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Will this work as a popup email opt-in box?

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31 May 2013, 1:28 AM
#1
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notageek

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Will this work as a popup email opt-in box?

I have over 100 visitors a month to my website, and many visitors stay quite a long time. However, my products are complicated and choices are too many to be sales-conducive.

I would like to force an email collection with a pop-up opt-in box. This would allow my customers to receive gradual exposure to my products by email marketing. It would make little difference to my sales on my site, because no one buys anything anyway.

I found a closed 2007 thread at Post No. 6 at this page: http://www.zen-cart.com/showthread.php?123856-Creating-Popups, which I quote below. I would like to know if this is still something that would work in Zen-Cart version 139h or higher.

go to your original zen-cart download folder, to the "docs" folder and read the "JScript Override How-To" (who knew there were these great files right here in the folder???)

for quick reference, here is what that says:

Site-Wide jscript's
jscript*.js files -- to be "linked" by your site

Any file in the includes/templates/{template_directory}/jscript/ directory with the following filename format will be loaded globally on every page of your shop:
jscript_{unique_name}.js
(where {unique_name} can be anything you want)

Effectively, the file will be loaded as if you had inserted the following into an HTML page:

<script language="javascript" src="includes/templates/{template_directory}/jscript/jscript_{unique_name}.js"></script>

jscript*.php files -- to be "included" in your HTML content sent to the browser, inline.

If you need to control the content of certain PHP variables inside jscript code on the page, OR if you need to include several <script>...</script> tags, use a jscript_*.php file instead.
However, in this case, you DO need to include the <script .... > and </script> tags in the file.

Page-Specific jscript's

For page-specific operation, put the file under the /includes/modules/pages/{pagename}/ folder.
jscript*.js files -- to be "linked" by your site

NOTE: jscript_.js files must not contain any <script...> .... </script> tags. They should contain ONLY the contents that are to go "between" those tags.
jscript
.php files -- to be "included" in your HTML content sent to the browser, inline.

If you need to control the content of certain PHP variables inside jscript code on the page, use a jscript_*.php file.
However, in this case, you DO need to include the <script .... > and </script> tags in the file.
so, to apply this instruction to our situation:

  1. download and rename the two script files you can get off that website to:
    jscript_add-event.js and jscript_popup.js

  2. place them in the correct folder, as described above

3.code your links in the footer (or wherever) as described in that website, should be something like this:
Code:

<ul id="bottomMenuStyle"> <li><a href="http://www.hsus.org" rel="popup console 820 700 noicon"><img src="http://www.customk9design.com/catalogzen /includes/templates/darkness/images/humanesociety.gif" alt="Humane Society" width="290" height="55"/></a></li> <li><a href="http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/organic /?from=sfx&uid=0&t=353570" rel="popup console 950 700 noicon"><img src="http://www.customk9design.com/catalogzen /includes/templates/darkness/images /organicfirefox.jpg"width="115" height="55" border="0"/> </a></li> </ul> note the following: 1. create a ul, and list your items 2. should have a href to site, then that "rel=" code... you can change the dimensions from what the site creates originally (i started with 800x600 then modified based on the link) 3. i have mine linked to an image (this is optional) 4. if not linking to an image, just have your text here: rel="popup console 950 700 noicon">CLICK HERE FOR BLAH</a></li>

because of how zen cart is set up, it should auto call those jscripts as long as you name them correctly and put them in the correct folder as described above. you DO NOT need to input any code at the top of the page, or anything like that.

TOO EASY!!! (advice by Customk1)

There are a number of Wordpress popups which are having success in obtaining opt-ins, so, much as I dislike popups (I always click them off), this seems like a strategy that might build a list slowly so I could educate my visitors.

I am also considering using the RSS feed module. However, I am thinking no one would click on that either, without a bribe to opt in. According to the Wordpress users, a popup does build a list, at least if you offer a bribe such as a free report or video.

Thanks for any ideas.

31 May 2013, 8:37 AM
#2
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schoolboy

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Re: Will this work as a popup email opt-in box?

notageek:

I have over 100 visitors a month to my website, and many visitors stay quite a long time. However, my products are complicated and choices are too many to be sales-conducive.

I would like to force an email collection with a pop-up opt-in box. This would allow my customers to receive gradual exposure to my products by email marketing. It would make little difference to my sales on my site, because no one buys anything anyway.

I found a closed 2007 thread at Post No. 6 at this page: http://www.zen-cart.com/showthread.php?123856-Creating-Popups, which I quote below. I would like to know if this is still something that would work in Zen-Cart version 139h or higher.

There are a number of Wordpress popups which are having success in obtaining opt-ins, so, much as I dislike popups (I always click them off), this seems like a strategy that might build a list slowly so I could educate my visitors.

I am also considering using the RSS feed module. However, I am thinking no one would click on that either, without a bribe to opt in. According to the Wordpress users, a popup does build a list, at least if you offer a bribe such as a free report or video.

Thanks for any ideas.

You are not resolving the problem.

If your products are "too complicated" then you must simplify them. The internet must be simple and very fast.

20 years a Zencart User

31 May 2013, 11:40 AM
#3
stevesh avatar

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Re: Will this work as a popup email opt-in box?

notageek:

I have over 100 visitors a month to my website, and many visitors stay quite a long time. However, my products are complicated and choices are too many to be sales-conducive.

I would like to force an email collection with a pop-up opt-in box. This would allow my customers to receive gradual exposure to my products by email marketing. It would make little difference to my sales on my site, because no one buys anything anyway.

These two things being true, I wonder why you're bothering. Any chance we can see the site ?

7 Sep 2013, 9:02 PM
#4
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notageek

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Re: Will this work as a popup email opt-in box?

stevesh:

These two things being true, I wonder why you're bothering. Any chance we can see the site ?
Hi. The site is www.g o k a r a o k e m a c h i n e.c o m (spaced so this forum thread will not come up when searched on google).

I have put a lot of effort into trying to simplify by explaining my products, by articles, category introductions, and by adding links to reviews and demos. I don't seem to have the knack of sales. The keywords are really competitive so the site is not on Google page 1, so have a small volume of visitors, but that should be enough to build an email list. That means I should try to do social marketing, and try to build a list from people who click on the link to my site instead of on an email form on the social site or the website. Therefore, I need some way to basically have a gateway allowing me to collect the email for the privilege of seeing the great information on the site, if the link-clicking visitors really are interested.

In Wordpress sites, there is a plug-in like this, that darkens the page slightly until you give your email address. That type of plugin reputedly is quite successful in building email lists.

I don't suppose a Wordpress plug-in would work, unless maybe I added a Wordpress page to the site for the purposes of entry. Perhaps I should consider that approach for sending people who click my site's links on social media.

I wonder if anyone has taken that approach. That would be a rationale for adding the Wordpress module even though the EZ pages are wonderful for articles.

Any comments are much appreciated. Thank you, Dr.Byte, and Stevesh, for your thoughts above.

8 Sep 2013, 4:09 AM
#5
ajeh avatar

ajeh

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Re: Will this work as a popup email opt-in box?

Hint ... you should really make those youtube links pop in their own window as I went from your site to youtube and played on youtube for 2-3 hours and totally forgot about your site ... :shocking:

Linda McGrath
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8 Sep 2013, 7:14 PM
#6
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notageek

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Re: Will this work as a popup email opt-in box?

Ajeh,

Thanks for the tip. YouTube is captivating with all the choices. Hope you felt your time on YouTube was well-spent.

Notageek

8 Sep 2013, 7:31 PM
#7
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Re: Will this work as a popup email opt-in box?

notageek:

YouTube is captivating with all the choices. Hope you felt your time on YouTube was well-spent.
Haha! Nicely played :wow:

.
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9 Sep 2013, 7:38 PM
#8
ajeh avatar

ajeh

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Re: Will this work as a popup email opt-in box?

It was a fun time for sure ... just wish I could recall that neat karaoke site I was planning to buy oodles from that took me to youtube ... :cool:

Linda McGrath
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31 Oct 2013, 2:31 PM
#9
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notageek

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Re: Will this work as a popup email opt-in box?

