When it comes to email marketing, there are so many tools and tactics out there to improve your effectiveness. At the basis of any good email strategy is list growth. And a lightbox popup might be just the tool to set that growth on the right path.
Here’s what a lightbox popup is, how to measure its effectiveness, and some steps you can take to elevate your email strategy with the use of this marketing tool.
What is a lightbox popup?
Lightbox popups are modules that take over a browsing window with a specific call to action (CTA). The CTA or prompt points the user to take action, often by downloading a piece of content, signing up for a newsletter, or checking out a new product.
Having given a few examples, the potential applications of lightbox popups are somewhat endless. If you have a specific action you really want your website user to take, then you can place it in a lightbox popup to garner immediate attention.
How to measure the success of lightbox popups
To measure the success of your lightbox popups, you can use the number of clicks you get on to the popup’s link as a metric. Alternatively, if you’re using lightbox popups to ask readers to subscribe, you can examine the difference in your subscriber rates.
One key thing to remember is that, while lightbox popups are useful, you need to think about the user experience. Remember not to make your lightbox popups appear like a flashy or annoying ad. If your lightbox popup is too similar to the kind of popups that people close in frustration countless times a day, your customers won’t respond well.
In cases where your lightbox popups have no intrinsic value and are overly pushy, your unsubscribe rates may go up and your subscribe rates may go down.
Instead, you should be focusing on designing lightbox popups that pair well with your content and express value. This goes back to creating a relationship with your audience. If you throw popups at them without an exchange of value, it will be annoying and ineffective. Even worse, it could drive the user off your site. But showing the value that person could get out of following the popup’s suggested action could result in some really effective growth.
Does it really matter?
When used effectively, lightbox popups can drive your subscribe rates through the roof. Without them, many customers may go through your entire site without even thinking about taking a next step.
On that note, it should always be easy for your website visitors to subscribe to your email list.
A lightbox popup should be one facet of your list growth strategy—not your entire list growth strategy. Because it can be easily ignored by many (and may not be set to pop up again after a given amount of time), many visitors may miss their opportunity to stay in touch with your brand. So adding subscribe forms to your website footer or in the body of your content will keep that option in front of every visitor.
What now?
Talking about lightbox popups might bring up bigger conversations about list growth strategies across your entire site. Try to take an objective look at your website, and see how hard it is to find a newsletter or content signup form. If it’s not clear to a visitor how to sign up to your emails, it’s high time to make some changes. A popup form can be great icing to the cake, but it you need other ingredients to make up the rest of the strategy.