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20 Ways to Build a Quality Email List
Your subscriber list is crucial to successful email marketing.
Table of Contents
Email marketing might seem outdated and dull compared to social media marketing. Still, email marketing offers significant value to businesses and consumers because nearly everyone has an email address and uses email daily.
Your email subscriber list is a key determinant of email marketing campaign success. A high-quality list can ensure the right audience sees your message, but a poorly built list means your message might go unheard. We’ll explain why email list quality is crucial and outline 20 strategies to build a highly effective subscriber list that will maximize your marketing efforts.
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What is an email list?
An email list — also called a mailing list or subscriber list — is a collection of email addresses a business has gathered from visitors and customers. With opt-in email marketing, individuals actively choose to receive communications from the business, including updates, announcements and discounts. The best email marketing services can help you build and manage your list while delivering relevant, targeted content.
Email list building refers to the process of increasing subscribers who opt in to receive your emails. Patrick J. Peters III, head of Direct to Consumer at Market Performance Group, emphasized that building a quality email list requires a multi-pronged approach. “The key to growing your email list is to create content, use SEO, earned media and organic social to ground your brand with social proof and build the foundation of your email list organically,” Peters explained. “Then, use paid media channels to amplify that message and grow your email list.”
20 ways to build a quality email list
When building your email list, keep three major priorities in mind:
- Quality: Quality is your top priority. You must ensure your list consists of real people who actively check their email.
- Relevance: The people on your list should be interested in your business, industry or both.
- Volume: Once you are satisfied with the quality and relevance of your list, gradually increase the number of subscribers.
With these priorities in mind, you can begin growing your list with quality email addresses from your target audience — the people who genuinely want to receive your content.
1. Add call-to-action (CTA) buttons to your website’s landing pages.
CTAs help organic website visitors sign up for your emails. Including CTAs on every landing page throughout your website, such as “Sign up for our mailing list to receive special offers,” increases the likelihood of engaged and interested consumers subscribing as they navigate your site.
2. Include a link to sign up for emails on your social media posts and accounts.
While email is a popular communication method, many consumers find businesses through social media. Including an email sign-up link on social media posts is a surefire way to add interested consumers to your list. Since your goal is to build a quality list — not just amass numbers — this method ensures you find subscribers actively seeking out businesses like yours.
3. Devote social media posts to email signups.
In addition to including email list sign-up links in your regular posts, consider creating social media posts — on your Facebook page or Instagram account, for example — that specifically inform customers about your email list and the content they’ll receive if they sign up. This strategy ensures quality signups from highly targeted visitors.
Consider partnering with other websites by contributing articles or guest blog posts that include a sign-up CTA. Expanding your online presence opens your business to a new audience and helps you access new email addresses and high-quality prospects.
Additionally, invite others to write guest posts for your blog or website. These contributors will bring some of their audience to your site and improve your outreach.
4. Make email capture part of your intake process.
Incorporate email list-building into your everyday tasks. For example, when a new customer calls for a quote or when you’re providing information about your business, ask if they’d like to join your email subscriber list. Before inviting them, you can vet the prospect to ensure they would be a quality addition to your list.
5. Use exit-intent pop-ups.
An exit-intent pop-up appears when a visitor is about to leave a website. You can customize these email pop-ups with specific messages. For example, you could invite visitors to sign up for emails to receive updates, exclusive offers or more information about your business.
Opt-ins are one of the most reliable ways to build quality email lists. However, visitors need a clear incentive to sign up and the process of providing their contact info must be fast and easy.
6. Offer discount codes or freebies.
If you find that your content isn’t enticing enough people to sign up for your emails, consider providing an incentive. Offer a discount code, free download or complimentary item to encourage people to sign up. A popular incentive is providing actionable information, such as a checklist or webinar related to your industry.
Email-only specials are also an excellent way to drive list participation. Whether you’re using a buy-one-get-one sale, limited-edition items or another specialized offer, offering email-only specials will add an element of enthusiasm to growing your email list.
However, be mindful that you want a quality email list, so ensure that your incentives attract genuinely interested subscribers rather than those signing up just for the perk.
7. Create a challenge or giveaway.
Challenges and giveaways work much like incentives. You can create a challenge, such as running a 5K, donating food or organizing a giveaway or social media contest where customers provide their email addresses to participate. The same caveat holds true here, however: Make sure your challenge or giveaway attracts genuinely interested subscribers rather than those signing up just for the prize.
8. Provide gated content.
Give your customers and prospects premium content in exchange for their email addresses. This content can include catalogs, guides, white papers, webinars, online courses and annual reports. This practice is known as gated content — exclusively curated for those on your email list. It is a great way to attract highly interested subscribers who are more likely to engage with your brand over time.
