Hey there! Are you looking to supercharge your email list growth but worried about annoying visitors with popups? You‘re not alone. While popups are incredibly effective, with the average popup seeing a 3.09% conversion rate according to Sumo, they can definitely be overdone.
The good news is there‘s a smarter way to harness the power of popups without the downsides: on-click popups. By triggering a popup to appear only when a user clicks a specific link, button or image, you can sky-rocket your conversion rates while providing a better user experience.
In fact, on-click popups have been shown to convert in the 30-50% range – that‘s up to 10X higher than a typical auto-displaying popup (Wisepops)!
So how can you start using on-click popups on your WordPress site to grow your list faster? In this complete guide, we‘ll cover everything you need to know, including:
- What On-Click Popups Are & Why They Work
- 10 Ways to Use On-Click Popups on Your Site
- Step-by-Step Instructions to Set Up On-Click Popups in WordPress
- Advanced Tips to Maximize On-Click Popup Conversions
- FAQs & Troubleshooting
Let‘s dive in!
What Are On-Click Popups and Why Do They Convert So Well? {#what}
On-click popups, also called 2-step optins or click-triggered popups, are popup forms that only appear when a user takes a specific action like clicking a certain link, button or image. This is different from traditional popups that show up automatically based on time on page, scrolling behavior, or exit intent.
Here‘s an example of an on-click popup we use here at WPBeginner:
[GIF example]There are a few key reasons why on-click popups tend to perform so much better than regular popups:
- The Zeigarnik Effect
By asking visitors to take a small first step of clicking on your popup trigger, you create a sense of commitment. This takes advantage of a psychological principle called the Zeigarnik Effect, which states that people who initiate a process are more likely to want to finish it.
Think of clicking your popup trigger as a "micro-commitment" – once someone starts, they feel compelled to finish the action and submit their email. In contrast, an auto-displaying popup doesn‘t have this dynamic.
- Implied Interest
With an on-click popup, the user is actively choosing to engage with your offer by clicking the trigger. This demonstrates a base level of interest that will naturally lead to higher conversions compared to showing the same offer to everyone regardless of interest.
When someone clicks a link to "Download the Free Ebook", you know they actually want the ebook!
- Better User Experience
Even well-designed popups that display automatically can be annoying and disruptive when a user is in the middle of reading your content. In contrast, on-click popups put the user in control and only appear when they choose.
This makes for a much more positive experience and reduces the risk of hurting your engagement metrics like bounce rate and time on page. According to Unbounce, 70% of Americans get annoyed by irrelevant popups, so relevance and putting the user in control is key!
10 Ways to Use On-Click Popups on Your WordPress Site {#examples}
On-click popups are extremely versatile and can be used in many different ways across your site. Here are 10 ideas to consider:
Content Upgrades – Add a link or button within your blog posts to download a related resource, like a checklist or cheatsheet PDF.
Ebook Download – Use eye-catching graphics to promote a free ebook download relevant to the page content.
Webinar Registration – Add webinar sign-up CTAs throughout your site in sidebars, post footers, and announcements bars.
Free Course or Email Series – Create visual promo blocks for a free email course or series and scatter them on relevant pages.
Discount Code – Make a special holiday or seasonal offer with a coupon code delivered via on-click popup.
Quiz Results – Have people click to "See My Results" after taking a personality quiz or assessment and ask for an email to send their custom report.
Free Quote or Consultation – Entice prospects to request a free consultation or quote by clicking a high-converting CTA button.
Contest Entry – Run a giveaway and let people enter to win by clicking to submit their email in a popup.
Waiting List – Build a pre-launch list for a new product, service or course by adding a "Join the Waitlist" on-click popup.
Custom Functions – With the right tools, you can make any custom HTML element trigger a popup, so the possibilities are endless!
The key with all of these is to make the popup trigger and offer hyper-relevant to the page content for the best results. You can certainly use the same popup in multiple places, but avoid generic site-wide offers for your on-click popups.
How to Set Up an On-Click Popup in WordPress (Step-by-Step) {#howto}
Alright, now that you‘re excited to start using on-click popups on your site, let‘s walk through the technical details of actually setting them up using our recommended popup tool, OptinMonster.
We love OptinMonster because it makes the process super intuitive, but many of these steps will be similar for other popular lead generation and popup plugins.
Step 1. Install OptinMonster
First, you‘ll need to sign up for an OptinMonster account and install the OptinMonster plugin on your WordPress site. Be sure to use our WPBeginner coupon to save 25% on your subscription.
For detailed instructions on installing the plugin and connecting your account, see this guide:
How to Install and Set Up the OptinMonster Plugin in WordPress
Step 2. Create a New Popup Campaign
Once you have OptinMonster installed, go to the OptinMonster tab in your WordPress dashboard and click "Create New Campaign".
Choose "Popup" as your campaign type:
Then select a popup template. OptinMonster has 100+ great options pre-built, or you can start from scratch. For this example, we‘ll use the high-converting "Magnet" theme:
Name your campaign and click "Start Building".
Step 3. Design Your Popup
Now the fun part – customizing your popup to fit your site and offer! Using the OptinMonster builder, you can drag-and-drop to change any element.
Edit the copy, colors, images, layout and more to match your brand. You can add new blocks, change fonts, adjust sizing and alignment, and really dial in the details without any code.
For example, here I changed the background image, button color, and copy in just a few clicks:
I recommend using a single form field to minimize friction, especially for an on-click popup where the intent is already high. You can always collect a name and other details later.
