How to Grow Your Email List: 21 Great Tips for 2024
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Author:
Michael Wicker
Published
July 9, 2024
Email marketing isn’t dead, folks. It’s still the most effective way to nurture leads, drive sales, and build a loyal community around your brand.
But here’s the catch – you need an email list. And not just any list – a thriving list filled with engaged email subscribers who are eager to hear from you.
If you currently lack a substantial subscriber base, and you’re wondering how to grow your email list, don’t despair. This post is your guide for email list-building in 2024.
We’re going to crack open 21 tips you can follow to have your email subscriber count soaring in no time.
By the end of this post, you’ll have a clear roadmap on how to grow your email list and take your email marketing strategy to a new level. So, let’s get started.
How to Grow Your Email List to Get Results: Does Size Matter?
A large email list certainly has advantages. After all, marketing is at least partly a numbers game. The more people you reach, the more likely sales become.
However, that’s not the only contributing factor.
A smaller email list might not give you as many chances to sell your products or services, but you can still make a dent. As long as you’re providing value and incentive, you should be able to produce sales.
Furthermore, you don’t want a huge list just for the sake of it. If you have tons of subscribers who never open, read, or convert on your emails, they’re not doing your business any favors.
That’s why it’s a good idea to cull your email list every once in a while. Email people who have been inactive, ask if they still want to receive messages from you, and remove those who don’t respond.
21 Supreme Tips on How to Grow Your Email List Fast
You know that it’s important to figure out how to grow your email list, but where do you start? We’ve come up with 21 simple but highly effective tips to help you build a large, profitable list as quickly as possible.
1. Arm Yourself with Fantastic Email List-Building Software
If you want your list-building efforts to succeed, you need solid software in your corner. Hello Bar allows you to collect email addresses automatically, which means you can focus on other aspects of running your business.
You’ll have a variety of popup options to showcase your enticing signup offers. A top bar notification is a great way to grab attention without being intrusive. For a bolder approach, consider a popup modal that places your offer front-and-center, ensuring visitors can’t miss it.
Put your offer front-and-center so visitors can’t miss it.
For even more exposure, create a page-takeover popup. It’ll cover your visitor’s entire screen.
You don’t have to stick with basic design, either. In fact, you shouldn’t. Exit popups, for instance, often don’t work because they’re not sufficiently compelling. Adding imagery and other design elements can help boost email signups.
Use captivating images and offers in your popups to attract subscribers. People are more likely to share their email addresses if they perceive a clear value exchange.
Image via Patyka
2. Create a Great Lead Magnet
If you’re considering how to grow your email list fast, lead magnets can be effective. A lead magnet incentivizes email signups. In other words, instead of just asking (or begging) people to join your mailing list, you give them a good reason to say “yes.” Lead magnets can include a free ebook or whitepaper with in-depth information on a topic your audience cares about.
It can also be a free video course or webinar teaching a valuable skill or a free trial for your product or service.
For instance, Search Engine Journal invites visitors to attend their insightful webinars by registering for free.
Image via Search Engine Journal
Look at your website analytics to identify your top-performing content. These pieces of content are likely to be valuable to your potential subscribers, making them excellent candidates for lead magnets.
The key is to create something so valuable and desirable that your target audience is eager to hand over their email in order to get it.
The best lead magnet ideas, though, require some active testing.
Running A/B tests on your various lead magnet ideas will refine your pitch as well as the specific giveaway you wind up using the most. For instance, you could test this top bar:
Against this one:
They’re completely identical. I’m just offering two separate lead magnets to figure out which my audience desires more.
3. Create an Awesome Lead Capture Page
A lead capture page is also essential if you want to bring in more leads. The lead capture page is a landing page where visitors can opt-in for your list, check preferences, and more.
It should be attractive, attention-grabbing, and focused entirely on the value you’re offering. If you make it seem like you’re just another marketer, people will see right through the self-serving language. So your sign-up page should portray a specific value for your potential customers.
That’s what we do with our lead capture page design. The copy paints a picture of how your offering solves their exact problems and delivers the results they crave.
That’s what we do. We also add context by not only telling people that we lead by example, but by proving it with our traffic numbers.
If you click on the CTA, you’re taken to a lead capture popup. It’s pretty simple, but it focuses on the prospect.
