In a world where social media and paid ads influence your marketing efforts with everchanging algorithms and are dependent on external forces, an email list is an effective and organic way to connect with your audience. An email list means you have a potential lead database to harness for conversion and a ready crowd to promote your upcoming content and the latest product updates.
However, creating your own email lists with people’s permission is difficult. So, if you don’t have an email list yet, this article is perfect for you. It'll help teach you email list-building strategies.
What is an email list?
An email list is a collection of email addresses that organisations or individuals have gathered from prospects and potential customers with their permission. These prospects would like to receive announcements, updates, bargains, and other information about your organisation in their email.
Why should you have an email list?
There are several reasons why having an email list will benefit your organisation. Here they are:
Emails can help you with your narrative, build brand awareness, and showcase your products or services.
With an email list, you can send emails to your subscribers to nurture your leads and convert them into paying clients.
Unlike social media accounts, an email address is not removable. It cannot shut down or get deleted anytime, in which case you lose all your potential prospects. It is also not influenced by the algorithms.
You can ensure that each of your subscribers receives the emails, unlike other forms of digital marketing, where the platform decides who to show your content to.
How to build an email list effectively
Here, we have broken it down into actionable steps to start building an email list right now:
1. Offer free content or lead magnet
Offer content that people in your niche will be interested in. It should be something that provides them value. The type of content depends on your industry and target audience’s needs and interests. For example, you can create an ebook and market it to your potential customers to get their email addresses.
The free content works like a lead magnet that entices people to join your email list to receive free and valuable content. Here are some of the most popular lead magnets you can create and send out.
| Lead magnet | What is it? | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Email Newsletters | News report with information about the activities of an organisation. | Email marketing best practices, latest updates, etc. from Mailmodo |
| Guides | What or How-to articles that help people figure out a process or pain point. | Guide to improve hashtag strategy |
| Whitepapers | An in-depth report on a topic’s problem while providing a solution. | Google Cloud's AI Adoption Framework by Google |
| E-books | Digital book publication with text and images to read on electronic devices. | Email Design for Newbies |
| Courses | Short education programs | Email Marketing Free Course |
| Checklists | List of things to do to achieve something | The Ultimate Email Campaign QA Checklist |
| Reports | Document with organized and detailed information about a topic for specific audiences. | Lead generation and management report |
| Toolkits | Set of guidelines or suggestions to do something | Marketing tools for every business and budget |
| Webinars | Live or recorded online seminar | The AI marketing show |
| Cheatsheets | Like a checklist, but it also contains hacks to help people. | Hacks to write a viral blog post |
2. Create a high-converting landing page
When building your email list from scratch, relying solely on your homepage isn't always the best approach. Instead, create dedicated landing pages tailored to specific campaigns, such as LinkedIn or Facebook ads, to drive better results.
For a landing page to achieve high conversion rates, it typically needs three essential components:
A compelling headline that highlights the key benefits for users.
Persuasive copy that captures and maintains their interest.
A striking image that reinforces the message.
3. Offer early access or insider benefits with exclusive content
You can offer people early access to quality content available to the general public only weeks later. Exclusive content makes people feel special and like they are a part of something special.
For example, Inktober gives people who sign up for their newsletter access to their challenge details one week before the general release. As a result, their audience wants to sign up because they get early access to the challenge.
4. Offer free trials and exclusive discounts
Many product and service companies offer their audiences complimentary trials for a limited time or features. The free account or product requires people to sign up with an email ID to access a small part of the product or service. For example, Mailmodo offers a 21-day free trial to try out the product.
Discount codes or coupons are also great incentives that usually get people to sign up. If you are an e-commerce or B2C brand, these incentives will attract customers to your product or content.
5. Add opt-ins at checkout
The checkout process presents an excellent opportunity to expand your email list, as customers are already engaged and demonstrating trust in your brand. By thoughtfully integrating opt-in forms during checkout, you can turn one-time purchasers into loyal mailing list subscribers.
To maximise email list growth through checkout opt-ins, follow these key strategies:
Showcase a sneak peek of the content subscribers will receive.
