Imagine if you could quickly grow your email list and have an engaged audience at your fingertips. You’d increase your sales, right?
This blog post will talk about 11 simple ways to attract new subscribers, gain their trust, and sell more products with less effort.
However, it’s not about how extensive your email list is. What matters is that your audience believes you! You could have 300 subscribers but make more profit than someone who has thousands of them.
If you’re ready to start growing your email list, then I encourage you to read this whole blog post. Now let’s begin.
This post includes affiliate links to products I love and recommend, meaning I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure for more information.
What are the benefits of having an email list?
An email list gives you a direct connection with your audience. You can build profound relationships faster and turn true fans into loyal customers.
You also have more control over your list. For example, if Social Media platforms are down and not working, you can still reach out to your audience through emails. But be careful – if you spam or annoy your subscribers, the email service provider can terminate your account.
Another great benefit is automation. Just imagine creating all your email funnels that sell your products while you’re spending time with your family, and friends, or even sleeping.
Yes, making passive income is possible! Your email list can be a source of income for you in the future if done right.
You might also love to read: A Beginner’s Guide to Successful Email Marketing
The tools you need to grow your email list
There are many tools out there that can help you grow your email list. Some of them are free, some are paid. Here’s a list of tools I use and recommend:
- MailerLite: it’s an email service provider that will help you build and grow your email list. You will create email automation, send newsletters, create forms, and build landing pages and websites. I use this tool because it’s simple and it’s very affordable. You can also build up to 1,000 subscribers, and send 12,000 emails per month for FREE!
- Email Subject Line Tester: it’s a free tool that will help you create the best subject lines.
Top email marketing courses
Let me tell you an embarrassing story of how I failed with my first email list.
My biggest mistake was learning about email marketing from free resources. The information was vague and incomplete.
But I still started growing my list without knowing what I was doing. So even after a year and a half, I didn’t reach 500 subscribers.
I wasn’t making any sales because I didn’t build trust, so I had to start all over again!
And that’s precisely what most beginner email marketers are doing. They read a blog post or two but don’t invest in a great course.
So if you want to get great results and more sales faster, I highly recommend these email marketing programs:
- E-mail copy-writing workshop: learn how to write e-mail copy that converts subscribers into customers
- Developing your first automated sales funnel: this workshop will teach you how to create a transformation for your audience, understand how they decide, write for conversions, and so much more!
- Audience growth academy: this is more than just an email marketing course. It will teach you how to grow your audience and reach your ideal clients on Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and blogging. You will also learn how to clarify your content & funnel followers into your offers to finally make more profits in your business!
How to grow your email list for free
You will discover 11 simple ways that will help you start and grow your email list. They have worked very well for me, and I’m sure they’ll work for you too.
So let’s dive in.
Offer freebies to entice people to subscribe
Create a really valuable freebie that will help your audience out. It doesn’t need to solve all of their problems. In fact, it’s best if the freebie focuses on only one thing.
Before you start creating a ton of lead magnets, let me share two mistakes I repeated over and over again.
- First, I made too many lead magnets that only attracted freebie seekers, not buyers.
- The second mistake I made was not creating an email funnel. My new subscribers got a welcome email with the freebie, and that was it. No more communication from my side, except occasional newsletter.
So if you want to successfully grow your email list, then create 1-3 valuable freebies. And make sure you write email sequences that will build trust and eventually sell your products.
Promote your freebies on Pinterest
Are you wondering why Pinterest? Well, let me tell you that Pinterest is much more than just an image-sharing platform.
It’s actually a search engine where entrepreneurs share their blog posts, products, services, and more.
So how can you grow your email list with Pinterest? Here are the steps you can follow:
- Create a Pinterest business account,
- Fill out your information and use keywords you want to be found for,
- Use the keywords in your board title & description,
- Also, add keywords to your Pin titles & descriptions,
- Don’t forget to include the link to your lead magnet,
- And create beautiful pins with attention-grabbing headlines
Make sure you also avoid some of the big Pinterest mistakes and learn the top tips about how to use Pinterest for business.
Use Social Media platforms to grow your email list
Social Media platforms are a great source of traffic for most entrepreneurs. However, your strategy plays a huge role in this.
