The Dos and Don’ts of How to Build an Email List

Whether you know it or not, learning how to build an email list is one of the best things you can do for your business.

Among many other benefits, email marketing gives you direct access to your past, current and future customers, allows you to segment the various members of your audience, and helps you build better brand awareness.

What’s more, as I pointed out in the first installment of this series, Why Building an Email List Is an Excellent Brand Booster, email marketing is a multi-billion-dollar industry, and it’s a strategy that has the potential to offer some pretty impressive returns.

Truth be told, many marketers consider email marketing to be the most effective marketing tool they have at their disposal.

For instance, as you can see from the graph below, in a survey from Litmus, which polled more than 1,000 marketers, 41% of respondents said email marketing is their most effective marketing channel, ranking it higher than video, organic/paid search, and even social media.

All things considered, these are some pretty impressive statistics.

But before you can start reaping the benefits of this strategy, you’ve got to build an email list, otherwise you’re not going to have anyone to email.

With that in mind, in this second installment of our three-part series on email marketing, I’m going to tell you everything you need to know about building an email list and explain some of what not to do, as well.

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What You Shouldn’t Do When You Build an Email List

While there are many different strategies you can use to build an email list, there are also many things you should avoid doing when building one, as well.

Believe it or not, when it comes to email marketing, there are some pretty stringent standards.

You can’t just be sending emails out to random people willy-nilly, and if you do, you may end up dealing with some pretty severe consequences, including fines, lawsuits, and even being blacklisted by internet service providers.

That being said before I explain what you can do to build an email list, let’s explore what you shouldn’t do.

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Buying Email Lists

When trying to build an email list for your business, one of the biggest mistakes you can make is purchasing email lists.

While it might seem like a quick way to grow your list, it usually leads to poor engagement because the recipients haven’t shown any interest in your brand or what you’re offering.

Basically, you’re buying a bunch of random people’s email addresses, shooting emails out to everyone, and hoping that something sticks.

But at the end of the day, you want qualified leads on your list, meaning people who are actually interested in what you have to offer.

And when you’re buying email lists, that is not what you’re going to get.

What’s more, buying email lists can also lead to legal troubles, as many data privacy regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU, the CAN-SPAM Act in the U.S., and Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), require explicit consent from recipients before sending marketing emails, and violations of these regulations can result in hefty fines.

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Failing to Use Double Opt-In

If you want to ensure the leads on your list are actually going to be interested in what you’re offering, you should use a double opt-in process, which requires subscribers to confirm their email address by responding to a verification email.

Admittedly, a single opt-in is easier, but a double opt-in helps to ensure you’ll have a higher-quality list, as subscribers are more likely to be genuinely interested and provide a valid email address.

In any case, skipping this step can lead to an increase in spam complaints and a rise in fake or mistyped email addresses, which ultimately affects deliverability and engagement.

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Not Offering Clear Opt-Out Options

I know the idea is to get people on your list and keep them there, but if you want to follow the rules, you’ve also got to give your audience an easy way to unsubscribe.

Because most email regulations mandate that businesses provide subscribers with an easy way to unsubscribe from marketing emails.

As a result, failing to offer clear opt-out options can lead to serious legal consequences, including fines and lawsuits.

And subscribers who can’t easily opt out will be more likely to report your emails as spam, which can seriously damage your reputation and deliverability rates.

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Not Keeping Your List Clean

In case you’re not aware, keeping your email list clean involves regularly removing inactive or incorrect email addresses.

This may seem counter-productive, but the truth is, it’s incredibly important because if you send emails to unengaged or incorrect addresses, it’s going to skew your email metrics, which makes it much more difficult to interpret them.

This can result in poor deliverability and misleading data, which can cause you to make poor decisions about the effectiveness of your campaigns, or lack thereof.

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Ignoring Data Privacy Regulations

Unfortunately, many businesses fail to comply with the data privacy regulations I mentioned above, including the GDPR, CASL, and CAN-SPAM Act.

These laws require businesses to obtain explicit consent from individuals before adding them to an email list and failing to comply with these regulations can result in severe financial penalties, including fines of up to $10 million under CASL, for example.

Beyond the legal risks, these violations can seriously harm your company’s reputation, especially today, as consumers are becoming increasingly aware of their privacy rights.

What You Should Do When You Build an Email List

You may not realize it yet, but as you grow your email list, you’ll be building one of the most powerful marketing assets available – one that allows you to nurture leads, build relationships, and drive sales.

However, building your email list is going to require a significant amount of time, strategy, and consistency.

With that in mind, below I’ve offered several tips on how to build an email list for your business.

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Create High-Value Content and Lead Magnets

One of the most effective ways to build your email list is by offering valuable content in exchange for people’s email addresses.