Notice the two headers? About You and About Your Business. We keep it about the customer.
Plus, we don’t ask for any information we don’t need to help us qualify prospects.
4. Promote Your Lead Magnet on Social Media to Build Your Email List Fast
You can’t count on everyone in your target market to find your website. It doesn’t matter how much time and money you’ve spent on SEO — social media has a bigger footprint.
Let people who follow you on social media know about your lead magnet. Say something like, “I’m giving away a free 30-minute video on how to build an email list. Who’s in?”
X
On X, you can promote your email list several times without spamming your followers. Because of its fast-moving feed, you can maximize your reach and grow your follower base on X organically. You can tweet the same thing 40 times per day and never show the same tweet to the same people. Write catchy tweets that highlight the key benefits of your lead magnet and include a link to your opt-in page.
If you’re in the B2B space, you need to be actively participating in conversations on LinkedIn. Participate actively in conversations relevant to your industry and share your lead magnet organically by mentioning it in comments and discussions where it adds value to the conversation. Then include a CTA with anchor text that takes visitors to your lead capture page. Engage
Instagram is a visual-first platform, so make sure your lead magnet promotion is eye-catching and on-brand. Use stunning visuals to capture attention, add a captivating caption that describes your lead magnet, and include a link to your lead capture page in your profile.
“Link in profile” are the three magic words on Instagram. Encourage followers to check your profile to access your lead magnet. You can also use relevant hashtags and location tags to increase discoverability. Further, embed your Instagram feed on your WordPress website to feature your latest posts directly on your site. This further drives traffic and engagement.
For a digital bulletin board, Pinterest is hugely successful. More than 200 million people actively use it every month.
Think it’s all recipes and interior decor? Think again.
Pinterest is perfect for sharing infographics, checklists, and other visual lead magnets.
Use it to promote your lead magnet as well as to drive more traffic back to your site. Optimize your pins with relevant keywords to ensure they appear in search results.
YouTube
If you’re not making videos, I get it. Video is super intimidating, but it’s also highly effective for growing your email list.
Share videos on YouTube that provide brief, actionable tips to people in your target market. At the end of your videos, use end screens to promote your lead magnet. You can mention it within the video content and include a link in the video description.
Optimize your video titles, descriptions, and tags to improve discoverability and drive more traffic to your opt-in page.
If you’re going to share your lead magnet on just one social channel, choose Facebook. It has more monthly users than other social channels, and you have lots of places to share your lead magnets:
- Use your Facebook Page’s CTA button to direct visitors to your opt-in page
- Run targeted Facebook Ads to reach a wider audience interested in your niche
5. Promote Your Lead Magnet on Your Blog to Build Your Email List for Free
Your blog is your best friend when it comes to how to grow your email list organically. A blog post gives you the chance to demonstrate your expertise, build authority, and close the lead capture.
One effective strategy is to use a CTA at the end of your blog posts to promote your lead magnet. Alternatively, create a bottom bar on your blog that features your lead magnet offer and an email capture form. Hello Bar allows you to customize and position your bars according to your preferences. You can decide whether you want it to sit at the top, bottom, or even as a pop-up on your blog.
In addition to these, you can integrate your lead magnet promotion throughout your blog. This can include embedding links within the content or even incorporating in-line forms within the body of your posts.
With these multiple touchpoints, you increase the chances of converting casual blog readers into subscribers.
6. Consider Doing Guest Blogging to Promote Your Website and Grow Your Email List
One effective tip on how to grow your email list is through guest blogging. Blogging doesn’t stop with your own website. If you want access to new audiences, try guest blogging at publications in your industry.
In most cases, all you need is a winning pitch (or three). Ensure your pitch is concise, engaging, and demonstrates the value you will bring to their audience. Let the other website’s owner know what you’d like to write about and how you’ll approach the topic. Highlight any unique insights or expertise you can offer that aligns with the publication’s content and audience interests.
You’ll get at least one do-follow link back to your website, which means an increase in SEO juice. These backlinks are not just valuable for driving traffic to your site; they can also improve your search engine ranking.
More importantly, you can promote your lead magnet in the CTA of your guest post to encourage readers to visit your website.
