15 Simple Ways to Grow Your Email List
Growing your email list for marketing takes work.
This is because your marketing email database reduces in size by about 20% each year. That’s why it’s key to keep growing your email list to make up for lost those subscribers, abandoned email addresses, or email address changes (without using an email list builder).
In this post, we’ll explore 15 creative ways to grow your email list:
1. Segment your list
Segmenting your email contacts based on their buyer persona ensures that you’re delivering interesting and relevant content to everyone on your list, and increasing the click-through rate. Creating multiple, targeted subscription types guarantees that visitors will identify with, and subscribe to, one of them.
2. Start blogging
Blogging creates content that’s going to make it easier for your business to rank higher in search engine results. No matter what your industry is, starting a blog will help solidify your credibility and authority within that field.
3. Content upgrades
Adding content upgrades to your blog posts can be as simple as a PDF, concentrated version of the post, with supplementary ‘bonus’ information. Keeping your posts fresh with up-to-date information will inspire readers to keep coming back and ultimately subscribe so that they don’t miss key upgrades.
4. Promote gated content
Promoting content on your site that can’t be accessed until the visitor enters their contact information is a mutually beneficial way of growing your email list. Your visitors will gain something useful to them, in exchange for receiving the occasional marketing email or newsletter.
5. Host a giveaway
Involve participants in a giveaway by requiring them to sign up with their email address. Bonus points (entries) go to those who also share the giveaway on social media.
6. Offer a free tool or software
Delight your visitors by offering them a free tool or software that requires an email address to sign up. When your company regularly looks for innovative ways to help and bring joy to customers, your email list will naturally expand.
7. Use Facebook Ads
Optimise your Facebook Ads to increase conversion rates and drive traffic to your landing page. This step is crucial to growing your list because Facebook is the primary content distribution channel for marketers today.
8. Search forums for relevant questions
Get to know the common pain points of your buyer persona, in relation to the topic of your lead magnet. When you already know the questions your target audience is asking, you can be prepared with specific, helpful answers and additional info linking back to your landing page.
9. Participate in LinkedIn & Facebook groups
When you actively participate online, you can become known as an expert in your niche. Use your expertise and credibility to boost your email list by posting the link back to your landing page.
10. Create captivating Instagram stories
Take full advantage of Instagram’s offering by creating short promotional videos, live videos, marketing slogans, entertaining or funny videos, and more, with a call to action. The possibilities are endless when it comes to making your Instagram story creative, relatable and fun.
11. Add a CTA to your Instagram bio
Adding a call to action in your bio should be common sense at this point, yet many companies still haven’t capitalised on this free and important space. Add a compelling CTA in your Instagram bio with a link to your landing page to add to your email list.
12. Add reviews and testimonials
These should be placed underneath your forms to convince site visitors to sign up. You can get creative with user reviews and testimonials by presenting them in an aesthetically pleasing way that aligns itself with, and promotes your brand.
13. Include bonus content
Not all gated content is worth a site visitor. To get people to your site, you’ll have to include free content that comes with no strings attached. Once you’ve piqued their interest with a helpful blog post that offers beginner advice on a subject, then you can offer more advanced, bonus content that they can unlock on your landing page by submitting their email address.
14. Shorten lead capturing forms
Reduce the length of your forms to not scare site visitors away. When a form has too many fields for the visitor to fill out, chances are they won’t. Once you begin a conversation with the captured lead, then you can work on gathering any additional information.
15. A/B test your CTA
Test out your CTA to determine which wording or offer works the best to convert visitors.
