If you’re wondering, “Why build an email list?” Then you’re in the right place.
Building and growing an email list can benefit you greatly as a content creator because it represents a direct line to stay connected and engaged with your audience (which is also why it’s an essential tool for promoting and selling your digital products).
An email list represents your “owned” audience, aka a way to contact your following outside of social media platforms. For this reason, it can be one of the most valuable marketing tools in a content creator’s toolkit!
As a content creator, your subscribers are essential to you and your business and while building an email list from scratch may seem daunting at first, we have good news—it doesn’t have to be!
Read on to learn how to build your email list quickly and easily, plus the top email marketing platforms to help you nurture and convert leads into paying customers.
5 reasons why you should build an email list
While it takes some time and effort to get an email list off the ground, here are five reasons why building an email list is absolutely worth your while.
1. You (and only you!) own your email list
That’s right. Possibly one of the biggest advantages of an email list is that the contacts on your list represent your “owned” audience, as opposed to the followers and subscribers you “rent” from social media platforms.
As creator Millie Adrian says in her mini-course on email list building (created in collaboration with The Leap), moving your audience off social media and into your inbox should be your top priority.
Social platforms favor users over creators by default, making an email list the essential first step forward towards owning your audience.
2. Targeted communication
An email list allows you to have direct, constant contact with your most loyal fan base. If people are on your list, you should assume it’s because they’re interested in what you’re serving.
You’ve already done all the hard work of identifying and reaching out to your target audience. Your email list is a reward for all that hard work!
Since your audience has already expressed interest in your digital product or service, you should have a pretty good idea of what they like.
This is great news as it means you can tailor your content and offers to be highly relevant to your audience, leading to better results and bigger bucks.
3. Algorithm-free content
As mentioned earlier, one of the biggest benefits of building your email list is developing a space for the audience that you own.
When you own your audience, you also own how and when you communicate with them.
As a content creator, your audience is everything. So if ever you feel overwhelmed by how any minor (or major) changes to a social media platform might affect your follower outreach, you’re not alone.
Unlike algorithm-controlled social platforms, it’s a guarantee that your email will arrive in your follower’s inbox.
Since email lists live outside of the hustle and bustle of social networks, you’re not beholden to an algorithm that uses a complex set of rules and calculations to prioritize the delivery of content. That’s right, there are no shadow-banning nightmares in your inbox.
4. Returning visitors
Returning visitors are essential to the success of your creator business. This is another reason why email lists are essential to the success of your creator business— you don’t want to miss the chance to turn a casual scroller into a diehard fan!
For example, does this scenario sound familiar: You’re deep in a doom scroll when you stumble across an intriguing product. But it’s midnight on a Sunday so you tell yourself you’ll check it out tomorrow—how often do you actually remember to revisit that nugget of content?
We’ve all been there.
This scenario is yet another reason why email lists are so great. By capturing leads through opt-in forms, lead magnets, or other offers, you secure their contact information before they disappear into the endless doom scroll. This way you can stay in constant contact.
The best part? If you feel like engagement is lacking, your lead’s contact information gives you the agency to invite them back with another great newsletter, offer, or exciting announcement.
5. Higher profits
Building and nurturing an email list can be a game-changer for content creators, paving the way for higher profits and sustainable success.
Firstly, an email list provides a direct and highly engaged channel to reach your audience. Subscribers have willingly opted in, indicating a strong interest in your content, meaning your messages are more likely to be read.
This increases the potential for conversions through digital product sales, affiliate marketing, or other revenue-generating opportunities.
The bottom line is that email lists allow you to promote your products and services effectively.
You can notify subscribers about new courses, ebooks, merchandise, or premium content offerings. This targeted approach leads to higher sales and, as a result, increased profits.
When it comes to an email list, certain strategies play a vital role. We’ll go into these strategies in more detail below but one example is email segmentation.
Email segmentation allows you to tailor specific segments of your audience so you can deliver the right content and promotions to the right people at the right time (thus maximizing your conversion rates).
How to start building an email list
Step 1: Define your target audience
You can’t write an email if you don’t know who you’re talking to. That’s why the first step in building your email list is defining your target audience, aka your ideal subscribers.
If you’re feeling stumped on how to begin defining your target audience, start first by defining their demographics.
If you’ve already been creating content for a while, chances are you already have a good idea of what these demographics are.
Not sure where to start? It’s time to get granular and ask yourself questions like:
- What demographic characteristics define my ideal audience (i.e. age, gender, location)?
- What are my ideal audience’s goals and inspirations?
- What are their values, beliefs, and interests?
- What content format and social platforms do they prefer?
Once you’ve defined your target audience demographics, you’ll want to consider these three very important questions:
- What does my audience need?
- What problem am I trying to solve for them?
- What value can I bring to their inbox?
Once you’ve defined your target audience and considered the value of your email list content, it’s time to find the right email marketing platform.
