Show HN: Recover abandoning visitors with exit offers
picreel.com
picreel.com
"AVALIABLE ONLY 30 MIN"
"Capture abandoners' before they leave"
Barely a minute on the page and I've already spotted these mistakes. Doesn't really inspire confidence.
If you have a blog, and you'd like to start converting your readers into email subscribers, exit popups are not usually a great way to do that. They tend to turn off a more sophisticated audience, even so far as to discredit the offer based on their use of such "dark patterns". This is (usually) not where you want to use an exit popup.
If you have a landing page, however, an exit popup can do good things for you. In my experience, most landing page conversions happen on the first visit - either you convert the visitor, or you don't. In this case, you're not very concerned with credibility by the time a visitor expresses exit intent (they're already leaving). It's (usually) a good idea to go ahead and go for a lesser conversion (e.g. an email signup instead of a purchase). The worst that can happen is the user leaves and never returns (which was probably already the case).
Hopefully this puts things in perspective. Like I said, I really, really don't like exit popups. I kinda feel like taking a shower after putting one on a page - however, I've run several experiments on landing pages in various verticals and (in my findings) they increase sales. It's fine to be critical of the technique and express your dislike, but if you have any fiscal responsibility to yourself or a client, it's your job to consider whether they might be beneficial, regardless of your personal feelings.
No thank you.
I'm not even sure if I'd call exit intent pop-ins a "dark pattern", let alone call it the most bullshit and annoying one, considering the examples listed on the darkpatterns.org site.
I think I'd argue the "sneak into shopping cart" one as being the worst.
Just for me personally if I get a pop-up on a website I'm more likely to go somewhere else, like to Amazon, where they don't give me pop-ups and already have my account information.
Does this block the user from leaving all the time or is there some pattern recognition going on?
Why aren't picreel using the service on their website? I can't click on any of the clients in the case studies to see what the product is actually like.
It's still a balancing act between improving conversions and not annoying people, but I've never seen an appropriate, well-implemented pop-in like this NOT increase conversions.
In practice, they can be very effective, almost shockingly effective, at increasing conversions. I know they can seem intrusive, but most commentary I see on them comes from a critical perspective, where the critic has zero intention of being a customer. I suspect the pop-ins may not be such a horrible experience for people who actually are prospective customers.
At this point, instead of going to get my wallet, I will get in the car and find another store. It is the same type of irritation that I feel when, after making a purchase, a store employee stops me at the door to check my receipt and compare with the contents of the bag. I've already stood in line for 20 minutes, forked over money, and now they are holding me up for another minute? No thanks.