How To Build An Email List In 2024 (2024)

Be patient when building an email list. Know that it takes time and effort to do this effectively and get the results that you really want. Remember, it’s quality subscribers that you want, not just names. Here’s how to build an email list.

Step 1: Get the Right Platform

To send emails, you need an email marketing platform that will segment your list and help you format and address the emails. While it is possible to send an email to an address list on Gmail or Outlook, this isn’t the most efficient way to do so and doesn’t always have the extra formatting for images and hyperlinks embedded. Platforms such as Mailchimp and Moosend can help you easily format everything and manage your list. This way, if someone unsubscribes, you can readily stay compliant and fulfill their requests. It also gives you amazing templates to use that help target buyers in your audience.

Step 2: Incentivize People To Sign Up

You must give people a compelling reason to sign up and opt in to your email list. This may be a coupon or discount code, the promise of great tips or another type of cheat sheet or loyalty program. Getting an email is a sale in itself; what they pay with is their email. You need to be assertive in going after emails so that you can grow your list as quickly as possible. The better the incentive is, the faster your list will grow.

Step 3: Create an Enticing Pop-Up for Your Website

The best way to collect emails is through your website. People are already there and are showing an affinity for your brand. A pop-up gives them an incentive offer in exchange for their email. It should be simple text about the offer with a box to collect the email.

When the pop-up appears may take a bit of testing. You might try a pop-up that appears shortly after entering the website. Or you can try a surprise pop-up that appears as people spend time on the website. Another common option is to have an exit pop-up where the box appears as people try to leave the website.

Step 4: Use Your Website To Entice People Onto the List

Another way to gather emails is to use a call to action (CTA) on your website. This can be at the end of an article or on your landing page. What the CTA does is it invites people to take action—in this case, the action is giving you their email address. A CTA works when the copy before it provides good value. People are more likely to subscribe when they feel like the content does something for them. That’s right, people want to get something for the price of their email.

Step 5: Utilize Social Media Accounts

Every business needs to take advantage of social media in today’s market. You can touch a lot of people and inspire them to take action and subscribe to your email list. If you have the right offer on social media, you can even go viral, increasing the range of your post and expanding the number of subscribers you get. You can do this by simply posting online or by running ads. Social media ads are often very cost-effective and inexpensive to run. This is an important aspect of your marketing campaign.

Step 6: Run a Viral Contest

A contest is a great way to incentivize people to join your list. Choose a giveaway that people want to get. When the prize is enticing, it will capture emails for entry into the contest. Add further incentive to subscribers by giving them added entries for referrals. You can offer something to the effect of giving an extra five entries for every referral email given.

Step 7: Don’t Forget Your Own Contacts

Reach out to your friends, family and colleagues to invite them into the list. Make these invitations personal, as these are people that you already know, and want to make feel special. Ask them to share your brand with their friends and family to help expand your reach. In the email to them, explain what it is you are doing and why they would benefit from joining the email list.

Step 8: Establish a Referral Program

Give people a reason to refer the people in their networks. A great way to accomplish this is to create a referral program that gives people something for referring others. You can give them a discount, a gift or store points. The idea is that most people won’t do something for nothing but will jump on board when they get something of value.

Step 9: Use a Scroll Box

Your great content might be the best way to get an email subscriber. Use a scroll box that captures an email from them to continue reading the content. When the content is good, people will want to finish it and will join. This is similar to a paywall but doesn’t require payment; it’s just an email to continue.