This kind of content, which is often called a lead magnet, is designed to attract potential customers by providing something they want or need. Lead magnets can take on many forms, including:

• eBooks: This kind of lead magnet gives you the opportunity to provide in-depth knowledge on topics that are relevant to your industry. For example, we offer a free eBook for new subscribers called the 7-Step Guide to Defining a Compelling Brand Identity.
• Checklists: Simple, actionable checklists also make great lead magnets, as they’re easy for subscribers to digest and can be very helpful. For instance, a fitness coach could offer a weekly meal prep checklist to attract health-conscious subscribers.
• Webinars: Hosting a free educational webinar or online course is another great idea for a lead magnet, as it allows you to provide valuable knowledge in exchange for an email. Then, after the webinar, you can nurture those leads through follow-up email campaigns.
• Templates: Templates also offer a quick and useful resource that’s typically used as a lead magnet. For example, a content writer could offer blog or email marketing templates.
• Discounts or Promotions: Retailers can also attract subscribers by offering exclusive discounts or special offers in exchange for an email address.

At any rate, lead magnets must align with the interests and needs of your target audience, and ideally, they should solve a problem, provide valuable insights, or simplify a task for potential customers.

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Use a Clear and Compelling Call-to-Action (CTA)

No matter what you’re offering in exchange, a clear and compelling call-to-action, is critical for encouraging people to give you their email address.

Regardless of whether it’s a button, form, or link, the CTA should stand out and clearly communicate the benefits of subscribing.

For example, instead of using generic phrases like “Sign Up” you should use action-oriented and benefit-driven CTAs like:

• Get Your Free eBook Now!
• Subscribe for Exclusive Discounts
• Receive Weekly Tips to Improve Your [Skill/Product]

In any case, you should also make the CTA visually prominent by using contrasting colours, large fonts, and strategic placement on high-traffic areas of your website, like your home page, blog pages, and product pages.

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Use Social Media to Drive Subscriptions

Social media platforms are a powerful tool for building an email list, as they help drive traffic to your sign-up forms.

That being said, here are some strategies for using social media to grow your email list:

• Promote Lead Magnets: One simple thing you can do is to share your lead magnets across your social media channels by including links to your landing page where users can sign up.
• Run Contests and Giveaways: Social media contests and giveaways that require people to give you their email addresses offer another great way to grow your list.
• Add a Sign-up Button: Many social media platforms, including Facebook, allow you to add a custom sign-up button that directs followers to your landing page, or wherever you’d like them to sign up.
• Use Stories and Live Features: Platforms like Instagram and Facebook offer Stories and live features that can be used to highlight your offers or promote exclusive content, and using these methods, you can direct your audience to a link in your bio or the comments where they can sign up.

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Optimize Your Website With Sign-up Forms

Hands down, your website is one of the most valuable assets for building your email list.

That being said, you should make sure you’ve got multiple sign-up forms placed strategically throughout your website to help you capture leads.

Here are some of the key areas where sign-up forms should be placed:

• Home Page: If you want to put it front and centre, you can feature a prominent sign-up form high up on your home page.
• Blog Posts: Readers who find your blog content valuable may want more information, so you may want to include email sign-up forms at the top, middle, or end of blog posts.
• Pop-ups: Another way to include sign-up forms on your website is by using pop-ups, either when someone comes to your website, or when they’re about to leave, as you can use these pop-ups to promote your lead magnet or offer a discount in exchange for an email address.
• Sidebars and Footers: Many websites use sidebars and/or footers to ensure that email sign-up forms are displayed on every page. This way, no matter where a visitor navigates, they always have the option to subscribe.

In any case, all you need is a first name and email address, and if you ask for too much information, this can discourage users from completing your forms.

So, whatever you do, make sure that the sign-up process is as simple as possible.

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Offer Exclusive Content

Exclusivity is another strong motivator for potential subscribers, as it adds even more value to your emails and makes recipients feel like they’re part of an insider group.

Having said that, if this is something you offer, you should let them know that by signing up for your email list, they’ll gain access to exclusive content that isn’t available anywhere else.

Here are some examples of the kind of content that will entice people to sign up:

• VIP Sales and Early Access: Offering early access to sales or special promotions is a great way to encourage users to join your list, particularly if you’re in retail.
• Behind-the-Scenes Content: Sharing sneak peeks, behind-the-scenes content, or insider info that’s only available to subscribers is another great way to encourage people to sign up.
• Premium Articles: If you regularly produce valuable written content, you should consider offering premium blog posts or articles that are only accessible to subscribers. This strategy works especially well for businesses in finance, technology, or marketing.

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Run Paid Ads

If you’re looking to grow your list more quickly, you should consider running paid advertising campaigns that specifically target email sign-ups.

For example, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Google, and LinkedIn allow you to create ads that direct users to a landing page with a sign-up form.

But if you want your ads to be as effective as possible, make sure to take advantage of the targeting options offered by these platforms by using filters like demographics, interests, or job titles, so you can attract subscribers who are interested in what you’re offering and more likely to engage with your brand.

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Focus on Quality Over Quantity

While it might be tempting to try to grow your email list as quickly as you can, it’s much more important to build a high-quality list than a large one.

Because a small list of engaged subscribers is far more valuable than a large list of disinterested or unengaged people.

With that in mind, you should focus on nurturing your subscribers by providing valuable, relevant content, and regularly cleaning your list by removing inactive subscribers and email addresses that consistently bounce.

This will help you maintain high engagement rates and avoid any deliverability issues.

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Do you need someone to help build an email list? Why not set up a free 30-minute consultation with me to find out how we can help?

To your business success, Susan Friesen