6 Email Subscription Popup Examples to Help Grow Your Marketing Lists (with Templates)

Trying to grow your email list, but your popup isn’t converting? 

Whether it’s a flawed design, an offer that isn’t resonating with your ideal customer, or it’s surfacing at the wrong time, we’ve all been there.  

However, when everything is firing on all cylinders, the right popups can lead to upwards of 40% lead capture rates.

In this guide, we’ll share best practices for creating an email subscription popup and real examples of brands utilizing them successfully. We’ll dig into what makes each of them work so you can apply the insights to your marketing. But first, let’s start with defining what an email subscription popup is.  

What is an email subscription popup?

On ecommerce websites, an email subscription popup refers to the window that appears on a user’s screen asking them to enter their email address—usually in exchange for a freebie, a discount, or a special offer (like free shipping). These can be used on desktop or mobile.

Email subscription popup best practices

When executed poorly, email popups can annoy visitors and even prevent them from browsing or buying any of your products. 

Here are some popup design and copy best practices you can use to get it right.

Here's some subscription popup examples from six ecommerce and retail brands to inspire you.

1. Williams Sonoma's email & SMS subscription popup

Williams Sonoma leans into using its product over discounts or order promotions:

In this way, they don’t create urgency for the popup. However, it’s still effective because the freebie recipes tie into the use of the product.

Another consideration for this popup is the use of a secondary signup. Instead of waiting to prompt a mobile signup as a follow-up, this brand offers it as part of the initial message. SMS signup is optional to keep it from being a barrier to entry.

2. Casper's discount email subscription popup example

Casper’s popup form is elegant and straightforward. A plain color block with white font makes the box stand out on the page:

The popup also relies on the messaging to entice the viewer into a signup by asking them if they want to save money. After the user taps yes, a second popup prompts an email signup in exchange for the offer.

The timing is just as important as the copy and design for this discount popup. It only appears when the user leaves the screen and is an excellent example of how exit-intent can work well for your popups.

3. HelloFresh's on-click subscription popup

HelloFresh’s popup is the center of attention with its bold design and clear, direct copy. The white font on a green background helps the offer stand out:

“16 free meals plus free shipping” is an enticing offer and feels much more exciting than a small discount.

The trigger is also interesting for this. A sticky bar shows as a shopper is viewing the page, with the overlay popup only appearing once the button is clicked:

The CTA buttons of both the sticky bar and overlay are also nicely congruent—the first saying "Unlock Offer" and the second saying “Claim Offer.” And the signup form is simple.

A compelling offer, good design, and clear copy all combine to make this a successful email subscription popup.

PRO TIP:

You can replicate this HelloFresh strategy in ConvertFlow. Just create a sticky bar with a button, then set that button's action to trigger your desired subscription overlay:

Learn more about button actions in ConvertFlow

4. Burt’s Bees Baby's nice design subscription popup

Burt’s Bees Baby has a unique design for its popup form that meshes well with its brand and site aesthetic:

The offer and CTA button are both bold and highly visible at a glance.

Most notably is the line “Nurture your baby naturally with 100% organic cotton.” The line is short but plays on emotion and the desire for parents to give their babies the best. They could just offer a discount with the copy but instead promote the benefit of the brand as a whole.

5. Wayfair's segmented subscription popup example

Wayfair’s popup subscription form utilizes white space and the brand’s color pallet to create a design that stands out:

The offer and benefits of signing up for the mailing list are clear. Great deals and just-for-you finds are positioned as a bonus for subscribers.

In addition to the design, the CTA buttons allow the company to successfully segment its audience. Customers can either select “Shop for home” or “Shop for business.” This will enable Wayfair to segment its mailing list and target with relevant offers.

6. KitchenAid's full-screen subscription popup

KitchenAid goes big with its popup form that takes up the entire screen. The offer of “Save 20%” is front and center. The copy is on-brand and plays off the company’s stand mixer products by saying “stay in the mix.”

The CTA button stands out with an urgent-looking red box prompting users to redeem the offer.

One small friction point is the need to check a terms agreement box before you can submit your email. While it’s important to gather customer consent, marketers should be aware that this is something that could potentially cause frustration with their target audience.

Ready to create your own email subscription popups? ConvertFlow makes this process simple.

In fact, you can choose from dozens of pre-built popup templates or create your own design from scratch. You can also select from a number of triggers (e.g. time-delay, exit-intent, scroll) and targeting conditions to set when and where it displays.

Here are some list subscription templates you can start using right now: