Definition

An exit popup (also known as an exit-intent popup or on-exit overlay) is a website overlay displayed when a user attempts to leave a page, designed to persuade them to stay. 

These popups can be customized based on the user’s actions, offering incentives like discounts for abandoned shopping carts or opt-in forms for first-time visitors.

Since new users rarely return after leaving a website, displaying an exit popup when they intend to leave provides a last-minute offer to encourage them to stay or capture their contact details for future engagement via email.
In fact, data from Conversion Sciences reveals that exit popups can persuade between 10% and 15% of users to stay on-page, users that otherwise might have been lost forever.

How Do Exit-Intent Popups Work?

Exit intent technology tracks the user’s mouse cursor, triggering the popup when the cursor leaves the browser’s active area. 

While effective on desktops, mobile devices require different approaches like on-load, on-scroll, or on-click popups due to touch activity tracking challenges.

Exit popups can trigger when the user clicks the close button, although this limits the content to plain text on a gray background, lacking rich media features.

How to Leverage Exit Popups to Boost Conversion Rates

In today’s competitive business landscape, exit popups offer a powerful way to increase conversion rates without relying on increased traffic. 

Properly designed popups targeting specific user segments can achieve impressive conversion rates, with the average conversion rate of such a popup rising up to +11%

Here comes the question: 

How do you craft the exit popup that will show such metrics?

To answer it, we’ve compiled a list of tested-and-tried ways to generate sales like there’s no tomorrow with the help of a successful popup.

Where to Use Exit Popups?

Exit popups can serve various conversion goals, such as market research surveys, lead magnets, promo codes, email opt-ins, blog subscriptions, and cart recovery. 

Here’s a short list of popup strategies you may find useful: 

  • Requests to participate in surveys for your market research,
  • Lead magnets, offering relevant and useful info to users
  • Promo codes for specific products
  • Email opt-ins for growing your prospects’ email base,
  • Discounts for returning to the almost abandoned cart.
Exit popup aiming to increase email subscribers.

As you can see, exit popups can potentially grow your email list, fuel lead generation, and increase closed deals.

Despite their effectiveness, popups can interrupt the user experience and might be perceived as spammy, necessitating careful implementation.

Nevertheless, when done right, website popups are extremely effective. So, let’s dive deeper into how you can dramatically improve the popup experience.

Step-by-Step Approach to Create High-Converting Exit Popups

There are a few key elements in every successful popup: an eye-catching image, compelling copy, and a bold call to action. 

However, the crucial factor that can significantly boost your conversions is targeting or segmenting. 

Consider this: it’s always more beneficial to work with 100 high-quality leads than 1,000 low-quality ones.

Targeting enables you to deliver the right message to the right user at the right time and place. 

For example, with shopping cart abandoners, offering a discount in return for their email can be highly effective. 

Similarly, tailoring your content based on what visitors have already read on your blog enhances engagement.

Now, let’s delve into the other vital components of an effective exit-intent popup.

Design

A well-designed popup should seamlessly integrate with your site’s overall style, including colors and fonts, avoiding generic stock images. Think of it as an integral part of the user experience. 

Here’s a golden rule when personalizing your exit popup: the visual elements should not distract website visitors from the core message. 

To enhance your popup’s appeal, consider placing the image of your offer directly on the popup, such as the cover of an ebook.

Copy

You have less than a second to capture visitors’ attention as they’re about to leave your website. Clear and straightforward copy is your ally in meeting this challenge:

Craft an eye-catching and easily understandable headline. When users leave your website, there’s no time for elaborate or creative headlines. Keep it concise and straightforward.

When it comes to your popup copy (which consists of just a few sentences), get straight to the point: focus on the offer. 

There’s no room for vagueness or smooth-talking. Aim for conversational and clear-cut language.

Call-to-action

The most pivotal element of your exit-intent popup is the call to action. 

There’s no margin for error: be direct without causing confusion

Effective exit popup copy can be categorized into several types for your inspiration:

Negative CTAs

They compel users to choose: ‘Yes, sign me up’ or ‘No, I hate saving money.’ 

This message addresses our aversion to loss.

Benefit-oriented CTA

These answer the questions, ‘So what?’, ‘Why should I care about your offer?’ or ‘What’s the benefit?’

Highlight users’ rewards or the problems solved: ‘Bring me leads’, ‘Save me 50%’, etc.

Action-oriented CTAs

This common yet effective type of call to action leaves no room for ambiguity. Make it crystal clear what the user will accomplish by clicking the button. 

Be specific: ‘Get my ebook,’ ‘Start my trial,’ etc.

Additionally, an essential ingredient for high-conversion exit popups is conducting experiments and A/B tests. Test everything, from popup sizes to different types of call-to-action messages.

Even if your experiments reveal lower conversion rates than expected, don’t be discouraged. 

We’ve compiled a list of tried-and-tested methods to transform your popups into conversion machines. 

Proceed to the next section and discover how to make your popups even more effective.

