40+ Amazing Email Popup Examples [+Why They Work]

Call them whatever you like: email popups, newsletter popups or email signup popups.

They work wonders.

Wonders like getting you 4,700 emails with two email popup campaigns.

But creating your first email popup can be a little daunting.

Not to worry. We’ve compiled these email popup examples to inspire and guide you.

Go to sections:

• What is an email popup?

• How effective are email popups?

• How to make an email popup

• Email popup examples

What's an email popup?

An email popup is a popup window that contains a form where website visitors can type in their emails to sign up. That window may slide in or cover the website's content to focus the attention of visitors.

A typical email popup looks like this 👇

How effective are email popups?

Email popups can convert 4.01% of visitors on average.

That's the result of Wisepops study of 1.1+ billion email popup displays.

Here is the full data, broken down by designs, types, and triggers of email popups.

Email Popup Examples from Ecommerce

Let’s start with popups displayed by online retailers.

Nature's Fynd

Nature's Fynd calls itself "a food company for optimists." Indeed, their positive spirit shines through in this creative email popup on their homepage. Gorgeous!

Heatonist

This email popup is an awesome example of how you can collect emails with product announcements. Want to be the first to know? Just sign up.

King Arthur Bakery

Want to try a product image to your newsletter popup? Try darkening it a bit and then adding as the background. That's what this email popup example does, and it's just amazing.

Blume

This is a simple email capture popup that appears on the homepage to new visitors. The copy builds anticipation and the beautiful image shows products customers can buy with the discount:

Varley

This lightbox popup appears as soon as visitors land on Varley.

Its design might look simple but it’s kinda tricky to pull: 100% black and white combined with a color image.

The 10% off coupon should convince many reluctant visitors to subscribe.

Ln-cc

Let’s switch to grey and black.

This email signup popup’s subtle design and position make it visible but not intrusive. I can tell you from experience that this balance is difficult to reach.

Kensie

This lightbox’s variant includes a glow which makes it more impactful. Simple and efficient.

Tommy Hilfiger

This welcome popup is a delight for the eye.

It’s also very smart to invite visitors to “join the club.” You’re not just sharing your email address, you’re entering a private group and unlocking exclusive benefits.

Bruno Magli

A lovely visual, excellent choice of colors and concise ecommerce copywriting that says just enough about the reward for new subscribers. 10/10!

Sunbasket

This email popup example comes from a meal delivery service. For companies like this, showing off some products makes total sense. That’s why there’s a picture of a delicious meal included—a great idea to get potential customers interested.

Tigerlily

Tigerlily's website is colorful... And their email signup popup is of course the same! Another example of how to manage colorful images in email popups.

Marks & Spencer

Yes, this email subscribe popup includes a lot of fields. But its cheerful visual and clean structure convinced us to include it in this selection of email popups.

Gaiam

This unusual shape catches visitors’ attention instantly and aligns with the brand’s visual aesthetic. The classic “Stay in the know” is powerful as well: nothing works better than suggesting that your visitors might be missing out on something.

Highway Robery

Until now, we’ve focused on popups centered on the user’s screen. But some marketers are experimenting with alternative popup positions.

Highway Robery, for example, is positioning their popup on the right. They’re probably assuming that users tend to scan their page in a Z shape. Proponents of this UX theory say that the bottom right corner of the screen is most likely to drive action.

Rainbowjeans

This ecommerce popup from Over The Rainbow follows the F pattern theory. According to research by Instapage, placing your call-to-action at the bottom left of the page is the best way to drive conversions.

Ulta

After lightbox popups and side popups, it’s time to check out some email bars!

This one from Ulta ranks high on my personal list. Bright colors, eye-catching call-to-action, excellent position — you can’t beat it!

Colourpop

The reward is clearly stated (who could miss the $5 OFF offer on this form?) and the position is ideal for users; they can browse and easily access the different menus and call-to-actions on the page. Using a gradient helps attract attention and aligns with the brand’s mission (Colourpop is one of the top Shopify stores, by the way).

Gwen Beloti

This elegant email popup is perfectly in line with the brand’s visual style. An elegant design, a short copy, and brand's colors make the popup appear natural on the website.

Squat Racks Canada

This email popup is a nice example of using contrasting colors to attract attention. The color red generates a sense of urgency, which is a perfect technique to build an email list by having visitors sign up for a timed promotion.

Woven Store

This newsletter popup gets the message across quickly, which is a must to engage potential subscribers. The use of playful fonts makes the popup even more visually appealing.

Restated Vintage

A large, striking visual is the most prominent feature of this email popup. We’re visual creatures, so many visitors of Restated Vintage will be drawn to this aspirational image. A 10% discount and first access to deals will seal the deal.

B2B and SaaS Email Popup Examples

Sure, e-commerce email popups are interesting. But it’s worth reviewing some B2B examples as well!

Sitepoint

Let’s start with a classic lead magnet. Sitepoint offers new subscribers a free book in this email popup example. Of course, it’s an e-book, but the content is highly valuable to Sitepoint visitors.

The book also looks very professional (it follows the best practices for this kind of media). And the traditional book shape makes it more valuable (yes, readers prefer paper books). Besides, the topic appeals to the target visitors.

