Do hover ads still work for affiliate marketers or any business for that matter?
If they are implemented correctly, then the short answer is yes. The use of a pop-up ad as a marketing strategy is still today alive a well. However, the delivery methods have changed considerably over the years.
Hover ads are a unique type of pop-up ad which has been created using various forms of web browser technology which includes elements such Dynamic HTML, JavaScript and so on.
Why Are They Called Hover Ads?
The reason for the name is very straightforward, simply because they do not scroll with the web page, they appear to “hover” over the page directly in the line of sight of any site visitors, more often than not over the top of the website content.
The actual idea behind this is to get the site visitor to enter their details as soon as they arrive at the website by you offering them some irresistible offer in the hover ad.
This way you have their email details immediately so you can then start your email marketing campaigns.
We have used hover ads for gathering subscribers on some of our other sites and have an increase in subscription rates from as much as 30% to 50% depending on the offer we present. As opposed to placing a simple opt-in form on our site.
Today, the days of pop-ups that opened a new window are long gone, as most web browsers are equipped with technology to block them easily. So as an affiliate marketer or even business owner that needs to gather email addresses then you should consider the use of hover ads and “popovers”.
Understanding How Pop-Up Hover Ads And Popovers Work
Instead of opening up a new browser window as the older pop-ups use to do, the code for the more advanced hover ads is actually part of the page, utilising what is known as Dynamic HTML ( DHTML) – which is a mixture of HTML and JavaScript. DHTML is more suitable for the functioning of a web-browser and as a result of this is much harder to block.
It is just a matter of adding the scripts in most cases to the body section of the webpage, and you have a working form ready to collect subscribers for your online business.
Aweber, as well as Getresponse, have recently introduced these into their templates with a large variety of templates to choose from. You merely select the hover ad template you want to enter the information relevant to your site and then copy and paste the code into your webpage.
Popovers are also known as overlays by some marketers. A site visitor goes to a page on your site that has the code installed, and an ad appears over the material on that page. The advertisement may cover all or part of a web page. Some have a link where you can close down the ad straight away, and others remain on the page until the user navigates away, or until the ad closes itself with having a countdown timer.
The most effective thing about hover ads and popovers is that they are so much more versatile and elegant than old-style pop-ups, as well as being easily customised so that anyone can implement them quickly. Hover ads can be created that just appear on the screen, slide up or down the screen, across it, or even simply placed in the footer of your site and so on.
All kinds of styles and formats are available out there. It’s a handy method of delivering advertising with a little more style, and it has evolved to be a highly useful marketing tool, especially for affiliates or those selling products online.
Hover Ads Can Be Displayed In Many Different Ways
The first way is to simply place a typical subscription form which in our experience leads to a worthwhile increase in your actual opt-in rates. In this scenario, your website visitors will arrive at a web page where they can see the content of the page, then after a small amount of time a popover hovers over the content, informing the site visitor that he or she will need to pay for access to see any more information, or be offered a newsletter or free product.
Hover ads and popovers, pop-ups can also be beneficial for letting your site visitors know about upcoming special offers or simply relaying company news and system messages without asking for any details. Hover ads can be used to draw your site visitors attention to new products and services.
Another beneficial way of using this is to allow them to fill out some survey which then directs them to another page depending on their answers or can simply give you some fantastic marketing insight into what the needs of your customers are so you can better understand them.
Why Hover Ads Don’t Seem To Be Blocked By Web Browsers
As the code for a hover ad or popover is effectively a part of the page, most pop-up blockers won’t be able to stop them. There is only going to be one possible scenario where your ad might be blocked if the visitor has JavaScript disabled in their web browser.
However, this is relatively uncommon as so many sites utilise JavaScript for a range of functionality and JavaScript is switched on as the default option in nearly all web browsers.
Nonetheless, just because hovers and popovers can’t be blocked, one should still be careful as to the type of style of ads that are used on their site. One thing you do not want to do is create a scenario where you have annoyed visitors simply because they don’t make for great potential customers.
So, it’s still important to exercise some discretion when creating these types of hover ads on your websites. Check out how these two guys increased their mailing list opt-in rate by over 304% overnight with a straightforward WordPress plugin call Popup Plugin for WordPress – Layered Popups.
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I absolutely LOATHE this type of ad. Frequently, unless it’s a site that has content that I especially want to see, I don’t bother closing the ad, I simply leave.
Being relatively new to online marketing with niche sites still being developed I haven’t yet got to the point of adding opt-in forms but it’s in the short-term plan. Obviously before adding any type of opt-in one must have (a) something to offer as an incentive; and (b) some useful information to share in follow up autoresponder messages. Right now I’m studying other sites in each niche I’m working with to find ideas that might work for me. Some vendors provide this material whilst others provide next to nothing. It’s definitely a learning experience and your posts continue to provide inspiration.
Hi Jon
Yes the best way to find out work works is subscribe to other newsletters in your niche market, find out what they are talking about and then make your plan from there. You can also do what i do and as i add new posts to the site I also add that to my auto-responder service.
This is a good way to not only continually feed information to your subscribers but also keeps them coming back to your site which can help with your rankings especially if those readers are encouraged to bookmark, share and tweet about your site while they are there.