How to Skyrocket Exit Popups’ Conversion Rates

Marketers have delved into various inventive strategies to elevate the effectiveness of exit popups, ensuring higher engagement and conversion rates. 

Here are some of the universally agreed-upon best practices in the industry:

Inject Social Proof

One of the most compelling ways to boost user trust and confidence is by incorporating social proof into your exit popups. 

Showcase subscriber numbers, testimonials, or positive reviews to convey the value of your products or services. 

When visitors see that others have found your offerings valuable, they are more likely to engage further.

Offer Free Shipping

Capitalize on the universal love for freebies by providing complimentary shipping incentives. A significant factor that often deters potential customers from completing a purchase is shipping costs. 

By offering free shipping, especially during the exit phase, you can address this concern, encouraging hesitant visitors to make a purchase without the additional financial burden.

Create a Sense of Urgency

Human psychology responds positively to the fear of missing out (FOMO). 

Utilize this psychological trigger by incorporating time-limited discounts or exclusive offers in your exit popups. 

Create a sense of urgency using phrases such as “Limited Time Offer: 24 Hours Only!” or “Exclusive Deal Ends Soon!”

This way, you prompt visitors to act quickly, fearing they might lose out on a valuable opportunity.

Use Attention-Grabbing Words

Words have immense power, especially when they evoke immediate emotions and reactions. 

Employ attention-grabbing phrases such as ‘Wait!’ or ‘Stop!’ in bold, high-contrast prints as your popup headlines. 

These words seize the visitor’s attention, conveying the importance of your message and encouraging them to pause for a moment, increasing the likelihood of further engagement.

Gather Insights

Understanding your audience is pivotal in tailoring your offerings effectively. Implement exit popups that invite users to participate in surveys or polls. 

By collecting feedback directly from your visitors, you gain valuable insights into their preferences, pain points, and expectations.

Analyzing this data enables you to refine your marketing strategies, product offerings, and overall user experience, resulting in higher conversion rates.

Offer Valuable Freebies

People are naturally attracted to anything free or discounted. Incorporate terms like ‘free,’ ‘discounts,’ or ‘X% off’ in your exit popups to entice users. 

Whether it’s a free ebook, a limited-time discount code, or a special offer, providing something valuable for free encourages visitors to take action. 

The perception of getting more value than what they anticipated often persuades them to engage further, making the most out of the opportunity you present.

By integrating these strategies into your exit popups, you can create a compelling and persuasive user experience, significantly enhancing your conversion rates and maximizing the impact of your online marketing efforts.

JewelScent entices users to leave their email in exchange for a possible free ring.

Generate More Leads with Omniconvert’s Explore Exit Popus

Some of the most widely embraced exit intent popup examples are those designed to collect user contact details. 

Typically, these popups promote enticing free offers such as ebooks, product discounts, or email courses. 

To gain access, users simply need to fill in their contact details, usually including their name and email, and sometimes additional information like company name or phone number. 

Once submitted, this information is automatically sent to an email processor. Subsequently, users receive a series of promotional emails every few days, all with the intention of luring them back to the website. 

This process of collecting user contacts is often referred to as a micro-conversion.

Example of a lead collection exit popup created with Omniconvert Explore

In addition to this example, there’s a vast resource of popup templates available. You can easily create similar engaging popups for your website within minutes using Omniconvert Explore.

With Explore’s user-friendly template editor, even people with limited technical expertise can effortlessly craft visually appealing popup banners. 

Here are some interesting features of Explore’s popup system you might want to know:

  • Simultaneous Testing: evaluate the performance of 2 or more exit popups simultaneously to determine the most effective one.
  • Versatile Triggers: trigger popups on-load, on-scroll, on-click, or after a specified delay (in seconds).
  • Custom Creatives: incorporate various creative elements, including gifs and videos, to make your popups visually appealing and engaging.
  • Targeted Delivery: deliver popups exclusively to specific audience segments, whether they are new or returning users or from a specific location.
  • Complete Control: have 100% control over the display frequency; decide whether a user sees a popup only once, every time they visit, a specific number of times, or once per day/week.
  • Easy Implementation: access a wide array of templates that can be seamlessly implemented without any coding requirements.
  • Goal Setting and Tracking: set specific goals and monitor your progress in the custom reporting area.

Besides exit popups, Explores offers a comprehensive suite of tools for Conversion Rate Optimization. 

Conduct A/B tests, run personalization experiments, and gather insights through website customer surveys.

Ready to transform your website’s user engagement? Why not give it a try? Start your free trial now and experience the difference for yourself.

Wrap Up

As you can see, these strategic overlays, triggered when users attempt to leave a page, present a final opportunity to captivate visitors, enticing them to stay or compelling them to provide contact details for future interactions.

Now, armed with the knowledge of crafting compelling exit popups, it’s time for you to leverage their potential. 

Don’t let visitors slip away without making a meaningful connection. 

Don’t forget about Omniconvert’s Explore. 

From simultaneous testing to versatile triggers, you have complete control over your popup strategy. 

Start your free trial now and witness the transformative impact on your website’s user engagement and conversion rates.