Let’s be frank: a pop-up is a clutch way to hook qualified leads on a lead capture page.

But, everyone hates pop-ups, right?

Not exactly. Everyone hates pop-ups when they’re done wrong.

Good marketing shouldn’t manipulate people or drive them mad—it should make the right message/ resource available at just the right time.

Contrary to popular belief, most people’s internet browsers do allow pop-ups. In fact, less than 20% of Americans use pop-up blocker software, according to Business Insider, and even so, the pop-up blockers don’t always work.

But what does it take to make a pop-up truly work without driving your site visitors mad? Let’s take a look at real-world examples that showcase marketing greatness that will hopefully inspire your next pop-up creation.

Note: I’ve included 6 best ones below. For all 15 examples, go to the full article (link at the bottom).

1 – The Animated Pop-Up

The human brain is hardwired to attract to motion. You can animate the whole module. Build a fly-in pop-up that is triggered by a specific event and you’ll achieve the eye-catching movement that makes this technique work so well.

2 – The Countdown Timer Pop-Up

A leading psychological hack that marketers can—and should—use is scarcity. The “going, going, gone” mentality can be incredibly persuasive.

When someone thinks “what I want now I might not be able to get down the road,” they are more apt to pull the trigger to click, opt-in, or buy something.

3 – High-Contrast Pop-Up

There’s a design principle that is effective across industries and businesses—and that is color contrast.

Imagine scrolling through a page. What do your eyes go to? Movement, yes, but also high-contrast images.

Above: a great example of high contrast from Drip. Its use of white space, simple shapes, and almost fluorescent colors makes this pop-up literally pop on the page.

4 – The Value-Driven Pop-Up

As with any other marketing strategy, it’s important to answer “why” and “what’s in it for the reader?”

With copy on pop-ups, you have to have to be persuasive, yet not annoying enough to disregard it.

5 – The Access Offer Pop-Up

Want to make your pop-up different than the dreary masses? Do it! Spending some time to come up with a unique or unexpected offer that you can give access to in exchange for an email address: e.g., access to a video replay of a recent webinar.

6 – The Social Proof Pop-Up

Visitors who are confused about making a purchase decision of some kind, will likely decide to look to others. That’s why reviews are so powerful and effective.

If you want to make your pop-up pop, include social proof mechanisms. It could be a large number of subscribers already signed up, a number of shares, comments, Facebook likes. Whatever impressive number you have.

7 – The Creative Button Pop-Up

Intelligent button copy or call to action (CTA) is a big converter. In the CTA button text, when you make people feel like they are missing out on information or a deal, they will be more apt to convert.

Example: offer two CTAs: “Yes, Hook it Up” or “No, I Have Enough Money” rather than bland “Yes” and “No” options. These options are fun, and make you think twice about clicking, right?

8 – The Personality Pop-Up

Using a conversational tone will resonate more with your shoppers and will increase your conversions.

9- The Authority Pop-Up

When uncertain about making a decision, people look to authoritative figures for information to guide their decisions.

You can show authority by including the logos of the media outlets your company or you have been featured on.

10 – The Unique Offer Pop-Up

Draw a crowd in with unique lead magnets. Example above: offers readers access to a quiz that will teach them how to get more traffic and rank higher in Google. It’s also incredibly specific about what it’s offering: a 3-min quiz, that will deliver specific results (rank higher), in less than 30 days. Clarity leads to confidence, and when visitors feel confident, they’re more likely to convert.

11 – The Minimalist Pop-Up

Your design and copy don’t have to be complex in order to be effective.

In fact, website visitors tend to scan rapidly through web content and decide quickly if they want “in” or “out.” This example from Optimonk is a perfect embodiment of simplicity.

12 – The Mouth-Watering Pop-Up

Adding alluring imagery helps people visualize your pop-up offer or message. Some brands even add a video within a pop-up to up the visual ante.

13 – The Transparent Pop-Up

Typically you see pop-ups with a solid background, but you candesig your pop-up to display an image of a person in the background. It works because showing images of faces is a proven neuromarketing hack.

14 – The Coupon Pop-Up

Providing a coupon or discount offer is a great way to give your website visitors a reason to purchase and an incentive to come back at a later date (if they’re not quite ready to do so today).

15 – The First-Time Customer Coupon Pop-Up

Similar to #14, but targeting prospective first-time customers who are unfamiliar with the brand and may need a special offer in order to feel more comfortable trying out a new ecommerce site.

Conclusion

Make the pop-ups useful and they will do their job. Some people will complain but then again, some people always do. When done right, many more people will find it helpful than complain.

15 Real-World Pop-Up Examples that will Change Your Mind About Them

PS. To put it even more bluntly: provide value and don’t be a dick with the pop-ups. It will make a world a little bit better. And who wouldn’t want that?