Gong.io

This email signup popup is simple. But the copy is very strong.

Gong’s team relied on two versions of the same marketing technique: social proof.

In the headline, they suggest that a lot of users have already joined the list (Wisdom of the crowd effect) while the body relies on Expert social proof. Who wouldn’t like to join employees from Linkedin and SalesLoft?

Emarketer

There’s a lot to say about this email popup.

The choice of colors is clever. Red is used to highlight two key elements: the number of trends (suggesting that the document is valuable) and the final call-to-action. The other secondary elements are in grey and black.

The wording is especially creative. “Unlock” and “I’m not interested” are strong choices. Note that they also confirm that the book is free to encourage sign ups.

OpenView

Trust me, when preparing this selection, we reviewed thousands of newsletter popups. But we haven’t found any with a stronger headline than this one. So true and engaging!

Coschedule

CoSchedule has an excellent reputation in the content marketing community.

Turns out content is not their only asset. This interactive email popup displayed when visitors are exiting the page is cleverly crafted and striking.

Chanty

This email capture campaign from Chanty is simply stunning.

Using animation in a popup is a great idea. But using a Matrix-inspired animation—that’s just awesome. One of the most creative email popup examples we’ve seen, hands down.

Iterable

When you don’t want to interrupt your visitors during their navigation, your best option is a smaller popup displayed on the side or at the bottom of the page. Most B2B blogs use this format and position for signup forms to capture emails while letting visitors browse the blog uninterrupted.

This example from Iterable’s blog demonstrates this approach.

Mailgun

This email popup comes from Mailgun’s blog. Again, the setup is subtle: the popup appears as you scroll and remains in the corner—in other words, you can still read the article comfortably.

WebpageFX

We see the same approach with this email popup from WebPageFX. But its border and colorful call-to-action make it catchier. They also listed some very convincing benefits for subscribers (note how they play on the exclusivity).

Close.io

I stumbled upon this example on the Close.io’s blog. As they use an email bar, the content is still accessible, and yet the invitation to subscribe is very visible. Nicely done.

Wix

Taken from Wix’s blog, this campaign is also an email bar. But it goes a step further with contrasting colors that make the bar unmissable. Built using a three-column layout, it’s also easier to read.

Email Popup Examples from Media & Blogs

After reviewing B2B and ecommerce popups, I wanted to include some examples taken from media websites. Why? Because most media rely heavily on newsletters to drive traffic. They desperately need to collect emails to survive. As a result, campaigns in this industry are often very creative.

The New Yorker

Let’s start with one of the most respected newspapers—the New Yorker.

Their email popup design is straight-to-the-point: no visual, no fancy illustration. The only colored element is the call-to-action, to drive users to subscribe. The dismiss button is much less enticing.

Mic

This targeting strategy is very interesting: the popup varies, depending on the page you’re reading. I saw this one when I was about to leave an article about food.

The full-screen design is also visually appealing (and a bit impressive) and eye-catching.

Digiday

Yet another black and white popup. The headline is catchy and simple. Yet the call-to-actions, especially “I’m not interested,” make visitors think twice before they close the modal.

The brand also features their logo to clarify that the popup is not an ad.

Emailmonday

Three elements of this subscription popup form caught my attention:

• Picture of Jordie, the webmaster, establishes trust

• Friendly introduction (“Hi there”) establishes a friendly rapport

• Unusual shape of this popup surprises visitors and captures attention

Fast Company

Here we have the combination of an unusual round shape, bright colors that catch the eye, and a cool headline. Again, the popup features the media’s logo to distinguish the popup from an ad.

Practical Ecommerce

If you take FastCompany’s email form and add a lead magnet, you get this popup from Practical Ecommerce. The lead magnet looks very relevant to their audience’s area of interest.

Vanwinkles

Why did this email bar make it to our selection of email popups? First, because of its catchy colors. Also, because the brand chose to place it at the top of the screen, which is quite original.

Really Good Emails

Really Good Email’s newsletter subscription popup is honest and fun. And it shows they know their audience.. If the headline is funny, the sub-heading is more classic and states the benefits of signing up.

The call-to-action is in the same fun tone as the headline and invites visitors to subscribe.

Email Popup Examples on Mobile

Now, let’s finish this list with mobile popups.

If you want to create your own, we recommend you check the best practices for mobile popups.

But first, let’s get you inspired.

Master & Dynamic

This email newsletter displays super well on mobile phones.

The best part? It’s responsive. If you visit their desktop website, you’ll get the same email subscription popup.

Soylent

This email popup kinda looks like a desktop one, right? Yet, it's very easy to read and close. Love how the brand reinforces their mission in the headline here.

Christydawn.com

This email popup from Christy Dawn makes the most of the limited space that’s available. See how they listed all the benefits? 

The colors are also great: subtle and on-brand.

Finally, they took into account the users who might want to close this email popup: the campaign features two closing options that are easy to click.

Timberland

This selection would be incomplete without a call-to-action email popup. Timberland displays a tempting “Join” call to action. When the user clicks, the full message is displayed—a smart way to play on visitors’ curiosity.

Email popups: summary

Here you go, 40+ brilliant email popup examples from different industries. When used right, they can generate a lot of emails for you.

So, give them a try!