Emphasize exclusive perks, such as early access to sales or special offers.
Provide an instant discount on the current purchase as an incentive for subscribing.
Use clear and compelling CTAs, like “Join our list for exclusive deals and updates".
6. Optimize your website for easy signups
You must ensure that subscribing to your email list is easy for the readers. A great idea can be strategically placing the subscribe button where the customer is bound to pay attention. This increases their chances of reading your offering and sharing their email addresses.
- Sticky signup buttons - Consider using a sticky subscribe button that remains visible as users scroll down your webpage, keeping the option to subscribe ever-present. Place them on your homepage, blog posts, and landing pages.
Source: Simple green smoothies
- Pop-ups - Consider pop-ups that appear after a certain amount of time spent on your site or upon exit intent. Readers on your website already would want to hear more from you and, hence, subscribe for updates.
Source: Hubspot
- In-built subscribe buttons - One way to get subscribers is to embed the signup button at the end of your every blog and other landing pages.
Source: Mailmodo
7. Leverage social media ads
Social media ads are a powerful tool for growing your email list by reaching targeted audiences on various platforms. By directing engaged users to a well-designed landing page with an enticing offer, you can effectively capture email addresses from individuals genuinely interested in your brand.
You can use the following media and create social media accounts to inform the audience about your email list:
Facebook - Facebook ads, posts, stories, shares in relevant groups, etc.
YouTube - Promotional videos, video descriptions, etc.
Instagram - Instagram stories, bio, posts, Reels, etc.
Advertisements - You can create ads about your free product or service on Google or social media. The ads will direct people to your landing page, where they'll sign up to receive the freebie.
8. Leverage your existing network
As a beginner, spreading the word far and wide is essential and efficient. Start by telling everyone you know about your newsletter – friends, coworkers, acquaintances. If you are hesitating to talk about your email, why would anyone else do it? It might seem daunting, but every big newsletter you know got its initial subscribers by sending personal emails to their first-degree connections and promoting it in conversations.
You can also share your newsletter's link in your email signature, personal website, and social media bios. A good practice is to share excerpts and insights from your newsletter along with the link to give your network a teaser of what they can expect.
Source: X
9. Reach new audiences through partnerships
Building an email list from scratch is challenging. Still, a proven idea is to start by partnering with established businesses and brands in your niche. This could be through collaborations that require email registrations, such as co-hosting webinars, co-creating ebooks, and strategic sponsorships of events where you'll find your target market.
Partnerships are always a two-way thing. The proposition needs to be mutually beneficial to both parties. Incentives for successful partnerships could either be direct to each other's audience, exclusive discounts to each other's audience, or even a revenue share on any sales generated through the collaboration. By tapping into the trust and existing network of established players, you can significantly boost your email list signups and reach a wider audience.
If you're starting small, a simple hack is to tap into a big creator's audience by mentioning them in your newsletter and letting them know. They would like it and might share your newsletter with their audience on their social accounts or in their newsletter. This works because both parties are better off with this collaboration by supporting each other.
Source: Mailmodo
10. Reward referrals with incentives
Referral programs create a win-win-win situation. This works because existing customers get rewarded for sharing their positive experiences, their friends benefit from valuable offers, and your business gains trust through the power of word-of-mouth.
By offering attractive incentives like discounts, free trials, or early access, you encourage customers to become your advocates. This not only gets your emails noticed but also builds trust with potential customers who value recommendations from friends. You can include compelling messages in your marketing emails, prompting customers to join your referral program.
Most importantly, make it easy for them to refer you by providing a unique referral link or trackable code. Keep your customers informed of how many successful referrals they have made and at what stage they are in the referral program.With every recommendation from a trusted friend, you exponentially expand your reach to new customers more likely to engage with your brand.
Source: Friendbuy
11. Host webinars or events
To attract email addresses of potential customers, consider hosting webinars related to your specific industry. Ask the attendees to share their contact details and email addresses while registering for the webinar.
