11 Ways to Build an Email List That Actually Yields ROI

1. Consistently Offer Valuable Content, Before and After Signup

You want access to the inboxes of potential leads, and you have to give them something in exchange. You can persuade people to give you that privilege with relevant and valuable content, compelling branding and trust. Bring leads to your site with social media posts, SEO, blog articles and videos; then offer even more valuable content in exchange for that all-important email address.
– Justin Blanchard, ServerMania Inc.
2. Use Social Media to Target Your Audience
Social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn provide brands with a way to create marketing campaigns that can target a specific demographic audience that will most likely buy their products and/or services. Simply create an online form that prompts the user to enter their email address in exchange for a 30-minute consultation or free download.
– Codie Sanchez, www.CodieSanchez.com
3. Invest in Content Marketing That Speaks to Customer Needs
What has worked well for us is investing in content marketing and taking blogging seriously. Use sites like Quora and Answer the Public to find out the questions your target customer is asking. Then, come up with catchy titles and hire freelancers to write great articles that answer their questions. Optimize each blog post with opt-in forms and you’ll start forming a highly targeted email list.
– Syed Balkhi, OptinMonster
4. Build a List From Your Existing Subscribers
Buying a bulk email list is definitely not the way to go. If you’re looking at optimum return on investment, it is important that you focus on building a targeted email list. Your best bet is to turn to people who subscribe to newsletters through your website. Website owners should also consider providing users with relevant top-quality content in the form of e-books, white papers and blogs.
– Derek Robinson, Top Notch Dezigns
5. Hire an Email Marketer
People assume that once you have a list, it will simply sell itself. You have to make tactful and succinct drip sequences and carefully layer in your offers. If you’re just providing news, it’s important to consistently reiterate good content.
– Nicole Munoz, Start Ranking Now
6. Find Your Company’s Voice

Use your e-blasts to tell a story, and make sure there’s a consistent voice. Emails written by a company look like spam. Emails written by a singular voice with personality have the best chance of survival in this new frontier where social media has highlighted our fascination with the individual. If your Instagram and Facebook pages have a narrative, your e-blasts should too.
– Anthony DiFiore, Neverland Events & Artist Management Corp.
7. Include a Short Survey With Email Signup
Ask three to four key questions with your signup form to shape a better email list with a more targeted audience. This will help you sift out the people who may not be as ready to buy from you or who are not interested at all.
– Angela Ruth, Calendar
8. Offer Mutually Beneficial Incentives

Incentivization, when handled correctly, is a great way to build an effective (read: profitable) email list. Whether it’s a discount on your most popular product or service, or a link to a valuable resource or white paper, the key is to offer an incentive that is beneficial enough to encourage the sale while ensuring you are still meeting your margins.
– John Scheer, Herman-Scheer
9. Use Engaging Pop Ups
Wheelio is an interactive exit-intent pop up that allows users to spin the wheel for a chance to win a prize after entering their email address. A user who is willing to engage with your pop up is clearly interested in receiving a special offer or promotion to use toward their next purchase. Thus, these users are more likely to engage with future emails and convert.
– Duran Inci, Optimum7
10. Take Advantage of Pinterest
For us, Pinterest is the most effective way to build an email list. We use it when we publish a new blog post with a content upgrade, offer a freebie or launch a new product/service. We will link to a landing page where people can opt in to receive some type of download. We will then use BoardBooster for automation. Since we’ve started using Pinterest, our email list has grown by 35,000.
– Kristin Marquet, Creative Development Agency, LLC
11. Focus on Segmented Journeys and User Intent

Simply slapping a form on your site will not work. List-growth magic happens when you identify top traffic sources to your site, then tailor the message and creative in your forms to that visitor journey. For example, if a Facebook ad for a red sweater drove them to your site, don’t show that visitor a generic form. Rather, present a specific form or offer including that same message and creative.
– Ben Jabbawy, Privy

Turn Visitors into Customers through Email Marketing

Now that you’ve learned some of the best ways to convert site visitors and social audiences into high-value email subscribers, it’s time to start implementing these methods into your own site or business. Also, remember, it’s all a numbers game. Just 30 new email subscribers per day is more than 10,000 over the course of a year. Think small, to think big.
To see more expert roundups like this one, be sure to view our previous articles on improved Facebook marketing and the best tools for monitoring your brand online.