How to Create a Countdown Timer Campaign

Countdown timers are an evergreen sales technique stemming from something we’re all born with: the dreaded FOMO (fear of missing out), and the race against time to get what we want.

At Bouncezap, we’ve added countdown timers to our long and ever-growing list of conversion-optimised templates. Used properly, these conversion ninjas will set your sales on fire.

So, what can you use countdown timers for? The only limit is your imagination! Our customers have used countdown timers to highlight a sale, for a special product promotion, and to promote a unique discount code that will run out when the timer hits zero.

There are just four steps to setting up a countdown timer campaign:

1. Create a Campaign
2. Choose a Countdown Timer Theme
3. Design Your Campaign
4. Configure the Countdown Timer
5. Activate Campaign

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Step 1: Create a Campaign

The first step is to login to your Bouncezap account, either by accessing the link, or visiting Bouncezap and clicking on the “SIGN IN” button at the top right corner of the page:

Once you’ve successfully logged in, it’s time to create your campaign. To do this, click “Create New Campaign” at the top left corner of the page, as shown below:

Then, you’ll need to enter the URL of the site you want the popup to display on, and click “select site”. Don’t forget to name your campaign! This will make the performance of your popup easier to track in your dashboard, especially if you’re running multiple campaigns.

Step 2: Choose a Countdown Timer

After selecting the site you want your popup on, you’ll be taken to the “Goal Selection” page of the campaign setup process.

To select a timer, scroll down until you find “Countdown Timers”, and click “Select this Goal”.

Now, it’s time to customise the appearance of your campaign!

Step 3: Design your Campaign

After selecting your goal, you’ll be taken to the design page, which lets you customise how your popup will look.

If you’re new to Bouncezap, we’d recommend viewing our guide on creating your first campaign before advancing with configuring your countdown timer. Read the guide, or watch the video below!

First, you need to select a banner style. For the purpose of this guide, we’re setting up a lightbox popup, though you can select any banner style you choose, from a scroll popup, to a bar popup.

To get started customising your campaign, you can simply pick a template and edit the copy, images, and colour scheme. Check out this example for inspiration:

If you want extra help setting up your campaign, check out our concierge service, where we will create a completely custom design specifically for your business.

So, just how can you customise your campaign? With Bouncezap, you can select:

– Entrance effect
– Overlay background
– Theme
– Colours
– Font
– Banner background

The benefit of Bouncezap is that you can customise every aspect of your popup, so experiment until you get the look you want!

Want a pro tip? Use a bar popup to promote your sale — this way, the timer will constantly be in front of your visitor, increasing the sense of urgency, and encouraging them to buy before it’s too late!

Step 4. Configure Your Countdown Timer

When you’ve finished customising your popup, it’s time to select your triggers and audience. This will determine when the popup displays, and who it displays to.

Selecting Your Trigger

Schedule time/date: This allows you to show your popup to visitors in a specific date or time range. You can use this to schedule campaigns, so if you want to run a special discount until 12pm Tuesday, your popup will only appear to visitors until that time, ticking down until the sale ends. Simply tell Bouncezap when you want your promotion to run, and we’ll handle the rest.

Behaviour Analysis Technology: Turning on this setting will track your visitors’ behaviour, to determine the best time to serve your message (for example, when they try to leave the site).

Time-based functionality: Selecting this trigger will allow your popups to display after a certain time period (for example, when the user has stayed on your site for one minute).

Scroll functionality: This trigger will display the popup when a user scrolls down a predetermined amount of the page, such as when they reach the halfway point.

Select elements: This behaviour-based popup will only display to users who have clicked on certain on-page elements, such as an image.

Determining Your Audience

Determining your audience is one of the most important parts of your campaign. If you don’t know who to target, your popup won’t resonate with the right people.

Bouncezap allows you to do the following:

Segment traffic: This allows you to split your traffic to only show your popup to specific segments. An an example, let’s say you want to target only new visitors, with an exclusive discount on specific products if they register an account and make a purchase within the next few hours. Likewise, you could customise your popup and target returning visitors, saying “Thanks for coming back! Here’s a discount code on us.”
Show your popup multiple times: Sometimes visitors see your popup, but do not react. This allows you to show the same popup multiple times within a session, and serve as a reminder to users of what they’re missing.

Remember that countdown timers can’t only be used to promote a time-sensitive sale: it might be that you have a delivery cut off point. Your popup could say “Order before 4pm for next day delivery!”, with a countdown timer to increase urgency. It’s important to exercise caution, and not show your popup too many times within a single session. If your average visitor is staying on your site for one minute and 30 seconds, showing three popups will be off putting, and do little except annoy the user.

Collect subscribers: This allows you to choose how you’ll collect your email addresses. Bouncezap allows you to collect and view your list within our platform. Alternatively, if you use a CRM system, such as InfusionSoft, or email marketing automation service, such as MailChimp, you can choose to automatically import the contacts you collect to your platform.

Choose your device: Bouncezap allows you to determine the devices you want to display your popups on. If you choose, you can run your campaign only on mobile, meaning your popup won’t appear to users on desktop or tablet.

Choose your pages: This is where you choose which pages you want your popup to appear on. You could set your popup to appear on every page, though this may irritate users, so proceed with caution. Alternatively, if you’re running specific promotions, you may choose to only show your popup on a relevant category or product page.

Step 5: Activate Your Campaign

Your campaign is almost ready to go! Once you’ve finished customising it, it’s time to activate it, so that your popup will display on your website.

Don’t forget to save your campaign by clicking “SAVE and NEXT”, after which you’ll be directed to your dashboard. This will show all of your current campaigns.

To activate your campaign, all you need to do is click the Power icon next to the campaign you’ve just created. The icon will turn green to indicate that your campaign is up and running.

The next step? All that’s left to do is sit back and watch your conversion rate increase!

Struggling with your campaign? Our team are on hand to help you establish your goals, set up your popup campaign, and increase urgency (and sales) with your countdown timers!