Pop-ups are small browser windows that "pop up" automatically while you're visiting a web site or when you click on a link. Unfortunately they have been getting a bad name recently.

In fact, a study conducted by research group GartnerG2 found that 78% of respondents consider pop-up ads "very annoying." (By way of comparison, only 49% of participants felt the same way about the more traditional banner ads.)

The fact is however, that the problem isn't with pop-up windows themselves, but how they're used. Just as spammers have made legitimate e-mail marketing harder for the rest of us, abuse of pop-ups has tarnished what, in reality, can still be an incredibly useful tool.
Using pop-up windows on your own site can be a great strategy for promoting your own products, boosting your opt-in rates, and keeping your visitors informed.

Like with any advertising, though, you need to make sure your pop-ups are closely targeting your market's interests; that they contain clear, compelling benefits; and that they enhance the visitors' experience at your site rather than interrupt it.

Proven Pop-up Strategies for Your Site
For pop-ups to work, they have to be targeted to the viewer and used strategically. Here are some successful types of pop-ups web site owners can use:

Information Pop-Ups:
This kind of pop-up appears when a visitor clicks on a link or an image -- the visitor has full control over if and when they see it, as well as for how long.

Information pop-ups are especially valuable in places where your customers might have questions or need more detail, but you don't have room to present the information, and you don't want them leaving the page they're on (i.e. your sales page or order form).

You can use information pop-ups to show larger pictures of products, present detailed "help" information, list special product features that only a limited portion of your audience will be interested in, and much more.

The chief benefit of information pop-ups is that they allow you to provide this "extra" information without cluttering your sales page or distracting from your sales process.

Opt-In Offer Pop-Ups:
Perhaps the most powerful offer you can include in a pop- up is free information -- in exchange for visitors' names and e-mail addresses.
It's a fast, easy way to immediately increase the percentage of visitors who opt in to your subscriber list.

You can include a free newsletter offer, free articles or e-Books via e-mail, free password access to your article archive, entry to a contest, for example.

As long as the information you're offering has high perceived value to your market, it's not unreasonable to expect to convert 10% or more of your visitors to subscribers.

Survey Pop-Ups:
If you're running a survey on your site, a pop-up can be a handy way to ask visitors to take part, and then lead them through your questions. When they're finished, the original window they started on will still be open and they won't have lost their place.

Another great idea is to design a pop-up for people who leave your site without buying anything. Imagine being able to get feedback from these people about why they didn't buy!

Immediately find out what your key obstacles are to selling even more... Is your price too high? Did they misunderstand something on your site? Was the benefit not clear enough?

"Special Offer" Pop-Ups:
Pop-ups are a powerful way of drawing your customers' attention to specific, targeted products.

Different Kinds of Pop-Ups
A key element of any pop-up strategy is deciding the best time and place to have them appear. There are benefits to each type, but it's important to use the right kind for the goal you're trying to accomplish.

Entry Pop-Ups:
Having a pop-up appear as soon as visitors arrive at your site will grab their attention right away, so it's a good strategy when there's something you want all of your visitors to be alerted to or do, like subscribe to your newsletter.

Exit Pop-Ups:
When people first come to your site, they may not notice your opt-in form, contest, or survey on your homepage. Or they may see it and plan to fill it out later. By the time they leave the site, though, they may have forgotten about it.

An exit pop-up can serve as a gentle "before you go" reminder to opt-in before they leave your site.

"Smart" Pop-Ups:
One of the things that makes many pop-ups annoying is their repetitiveness. By using cookies -- small files that track specific visitors -- you can make sure you don't subject visitors to pop-ups they've already seen or offers they've already responded to. You can also set cookies to make sure it only pops once per visit.

For example, you can program a window to pop up whenever a new visitor leaves your site without having accomplished a specific goal -- such as filling out your opt-in form. The cookie would alert you if they've already opted in, so you wouldn't bother existing subscribers.
Smart pop-ups can also appear offering a customer who's just made a purchase another, complementary product. Or you can use them to present a survey asking customers who didn't complete a purchase why they decided not to buy.

Programming these "smart" pop-ups takes a little work, but it can be very worthwhile.

Keep Your Pop-ups Focused
Since pop-ups appear unexpectedly and are generally small, it is crucial that your sales copy immediately communicates a strong benefit and a call to action.

Have a brief headline explaining the benefit and, at most, one image (if it serves a purpose). You don't need to take up space with any unnecessary distractions.

Also, make sure the pop-up is related to the site, or even the page the person is on when it appears. If it isn't clear, make it clear right away.

Controlling Their Look, Size, and Position
Part of the power of pop-ups is the level of control you can have over them once you learn a little bit about how they work.

You can set their position on the page, control when they appear, and even determine who sees them and who doesn't.

For example, when you use an opt-in pop-up window, you may want it to show up in a prominent place on the screen. A "help" pop-up, on the other hand, shouldn't cover the area of the original window that it refers to. Plus, since pop-ups are smaller than a normal browser window, you can save some space and set them up so the toolbar, address window, and other elements of the browser don't appear. All your visitors will see is a thin gray border and whatever HTML content you've included.

Most pop-ups contain a limited amount of information, letting you set the size of the window so you don't need to include scroll bars. However, if it's a help function, for instance, you may want users to be able to scroll to see other help tips. You should Include a "close this window" link to make it easier for the visitors to close it when they're finished reading.

The success businesses have with pop-ups is directly affected by:
1. How targeted the offer is to the visitor's interests
2. How closely the offer relates to the current action of the visitor (i.e. Does the pop-up relate to what the visitor is doing or looking for, or does it interrupt them?)
3. The strength of the sales copy (i.e. Does the copy contain a clear headline, with a compelling benefit. Can the benefit be absorbed in a single glance?)
4. Where and when the pop-up appears (i.e. Is it an offer they've already responded to or seen? Does it appear during entry or exit?)
5. How well the pop-up was tested (i.e. Did you test the copy, as well as the timing of when and where it appears?)

The most effective pop-ups present offers that directly relate to the number-one benefit that visitors are hoping to gain from your web site.

Whether it's more information about a particular topic, or a product that complements something they already own, the more you customize your pop-up offers to speak directly to visitors' needs, the more likely you are to see a positive response.

Consider making your first pop-up an immediate entry pop-up that contains an opt-in offer for your newsletter or subscriber list.
One great factor is that Pop-up technology is extremely easy and cost effective to start using and benefiting from.