I get it. You want to grow your list. You know your email list is the most important thing you own in social media and blogging. But, seriously, STOP forcing it on your readers!
Stop forcing membership on everyone who comes to your site. Stop with the 19 pop-up reminders to sign up. Stop with the "must sign up to read the full article" crap you put on your site. And stop with the mandatory enrollment in your list just to leave a freakin' comment. And for the love of God, stop with the pop-ups or reminders or harassment when I've already signed up!
I'm over it.
I really am.
Believe me, I understand the value of your list. In fact, I may already be on your list because I value you.
I understand that the world is telling you that you have to grow your list. So you jumped on the bandwagon and installed every widget or plugin designed for opt-ins. And now your site is swimming in them.
It's distracting.
It's annoying.
It's driving away your readers!
It's not helping you - it's hurting you! I won't share posts from sites that have obsessive, stalker attempts to get me to sign up.
Or, you know what? I really enjoyed your post and I wanted to leave a comment and get to know you, but you won't let me do that without signing up... Sorry, I'm just not that kind of girl. Your loss.
Yes, you should be growing your list.
Maybe you have a new book or product to promote. Yes, use the right plugin for that one thing. Grow your list. Sell your product or service.
But don't drive away your readers by being rude.
I mean, seriously. When was the last time you tried to read your own site? If it annoys you, it definitely annoys your readers!
The worst thing is that I see this on all types of sites. It happened to me multiple times this week. Small sites, popular sites, and big brand sites.
So, please, please stop forcing membership on your readers. Earn their names on your list with respect, communication, quality information, and relationships.
/Rant over! 🙂
Exactly! It is really annoying when I click on an article I find interesting only to be unable to read it unless I “join”! And constant pop-ups are the worst. Of course we all want people to subscribe to our blog, or join our email list, but I will do that without the barrage if I like what you have to say. Thanks for voicing what I have been thinking (and this seems to happen quite a bit ~ you probably should be scared!).
Thanks Kim! We do seem to have similar thought patterns on a regular basis! But I’m not scared – I think it validates how much we have in common 😉
The incessant pop ups are the worst for sure. I skipped it the first time, the second time, and the third time. Why would I agree the fourth time?!
Jenn, first time leaving a comment, but definitely not the last time. You have a new fan here… love it and totally agree. When the opt-in and pop-up stuff take over the actual content on the site, something is seriously wrong. I actually made it more difficult for people to opt-in to our subscriber list because we only want people that are going to engage and interact with what we send out on our list.
Hi Brandon! Welcome and thanks for commenting. I look forward to seeing you around here and our social media sites more often.
I agree that the content should always be the primary focus, not the sign up forms/pop-ups. They should definitely be used, but with appropriate placement.
While I agree overly aggressive email tactics can be a turn off to visitors, I do think that list building is an important tactic for marketers to use considering it’s been shown that upwards of 70% of users don’t return to sites and capturing that email is important in getting your information in front of them.
I used to think that popups were annoying and not to be used and then I watched this video from Social Triggers: http://socialtriggers.com/annoying-popups/ which made me rethink my strategy and when I installed a popup on my site for a week the list growth was amazing. I since have turned them off to test other parts but from my side they do work and I didn’t notice a loss in traffic or an increase in bounce rate.
With ad blindness it makes it difficult to get users to even notice your email signup and when changing signup offers, colours and submit text aren’t working it might be time to try a different approach. I do think that there is a fine line because if every page a user accesses has a popup plus 15 signup forms it can get frustrating but I think certain tactics and even plugins (Such as optinmonster) are helping grow subscription rates when done right.
I definitely agree that people should use opt-ins, Chad. I completely understand that value. And it’s great that you’ve seen such good results from the tactics you’ve been testing. But I also know that your site doesn’t come near the levels of frustration that I see on other sites.
Asking before someone leaves your site, or at the end of a post, or including an opt-in box in the side bar, or having a sign-up form on the homepage. These are all great when used appropriately. It’s just when people use them all at the same time, or when they force you to sign up in order to participate in the conversation or even to read the post that I really get frustrated.
You’ve hit the nail on the head Jenn! I couldn’t agree with you more. Remember when pop-up blockers were first introduced? I thought that we had passed that phase, but apparently some think that it is “back in fashion”. Pop-ups, along with mullets, really need to stay in the time vault. I always advise my clients against them.. nobody likes a pushy salesperson in person, what makes online marketers think that the reception would be different online?
OMG, Claudia, you have got me laughing! Thank you for your perspective 🙂 I love the reference to mullets!
And, in all reality, most of those using pushy pop-ups are the same pushy sales people in real life. So, while it is annoying, it’s easy to understand why they’re using them! But just like it only attracts certain customers in real life, it’ll only attract certain customers online. We can let them keep those customers and we’ll create real relationships with our readers and customers!
I totally agree with this! Nothing annoys me more than having a million popups come up when I visit a site. Would you recommend just have the CTA displayed once on the page? Perhaps at the bottom of your blog post?
Hi Carmen! I’m glad you agree 🙂
I can’t specifically tell you where to place your CTAs. For different sites/audiences, different placements may work best. I recommend testing out placements on your site and seeing which one(s) provide the best results. You can try a pop-up that appears at the end of a post or as a reader leaves the site. Or maybe a simple CTA box at the end of the post or in the side bar menu would work best. Either way, try them out – one at a time – for a week or so each and see what works best for you.
Don’t be afraid to use them, and don’t be afraid to change them up every few months to keep it fresh. Just don’t have them overwhelm your site 😉
Hi Jenn, I have been spying on your blog for a week now, am in Nigeria, Africa and I got to know about your blog when I saw it on Social media Examiner. You inspired me to start up my own blog. Toptrendnaija.blogspot.com thanks a lot and you are so right about the forcing membership I was almost convinced to add a facebook widget to my blog to attract page likes this morning but I did not because of this same reason. Keep up the good work.
Hi Aaron! Welcome and thank you for your comment. I’m so glad that you found the inspiration to start your own blog and share your voice with the world.
Adding a Facebook like box or other widget to your blog is not a bad idea at all. Just make sure that wherever you choose to direct people (Facebook, email list, Twitter, etc.) you’re going to be active and provide value to your audience. Promoting yourself and your posts is acceptable when done in moderation. Ensure that you’re also sharing other relevant content and not overwhelming people.
Best of luck as you grow your blog!
“sharing other relevant content” lol yes I know am still new to all this. But with time am sure I will get better and more helpful. Thanks
Jenn: Thanks for speaking out against this ill-behaved manners at several blogs and sites! I have been over it for a long time, and I glad that you have written a post about this behavior. If we should walk the talk, why using a one-way megaphone like message on a social media site that should be pro-active for two-way conversations?
Thanks Martin! I’m glad you agree. And, you’re right, social media (and blogging) should be a two-way conversation.