How to Grow Your List

"A small list that wants exactly what you’re offering is better than a bigger list that isn’t committed."

— Ramsay Leimenstoll

First, to set our priorities: you’re not just looking for email addresses. What you want is a list of people who increasingly trust you and want to buy from you.

You’re not going for a volume play. You're going for a quality and trust play. People get too many emails for another catch-all volume play to stand out in their inbox.

Lead gen items

The most effective way to get signups for your email list is to create a lead gen asset. This is a valuable resource that you provide to leads in exchange for their email.

The key is to provide a large amount of value up front to make would-be subscribers think, “Wow, all I have to do is give you my email and I get more of THIS?”

Your asset has to be something that attracts people likely to buy from you. Remember, quality over quantity, and that starts with your lead gen asset: What do the people who can pay you most want?

For example, if your startup sells coffee, don’t make your lead gen an entry to win a trip to the Bahamas. Instead, make it a lifetime supply of free coffee. That way you’ll only attract people who actually like coffee.

If you’re an ecommerce startup, these types of lead gen pitches typically work best:

Discount codes

Giveaway contests

Free shipping

If you’re in SaaS, apps, or other online products, try these:

Webinars

Educational content like playbooks and free courses

Access to exclusive communities, like Slack groups

Popups

The lead gen item is the carrot. Once someone bites, you need a way to grab their email.

Here are two ways to capture emails:

Basic subscribe boxes

Popups

Popups copy

First, a few thoughts on how to write these email capture elements well:

Perfect your header

Header copy needs to include a tangible benefit for the visitor. Instead of explaining what people get when they sign up, show them the outcome. This is a basic tenet of good copywriting, and it applies equally to email capture.

For example, change the copy “Sign up to get my free 7-day course” to “Improve your emotional intelligence in just 7 days.”

Add social proof

When a lead sees other people—people like them—leaving glowing testimonials for your product, there’s a higher chance they’ll convert.

For example, include a testimonial with a photo of a person who fits your target audience. Help people see themselves in your marketing material:

• If you’re in martech, get a testimonial from a Head of Growth or VP of marketing.
• If you’re a direct to consumer fitness brand, try getting a testimonial from a well-known athlete.

Change your call to action (CTA)

Write CTA copy that is value-driven. People are more likely to enter their email and click if your CTA is an action that provides them value.

For example, change “Subscribe” to “Send me lesson 1”.

Dynamic Popups

If you want to take popups a step further, try this: use dynamic popups to meet visitors at their current stage in the buyer's journey. Most marketing messaging tools offer the ability to target individuals with customized popups.

For example, split your audience into three segments and show a distinct popup that resonates with each:

1. First time traffic
   1. For first time visitors who haven’t subscribed yet, provide a discount, a giveaway, or exclusive content gated by an email capture.
2. Returning subscribers
   1. For those who haven’t purchased and are coming back to browse again, make your lead gen asset a subscriber-only discount to encourage a purchase. Include a countdown timer to create urgency.
3. Customers
   1. For existing customers, feature new products and greet people with a "welcome back" message to let them know they’re part of the family now.