Email capture vs immediate conversion tactics

I was chatting with a client last week when they hit me with a question that got me thinking... "George, our Google Ads ROAS is stuck at 2.4x. We're spending $15K a month - how do we get that number up without cutting back?" My first question: "What happens to the people who click your ads but don't buy immediately?" Silence on the other end. Then: "Uh... I guess they just leave?" And there it was - the massive blind spot that's costing most eCommerce brands thousands in wasted opportunity. Take a skincare client of ours. They were getting a decent 2.8x ROAS from their Google Ads. We made one simple change: Instead of just focusing on immediate purchase...we added compelling email capture offers - a skin type quiz, a "get personalised recommendations" form. Almost overnight, their email list started growing about 3x faster. Around 10% of people who clicked their ads but weren't ready to buy would sign up instead. Then the magic happened. We built an email welcome sequence specifically for these Google Ads leads with hyper-relevant emails based on what they'd clicked. Within 30 days, 22% of these new subscribers made a purchase. When we calculated the total revenue - both from direct ad clicks AND from the email sequences - their effective ROAS had jumped from 2.8x to 4.1x. Same ad spend. Significantly more revenue. I noticed something else that blew my mind: For another client, 41% of their customers who came through Google Ads didn't make their first purchase directly from the ad. Instead, they subscribed to emails first, then purchased after receiving 3-5 emails. If they were only measuring direct ROAS from Google Ads, they'd be missing nearly half of the revenue their ads were actually generating! Want to try this approach yourself? Start simple: - Add an email capture element to your Google Ads landing pages - Create a welcome sequence specifically for Google Ads leads - Measure the 30-day value of subscribers who come through ads That's everything! Need help on this? Shoot me a DM.

Growing your first-party database: Why most brands get pop-ups wrong (and what sportshoes.com got right) Every website has a pop-up pushing consumers to sign up for newsletters. But here's the key question: Is your pop-up capturing high-intent browsers who aren't ready to purchase yet, or are you only targeting those ready to buy now? After driving hundreds of thousands of consumers to sign up across various brand websites, I seen the biggest conversion killer: the traditional voucher code pop-up. That gives you a conversion rate of 5% from click, whereas other tools can achieve up to a 70% conversion rate from click. While voucher codes excel at nudging ready buyers to purchase, they're terrible for growing your subscriber base. Here's why: Voucher codes convert at 2-5x higher than typical on-site conversion rates. Sounds great, right? Wrong. Most consumers are afraid of "wasting" the voucher if they're not ready to buy immediately, so they simply don't sign up at all. You lose that high-intent buyer, who is on your site, and then you pay to get them back. Whereas the right incentive would of got them into your CRM, where you could control the conversation. Better alternatives for list building: If your goal is capturing subscribers for nurturing (not immediate conversion), consider: Competitions or giveaways Exclusive content access Free samples Early access to sales/Limited edition drops access These incentives attract consumers who are not ready to purchase but are interested in the brand, and let's be honest, that is about 98% of your daily traffic. But that sportshoes.com pop-up on the site made me stop for a second; they seemed to have found a great solution to the issue of nudging a sale or growing a subscriber base, using a voucher code. For the first time ever, I've seen a brand offer the option to "use your voucher later." This simple psychology hack captures those hesitant users who fear wasting the discount while still growing the subscriber base. It's a perfect balance between conversion and list building. Smart brands understand the difference between capturing ready-to-buy customers and nurturing future ones. Which approach is your pop-up taking?

Most people who visit your site after clicking an ad aren’t going to buy right away. Here’s why, and what to do about it. Most people have objections, lots of them: I don’t have enough info. I just found out about this brand. Can I trust them? Is this product any good? I’ll wait until payday. Why not go with one of the other 1,000+ brands I’ve seen today? So what happens next? They leave. And you’re forced to keep paying for retargeting ads until their objections are addressed, hoping they’ll come back. Here’s the problem: You can’t convert cold audiences right away. It’s almost impossible. The only people who buy immediately are those who already know, like, and trust your brand. The solution? Build trust and nurture relationships. Every interaction with your brand adds what I call ‘trust points.’ Each piece of content, whether it’s an email, an Instagram post, or a helpful guide, warms up a cold audience until they reach the “Trust Threshold”. That’s the moment they feel confident enough to buy. Here’s how we help brands reach that threshold: 1️⃣ A High-Converting Pop-Up Most visitors aren’t ready to buy right away, but that doesn’t mean you should lose them forever. A well-optimised pop-up allows you to capture their email address and some zero-party-data to start building trust. Offer something valuable, like a discount, free shipping, or an exclusive guide. Make sure it’s visually appealing and non-intrusive. Ensure it appears at the right time, after they’ve spent a few seconds on the site. Without a pop-up, you’re leaving money on the table. But with a high-converting pop-up, you can nurture those leads and convert them later. 2️⃣ A Welcome Flow That Educates and Converts Once you have their email, the real work begins. Through strategic email flows, you can: Address common objections (like trust and quality). Personalise emails (with the zero-party-data you have collected) Highlight customer testimonials and reviews. Introduce your brand story to create an emotional connection. The goal? Move them from ‘maybe later’ to ‘I need this now.’ Instead of relying solely on expensive ads to try and convert cold audiences, you create a system that builds trust, warms up prospects, and converts them when they’re ready. In e-commerce, it’s not just about attracting visitors, it’s about keeping them engaged until they’re ready to buy.