On IN-YOUR-FACE Advertising

It seems to me that more and more often I am blocked from viewing content on a website until I click through or past an advertisement.  I'm not referring to the standard web banners on the side of the page, but rather to the ads that rudely pop up in the middle of my sentence and expand across the whole page and stay until I can figure out where the hidden "X" is to close out.  Or the pop ups I have seen recently that force me to either share a link through social media or answer a question before I can continue reading the page.  Or the ads that talk at me from random corners of the screen until I can figure out where the magic voice is coming from to place the ad on "mute."

Being in advertising, I get it.  You want your message to be heard, and with all of the noise online, sometimes the best way to be heard is to scream, or to get up in someone's face.  As a consumer, I'm annoyed.  There are two key reasons I would not recommend "In Your Face" advertising.

1. It's obnoxious.  When a cleaning product gives me a heart attack by spontaneously lecturing me on how to better clean via a hidden speaker on my page, or a magazine wants me to subscribe and won't let me read their article until I provide all of my personal information, or an shoe site asks me to take advantage of their once in a lifetime sales event... 50 times... It doesn't make me want their product/service, or like it.  And I'm perturbed with the product that is not bettering my life but rather frustrating it.  You, the obnoxious advertiser, have now left a bad taste in my mouth. Remember, advertising is like dating.  I want to be wooed, not harassed.

2. It's suspicious. Most uninvited ads are from people asking me if I want a bigger penis or if I want to lose 180 pounds without dieting or exercising. I most likely don't trust the credibility of an unwarranted ad popping up uninvited. If you are a legitimate advertiser wanting to be heard, ask me to listen to you; don't force me.

If you as a website are allowing advertisers to place pop up ads, it is taking me away from your website.  Your article may very well be fascinating, but it is not worth it for me to click through an unknown link or deal with oodles of pop-ups. Honestly, I just don't like you that much. I will most likely leave your site and not come back.  You've now lost an engaged reader, and your advertiser is not making any money, because people are no longer on the site to see the ad.

Advertisements should complement your site; they should be things your reader is interested in.  Jon Acuff does a great job of this by advertising books and services that appeal to the same niche demographic as his.  If I am on his website, I likely have read or subscribed to several of the items promoted, which makes me confident that I will like other items promoted.

Food for thought- When it comes to being heard, or the signal to noise ratio, maybe instead of screaming louder in a noisy room, it would be wiser to find a place you can clearly whisper.



Mood:  Annoyed