For instance, we recently partnered with Ambassador to write an article about personalized marketing. At the end, our director of marketing included our pitch with a lead magnet for a free month of Hello Bar.
Collaborations of this kind can boost your subscriber numbers, as readers perceive the recommended resource as credible and valuable.
7. Find Partners for Co-Marketing Offers
Strategic partnerships is how to grow your email list in a mutually beneficial way. You can partner with other professionals or companies in your space. They shouldn’t be direct competitors, but maybe they offer a complementary product or service that appeals to your target audience.
Whatever the case, consider cross-posting on each other’s blogs, promoting one another via social media, and more.
Partnerships are perfect when you don’t have money to spend on advertising or other paid media for your lead magnets. In these scenarios, co-marketing offers a cost-effective solution, as both parties can benefit without financial transactions. Each partner gains access to a broader audience, enhancing the potential for lead generation and email list growth.
To maximize the benefits of these partnerships, ensure to establish a consistent promotion schedule. For instance, try promoting each other’s lead magnets on a monthly basis to ensure sustained engagement.
8. Add an Email List Signup Field to Your Website’s Main Menu to Grow Your Email List
Your website’s navigation menu offers another place to promote your email list. Given the prominence of the main menu, you can capture the attention of your potential subscribers as they land on your website.
To maximize this opportunity, use concise and compelling anchor text like “Sign Up” or “Newsletter.” However, the success of this approach doesn’t solely rely on the presence of the signup field; it also depends on the value proposition that you offer.
Visitors need to understand what they will gain by subscribing, so ensure you provide a compelling offer.
Back up the offer with a description of your email list and lead magnet elsewhere.
Additionally, maintaining a clean and user-friendly design for your signup field is crucial. Avoid overwhelming visitors with too many fields to fill out; usually, a name and email address are sufficient.
9. Work on Your Email Copywriting and Headline Skills to Keep Your Email List Engaged
Learning how to grow your email list involves a multifaceted approach, one critical component is mastering your copywriting skills.
Copywriting matters when it comes to crafting a compelling pitch. If you’re boring and trite, people won’t bother reading on. Furthermore, your copywriting needs to reflect your brand.
Try using stronger words in your marketing copy and headline. Your email’s headline is the first impression your readers will have, and it must be compelling enough to prompt them to open the email. Stronger words can send a persuasive message. Make your headline sing with strong verbs and unusual adjectives. Give people a reason to want to know more of what you have to say.
Add those same elements to your CTA. The more interesting you are, the more people will want to learn more.
10. Create Very Engaging Email Campaigns to Keep Your Email List Wanting More from You
Figuring out how to grow your email list isn’t the last stop on the educational train. You also have to learn how to write amazing email marketing copy. Otherwise, subscribers will…well, unsubscribe.
That’s not what you want. Create engaging email campaigns, including autoresponders and drip campaigns, so your readers stay interested. Provide something of value in every email you send.
Your subscribers have given you access to their inbox because they expect something valuable in return. Whether it’s exclusive content, special offers, or insightful information, each email should provide tangible value to your audience.
Drip campaigns and autoresponders are effective ways to nurture your subscribers over time. Develop a series of emails that can guide your audience through a journey, providing them with valuable information.
For example, Zola shares informative content about wedding planning with the subscribers. The email content shows that there is more content to come from the brand to guide the reader every step of the way.
Image via Really Good Emails
If you follow this practice, you can keep your email list active and reduce the likelihood of them hitting the unsubscribe button
11. Do Not Let Blog Visitors Get Away So Easily! Create Awesome Exit Intent Popups
Exit popups appear when a visitor tries to leave your website. It doesn’t stop them from clicking away, but it gives them renewed incentive to stay on the page.
You can use your exit intent popup to promote your lead magnet, provide a discount code, or give some other incentive for people to join your email list. Make sure the offer is different from what visitors have already seen on the page.
For instance, if a traditional lead magnet didn’t work, try a free shipping offer.
Moreover, the design and timing of your exit-intent popup is an important factor in its effectiveness.
The popup should be visually appealing yet unobtrusive. It should also integrate with your website’s aesthetics while grabbing attention with concise, persuasive copy.
12. Create a Community Around Your Brand Using Social to Build Your Email List Faster
Community is important in the marketing space. You want your existing customers or clients to feel like they’re part of your brand. When customers feel a sense of belonging and connection to your brand, they are more likely to willingly subscribe to your email list to receive regular communications and content.
