How to Grow Email List? – 15 Ways + Examples

When you grow email list, you’re not merely collecting email addresses – you’re setting the stage for long-term engagement.

An email list is your direct line to an audience that’s eager to hear from you.

Whether through engaging content, lead magnets, or simply asking for referrals, you can build your email list in multiple ways.

In this blog, we have listed 15 ways to grow your email list, examples, and detailed steps on how to implement each of the list building techniques.

Let’s dive right in.

What is an email list?

An email list is a collection of email addresses that a business or individual gathers from people who have expressed interest in receiving updates, promotions, newsletters, or other communications.

Email lists are built based on permission from individuals who opt-in to receive emails. This is crucial for compliance with laws like GDPR and CAN-SPAM, which require explicit consent for email communications.

Many email marketers use a double opt-in process, where a confirmation email is sent to new subscribers to verify their intent. This ensures a higher-quality and engaged email list.

Why growing an email marketing list is important?

An email list provides a direct line of communication to your audience, drives higher engagement rates, and ultimately contributes to your business growth.

Here are the benefits of building an email list:

Nurture leads to customers.

The primary goal of email list building is to capture the leads and convert them to loyal customers.

You can send them email marketing campaigns that nurture them, educate them about the brand, and drive repeat purchases from them in the long run.

Personalized interaction with subscribers

With an email list, you can tailor messages based on subscriber preferences, behaviors, and demographics, making the communication more relevant and engaging.

Higher Engagement Rates

Email marketing typically boasts higher engagement rates compared to social media.

Emails have better open and click-through rates, which means subscribers are more likely to read and act on the content.

Targeted Email Marketing

Targeting is getting difficult on Facebook ads and other social media platforms. With email marketing, you can reach the right audience with the right content at the right time.

Building an email list allows you to segment your email list based on various criteria, such as behavior, demographics, and purchase history.

What is a good email list growth rate?

If you are a new business just starting with email marketing, a good email list growth rate can be anywhere from 2-5% per month. If you start with a small list of 100 subscribers and grow it by 5%, that’s 5 new subscribers per month – modest but steady progress.

For businesses with a more mature list or more aggressive marketing tactics, a good email list growth rate could be 6-10% per month. If you have 5,000 subscribers, a 10% growth rate adds 500 new subscribers each month.

But, how many emails is a good email list? If you’re just starting, a list of 500 to 1,000 engaged subscribers is a solid foundation.

15 Best Ways to Grow Your Email List

Building an email list is difficult as users are often skeptical about sharing their email addresses due to privacy concerns and fear of spam.

But you can convert traffic to your website into leads with the strategies in place.

Here are the 15 best ways to grow your email list.

1. Use popup forms on your site.

The best way to grow an email list is to convert traffic to your website into leads using popups.

Show sign-up forms on your website after a visitor has spent a certain amount of time or is about to exit the page.

These popups capture the visitor’s email addresses by offering valuable content in exchange and it is the best way to grow my email list outside of social media.

Types of popups to grow email list are:

• Timed popup – Appears after a visitor has spent a certain amount of time on your website.
• Scroll-triggered popup – Triggered when a visitor scrolls down a specific percentage of a page, indicating interest in the content.
• Exit-intent popup – Appears when a visitor is about to leave the website
• Full-screen welcome mat – Full-screen overlays that appear when a visitor lands on your website.

You can use email capture software to implement these popups and signup forms on your site.

Here is an example of a popup displayed on a landing page to grow email list.

Related Reading: Lean how to grow email marketing list with email newsletter popup in our blog: 15 Email Popup Examples And Best Practices To Build Email List

2. Offer Valuable Content

The best way to grow your email list is to let your content do the talk. People don’t mind giving their email addresses for valuable content in exchange.

Create and offer free e-books, guides, or whitepapers on topics relevant to your audience. To grow your email list, make these resources available in exchange for email sign-ups. Develop comprehensive e-books or guides that provide in-depth knowledge on these topics.

The resources you can offer to build your email marketing list are:

• Ebooks
• Guides
• Checklists
• Cheat Sheets
• Webinars

3. Use lead magnets

For email list building, offer lead magnets such as checklists or templates that provide immediate value in exchange for an email address.

Curate lists of tools, websites, books, or other resources that your audience would find beneficial. For example, a “Top 50 Tools for Digital Marketers” list.

To grow your email list fast, offer exclusive access to in-depth articles, industry reports, or case studies that are not available to the general public. For instance, an “Annual Industry Trends Report.”

Here is how HubSpot promotes its lead magnet in the blog.

4. Add Sign-Up Options to Your Checkout Process

If you run an e-commerce site, show an email sign-up option during the checkout process to build an email subscriber list. Highlight the benefits of joining your list.

Add the sign-up checkbox or field on the checkout page where it’s easily noticeable but not intrusive, like near the order summary or shipping information sections.

5. Include Sign-Up Forms in Your Blog

If you are seeing significant traffic on your blogs, the best way to grow your email list is to convert this traffic to sign-ups. Readers who spend time on your blog are already interested in your content. Sign-up forms allow you to capture these engaged visitors and convert them into subscribers.