I was looking for a way to force an opt-in to my website by a popover. I now know such a thing can be done, because the very thing is now appearing on my website from a pirate source.

Even worse, someone has harvested subject matter from my related Facebook fan page, and used that subject for this pirate ad. The ad even says on the ad that the ad is not related to my site url, and specifies the url.

I cannot tell whether I have some kind of adware virus on my individual computer or whether this popover is somehow also being seen by other people.

There are other popups on my site, also. Whenever I go to a specific product or a keyword on my website, a "Tidy" ad pops up, or I see competing products pop up right over my product which offer the identical product on at least 2 other websites and show the competitors' prices. Just before that occurred, I had discounted my most popular product, so at least I am competitive. (I noticed when I clicked on a Target ad with a price that would indicate a loss, once I was taken to the product, that price was no longer available, and they had a regular price for the product.)

I would like to be the one who pops over my own site with a CPA offer type of ad, or an opt-in form. Now, someone else is making that happen, and benefiting by that piracy tactic and by my customer. I am reading that such popovers have a 60 percent click rate. Since I have regular visitors and never a purchase, this would be an important means by which I could build a list or obtain income from the very CPA offer being used by the pirate, which I chose for my Facebook page.

I am not really sure if this is a virus infecting my computer so that not everyone is seeing the popovers and popups, or if, on the other hand, someone is actually attaching to my website. It could be one of those systems like Direct CPV that presents an offer when someone searches for a keyword.

However, it occurs when I just type in my URL. This is happening consistently, all of the time now. Every day it seems to be a worsend problem Yesterday the popover of the CPA offer did not darken my website, but today it completely darkens the site so you have to click it off or click on it to see the site.

At least I know there is technology that does this on a Zencart site as well as on a Wordpress site. I just need to know how to do it myself, or stop others from doing it. I don't think I can stop the little ad popups when someone goes to my individual products, and I think other people see those, so I probably want to keep that so I can see what is happening for visitors.

The worst thing is the ad stole my Facebook ad content, and these ads are targeting my content and being relevant to my content.

If I find out what is happening, I will post. I will appreciate any information on this situation.

Notageek

31 Oct 2013, 3:01 PM
#10
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Re: Will this work as a popup email opt-in box?

I'm not seeing any of this on your site, so I would guess you have a problem on your local computer. The 'popups' when you hover over a 'keyword' is a tipoff that it's a problem for you and not your site. Do you have anti-virus software on your computer ?

While I'm here, I would suggest you think longer about the 'opt-in' popups. Nothing makes me leave a site more quickly.

31 Oct 2013, 3:34 PM
#11
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Re: Will this work as a popup email opt-in box?

Stevsh,

Thanks for your reply and advice.

I found I could click on an "About This Ad" and it appears something has indeed been installed on my browser. I was led to a site caled defineext.com, so I researched that on Google. One site says:

What is Define Ext?
This is a web browser extension and Browser helper Object (for Internet Explorer) that delivers contextual based advertising to the web browser. In addition it will modify the user's browser home and search pages as well as 'New Tab' pages to push advertising and search. The software acts as an adware type application and is typically defined as a unwanted application by various malware vendors. Bundled with Premium Installer's Optimum Installer.

About Define Ext (from DefineExt.com)
“A Browser Extension that enables you easily look up the meaning of words from the english dictionary. We collect advertising revenue from users as they use our application by inserting non-intrusive advertising into pages while browsing. We use these commissions to pay for servers, development, employ team members and most importantly to create new innovative products that people enjoy like Unit Layers!

Define Ext has been found to be bundled with 3rd party software. If you have not purposefully installed this, you should be safe uninstalling it.
TidyNetwork.com

So, I now know I have to uninstall it, I know it came from Internet Explorer when I updated that browser, I know there are people out there experiencing this phenomenon, and I have the benefit of your comment on the inadvisability of the opt-in popover.

I appreciate your comment. I wish there were an antidote to this popup so that I could prevent it from popping up for others when they visit my website. Maybe I could put a statement about the internet popups on the site, so that if someone gets past it to see my site, they will then be informed that it is on their Internet Explorer browser and can be uninstalled. Do you think that would be appreciated by my customers (who never buy)?