Step 2: Find an email marketing platform
Choosing the right email marketing service is crucial for building and managing your email list effectively. The right platform will not only help you store your contacts but also provide tools to create, automate, and optimize your email campaigns.
When evaluating platforms, look for features that align with your needs. For example, if you’re just getting started, you might prefer a user-friendly platform with pre-made templates and drag-and-drop editors.
If you’re more advanced, consider prioritizing platforms with robust automation, analytics, and segmentation capabilities to personalize emails and maximize engagement.
Pricing is another important consideration. Many platforms offer free plans with basic features, making it easy to start small and scale as your list grows. But be sure to evaluate any limitations like the number of emails you can send or contacts you can store.The Leap is a budget-friendly all-in-one solution for creators just getting started and looking to scale. It offers an email list builder and pre-made email templates for setting up email flows and sending email broadcasts.
Step 3: Promote your email list
It may be a “no duh” statement, but it’s one that has to be said: No one’s going to sign up for your email list if they don’t even know you have one.
As a content creator, you’re probably already busy promoting a million other things, but don’t let promoting your email list slip through the cracks.
Promoting your email list should be a high-priority task! Luckily, there are several different ways you can do it.
Social media marketing
First things first, leverage your social media presence. Use platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter (now X) to create engaging posts and stories about the value of your email content.
Share snippets, teasers, or behind-the-scenes looks to pique curiosity. Don’t forget to add clear calls to action (CTAs) and a link to your sign-up form in your social media bios.
Brand partnership and collaboration
Next, think of collaboration. Partnering with influencers or content creators in your niche who share your target audience can give your email list a significant boost. Have them mention your email list in their content, or do a joint giveaway to encourage sign-ups.
At the end of the day, consistency is key. Regularly remind your audience of the benefits of joining your email list. Offer incentives like exclusive content, discounts, or early access to keep them engaged.
By combining these strategies, you’ll fast-track your email growth and build a dedicated community of email subscribers in no time.
Top email marketing services
The following email marketing services are designed to help you build an email list from scratch and more.
| Platforms | Best email marketing service for… |
| The Leap | All-in-one platform to monetize their content with AI-powered tools, email marketing, and customizable storefronts |
| Klaviyo | Email and SMS marketing automation with robust segmentation and analytics |
| Hubspot | CRM integration and personalized email automation to engage and nurture leads |
The Leap
So much more than an email marketing service, The Leap is a free, all-in-one creator platform with an AI-powered digital product builder, link-in-bio landing page, and automated email marketing tools to help creators monetize their content.
Of all the email marketing services on this list, The Leap is by far the most intuitive. Mobile-friendly and designed to feel as though you’re navigating your favorite social media platform, The Leap’s features are ridiculously simple to use.
And features there are plenty! In terms of email marketing services, The Leap has an email list builder and a catalog of expert-approved, pre-made email templates that can be used to set up automated email flows and send email broadcasts. These customizable templates allow you to add a personal touch to your marketing while automated flows save you time and effort so you can nurture and convert leads into customers, effortlessly.
Another all-star feature of The Leap is its AI-powered digital product builder, which generates ideas and builds digital products for you in just minutes. The Leap’s link-in-bio landing page is where the magic happens, aka how you make money online.
Content creators can use The Leap to build or sell existing digital products and coaching and consulting services thanks to The Leap’s Book My Time native calendar feature.
The Leap’s Creator Analytics dashboard tracks store performance, product popularity, and overall marketing channel success to give you crucial insights into your audience’s preferences.
If you’re a creator on a budget looking to elevate your email marketing and monetize your expertise through digital content like guides, tutorials, mini-courses, and consulting services, The Leap is for you.
Key features:
- Zero listing fee or platform transaction fees
- Email list builder
- Pre-made email templates for setting up email flows and sending email broadcasts
- Mobile-optimized link-in-bio landing page
- Digital product-hosting services
- AI-powered digital product builder for mini-courses, tutorials, guides, and challenges
- Book My Time native calendar booking feature for coaching and consulting services
- Creator Analytics dashboard
- Audience analytics
- Flexible payment options like buy now / pay later, discount/coupon codes, and one-click payments
- 200 combinations of themes, layouts, and colorways for customized storefronts
- AI assistant to generate mobile-optimized products, sales page descriptions, and more
- The Leap’s Referral Program allows creators to earn up to 40% recurring commission!
Pricing:
The Leap is 100% free to use. The only fee you’ll see is a standard 2.9% Stripe payment processing fee for sale—that’s it!
Want to learn more about how to nurture leads into customers? Sign up for The Leap Way mini-course series.
Klaviyo
Klaviyo is an email marketing service, SMS, and marketing automation platform that helps creators connect and convert customers. Klaviyo is a robust platform that uses data to drive increased retention and sales so it helps to have a history of data to start with. However, the platform offers a Free plan with limited features if you’re just getting started.