You can encourage your audience to participate in the creation of your brand narrative. Run social media contests that incentivize users to share photos or videos using your products or services.
GoPro is one of the best examples of a brand using this approach. The company has made a habit of collecting copious amounts of user-generated content (UGC). In other words, it gets its customers to send them footage while using GoPro products.
The company’s Instagram page isn’t the common, carefully curated page associated with most major companies. It’s full of real-life images.
To emulate this, start by identifying platforms where your target audience is most active. Many social media platforms offer built-in group functionalities. You can create a forum, membership site, or other special community for your visitors.
And don’t forget to promote your email list. Within the group or forum, you can pin a welcome post that outlines the benefits of joining your email list, offering exclusive content or discounts tailored to your group members.
13. Make Your Email List Feel Special With “Email-Only Deals”
Exclusivity is an amazing marketing technique. It’s also a psychological principle — one you see at work in high schools everywhere.
Remember the popular kids? They were envied because of their exclusivity. Whether you were part of that crowd or not, you remember the power they wielded over others.
Even as adults, we crave exclusivity. We want to know we’re getting things other folks don’t.
You can use email-only deals to reward your subscribers and also attract other people to join your email list.
Let website visitors know that you offer “email-only deals.” In other words, unless you subscribe, you won’t get the monthly coupon, the free shipping offer, or whatever other incentives you can come up with.
Use enticing call-to-actions (CTAs) that highlight the exclusive nature of these offers to encourage immediate subscription.
14. Add a CTA to Sign up for Your Email List in All Your Emails to Grow Your List
You probably send dozens of emails every day. You’re emailing prospective customers who have reached out to ask questions, for instance, or vendors who might want to work with your business.
Each of these emails represents an opportunity you can use to get recipients to join your community.
In your email signature, include a CTA to sign up for your list. You can use a signature generator to create an eye-catching email signature with clickable CTA buttons. Make sure to mention an incentive and to keep the CTA short and sweet.
Beyond your email signature, you can also incorporate CTAs with a signup link within your cold emails for recipients to opt in to your email list. You could include a brief note prompting recipients to subscribe for more updates, deals, or information related to the topic of your message.
For example, MailNinja in this email includes a signup button to collect emails from interested customers to get the content calendar for their email marketing campaigns.
Image via Really Good Emails
15. Encourage Your List to Forward Your Emails to Grow Your List for Free
You can grow your email list if your existing subscribers forward your emails to their friends, family, and colleagues.
When your subscribers share your content with others who might find value in your content, it serves as a form of social proof and word-of-mouth marketing.
To encourage email forwarding, you can include a clear CTA in your marketing emails inviting recipients to share the content with others who might find it valuable.
It might look something like this:
“Do you know someone else who would love to get emails like this? Forward this email to them and invite them to sign up!”
With this straightforward request, subscribers can be encouraged to take action.
16. Be Very Active and Get Involved on Other Blogs in Your Niche
Your company doesn’t exist in a vacuum. And it shouldn’t.
If you’re not reading and commenting on other blogs in your niche, you’re wasting valuable resources. Even though most links in comment sections are no-follow (meaning they don’t pass SEO juice), you still gain brand visibility and awareness. Plus, you show your expertise.
Create a bookmark folder in your browser filled with at least 12 to 15 blogs in your niche. Visit them daily, see if they have a new post, read the article, and write a thoughtful comment. You can knock them all out in an hour.
17. Create a V.I.P Email List Member Area on Your Website
Email doesn’t have to stay in the inbox. Maybe you could create a membership area on your site that only subscribers can enter.
Use this membership space to post articles, product comparisons, videos, and other useful content. Your subscribers will feel even more appreciated because you’re working hard to make their lives easier.
Just make sure others know about the V.I.P area. They’ll want to join — it’s that exclusivity thing again — and you’ll get more email signups.
18. Promote Your Email List at Networking Events
Face-to-face interactions at events and industry gatherings can be a surprisingly effective tactic to grow your email list. It’s old school, but it works.
Let’s say you’re attending a trade show, conference, or other industry event. Take a stack of business cards with your website’s URL and information about your email list. It works.
