· 10 min read

Wheel Popups: Gamification in Marketing to Boost Conversions

Wheel popups can be your go-to solution for enhancing engagement and boosting e-commerce sales.

Capitalizing on gamification with their spin-to-win dynamic, they offer an enticing incentive for user interaction. Consequently, they are viewed as one of the most effective popup types. 

This post will delve into the details of wheel popups and guide you in crafting compelling designs.

The cover of wheel of popups on a dark blue background with a wheel icon

What is a Wheel Popup?

Wheel popups or “gamified wheels.” are the opt-in forms visitors can interactively engage with and win a discount code, voucher, or prize.

All they need to do is fill out the form asking for their data (Name, Email Address, Phone Number), spin the wheel, and win a prize.

A simple discount code in return for capturing contact information doesn’t work for all visitors. When it works, subscribers often don’t use the coupon code, and you’ll never see them again.

This is exactly why you need to use the concept of gamification in e-commerce digital marketing campaigns.

Gamification is the application of game elements to non-game activities.
a wheel popup example that says "Let's play a game" and asking for users emails and a spin-to-win element on the right side

While traditional popup designs provide a conversion notably, wheel popup campaigns reach and outstanding customer engagement rate of around 5% to 20%.

The secret behind the success of wheel popups is that it brings users fun and improve visitor engagement.

Therefore, wheel popups are great for making your popup campaign more memorable than your competitors!

How to Create an Engaging Wheel Popup?

To create a popup campaign that engages users, you must first be familiar with popup design best practices and then sharpen your creativity by mixing it up with a spin-to-win wheel element.

Take a look at this engaging example of gamified popup in action:

a Popupsmart gamified lottery popup for Black Friday

Now, the following tips will help you use wheel popups optimally and boost your conversion rate and user experience.

1. Display Wheel Popups with Exit-Intent Trigger

A study with 400 respondents showed that 82% of them hate popups because they appear as soon as a website is loaded.

Exit-intent popups work logically. Hence, when you try to collect your website visitors' emails or try to sell your products before they actually get an idea about your brand, your engagement rate would be lower.

Displaying the wheel popup on exit-intent will eliminate the hatred feeling of your visitors and transfers them into conversions with the concept of gamification.

2. Don't Use Default Wheel Popup Templates

a wheel popup example that says "Let the game begin" with a red background and a golden wheel on the right side

It is essential to design your own wheel popup, which will reflect on your brand image. Why? Because marketers widely adopt to powerful marketing tactics.

Website visitors are getting used to the default wheel popup templates of popular popup providers.

Therefore, unique designs will get more attention from the users.

And still, it is easy to make the customized wheel in your own style. Using an easy to use popup builder you can fully customize you campaign and add different elements to capture your target audience attention.

The best way to stand out is to mix your brands style with witty tone and add some gamification elements in the middle.

3. Avoid Subscribers Mainly Interested in Prizes

You need to be super diligent about your form data because some people will just sign up for winning the prize.

These people may not open your newsletters and even mark your email as spam!!!

Then, what happens? You will end up with a decrease in your email deliverability and an increase in your spam rate.

a Spin to win wheel popup example for Black Friday with a black and red theme

To avoid the pitfall, clean your email list regularly: apply the double opt-in method for email subscription and remove subscribers from your email list who did not open your emails a few times,

4. Use an Anti-Spam Protection Solution

Website visitors may try to cheat on spin-to-win popups easily. They can clear the browser cookies to spin again or hack the wheel code to land on the offering they want.

This may happen not due to your popup provider since all third-party codes carry the same vulnerability.

So, it's recommended to use a solution that includes anti-spam protection like Recaptcha.

5. Create Urgency Using Countdown Timer

If you are thinking of using only a spin-to-win wheel popup as a reward, take it with a pinch of salt.

a lottery wheel popup example with a countdown timer and a text that says "Black Friday, to get your coupon code SPIN!"

Don't make it only about the prize to win but create a sense of urgency around it to make users feel like if they don't act now the will loose this chance forever.