9. Offer free loyalty programs.
Ask your customers for their email addresses so they can join a free customer loyalty program and earn perks, rewards or discounts. Ensure your enrollment process is straightforward and be transparent about your offerings — the more specific, the better. Loyalty programs foster long-term brand relationships, making this an excellent strategy for building a high-quality email list.
10. Share with or piggyback off partner businesses.
Try running co-branded campaigns with complementary businesses in your industry. You likely share a similar target audience, so you both can benefit by reaching high-quality recipients. However, never directly share or exchange email lists, as this may violate opt-in email marketing regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), CAN-SPAM Act and California Consumer Privacy Act.
Instead, use co-branded emails where both businesses independently send promotions to their lists, encouraging cross-signups without breaching privacy laws. [Related article: 5 Reasons Your Business Should Have Strategic Partnerships]
11. Enable shares and opt-ins in emails.
Encourage your subscribers to share your opt-in link on social media, email and messaging platforms to attract more like-minded prospects. You can also add an opt-in link at the bottom of your email signature, newsletters and promotional emails and encourage employees to do the same.
Additionally, consider adding a “Forward to a Friend” button to your emails. This allows recipients to easily share your content with their network, helping you reach high-quality prospects similar to your existing audience.
12. Challenge employees to gather quality email addresses.
Engage your employees in organically growing your email list by inviting them to share sign-up opportunities with friends, family and professional connections who may be genuinely interested in your products or services. However, ensure all signups follow email marketing rules and regulations — no one should add contacts without their consent.
13. Offer email signups at checkout.
When customers get to your online checkout page after shopping, give them the option to subscribe to your email list. This is a prime opportunity to grow your email list because customers are already engaged with your brand. Keep in mind that, under the GDPR, you cannot check the box for your customers; they must opt in themselves.
14. Try direct mail.
Most people today prefer electronic forms of communication over traditional mail. However, snail mail can help your digital campaigns, too. If your business still uses the postal service for direct mail marketing, consider providing customers with a quick response code that will send them directly to your opt-in page or allow them to switch to electronic communications, providing their email address in the process.
15. Join your local chamber of commerce.
Your local chamber of commerce provides access to a network of business owners and community events where you can connect with potential customers.
Once you join, explore opportunities to promote your business through chamber newsletters, networking events and business directories. If the chamber has an email list, ensure you follow opt-in regulations before sending promotional emails with an opt-in link to encourage signups.
16. Remove email addresses that are undeliverable or inactive.
Maintaining a high-quality email list ensures your messages reach engaged, interested prospects while improving your email marketing performance. If your list contains outdated or inactive addresses, your open rates and click-through rates (CTR) may be skewed, making it harder to measure campaign success.
People frequently change email addresses, impacting deliverability and bounce rates. To maintain email list quality, regularly review your email metrics to identify and remove the following:
- Undeliverable email addresses (hard bounces).
- Inactive subscribers with zero or consistently low open rates.
After cleaning your list, your remaining subscribers will be more engaged and likely to convert into customers.
17. Practice subscriber filtering.
Bhavik Sarkhedi, branding expert and co-founder of Ohh My Brand, emphasized that subscriber filtering is crucial to building and maintaining a quality email list. “Getting subscribers is one thing; filtering them is another,” Sarkhedi noted.
To ensure only engaged and relevant contacts remain on your list, Sarkhedi recommends the following three-step filtering process:
- Send a confirmation email to validate the lead.
- In the second and third emails, track engagement.
- If subscribers aren’t opening emails, mark them inactive and consider removing them.
Another effective filtering method is following up after a lead magnet download, such as an e-book. “Another key filter? A simple Google Form right after they receive the e-book,” Sarkhedi suggested. “Not promotional, not a sales pitch — just a short survey asking about their biggest pain points. If they take the time to respond, they’re not just a subscriber. They’re a potential customer.”
18. Tag subscribers based on their source and behavior.
Email marketing platforms allow you to “tag” subscribers — categorizing them for more effective, personalized content and helping you create a higher-quality email list. For example, if subscribers sign up for a free e-book on a particular topic, you can tag them as interested in that subject and send them relevant follow-up content to boost engagement.
You can also identify high-value customers by tagging them based on:
- Total amount spent
- Highest-margin purchases
- Loyalty program participation
This segmentation enables you to reward your most engaged subscribers with exclusive promotions, VIP events or brand ambassador opportunities, fostering stronger relationships and increasing lifetime customer value.
19. Align list-building offers with buyer personas.
When creating list-building offers, such as access to high-value content or prizes, ensure your offers are relevant to one or more of your buyer personas. For example, if your business offers franchise or investment opportunities and one of your personas is retirees with substantial savings, your offer could highlight how they can generate passive income with minimal time commitment. This ensures that those who subscribe are high-quality leads, not just freebie seekers.
If your offers are too general or are major giveaways, you may generate a huge subscriber list, but many of them will probably not be actual prospects for your business.
