixels)
This is another strategy that will make your popup more user-friendly (and help you avoid a potential penalty).
Because you see, your popup doesn’t actually have to jump out on a person’s screen at all.
At least not without a person activating it first.
How’s that possible? With a popup tab, a non-intrusive call-to-action you display instead of a popup. By clicking on the tab, a user activates the popup.
Here’s an example of a popup tab. Note the “Get $10 button” in the bottom left of the screen.
Here’s another example, showing both the tab and the full popup it activates.
(Image source: https://learn.infusionsoft.com/marketing/digital-marketing/mobile-pop-ups - no longer online)
But why tabs work so well?
First, they don’t interrupt a person in their journey through your site. Instead, they give them the opportunity to consume your marketing message when they’re ready for it.
And two, they also give them the option to go back to it if they’ve clicked it off by accident.
I’m sure this goes without saying:
You should never interrupt a visitor who’s just about to hand you over their money.
Obvious, right?
And for that reason, always exclude conversion pages like cart and checkout from the mobile popup campaign.
Target only the browsing behaviour, as at this stage; your visitors are the most likely to respond positively to your offer.
Goes without saying, no? If you want to grow your business, you need to consider the needs of your mobile visitors seriously.
And as it happens, this also includes ensuring that you use the right strategy to engage and then, convert them into leads and customers.
After reading this post, you should have a good idea how mobile popups can help you achieve it.
Best of luck.
The author: Greg is head of Customer Success at WisePops, a website popup solution. You can follow WisePops on Twitter.
When you’re doing an email campaign, one of your goals is to have a high response rate. If you’re getting no responses, what is the point of doing the email campaign in the first place? The reply rate will ultimately determine the success of your campaign. So it’s important to know how you can improve your response rate.
Before you start your next outreach campaign, make sure you think about your:
This is the first thing someone will see when receiving your email, and will ultimately cause people to decide whether or not they even want to open and read your email. It’s a make or break factor of your outreach strategy. So it’s very important to get your subject line right.
Think about the value of your subject line. You want to make it personable enough for people to be interested and want to open the email. If this is generic and boring, people will simply delete your email. Without being dull, you still have to let people know the contents of the email. After all, it’s not a gimmicky ad. Let people know what’s in it for them, and they’ll be more likely to open your email.
Some people, especially those on their mobiles, will only see the start of the subject line. If your subject line is too long, the rest of the message will be cut off. Make sure the most important part of your subject line is at the front, so it doesn’t get missed.
You’ve written an enticing subject line and got the recipient to open your email - great! The last thing they want is to be greeted by a wall of text. People don’t want to be reading an essay in their emails. Aim to keep your email short and to the point. Include the important details, such as who you are, why you are emailing and what action you want them to take, toward the top of the email.
Make it easy for the recipient to know what action they need to take - whether you just want them to read a link, participate in a survey or approve your guest post. If people read your email and don’t know what action they’re supposed to take, they will simply delete it without further action. You can even test different types of call to action buttons and links to see which gets the best response rate.
This point seems kind of obvious, but can frequently be overlooked. When we’re busy at work and rushing to move on to the next task, just skimming over what we’ve written will suffice. Unfortunately, that’s how mistakes slip through the cracks. Spelling errors, poor grammar or bad punctuation can make you and your brand look unprofessional. If you’re reaching out to influencers for a guest post, who is going to accept one from someone who can’t spell? We’re all human, and we make mistakes, so that’s why it’s important to triple check your emails before hitting the send button.
It’s important to know your audience. No matter what you’re emailing, make sure the content is appropriate for who you’re sending it to. If you can target a specific audience, you’ll be able to tailor the content and have a better chance of a high open and response rate. If you’re undertaking an outreach campaign for guest posts, make sure you research who you’re targeting to know their interests, and what they would be keen on publishing. Always use the right language and tone of voice for your target audience - business professionals aren’t going to appreciate an email that is using slang.
You’ve got the catchy subject line, proofread your short email, and researched who you’re emailing. You’re all ready to send out your email! The next thing to consider is when you’re going to send the email. Of course, the timing will vary for every business and different industries.
Coschedule looked at 10 different studies to find out when is the best time to send an email. The studies found Tuesday is the best day, and if you’re sending two emails a week, Thursday is the next best day. As well as looking at which day of the week, Coschedule also looked at the best time. While the results varied, the best times were:
If you’re looking for the highest email response rate, consider sending your emails at these times on Tuesdays or Thursdays.
Of course, that doesn’t mean you should now start sending your emails out every Tuesday at 10am. You can use your own data to track how your emails are performing, and see whether there is a time more were opened. This will help you to optimise your campaign and achieve the most success.
The benefit of email campaigns is you can start getting to know the people you’re contacting better. Help the people you’re emailing get to know you by including links to your website and social media platforms such as LinkedIn or Twitter. People will be more likely to reply if they feel like they know you, and you look like a trustworthy figure. Include these contact details to encourage people to get to know you, and eventually you’ll see your response rate rise.
Think we missed something? Got a tip on how to increase email response rates? Let us know in the comments.
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