How to Build an Email List Fast in 2024
Building an email list is crucial for consistent, reliable traffic and sales. The quicker you build a high-quality list, the sooner you’ll see results in conversions, traffic, or brand awareness.
So, how do you get that email list growing quickly in 2024?
Well, to be honest it’s pretty much the same as always: offer good value and have a kickass converting landing page, ok and send good traffic, but yea that’s it. Easy right? Well, in theory, yes.
If you’re in a rush here are the main 8 tips to grow an email list fast in 2024, I’m going into detail below in the article for each of these methods.
Key Points For Growing an Email List:
- Create a High-Value Lead Magnet: Give them something irresistible.
- Optimize Your Opt-In Forms: Make it easy, obvious, and everywhere.
- Leverage Social Proof: Show them others are signing up too.
- Utilize Paid Ads: Invest in targeted traffic to fill your funnel.
- Host Webinars or Free Trainings: Capture leads in real-time.
- Tap into Social Media: Use your platforms wisely to collect emails.
- Collaborate with Influencers or Partners: Expand your reach with the right connections.
- Segment and Personalize: Tailor your offers to different audience segments for better results.
1. Create a High-Value Lead Magnet
Your lead magnet is your bait. I mean I know this doesn’t sound ethical, but it’s the easiest way to explain it so yeah, it is what it is.
Make sure your magnet is something your target audience can’t resist. Whether it’s an eBook, checklist, video series, or free course, ensure it provides real, actionable value.
Think about what your audience needs the most right now, and give it to them for free in exchange for their email.
2. Optimize Your Opt-In Forms
No one’s going to sign up if they can’t find your form. Place your opt-in forms where they can’t be missed, above the fold on your homepage, in the sidebar, within blog posts, and as exit-intent pop-ups.
Keep the form simple, and don’t overdo it. For example if you want to place the form in-between post paragraphs, make sure you don’t add it after every 1,2 or 3 paragraphs because it become “spammy”. Once is enough. Especially if you also have a form in your sidebar or at the end of the article.
For the form itself: ask for just an email, or name and email, and make sure your CTA is clear and compelling.
CTA = Call to Action. Which is your text above the form, as well as your button. Instead of a simple: “Subscribe” button you can have: “Get My Free Guide”, or “I Want In”, or something like that. You have to get creative with this.
Should you make your forms single or double opt-in? Well that’s up to you, but in general most use single opt-in, it’s kinda harder to get double opt-ins these days, but it’s doable, and it also depends on the niche and what you’re offering.
I’ve tested both, single opt-in yelds more subscribers, double opt-in gives you more active and interested readers. It’s up to you, as always test it out.
3. Leverage Social Proof
People want to do what others are doing (for the most part). You know, keeping up with the Joneses is a real thing.
So on your email newsletter landing page, if you can, show how many people have already joined your email list or share testimonials from subscribers who’ve benefitted from your content.
This builds trust and makes signing up feel like a no-brainer.
4. Utilize Paid Ads
Speed things up by driving targeted traffic to your lead magnet with paid ads.
Whether it’s Google, Facebook, Instagram, or any of the cheap website traffic options, focus on platforms where your audience hangs out.
I’ve even built email lists using PopAds.net lol. Dunno the quality of the traffic in 2024, but it was cheap, and for the offers I was promoting at that time, it worked well (think dating, and other stuff).
A well-crafted ad with a strong CTA paired with a great email squeeze page, can work wonders in filling up your email list quickly.
5. Host Webinars or Free Training
Live events like webinars or Q&A sessions are excellent for capturing emails.
People sign up to attend, giving you their email in the process. It doesn’t even feel like a “scam” or something shady, because people are used to sign up on websites and apps all the time, so this feels like a “legit” thing.
Notice I’ve used quotation marks (“”) on some of those words.
Listen, an email list is not a scam and of course, it is something legit that many companies, sites, marketers, and pretty much anyone is running these days.
But for some people, when they see the: Subscribe to get X or Y, they are kinda put off, thinking that it’s another trick or scam or some shitty product that’s going to be sold to them afterward.
So yeah, webinars are more “legit” in that way.
Plus, it’s a chance to engage with your audience in real-time and build a stronger connection.
6. Tap into Social Media
You’re probably on your phone right now, watching some funny cat reel, even when reading this blog post. I don’t judge you, I do it myself also.
Now if you’re also using social media to drive traffic to your site, you have to keep in mind to not only use social media to promote your latest blog posts, use it to collect emails.
Share snippets of your lead magnet, run contests or offer exclusive content that requires an email to access.
Every post or story is an opportunity to drive sign-ups to your newsletter.
So get smart with it, and figure out some unique angles on how to attack different niches in the social media networks you’re using. When in doubt, ask ChatGPT. It’s that easy nowadays.
7. Collaborate with Influencers or Partners
If you want to gain more leads and more trust quickly, you can team up with influencers or brands in your niche. They can promote your lead magnet to their audience, helping you tap into a new pool of potential subscribers.
Now I’ll be honest with you, I’ve never done this, always went directly to paid ads on any platform, but I know it works for many and sometimes it’s just cheaper to pay someone to post a reel or post about your product/service/email list, than paying for ads.
Just make sure it’s a win-win partnership that benefits both sides. There are platforms out there where you can buy shout-outs on different social media sites, so check them out.
Since I haven’t used any, I can’t recommend you a good one, so you’ll have to Google some of them and check out Trustpilot reviews before you sign-up.
8. Segment and Personalize
Not everyone on your list is the same, so don’t treat them like they are. Segment your audience based on their interests, behaviors, or how they joined your list.
Then, send personalized emails that speak directly to their needs.
Personalized content leads to higher open rates and conversions.
I have different email forms on this blog, one on the homepage, one on the Newsletter page, and various others that I use to promote different free guides and things when doing paid ads.
All of them send the subscribers to the same NetHustler email list, but they are all different and have different emails sent to them. I do that with Segments.
For example, someone who signed up on my homepage, will get the regular “Welcome to NetHustler Newsletter” email, while someone who signed up for a free book or guide will get the “Here’s your free thing, email” and then send them personalized newsletters based on what they’ve signed up on.
If your email marketing service doesn’t have a segmentation feature, then maybe look for one that does have it.
That’s about it
Listen, building an email list in 2024 is pretty much mandatory, there are too many changes in Google’s search algorithm and social media networks that you really don’t want to rely on just one source of website traffic.
If you want you can also check out my video about this on YouTube, your boy is just now starting YT after all this years, oh well, it’s for fun anyway:
The best way to ensure you have a steady amount of visitors and readers to your site, blog, or whatever you’re doing online, is to build a brand, a community, a place where people can gain value and exchange ideas, become an authority on the subject, etc.
One of the easiest ways to do that is with an email newsletter.
But not just any email newsletter, as I’ve said in the first point, make sure your lead magnet is valuable and something that provides real usefulness to your readers.
The end game here is to not just build a list but to build a quality list.
The tactics above will help you grow quickly, but always focus on attracting the right people, those who are genuinely interested in what you have to offer.
That’s about it,
Stephen
