Have you ever been tempted to purchase an email list? While building an email list from scratch can seem overwhelming, the rewards of an ethically and organically grown subscriber count far outweigh the alternatives. Buying email lists may expose your emails to spam filters, lowering your delivery rates and harming your sender reputation. On the other hand, developing an email list of genuine subscribers who are interested in your products or services bolsters your customer engagement and brand loyalty. Let’s discuss how to build your email list to boost awareness of your brand.

What is an email list?

An email list is a database of subscribers who have given their permission to receive marketing emails from your business. Having an email list allows you to keep in touch with customers, send out promotional offers and build relationships. It’s one of the most effective methods of digital marketing today and can play a huge role in helping businesses reach their goals.

8 Ways to Build Your Email List

Many of the tips and tricks on the internet promise to quickly grow your email list, making it hard to know where to start. However, we'll give you some easy yet effective ways to start increasing your subscriber numbers and let you know how to build your email list!

1. Add sign up forms to your website – Adding sign-up forms throughout your website is an easy way to grow your email list. Your newsletter should be available through your homepage, with additional subscription options on various pages throughout the site. You can also use pop ups for more visibility. 
2. Utilize social media – Leverage your social media platforms by encouraging followers to sign up to your email list on every platform. You can create posts telling your audience the benefits of signing up, such as gaining access to special offers, discounts or memberships.
3. Create compelling content – This is self-explanatory. Create interesting and engaging content that your readers will find useful and will want to share with their friends. This can be anything from helpful tutorials, infographics, polls or guest blog posts. Make sure to include a link in the post for readers to sign up for your content!
4. Utilize SEO – Create content that is optimized for both search engine rankings and email list growth. Use keywords in titles, headers, taglines and main body text to draw people’s attention, as well as using meta descriptions to include a call-to-action with a link to subscribe.
5. Use a lead magnet - A lead magnet is a core element to any marketing funnel, usually offered in exchange for a visitor’s email address. This could be a free PDF download, a tutorial or discount. 
6. Run competitions and giveaways – That leads us to our next point, people love free stuff–use this to your advantage! You can offer customers an incentive for signing up to your email list, such as a prize draw where they have the chance to win something from your brand.
7. Leverage influencers in the community – Reach out to big players or influencers in your industry and ask if they’d be interested in promoting your brand and offering a discount code for your product or service to their followers. This will not only help you to gain more followers, but will increase awareness about your brand and draw more traffic to your website.
8. Create a referral system - To foster continuous growth of your marketing efforts, a referral system can really help. Create a unique referral program that incentivizes your reader based on the number of people they refer to you. Offer rewards such as a product, service or merchandise they would deem as valuable.

Although creating a robust customer base is a long-term process, your email marketing tactics will eventually pay off. With strategic planning, engaging content and a consistent approach, you can attract and retain loyal customers to strengthen your brand and grow your email list. If you’re looking to streamline your marketing techniques with great email content, just fill out the form below and our experts would be happy to help!