Mandatory E-mail Signup

Hi guys,

I run an online subscription service for cosmetic products. Our developer has created an e-mail popup whereby we encourage the customer to enter their e-mail for a chance to win a PRIZE. However we feel we could be substantially increasing the conversion rate on our e-mail signups by making it mandatory for them to enter an e-mail to have access to the website. I know a few websites do this. We would probably word it differently in terms of receiving a prize but I just wanted to get your insights on this.

Would making a mandatory e-mail sign up convert better as well as be more beneficial for us than allowing the user to have the option to enter e-mail?

Thanks.

That's called a "squeeze page" for obvious reasons. And, yes, you would get
more signups but to necessarily more conversions. If prospects are 'forced' to
give their emails, then you would get a lot of curiosity seekers and these don't
normally translate into sales.

If you have a really great incentive then it shouldn't be hard to get sign ups.
In other words their is no way to "trick" subscribes into buying from you,
but you can indeed lose great prospects if you don't capture their emails
at all.

BUT in the final analysis test using the squeeze page and see if your 
conversions improve. See if my predictions are true.

-Ray Edwards

When you go to our domain - the popup automatically is the first thing that shows up. The user can choose to click anywhere outside of the popup or the X at the top right of the popup. 

So I'm assuming it's an entry pop-up as they hit the page. How does the exit popup work exactly? When they try to close off the screen?

Need your help with my first site