I really don't like popups, but so far, I haven't found anything with a better performance when it comes to listbuilding than using popups. So, I have used action popup on my blog for a while, and I'm very satisfied with the results. But, on the other hand, I find it annoying, and would like another option to build my list (with the same amount of people subscribing). Do you have any good alternatives to popups? Just to make it clear. My popup only appears when a person are leaving my blog. So it's not as annoying as the ones that pops up as you're reading the content. - Jens
If you find it annoying then it is obvious that your visitors will find it annoying as well. Use a sign up box on your page that is placed above the fold. If you think visitors may miss it make it stand out. If your content is good then they will sign up. Having to get past a pop up to leave a site only annoys people.
I might have to work on the sign up box, because I've tried several but none works as good as the popup.
Jens, really don't think it matters if you think it's annoying... if people are opting in then the people who matter (your subscribers) aren't annoyed. When putting action popup on a blog, I set it to show very frequently for a week or two, then tone it back to something like only show on exit, after 1 minute. During that time I'll use action optin on the sidebar and action comments to get them to opt-in on the blog comment form. I'll offer a special bribe like an e-book they can ONLY get by commenting or can ONLY get by opting into that sidebar box. A real book or video is way more enticing than just "blog updates."
Suitable replacement, a little less annoying than pop up windows is to make a sign-up layer that stands out on top, I don't know how they are called, but that's what they are : a layer that gets on top and makes the page shaded with an optional close X somewhere on top. It is almost as annoying as new window, but the ability to easily close it and get back to the page with less hassle is a good edge from usability perspective.
Well annoying or not, for your purpose they work well. The alternative is to test what has already been mentioned then stick to the method that works best. I find Television Commercials highly annoying, yet the strange thing is I still watch TV... goes with the territory.