This process allows you to collect email addresses of individuals genuinely interested in your offerings, as they've shown an active interest by signing up for your webinar or event. Later, you can nurture relationships with attendees and turn them into customers by sending emails about upcoming webinars on similar topics.
12. Leverage QR codes to link to signup pages
QR codes are an innovative and convenient way to bridge offline audiences with online signup pages, making it easier to grow your email list.
These scannable codes can be featured on materials like flyers, product packaging, receipts, or event banners, providing a seamless way for users to access your signup form without manually navigating to your website.
To enhance the impact of QR codes:
Use an engaging CTA, such as “Scan to join our exclusive email list and enjoy special perks”.
Direct users to mobile-friendly landing pages designed specifically for signups.
Display QR codes on business cards, product labels, printed advertisements, and other physical marketing assets.
Experiment with different placements and CTAs to identify what works best, ensuring the codes are functional across various devices.
Email list building best practices
To boost your email marketing efforts, here are some best practices to keep in mind:
1. Get consent to collect information
Consent is necessary because you have to value your subscribers' privacy. Also, according to laws like GDPR, CAN-SPAM, HIPAA, etc., people must permit companies to manage their data. Sign-up sheets are helpful because they get permission from people to collect their email addresses.
2. Gamify the signup process
Users can sign up easily by making the signup process engaging and fun. You can use gamification in your sign-up forms to get users to sign up. For instance, if you want the users to sign up for your emails, you can use an interactive spin-the-wheel with exciting offers that pop up on your website. The user has to give their email ID to spin the wheel.
Source: Optimonk
3. Beware of email list builders and providers
Let us tell you a secret: There are no email list builders. You can only grow an email list; no tool can make one for you. You can grow your email list with your target audience with consistent effort and valuable content. Let's talk about email list providers now. These providers will sell you an email list; however, it is harmful to do so. It can hurt your domain reputation and cause legal violations.
4. Keep your promise and deliver the incentives
Once subscribers have joined your mailing list and verified, ensure you fulfill your end of the deal in time. Send them the reward or incentive you promised and for which they signed up. If you promise and do not deliver, you will lose credibility and a potential customer.
5. Choose an ESP with list management features
Your email list requires continuous management and segmentation. You need a powerful email service provider (ESP) to help you create, automate, send, and manage the contact list. Moreover, you can also analyse the data to understand user behaviour and preferences. Learn how to choose an email service provider in this guide.
6. Create an effective CTA
Your CTAs are crucial in email list building as they direct the user to take the desired action. That's why the CTA copy, placement, and design matter so much when designing your CTA.
For instance, in this email, Airbnb places a clear CTA in the first fold to make it more visible while giving a brief context to what they can expect.
What's next now that you have an email list?
Okay, so you've got an email list; what are your next steps? How can you keep these subscribers with you for a long time? Here are a few things you can do after you've built an email list:
1. Manage your email list health
Once you have a list, keeping it clean and healthy is crucial. You must remove incorrect email addresses and segment them based on their interests. Check out our article on how to maintain a clean email list.
2. Segment your email list
When you segment your contact list, you ensure that each subscriber receives relevant content. This helps maintain email engagement and connection with the brand.
3. Keep your subscribers engaged
Consistency is the key. Maintain a consistent schedule for sending targeted emails to your existing subscribers to stay relevant in their minds. To maintain engagement, you can use interactive AMP emails to get more conversions and responses from your subscribers.
Create and send AMP emails without coding in minutes
Final takeaway
Building an email list is a gradual process. It doesn't happen overnight and nor do you have a genie to build it in a whiff. It takes constant work. And a part of that work is providing valuable and relevant content to attract people. While creating content, keep in mind the etiquette we discussed in this article. Those are important as people should know what data you are collecting.
Once you have an email list, you must maintain it and send emails. So, signing up to an email marketing platform/ provider like Mailmodo makes the whole email marketing process much more manageable.
Mailmodo provides tools to manage email lists, create campaigns, and track and analyse email metrics. It helps you create and manage your email marketing campaigns all in one place. You can also send AMP emails for a better user experience.
