One effective way of catching your reader’s attention is by interrupting their behavior patterns.

Take ecommerce sites for instance. It’s typical for users to click through your site, almost absently, as they navigate their way around it. Being a site owner however, you want to make sure something on your site captures their interest, enough that they don’t leave your site without converting.

This is where popups come in. A popup is designed to appear at specific moments to disrupt typical engagement patterns and increase engagement among your users. And an effective popup combines good design with great copywriting to achieve its objectives.

Let’s take a look at the basic rules that you should follow to write copy that will grab and hold the attention of your users:

1. Keep it brief

Popups are meant to short. Needless to say, that whatever it is you’re pitching, has to drive its point and engage users within those few seconds that the popup window appears and the time it takes for them to close the window. This is especially true for exit-intent popups. You don’t want to give users a wall of text to read and digest at the moment they intend to leave your website.

• Use short, brief, and clear text that will get your message across in a few seconds.
• Headlines with 7-10 words would get the best results.
• Visually, make sure that you choose a readable font.

2. Deliver accurate messaging

Set clear expectations. Don’t ask your users to “click here for a free downloadable PDF” only to have them pay for the downloadable PDF when they do. Outline your offer and make sure you follow through.

• On your end, make sure you provide offers that you are able to fulfill.
• Be clear about what you’re pitching.
• Your inability to fulfill your offer will lead to distrust from users and lead you to lose customers.

3. Tap into their emotions

As a business owner, you’d of course want to list down everything that’s great about your product. But keep in mind that you’re still trying to convince a potential customer of why your product or service is great. That said, appealing to their emotions through your product or service’s value is a more effective way to go about it.

• Using “power words” such as free, easy, and exclusive have been known to draw the attention of users.
• Speak to them directly by addressing and referring to them as “you.”
• Highlight the perks behind your offer—what will they get from it?

4. Create urgency

If your offer or product seems like it will be something that’s constantly available, it’s easy for users to keep postponing their purchase. In other words, without building the idea that a product is limited in nature, users might not have the urgency to click on it.

• Try to create a sense of urgency by adding a  countdown timer or deadline.
• Use phrases specifically designed to communicate your offer’s time sensitive nature.
• Make sure the message that highlights the product’s exclusivity or limited nature is clear and visible.

5. Don’t use generic call to actions

Your call to action should be specific. Spell it out for your users. Don’t just ask them to “click here” or hit “yes.”

• Tie it back to your offer and customize it.
• Phrase it an action-oriented way.
• Ensure that your optin buttons are visible and brief.

Like everything in the world of ecommerce, it always pays to test what will work best for your site. No two sites or ecommerce business are built the same way. This means that what works for one may not necessarily work for you. Still, these tips will definitely take you well on your way to more conversions.

For more ideas on how we can help you boost conversions, visit Leadspanda today.  

If you have a popup copywriting tip that you’d like to share, or want to share your best-converting headline, tell us all about it and leave us a message in the comment section below.