This platform has several AI and analytics tools including product recommendations, email and segments AI, A/B testing, and reporting and benchmarks. It also offers intuitively designed, mobile-optimized templates and custom HTML/CSS options to create your own from scratch.
Its built-in email flows can send distinct messages to your customers based on their needs, i.e. cart reminders, offers, upsell/cross-sell, or new vs. returning customers.
Key features:
- AI and analytics
- A/B testing
- SMS marketing
- Advanced segmentation and personalization capabilities
- Automated email flows
- Predicted customer attributes
- Reporting and benchmarks
Pricing:
Klaviyo has a Free plan with limited features that starts with 500 monthly email sends and email support for the first 60 days. To access more advanced features, you’ll need to upgrade to the Email plan for $45 per month. Klaviyo’s Email and SMS plan is $60 per month.
Hubspot
Hubspot combines powerful email marketing automation with robust CRM capabilities. As you might expect from its name, this platform is made up of several different “hubs,” which are all connected to a central Smart CRM. Hubspot’s CRM tracks all your data on leads and customers.
The platform’s Marketing Hub provides you with marketing automation software that helps you engage, nurture, and convert leads. It includes an AI-powered email builder, drag-and-drop templates to create branded emails, A/B testing email campaigns, and automated, personalized email flows based on CRM data.
Hubspot’s email marketing service is designed for creators who have limited design or development resources. It makes it easy to personalize and optimize emails with AI-generated subject lines and email copy and simplified workflows.
While HubSpot does offer some free tools, its email allowance and automation features are limited. This is great for creators who are just starting but can prove expensive for scaling long term.
Key features:
- Automated email flows (limited on Free plan)
- AI-powered email subject line and copy writer
- Audience segmentation
- Powerful CRM
- Opt-in forms
- Customizable email templates
- A/B testing campaigns
Pricing:
HubSpot offers a Free plan for up to two users. To access more advanced automation, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan. Its Marketing Hub Starter plan costs $20 per month and includes 1,000 marketing contacts.
5 Email list-building strategies to try
1. Create valuable content as lead magnets
One of the best ways to grow an email list is to pull your audience in with an enticing lead magnet. A lead magnet is a free asset — often, a digital product — that you offer followers in exchange for their email address.
Essentially, to gain access to the free digital product, your followers must provide you with their email, which you can add to your newsletter list.
Some examples of digital products used as lead magnets include ebooks, mini-courses, Excel spreadsheet templates, or whatever digital product you believe would help deliver your content’s value the best. Offers like 30-day challenges and discounts or limited-time deals also count as lead magnets.
But how do you go about making that digital product? It’s easier than you think. You can easily build digital products as lead magnets with The Leap and use them to capture leads, i.e. collect email addresses.
Not only can you use The Leap to create your lead magnet, but you can also promote your digital product and gather customer information all from your own mobile-optimized link-in-bio landing page.
Oh, and did we mention The Leap is totally free? Try it yourself today.
2. Review your email list analytics
Since any action your subscriber makes within their inbox can be tracked, most email services will provide you with the analytics for how your subscribers interact with your email, including whether or not they’ve opened it at all.
These analytics are valuable insights into your existing email list. By examining the open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates that your email service provides, you can identify which subscribers are most engaged with your content.
This knowledge will only help you to tailor your future email efforts, fine-tuning your efforts to ensure your content resonates with your target audience.
Additionally, email analytics assist in maintaining list quality. A professional email marketing service can help you monitor bounce rates and spam complaints so that you can identify and remove inactive or disinterested subscribers.
Essentially, this ensures that your list remains robust and engaged. This not only enhances your deliverability but also saves you money by not targeting uninterested parties.
Email analytics are also particularly handy for another email list-building strategy: email segmentation, which we’ll dive into in more detail below.
3. Segment your email list
Email segmentation is the process of putting your subscribers into individual groups so that you can better personalize the content of your emails based on their interests.
First and foremost, segmentation allows you to target your audience with highly relevant content. This is where those handy email analytics come into play.
By dividing your email list into smaller, more specific groups based on criteria such as demographics, digital product purchase history, or engagement levels, you can send messages that cater to each group’s unique interests and needs.
This personalization can boost the chances of recipients engaging with your emails, resulting in higher open rates, click-through rates, and ultimately, improved conversion rates and more bucks!
Segmentation also aids in “list hygiene,” as it enables you to identify and remove inactive or disinterested subscribers, keeping your list fresh and engaged.
This email marketing practice not only improves deliverability but also saves resources that
would otherwise be spent on sending emails to unresponsive individuals.
Moreover, email segmentation can enhance the customer experience. By sending relevant content at the right time, you can build stronger relationships with your subscribers, leading to increased loyalty and long-term retention, which ultimately aids in a bigger and stronger email list.
