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Ask HN: How to collect emails for waiting list without being annoying?

2 pointsby danielmakestechabout 2 years ago
I&#x27;m working on a non-profit project for developers that haven&#x27;t launched yet and I want to collect emails for the waiting list. I think the value proposition is really, really good - users get deals on cloud&#x2F;courses&#x2F;apps and all of the profits from promoting these deals go to research-backed charities.<p>I have a simple, classic strategy for building the waiting list - publish good content and show a pop up when user is leaving the page asking to sign up to the list. This kind of pop-ups are everywhere because they work. And I think it&#x27;s fair to make the ask.<p>BUT. I don&#x27;t want it to annoy my fellow devs with popups (while still collecting contact info effectively). So here&#x27;s the question: how would you like to be presented an ask for signup on a blog post?<p>On scroll, the way substack does it? Mid-content? Any other way?

2 comments

brudgersabout 2 years ago
Don&#x27;t ask. Tell people about the value proposition in ten words or less at the top of each article. Make one of the words a link to a page with more information. On that page have a simple field to sign up for email updates.<p>What I want is something that prioritizes my needs, not those of the person creating the content.<p>A popup when I go to leave is not a fair exchange.<p>Because I didn&#x27;t agree to it ahead of time.<p>And now you are just blocking me from what is important to me with a toll booth.<p>Good luck.
andreareinaabout 2 years ago
Pre-&#x2F;mid-&#x2F;end-content, 100%. I have navigated away because of pop-ups and&#x2F;or sticky dickbars.