Sharing your links to lead magnets won’t be enough. Your content will have to be creative, and it should build curiosity that will get your audience to click on the link.
You will have to know exactly who your audience is and what they need help with. This way, you will create valuable freebies that will convert like crazy.
Share valuable email content to build trust
In the first step of the email funnel, you will have to show your audience that you’re here to help them. The more valuable content they see from you, the sooner they’ll be ready to buy.
So when it comes to growing your email list, you have to create content that will provide your subscribers with fast results.
You can share some resources, tips & tricks, and some of your best blog posts.
Use storytelling to warm up your subscribers
I didn’t share any stories when I started email marketing because someone said we should never talk about ourselves. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
When you’re creating emails, write about your experience through storytelling. Your subscribers will be more engaged because they’ll relate to you better.
This will also help them trust and believe in your words and be open to the idea of buying from you.
Share your freebies in blog posts
Blogging is one of the best ways to grow your email list. You can create many fantastic blog opt-in freebies that can be add-ons to your article.
This will get your readers excited because they’ll get so many benefits. The more you help them out, the more email subscribers you’ll get.
And you might be skeptical about providing a lot of free knowledge. Let me tell you why you shouldn’t worry about that.
Most people will learn for free, but won’t take action. Which means they will never see great results. However, they’ll remember you for helping them.
So when you’re promoting products or services, they’ll already know and trust that you’re an expert who can help them.
Use popups on your website
Popups are one of the best tools that can help you grow your email list. You can create them with MailerLite and set them up on your blog.
You can create many different types of popups, but ‘exit intent’ is the best option. That’s because it will open up right at the moment when your readers are about to leave your page.
So if you give them a compelling gift, they’ll be more inclined to subscribe.
Build simple lead pages to collect email addresses
You can create simple but powerful lead pages with Elementor or MailerLite. There are other tools, but I recommend these two that I personally use and trust.
How can you create a lead page that will encourage your audience to subscribe to your email list? Below are all the steps you need to take to create a high-converting page:
- Headline: your headline should describe a benefit and talk about the end result. Here’s a great example: 9 simple ways to grow your email list by 300+ new subscribers without paid ads.
- Description of your freebie: create a short but clear description of your freebie. Use the word ‘FREE’ so your audience will take action fast.
- Add a guarantee: talk about what they will achieve if they get your lead magnet (end result)
- Call to action: you have to tell your audience what they should do next (example: sign up on the form below to grab the freebie)
- Button: you can add another call to action on the button (example: Yes, sent it to me now!)
Ask your audience to share your freebies
Another great way to grow your email list is to ask your audience to share your freebies on Social Media.
They won’t hesitate to talk about it, but only if the lead magnet is valuable and helpful. So make sure you create something no one will be able to resist!
You can also add Social Media share buttons on the lead page and make it easier for your readers to share the lead magnet. I use Grow by Mediavine, but there are many others you can choose from.
Set up a valuable autoresponder series
When a new email subscriber joins your list, they’ll usually be subscribed to an autoresponder. So every day (or every other day), you have the chance to engage with them and show who you are.
That’s why it’s so important to provide as much value as possible. Your subscribers will start trusting you and get even more excited about learning from you.
You should mix it up with a few stories that will help your subscribers relate to you. That’s when trust is built.
Run great giveaways
One of the best list-building techniques is a giveaway. If people want to enter it, they have to subscribe to your email list. You will need the following:
- A landing page with more information about the giveaway (including instructions on how they should enter)
- Signup form where people will fill out their contact info
- And a great gift they’ll love.
Don’t forget to ask them to share the giveaway. This will help you reach a new audience and grow your email list faster.
What’s next:
Your next step should be choosing the right tools, like MailerLite. Then, start testing out some of the list-building strategies I shared in this article. You will see which ones are working great for you.
Then when you’re ready to learn all about email marketing, choose a course that will show you how to successfully start and grow your email list. Here are some of the best programs:
If these email marketing tips were helpful, please share them with other business owners to help them grow their brand.
Petra Šranc (CEO of Big Income Paradise) is passionate about teaching female entrepreneurs how to do Social Media Marketing to grow their business online. She also focuses on teaching Social Media content tactics to skyrocket traffic, leads, and sales. 
