Clicks’ popup scored 42/86 points — and one problem stands above the rest.

If there were a physical keyboard for your iPhone, Blackberry fans circa 2010 would lose their minds (🤯).

​Clicks is basically that product — a premium keyboard case that clips onto your iPhone, Pixel, or Razr and gives you actual physical keys. Not a Bluetooth keyboard you carry separately. A full QWERTY keyboard that becomes part of your phone.

They’ve shipped over 80,000 units to more than 100 countries, been covered by The Verge, TIME, and the WSJ, and they just launched a standalone Power Keyboard that works with Apple Vision Pro.

So they clearly know how to build a product people want.

Their popup, though, is a different story.

After running it through my free 15-Minute Popup Audit Kit, Clicks scored 42/86 points across all 7 categories.

That’s a 49% — and 4 of those categories account for most of the lost points. Those are the ones worth fixing first.

OK, let’s break down what’s broken and how to fix it.

Problem 1: The headline promises deals — but this visitor doesn’t know why they should care yet

Score: 4/15 points

The design of this popup is genuinely impressive. Clicks uses their own product photography as the background — multiple keyboards laid flat in different colors, dark and dramatic. It looks expensive. It looks like a brand that takes its craft seriously.

The headline does not.

“Unlocks offers and special deals” is five words that could appear on any popup for any product on any ecommerce site on the internet. A visitor who lands on Clicks for the first time is already trying to figure out if a physical phone keyboard is worth $139.

The popup shows up 5 seconds later and the best it can offer is: deals (👎).

It doesn’t mention typing. It doesn’t mention productivity. It doesn’t mention the fact that Clicks can replace your laptop for a day. It just asks for an email address in exchange for the same stuff you’d get anywhere.

Here’s how I’d fix it

Replace the deal-based offer with an educational one. Clicks has a blog full of setup guides, shortcut tutorials, and productivity walkthroughs. That content is the basis for a free 5-day email course I’d call the Shortcut Setup Crash Course — one email a day showing new Clicks owners (and curious visitors) how to set up custom keys, build shortcuts, and actually use the keyboard they paid for.

The headline writes itself: “Your phone can replace your laptop.”

That’s the promise Clicks makes with every product. The popup should make it too.

Problem 2: The body copy is three words repeated in two different ways

Score: 3/12 points

The body copy on Step 1 is a single line: “Get early access to new products, secret sales, and more!”

The “and more” is the tell — it means the writer ran out of specific things to say. That line could be deleted entirely and the popup would lose nothing, because it communicates nothing.

The iPhone/Android radio buttons underneath are a genuinely smart move, though. Asking visitors to self-identify their device type before they subscribe gives Clicks a segmentation signal they can use to send relevant follow-up:

• Keyboard compatibility content by phone model
• Device-specific setup guides
• The right product recommendations at the right time

That’s not a small thing. More brands should do this.

But the copy above those buttons earns none of that goodwill back. No numbers. No timeframe. No specific benefit. Just “early access” and “secret sales” — which every email list in existence promises and almost none delivers on.

Here’s how I’d fix it

Name exactly what the subscriber gets, and when. For a Shortcut Setup Crash Course offer, the body copy would be: “The Shortcut Setup Crash Course shows you how to configure your Clicks keyboard in 5 days — so you’re using the shortcuts, custom keys, and productivity features you paid for.”

Then, in italics underneath: (even if you already tried the getting-started guide and gave up on day two)

That last line does something the current body copy can’t — it speaks directly to the person most likely to bounce.

Problem 3: The popup is invisible on mobile — and that’s where most of Clicks’ buyers are browsing

Score: 5/15 points

The product photography in this popup is legitimately great. Multiple keyboards in sharp, flat-lay format against a dark background — it makes the product feel premium before the visitor reads a single word. That effort disappears completely on mobile, because the homepage popup doesn’t appear there at all.

Here’s what Clicks is missing on mobile:

• No email capture
• No SMS capture
• No iPhone/Android segmentation
• No list-building moment whatsoever

Clicks sells a product for smartphones. Their buyer is, by definition, someone who spends significant time on their phone. That buyer is highly likely to discover Clicks, visit the site, and browse on the same device they might buy a keyboard for. The 5-second timing on desktop is too fast — but at least the popup exists. On mobile, there’s simply nothing.

What makes this harder to excuse: Clicks already knows how to build mobile-firing popups. Their Communicator and Power Keyboard product pages both have popups that fire on mobile. The capability is there. The homepage just isn’t using it.

Here’s how I’d fix it

Build a mobile-specific popup that fires after the visitor has scrolled through at least 50% of the homepage — after they’ve seen the product photos, the press logos, and the feature breakdown. Time-based triggers feel aggressive on mobile. Scroll-based triggers feel earned.

The mobile popup doesn’t need to be the same as desktop. A single email field with the Shortcut Setup Crash Course offer, the iPhone/Android segmentation buttons, and a clean CTA is enough to start building a list from mobile visitors.

Problem 4: Five seconds is too fast — the popup fires before the visitor has decided they’re interested

Score: 6/12 points

One thing Clicks gets right on timing: the popup fires once and goes away. There’s no evidence of it reappearing on every page load. That’s table stakes, but it’s worth acknowledging — a lot of brands still miss this.

The problem is the 5-second trigger on desktop.

A visitor who just landed on the homepage has seen the above-the-fold headline, maybe started watching one of the product videos, and — bam — popup. At that point they haven’t:

• Reached the press logos (The Verge, TIME, WSJ)
• Scrolled through the feature breakdown
• Seen the comparison between Clicks and a touchscreen keyboard

They’re still deciding if this product is even for them. Interrupting that process 5 seconds in with a request for their email address and phone number is the digital equivalent of a car salesperson approaching you the moment you step onto the lot.

Here’s how I’d fix it

Delay the desktop popup to 60 seconds, or trigger it after the visitor has scrolled 60% down the homepage. By that point, they’ve seen enough to know whether Clicks is interesting.

A visitor who scrolls halfway through your homepage is signaling something. A visitor who’s been on your site for 5 seconds is signaling nothing.

Here’s my fixed popup

Fixed headline:Your phone can replace your laptop

Fixed offer:The Shortcut Setup Crash Course shows you how to configure your Clicks keyboard in 5 days — so you’re using the shortcuts, custom keys, and productivity features you paid for. (even if you already tried the getting-started guide and gave up on day two)

Fixed CTA button:Send me the crash course

Here’s the before and after

Clicks has one of the most visually strong popup designs I’ve seen in this space. Great photography, brand-consistent colors, a segmentation mechanic that most brands skip entirely. The bones are good.

What’s missing is a reason for the visitor to care — a headline that connects to something they actually want, body copy that earns the email address, a mobile popup that exists, and a timing trigger that doesn’t interrupt a visitor who hasn’t decided they’re interested yet.

Lead with expertise, not “secret sales.”

Until next time, see ya!

Gannon

P.S. Want to know exactly where your own popup is losing subscribers?

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