5 ways to build your email list

Anyone that thinks “Email is Dead” can think again.

According to Hubspot, email marketing lists fall by 22.5% every year but to be honest, that’s because of the way businesses treat their email lists. You have to constantly work to keep providing more and more value to your email list. In 2021 email marketing is still very alive and doing very well. In fact, email generates $42 for every $1 spent, which means that you should be looking to build your email subscribers ASAP.

In case you need a few more stats in your face, 81% of SMBs rely on email marketing. That’s because it simply works. But here’s the punch line. You have to put in the work to build a quality email list.

If you are looking forward to building your email subscribers and get in the game, you have come to the right place. In today’s piece, we’ll be showcasing five sure-fire ways.

Here are a few ways to achieve all that email glory:

1. Make it Easy to Capture Emails

Don’t beat around the bush when you’re asking for emails. Make your email entering process simple and straightforward so your potential customers don’t have to fuss. This looks like minimizing the clicks it will take for a user to enter their email address and including a sign-up option for your email list on every page of your website.

Take WPTrends.co as an example. It has a clear, concise headline and simple opt-in. You know exactly what you’re getting and exactly what to do to get their emails.

A couple things to note when asking for emails.

For starters, back off with the in-your-face pop-ups, and opt-ins all over your site. It’s obnoxious and just bad UX practice. You’re better than that. Additionally, just ask for the basics. It can be as simple as their email (plus their name) but more than that can feel like overkill. Exclude everything and just ask the customer to enter their email address because you are a business, not a national database authority. Plus, when you gather personal information you also have to securely store it; it can also put you at risk of security breaches.

All-in-all, cut down all the steps that are making your customer un-easy with the email entering the process.

2. Give Something in Exchange for Email Address

As the famous saying goes, “Nobody owes you anything,” the same implies in your relationship with the viewer/potential customer. If you aren’t providing something (of value) to your website visitor or viewer, you can’t expect them to waste their time entering their email address.

You need to give something in exchange for their email address. It can be access to locked content, a promo code, or a free trial of your service. Provide your visitors with something up-front and see your email subscribers grow in no time.

Not to toot our own horn but check out a little teaser/example one of the LemonSqueezy crew members (@MikeMcAlister) built as a lead magnet.

3. Create an Email Sending Schedule and stick to it.

Here’s the honest truth. Building your email list is half the battle. You have to make good on your promise to deliver value to your email subscribers. That starts with sending your emails consistently and effectively.

Planning out a schedule, and more important, being consistent with that schedule can really help you grow your email list. Clearly, MorningBrew.com has something figured out. A prime example of some amazing work on their part.

As you continue to be consistent, you’ll have more and more opportunities to reach new subscribers. I like to call it “creating breadcrumbs“. Taking a piece of content (e.g. your weekly newsletter) you can create breadcrumbs around it. For example, you can take snippets of the email and create social media posts. Additionally, take a specific topic of the newsletter and go into more depth in a blog post on your blog. The options are endless.

Just like most things, it takes time and consistency and before you know it, you’ll look back and see all you’ve built in along the way.

4. Engage and Incentivize Your Audience

The more you engage with your visitors or audience, the more you are likely to add them to your email subscribers, but only if they have a reason to do so. What we mean is that you need to find a way to incentivize your visitors to enter their email happily. And that comes with generating real, genuine engagement and providing incentives to potential customers.

For instance, host giveaways, rewards, and short, straightforward competitions. Encourage your visitors to enter the ongoing giveaways, competitions, etc., and ask them their email addresses for contact purposes. Then, email them with the list of winners of previous sweepstakes and swiftly start feeding them with your services or products so that they don’t just click on that “unsubscribe” button right away.

Don’t just try to lure your customers with unrealistic incentives — be practical and sensible. Tell them what’s in the sweepstakes for the runners-up or the people who didn’t win the grand prize so they can’t resist and just keep coming back to you.

Example of email from SystemOnGrid.com

5. Sound Genuine and Authentic

In today’s world, consumers can quickly sniff through bull shit. If you’re trying to trick them, or pitch something that seems off, they’ll pick it up pretty quick.

If you’re just starting out and you’re a one-man team lean into it. Don’t hide it. You never know how that will be perceived. You may think it doesn’t give you credibility when in fact most will look at you in awe that you’re able to do what you do or know what you know.

On the flip side, if you’re part of fast-growing company, lean into your success. Post your jaw-dropping metrics. Create authority and do it all with authenticity.

You’ll be surprised at how most people will appreciate the brutal honestly. In fact, it’s refreshing in today’s world.

As an example of no fluff, no frills, just straight to the point take a look at Sidebar. This newsletter has been around for years. I’ve always loved the simplicity and authenticity of the newsletter.

Wrapping Up

There you have it. These are 5 ways anyone can use to build your email subscribers. These five ways have worked in the past, and they are still working for us to building our email subscribers.

The kicker is putting in the hard work and staying consistent. As long as you’re willing to play the long-game and keep at it, you’ll be just fine.      

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