# Popups — Marketing Skill for AI Agents

A popup converts when it offers obvious value at the right moment and is easy to dismiss. Skip immediate on-load popups (too aggressive) in favor of behavior-based triggers: a 30-60 second delay, 25-50% scroll depth on content, exit intent, or a click-triggered popup for lead magnets (which convert highest because they're self-selected). Keep the form to one field (email), lead with a benefit-driven headline and a specific CTA like "Send Me the Guide," and always show a visible close option. Cap frequency to once per session, remember dismissals for 7-30 days, and exclude already-converted users. Typical conversion rates: 2-5% for email popups, 3-10% for exit intent, and 10%+ for click-triggered. Avoid full-screen mobile interstitials — Google penalizes them.

> Maintained by Corey Haines · v2.0.0 · Updated 2026-05-13

Install: `npx skills add coreyhaines31/marketingskills`
Source: https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/tree/main/skills/popups

## When to use it

- "exit intent,"
- "popup conversions,"
- "modal optimization,"
- "lead capture popup,"
- "email popup,"
- "announcement banner,"
- "overlay,"
- "collect emails with a popup,"

## What's inside

**The playbook covers:** Initial Assessment, Core Principles, Trigger Strategies, Popup Types, Design Best Practices, Copy Formulas, Frequency and Rules, Compliance and Accessibility, Measurement, Output Format, Common Popup Strategies, Experiment Ideas, Task-Specific Questions

## Example

**Prompt:** Help me create an exit-intent popup for our SaaS landing page. We want to capture emails from visitors who are about to leave without signing up. Our product is a social media scheduling tool.

**Exit-intent email capture (social media scheduling tool)**

Headline:  Leaving without your posting calendar?
Subhead:   Grab our free 30-day content calendar template — plug in your
           ideas and never stare at a blank scheduler again. No spam, ever.
Field:     [ Enter your email ]
CTA:       Send Me the Template
Decline:   No thanks, I'll wing it

Trigger:   Exit intent (desktop) · scroll-up (mobile)
Frequency: Once per visitor; don't re-show for 30 days if dismissed

## FAQ

### When should a popup appear so it doesn't annoy visitors?

Not on immediate page load — that's the most annoying option. Use behavior-based triggers instead: a 30-60 second time delay, 25-50% scroll depth for blog content, exit intent, or a click trigger for lead magnets. The goal is to appear at a moment of engagement or intent, when the offer feels helpful rather than interruptive.

### What conversion rate should I expect from a popup?

Benchmarks vary by type: email capture popups typically convert 2-5%, exit-intent popups 3-10%, and click-triggered popups 10%+ because the visitor self-selected by clicking. Track impression rate, conversion rate, and close rate — a high immediate-close rate signals the timing or offer is off.

### How do I balance popup conversions against user complaints?

Keep the conversions, cut the annoyance: cap frequency to once per session, remember dismissals for 7-30 days, exclude existing subscribers and converted users, and switch to less intrusive formats like a corner slide-in or announcement bar instead of a full-screen overlay. Then A/B test triggers and formats to find the balance.

## Related skills

- **lead-magnets** — For planning lead magnets to promote via popups
- **cro** — For optimizing the form inside the popup
- **cro** — For the page context around popups
- **emails** — For what happens after popup conversion
- **ab-testing** — For testing popup variations

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Canonical: https://marketing-skills.com/skills/popups