This article was originally published by the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute. In this series: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6
When it comes to newsletters, the meat of your product should be the content of the email. However, after launching a brand-new newsletter or reviving an old one, it’s critical that newsrooms make a concentrated push for sign-ups. Many newsrooms use on-site ads and on other websites, or opt for an embedded sign-up box in the body of an article or on their landing page. But some are still using the good old pop-up form.
But there’s a catch: The pop-up form can be tricky. Sites can be dinged by Google for interrupting or obscuring the reader’s experience. So why bother? At nearly two percent, the conversion rate for pop-ups is remarkably high, and while using them may interrupt usability, gaining immediate access to a reader’s inbox is a powerful tool for newsrooms.
Pop-up forms get a bad rap, but for those sites that are willing to take the risk by using ads to garner subscribers, they make it worth their while.
We’ve listed five of our favorite, most eye-catching pop-up forms from across the web. Not only are these forms interesting, they actually convince us to sign up for a newsletter we otherwise may have overlooked.
1. NiemanLab
Urgent without being pushy, the NiemanLab sign-up form offers readers an explicit reason for signing on right then and there.
2. The Atlantic
The Atlantic’s concept of the interactive pop-up puts an interesting spin on the usual SIGN UP NOW form we see on most sites.
3. ParentMap
Paired with a charming visual, ParentMap’s pop-up emerges in the lower left corner of your screen, serving more as a reminder than an outright ask. The less aggressive approach is more fitting for the site’s audience, and allows it to bypass Google’s ad rules.
4. The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is one of the few newspapers-turned-digital sites that’s using a pop-up form for its newsletter, but that’s probably due to the Weekender being a fairly new product. With a simple layout that pops up only three to five pages in, the form makes for an appealing ask.
5. TheSkimm
TheSkimm is one of the most popular newsletters out there, so if you’re on their website you’re more than likely looking to sign up. Therefore, they don’t hesitate with hitting you with a sign-up form immediately. With a catchy tagline and a note about their millions of existing subscribers, the form is an easy net for new emails.
Sangeeta Singh-Kurtz is the editorial coordinator at Crosscut Public Media and part of Crosscut’s RJI Fellowship team.