4. Set up an opt-in form
Email opt-in forms (or email signup forms) are forms or sign-up boxes on landing pages that allow website visitors, potential customers, and email users to voluntarily subscribe to receive emails from a content creator.
It’s a critical tool in email marketing and email list-building. Some people associate email signup forms with annoying pop ups but pop-up forms are a separate engagement tool.
An email signup form usually lives in an area of your website where you want to encourage visitors to look for additional information (think of the margins, navigation bar, or footer landing pages).
While an opt-in is usually a more subtle attractor than a pop-up, it’s a smart business tool for capturing leads and building up your email list over time.
Of all the marketing tools, opt-in forms are possibly the most flattering strategy for building an email list. That’s because those who decide to fill out your form are doing it on their own accord, without much coaxing other than being attracted to your content.
The number one key to capturing the interest of potential new subscribers for your mailing lists is to get their attention. So make sure your opt-in form has a strong call to action (CTA) that indicates what your potential lead will gain from signing up for your email list.
5. Use AI to automate admin tasks
AI tools take care of the repetitive admin work so you can focus on creating valuable content for your audience.
Platforms like The Leap make email automation incredibly easy with features like pre-made email templates to set up polished, on-brand emails in minutes. These templates are expert-approved and customizable, so you can add a personal touch without starting from scratch.
With The Leap, you can also automate email flows to nurture your audience with minimal effort. Whether it’s welcoming new subscribers, sharing product recommendations, or sending follow-ups, automated workflows ensure your audience receives the right message at the right time.
When you’re ready to engage your entire list, The Leap’s email broadcast feature allows you to send updates or announcements in a few clicks.
By leveraging AI-powered tools, you eliminate the guesswork and administrative side of marketing via email, helping you focus on growing your audience and turning leads into customers.
With The Leap, building and managing your email list has never been more intuitive. Try it for free now.
Ready to build up your email list?
So now you know why building an email list is important, and you’re probably getting pretty excited to start growing your own. Our pro tip? Get started with an enticing lead magnet and you’ll be raking in the subscribers in no time.
The Leap’s AI-powered digital product generator makes it super easy to quickly grow your email list by building lead magnets. The Leap also provides you with a mobile-optimized link-in-bio landing page to promote said lead magnet and an intuitive Creator Analytics dashboard to help you keep track of its success.
Ready to build up that email list? Try The Leap free today.
Psst: If you’re still craving more guidance on how to build an email list, sign up for our free mini-course on how to build an email list with creator Millie Adrian.
FAQ
What’s the purpose of building an email list?
You’ve worked so hard to gain more followers across your social media accounts that you might be wondering: what’s the point of building an email list too?
The truth is that creating an email list is like having a super valuable tool in your marketing toolbox. It’s one of the most effective tricks up your sleeve for businesses and content creators alike.
At the end of the day, the most useful thing about an email list comes down to the difference between a “rented” audience and an “owned” audience. Your email list caters to the latter.
Social platforms change their rules or sometimes disappear, but your email list is something you own and control. Your email list is a long-term investment that pays off by keeping your customer relationships strong while also building brand loyalty.
What are the benefits of building an email list?
There are several benefits to building an email list, one of the most beneficial being that you own your audience.
Forget about social media’s tricky algorithms limiting your reach, email lists offer you a direct line of communication with your audience, ensuring your content heads straight to your email subscribers’ inboxes.
Plus, email lists help you build a dedicated community. When people willingly sign up for your emails, they’re showing interest in your brand or content. Over time, these subscribers can turn into your biggest supporters, spreading the word and backing your projects.
There’s a lot of versatility in emails and a lot of potential for giving your brand a growth spurt. You can send emails with limited offers, new products, or affiliate promotions, all of which can help drive sales and grow your business.
Do I really need an email list? Are email lists still a thing?
Studies also show that 72% of people prefer to receive promotional content through emails (over social media) 66% of consumers purchase products directly from an email.
Those are high numbers! And they’re high for a reason. Email is often an overlooked asset in the digital marketing space, but it’s one of the best ways to grow a following.
The email subscribers that you collect on your email list represent your owned audience, meaning you’re not dependent on any other platform but your own to retain their contact information.
Social media algorithms determine who sees your content. Conversely, 100% of your email subscribers will receive your email.
If you’re still wondering why you should build an email list, check out The Leap’s free resources.
Follow The Leap on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube for more audience growth tips. We also make a newsletter.
Further reading
- How To Build an Email List in 6 Easy Steps
- How To Promote Your Digital Products: 10 Ways To Boost Sales
- How To Sell Digital Products Online: A 6-Step Launch Checklist
- Owning Your Audience: Why Creators Should Think Beyond Growing Followers
This article was originally published in October 2023, and updated in December 2024 with additional information.