To grow an email list fast through your blogs, use embedded sign-up forms directly within the content of your blog posts. Place them at strategic points, such as after the introduction, mid-way through the post, and at the end.

Keep the form simple by asking for minimal information, typically just the email address and maybe a first name, to personalize future emails.

You can show a sign-up form popup when someone is reading like Lenny Rachitsky did in his site in the below example.

Or include an in-line form like the example below.

6. Create a high-converting landing page

Unlike a homepage that serves multiple purposes, a dedicated landing page has a single objective – encouraging visitors to sign up for your email list.

The email list building technique is to have a well-designed landing page that shows your expertise on the subject and social proof.

Here is a landing page of Justin Welsh (running one of the most successful newsletters) and how he grows his email subscriber list.

7. Host Informative Webinars

Webinars as an email list building technique attract participants who are genuinely interested in the topic being presented, ensuring that the leads you collect are high-quality and relevant to your business.

For email list building, host webinars on topics of interest to your audience. Registration with an email address is required to attend and follow up with attendees post-webinar.

8. Include a link in your email signature.

To use email marketing to build an email list, generate a unique signup link for your email newsletter that directs people to a subscription page or form.

In your email signature, create a new line or section specifically for your newsletter. Include call-to-actions like “Share it with your friend” and hyperlink it to the signup link you created.

Here is an example of how to use an email footer to grow an email list.

You don’t want to miss the opportunity to add the people who are reading your newsletter because their friends forwarded it to them. So, give a sign-up link at the end to encourage them to sign up.

9. Make it easy to share

To grow email marketing list, ensure that your newsletter is easily shareable by including social media sharing buttons or embedding links to your newsletter on your website and in the emails.

Place clear and compelling calls to action throughout your website, like “Share it on Twitter”, and “Share it with your friends”.

Here is how the OG of marketing, Seth Godin, does it.

10. Encourage referrals to grow email marketing list

If your content is great, your subscribers will naturally share your newsletter or your products with their friends and colleagues, But to increase the number of referrals and grow your email list fast, you have to give incentives.

To build an email list through referrals, offer rewards such as free content, discounts, or other valuable perks for every referral they bring.

Here is how the CopyBlogger newsletter includes a Referral hub in the footer.

11. Use Facebook to grow your email list

You can leverage social media to build an email list.

Facebook Groups allow you to engage with niche communities related to your industry. By posting content actively, you can build trust, which can lead to organic sign-ups.

Here are some tips on how to use Facebook to grow email list:

• Create targeted Facebook ads offering a lead magnet (e.g., ebook, webinar, discount) in exchange for an email signup.
• Participate in relevant Facebook groups and share your lead magnet, encouraging members to join your email list.
• Embed email signup forms directly on your Facebook page.

Related Reading: Lean how to grow email marketing list with discount popup in our blog: Discount Popup: 12 Examples + How to Create

12. Use LinkedIn to grow an email list

To build an email list through LinkedIn, create a profile and summary highlighting your expertise and the value you offer. Include a call-to-action (CTA) inviting people to join your email list.

Use LinkedIn’s document feature to share downloadable resources like e-books and guides that require an email sign-up to access.

Include a link to your email sign-up form in your LinkedIn profile’s contact info section and within your summary.

Here is how Justin Welsh implemented this email list build technique in his LinkedIn profile.

13. Leverage social proof

Social proof builds trust in people like nothing else can. You can use this email list building technique in your sign-up forms and emails.

Display subscriber count badges on the sign-up forms and landing pages to showcase the size and popularity of your email list.

See how Tim Ferris implemented social proof in his sign-up form.

14. Run contests and giveaways

Contests and giveaways generate buzz and engagement on social media, increasing your brand’s visibility. It can quickly attract a large number of participants, resulting in rapid growth of your email list.

For email list building, design an entry form that requires participants to enter their email addresses to participate.

15. Offer a free trial

In exchange for an email address, offer a free trial of your service or product to build your email list.

Here is how Neil Patel collects email addresses while signing up for a free trial and grow email list.

How Retainful can grow your email list?

Retainful is an all-in-one ecommerce email marketing app that features targeted popups and sign-up forms to grow an email list.

You can create high-converting sign-up forms with:

• Different types of popups: Exit-intent, add-to-cart, welcome, and embedded.
• Precise targeting and triggers: Based on time spent, scroll depth, geo-location, page visits, and more.
• Pre-designed popup templates: Design on-brand popups with a drag-and-drop editor.
• Mobile-optimized popups

Wrapping up!!

KNowing how to grow email list is essential for building an engaged audience that can drive business growth for you.

By implementing a variety of strategies to grow email list – from offering lead magnets and running contests to leveraging social media, you can attract and retain high-quality subscribers.

Learn about how to retain subscribers through email marketing:

• 9 Post-Purchase Email Examples that Retain Customers
• 10 Best Email Marketing Examples and Templates