People at industry events are looking for new connections to make, so you’re creating an easier way to get in touch. You don’t have to wait for people to approach you. Take the initiative to introduce yourself to attendees you find interesting. Explain your area of expertise and how your email list can benefit them.
As a bonus, offer reciprocity. While promoting your own email list is important, also demonstrate a genuine interest in others. Ask people you meet if they have email newsletters or industry publications they recommend subscribing to and offer to sign up on your phone right then and there.
19. Run Referral Programs that Incentivize Existing Subscribers to Spread the Word
One effective tip on how to grow your email list is to leverage the power of referral programs. You can use your current subscribers to attract new ones by offering them incentives to spread the word about your brand.
This could be in the form of discounts, exclusive content, or even a chance to win a prize. The key is to make the incentive worthwhile to encourage your subscribers.
Promoting your referral program is also important. You can use your existing email list and social media channels to announce the program and explain its benefits. You can also consider offering periodic reminders or updates to encourage ongoing participation.
Moreover, optimize your referral process to be user-friendly and seamless. Provide subscribers with easy-to-share links or buttons within your emails and landing pages.
20. Use a Countdown Timer on Limited-Time Offers on Your Website to Encourage Signups
You can instill a sense of urgency into your email list signup process with countdown timers strategically placed alongside limited-time offers on your website.
This can spur potential customers to fill up the email sign up form on your website to claim the offer.
The key to making this approach successful is to ensure that the offer is genuinely time-sensitive and valuable enough to entice visitors to sign up.
The countdown timer should be prominently displayed on the relevant landing pages of your website to draw attention.
Also, set the timer to a reasonable duration, typically ranging from 24 to 72 hours.
21. Partner with Influencers in Your Niche to Encourage More Signups
Influencers hold sway over engaged audiences in specific niches. This can make them powerful allies in your email list growth strategy.
These individuals have built trust with their followers, as such, any endorsements and recommendations from them can be highly influential.
The first step to a successful influencer marketing campaign for email list growth is identifying the right partners. Look for influencers who resonate with your brand identity and target audience.
Analyze their content, engagement metrics, and follower demographics to ensure alignment. Micro-influencers, with smaller but highly engaged followings, can be effective in driving targeted sign-ups.
Propose a collaboration to use the influencer’s platform and audience to drive sign-ups to your email list while offering something of value in return.
FAQs
Q1. What is a lead magnet and why is it important?
A lead magnet is a free incentive you offer in exchange for someone’s email address. It could be an ebook, checklist, guide, webinar, or anything else valuable to your target audience. Lead magnets are important because they give people a reason to sign up for your email list.
Q2. Can I build an email list through social media marketing?
Yes. Social media platforms are a great way to reach a wider audience and promote your email list signup. Here are some ideas you can use:
- Create engaging social media posts to promote your lead magnets.
- Use stories and live features on platforms like Instagram to showcase the benefits of joining your email list.
- Run social media contests or giveaways where the entry requires signing up for your email list.
Q3. How can I encourage my current subscribers to share my emails with others?
In addition to creating informative content, there are ways to motivate your subscribers to share your content with others. These include:
- Adding social sharing buttons in your emails: Include buttons for sharing your content to popular social media platforms.
- Creating a referral program: Offer rewards like discounts or other perks to subscribers to refer people to your email list.
- Reminding them to share: Tell your subscribers to forward or share your content. You can include a P.S. at the end with a call-to-action to share.
Q4. How often should I send emails to my list?
The ideal email frequency can vary depending on your industry, audience, and the type of content you’re sharing. A good rule of thumb is to aim for 1-2 emails per week. This way, you can maintain active communication with your new subscribers without overwhelming them.
Q5. What types of content should I include in my emails?
The content of your emails will depend on the purpose of the email and your audience. Some of the most common types of content you can create include educational content, industry insights, exclusive offers, product updates, and more.
Conclusion
Learning how to grow your email list isn’t difficult but it can be time-consuming. The key lies in consistent effort, providing value, and leveraging the latest tools and strategies to connect with your audience effectively.
Using the tips outlined in this post, you can build a community of engaged subscribers who value what you have to offer.
So, take these insights, tailor them to your unique brand, and watch as your email list becomes a powerful asset in driving your business forward.
