An entry popup is a modal overlay that appears the moment a visitor arrives on your page — before they've read a single word, before they've scrolled, before they have any context for what you're asking. "Subscribe to our newsletter!" appears over the content they came to see. It's the digital equivalent of a store employee blocking the door to ask if you want a loyalty card.
The data is mixed but skews negative. Entry popups can capture emails at 2-5% rates, but they also increase bounce rates by 10-20% and create a hostile first impression. Google has penalized intrusive interstitials on mobile since 2017. The visitors you do convert with entry popups tend to be low-quality — they subscribed to dismiss the popup, not because they're interested.
If you insist on using one
Delay it. A popup that appears after 15-30 seconds of engagement targets visitors who are already interested. Even better: use a scroll-triggered popup (after 50% scroll depth) or an exit-intent popup instead. These reach visitors who've shown actual interest rather than ambushing everyone equally.
On dedicated landing pages for paid traffic, entry popups are almost never appropriate. You paid to get that visitor to a carefully designed conversion experience — then you immediately put a barrier between them and the page. It's self-sabotage. Save popups for blog content and organic traffic where the conversion path is less defined.