Also spend time customizing the Success view that people will see after subscribing. Add a nice thank you message and set expectations for what they‘ll receive next.
Step 4. Set Display Rules
Once you‘re happy with your design, go to Display Rules. By default, OptinMonster sets all popups to appear after a few seconds of time on page, but we want to change this to only appear on click.
Under "If", choose the "MonsterClick" option:
Then copy the MonsterLink code that appears, as you‘ll need this in a minute:
Step 5. Integrate Your Email Marketing Service
Next go to Integrations to connect your popup to your email marketing platform. This is what will actually pass the email addresses collected to your list.
OptinMonster integrates with all of the popular email marketing services. We recommend Constant Contact which is the most beginner-friendly option and has great deliverability.
Once you choose and connect your ESP, map the fields to match your list and tags.
Step 6. Add the Popup Trigger to Your Site
Finally, you need to add the MonsterLink trigger code to your site to make the popup actually appear on click!
The most versatile way is to simply add the code you copied in step 4 to a text or HTML block in your page or post editor:
You can change the anchor text from "Click here" to anything you want.
Want to trigger the popup from a button instead of a text link? Just add the MonsterLink code to the button element, like this:
<button onclick="location.href=‘YOUR_MONSTERLINK‘">Click to Get the Checklist</button>
Similarly, you can open the popup from an image by adding the MonsterLink to the image source:
<a href="YOUR_MONSTERLINK"><img src="your-image.jpg"></a>
Once you‘ve added your trigger link to your site, make sure to publish your OptinMonster campaign and test that it‘s working properly.
That‘s it! You‘ve now created a high-converting on-click popup in WordPress.
Advanced Tips to Maximize On-Click Popup Conversions {#tips}
You‘ve got the basics down, but if you really want to become an on-click popup pro, here are some more advanced tips:
A/B Test Your Popup Triggers and Offers
The headline, image, button copy and offer you use for your popup will have a big impact on conversions. OptinMonster makes it really easy to A/B test variations to find the best combination.
For example, does "Download Your Free Ebook" or "Get My Ebook Now" convert better? Test it!
Use OptinMonster‘s Page-Level Targeting
By default, your popup will appear on any page or post where you add the MonsterLink trigger. But OptinMonster also lets you set page-level targeting rules to show/hide popups based on your URL.
Use this to create more granular targeting, like only showing certain offers on blog posts in a specific category.
Offer Multiple Lead Magnets
Got lots of great downloadable content? Don‘t be afraid to offer different lead magnets via on-click popups across your site.
Just create separate OptinMonster campaigns for each offer, and add the MonsterLink triggers to the relevant posts and pages.
Add an On-Click Popup to Your Menu
Here at WPBeginner, we add an email icon to our main navigation menu that triggers an on-click popup when clicked.
To recreate this, simply add a new Custom Link menu item and insert your MonsterLink as the URL:
Hide Popup After Conversion
If a visitor has already subscribed to a particular popup offer, you may want to hide the trigger so they don‘t see it again.
OptinMonster makes this easy with their Smart Success feature. Just go to the Success view settings, and check the box for "Don‘t show after conversion":
Now the popup trigger will be hidden for people who already opted in, providing a better user experience.
On-Click Popup FAQs {#faq}
Still have questions? Here are answers to some of the most common questions about on-click popups in WordPress:
What‘s the difference between on-click popups and regular popups?
The main difference is that on-click popups only appear when a user takes a specific action like clicking a link, button or image. Regular popups appear automatically based on conditions like time on page or scrolling percentage.
On-click popups tend to convert much higher because they require an "opt-in" action from the user.
Can I use on-click popups with other popup types?
Yes! On-click popups work great in combination with other types of popups on your site.
For example, you might have exit-intent popups to catch people leaving, and on-click popups within your content for more targeted lead generation.
Will on-click popups hurt my SEO?
Nope! Google has confirmed that user-initiated popups (like on-click popups) are fine and won‘t hurt rankings like some automatic popup types can.
From Google:
"By contrast, popups that are triggered by the user (like a click) are not penalized, since they generally provide a better user experience than popups that show up automatically. "
Can I use on-click popups on mobile?
Yes, on-click popups are fully mobile responsive. In fact, they tend to work better than regular popups on mobile since they don‘t disrupt the flow as much on a small screen.
Just make sure your popup template is mobile-optimized and easy to close on mobile devices.
My on-click popup isn‘t working – what‘s wrong?
If you‘ve followed the steps in this guide and your on-click popup isn‘t appearing, here are a few things to troubleshoot:
- Make sure you‘ve published your OptinMonster campaign and set the WordPress output settings as "Published"
- Double check that you added the right MonsterLink code to your popup trigger
- Clear any page caching plugins you may be using
- Reach out to OptinMonster support for help
Start Using On-Click Popups to Grow Your List Today
On-click popups are one of the most effective tools to increase your email opt-in rate without hurting the user experience. By giving visitors a choice to engage with your offers, you can generate more high-quality leads.
In this guide, we walked through why on-click popups work so well, how to create them in WordPress using OptinMonster, and some advanced tips to maximize your results.
So what are you waiting for? Get started with OptinMonster today and start growing your email list on autopilot with on-click popups.
If you liked this article, you may also want to check out our guides on how to create a coming soon page in WordPress and how to create an effective email autoresponder series.
Still have any questions about on-click popups? Let us know in the comments!
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