20. Keep your email list active and engaged.
Henry Timmes, CEO of Campaign Cleaner, emphasized that building a quality email list isn’t just about collecting addresses — it’s about maintaining engagement and ensuring subscribers remain interested in your content.
“Ensuring subscribers are active, engaged and qualified involves consistent, relevant communication and nurturing,” Timmes explained. “I send out regular newsletters that provide useful information or insights, not just sales pitches, which helps in keeping the audience engaged.”
Timmes recommends the following tips for keeping your email list active and engaged:
- Use double opt-in to reduce spam: Timmes advises using the double opt-in confirmation method, where subscribers verify their interest before being added to the list. This extra step helps businesses filter out bots, fake emails or disinterested subscribers so that only engaged users receive your messages. “I use double opt-in to confirm subscribers’ interest and reduce spam signups,” Timmes explained.
- Let subscribers control their engagement level: A key part of keeping an email list high-quality is allowing subscribers to control their engagement level. “I always provide an easy way for subscribers to update their preferences or unsubscribe, respecting their inbox and ensuring the list remains composed of genuinely interested parties,” Timmes added.
Why are email lists important?
A quality email list is extremely valuable because email marketing delivers a high digital marketing return on investment.
Email marketing is a powerful communication tool that is:
- Personal: High-quality prospects on your list have actively opted in, giving you permission to contact them directly. This creates a two-way relationship where they can ask questions, click links for more information and make purchases. This high level of engagement increases the likelihood that email subscribers will become customers.
- Targeted: With subscriber tags, list segmentation and CRM data, you can deliver highly personalized content that addresses subscribers’ pain points, capitalizes on their interests and leverages their past behavior.
- Purposeful and highly customizable: In addition to promotional emails, you can send brand-building emails, product launch updates, customer service emails and personalized messages such as birthday and holiday greetings. Combining different types of email communication supports specific business goals, such as seasonal sales targets and long-term customer engagement.
- Exclusive to you and your business: Your email list is a company asset and is not shared with anyone else unless you choose to do so. By practicing list hygiene and incorporating purchase history, browsing history and other data from your CRM, your email list can be a major driver of sales growth, customer loyalty and competitive advantage.
- Low cost: Email marketing is affordable. Most email marketing platforms have relatively low or even free monthly fees and design tools make it easy for even non-technical employees to create attractive email designs.
- Quick and direct: Once you send an email, it is delivered instantly, making it ideal for time-sensitive promotions and urgent business updates. According to ZeroBounce, in the U.S., 88 percent of people check their email at least once a day and 39 percent check it five times a day.
- Trackable: Email marketing platforms provide data on email campaign performance, bounces, open rates, click-through rates, location and other data. Using this feedback with A/B testing, businesses can optimize their email campaigns for the best return on investment (ROI).
Without a quality email list, your business could miss out on thousands of potential customers. Since most consumers have an email address, building a quality email list should be your top priority in your digital marketing strategy.
Email lists by the numbers
Compelling statistics reveal that robust email marketing is a powerful tool for your business’s success and growth.
- Email marketing boosts your ROI: With email marketing, you’re bound to see a return on investment. According to Litmus, the average ROI is $36 for every dollar you spend. This is a very high return compared to other digital marketing efforts and paid ads.
- Most marketers use email marketing: With billions of emails sent daily, companies worldwide are taking notice of its benefits. According to the MarketingProfs benchmark report, nearly three in four marketers use email newsletters or other email content as their primary way to distribute content and generate leads.
- The market is growing: While many businesses have taken to newer forms of marketing, such as live videos and social media campaigns, they haven’t forgotten the original content that offers a significant ROI. According to Statista, in 2024, global email marketing revenue was $12.33 billion and is projected to grow to $17.9 billion by 2027.
Should you buy an email list?
Because building a quality email list the old-fashioned way can take time, many businesses have considered purchasing premade email lists or an email database that promises hundreds or thousands of email addresses instantly. However, you rarely get what you pay for with these purchased-list schemes and they’re often more trouble than they’re worth.
“Buying email lists can not only hurt your brand’s reputation, but your domain’s reputation as well,” warned Jeff Moriarty, marketing manager at Tanzanite Jewelry Designs. “It might get you a few quick sales, but it is not worth the harm it can cause by giving your business and domain a bad name. Focus on the long game.”
When you buy an email list, many subscribers could have old, fake or invalid email addresses and the legitimate ones probably don’t have an active interest in your business or industry. Furthermore, you risk being flagged as a spammer, which could result in your actual customers never seeing your emails.
“When you purchase an email list, even if it’s from a reputable source, you could be putting your email and ad accounts at risk,” cautioned Danielle Miller, social media marketer at Miller Media Management. “If too many people flag the email as spam – because they’ve never heard of you — all your future emails to them and others could end up in the spam folder.”
Jennifer Dublino contributed to this article.