FOMO is real! Just use time-sensitive CTAs such as "only 24 hours left to get this offer" or "while supplies last." or even better integrate a countdown timer with your wheel popup to maximize results.

What are the Best Wheel Popup Providers?

a wheel popup example that says "Try your luck" and offering prizes in exchange for user's email address

Here are the top 5 wheel popup builders to gamify your opt-ins and boost visitor engagement;

1. Popupsmart

the homepage of Popupsmart

Popupsmart is an easy to use popup builder with several advanced features that you can use to launch your gamified popup campaign.

You can design an engaging wheel popup in no-time and collect users' data to refine your efforts.

Using gamification even as small as a wheel popup for especial times like Black Friday & Cyber Monday can be an effective engagement strategy.

Just give it a try and see how it impacts your marketing strategy!

2. Wheelio

Wheelio tool Shopify page showing a Youtube video embeded on the right side of the page and a title that says "Original Wheelio Spin-to-Win Popups" with two button that say "Add app" & "View demo store"

Using the Wheelio Shopify app, you can offer customers the chance to win discounts on their purchases if they share your store on social media.

All you need to do is to simply customize the look and feel of the wheel to match your store’s branding, and set the discount amount and duration.

3. Wordpress Optin Wheel

Wordpress optin wheel homepage showing a wheel popup on the right side on top of the page and the tool's logo

WP Optin Wheel is a WordPress plugin that can also help you to gamify your website and grow your email list easier.

The tool offers all of your website visitors a chance to win a prize, a coupon, or other discounts that they can apply toward your services and products with a spin-to-win wheel popup.

4. Spin-a-Sale

Spin-a-Sale Shopify page with a screenshot of a the wheel popup on the right side and two buttoms that say "Add app" and "View demo store"

Spin-a-Sale is another great tool you can use for your Shopify store that helps you use gamification and wheel popups to increase visitor engagement and customer loyalty.

By creating a sense of winning a prize, users are more motivated to take action.

5. Wheel of Popups

Wheel popups homepage with a purple background and an illustration of a woman working with a big cell phone and a title on the left side of the picture that says "Create popups with spin-to-win & exit intent functionality"

Another good tool to launch a wheel popup campaign is Wheel of Popups brand.

This tool basically allows you to tailor your marketing to e-commerce or service websites, social media promotions, or email, enabling you to use it on trade shows or embed it into existing campaigns.

Create a Wheel of Popups with Popupsmart

The effectiveness of spin-to-win popups certainly depends on the nature of your e-commerce campaign and the target audience. 

Still, they are a great and inexpensive way to promote an incentive, engage your users, and potentially drive sales.

Everyone loves to win. Why not give shoppers a reason to experience something memorable with your store?

Step 1- Create Your Account on Popupsmart for Free.

the register page of Popupsmart

Step 2- Create a New Campaign for Wheel Popups.

the modal to create popup for Popupsmart

Step 3- Choose among the Wheel Popup Templates or Customize the Blank One.

the Popupsmart Playbook with different templates

Step 4- Design Your Wheel Popup As You Like.

the customize step of Popupsmart for designing the popup

Step 5- Publish Your Wheel Popup.

the Publish step of a gamification popup on the Popupsmart dashboard

Conclusion

In a nutshell, the wheel of popups is a potent tool that adds an engaging spin to your website interaction. 

Its gamified approach captures visitor attention, promotes engagement, and increases conversion rates. 

By using the wheel of popups, you stand to transform your site's visitor experience, turning casual browsers into engaged subscribers or buyers.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to Increase Popup Campaigns Engagement Rates?

You can use your popups engagement rate by using game components like spin-to-win wheels or lottery elements and create a sense of urgency for users to take action sooner rather than later.

Can I Collect My Leads Data with Wheel Popups?

Yes you can collect your leads data and then analyze the performance of your campaign and create a list of quality leads for future marketing campaigns. You can also use smart triggers and targeting to detect exit intent and convert your customers before they leave.