Over 90% of our revenue has come directly from our email lists over the past 10+ years. We see a consistent email newsletter as the cornerstone tool used by a smart solopreneur creator.

In this article, we’ll walk you through the best practices for building and maintaining a high-quality email list, reflecting the latest trends and strategies in email marketing.

Introduction: Why Does Building an Email List Matter?

There is no denying that our attention is constantly being pulled in a multitude of different directions. With social media apps becoming more and more addictive every day, it can leave you wondering if an email list is even necessary?

We (strongly believe) building an email list is CRUCIAL for three main reasons:

Reason #1: The Way People Interact with Email

Emails receive more focused attention compared to social media posts. People don’t quickly swipe through their inboxes as they do on social media; they open, read, and spend quality time with emails.

Reason #2: Email is a Platform You Control

Social media platforms frequently change their algorithms, affecting your reach drastically. In contrast, email allows you to control your communication channel and reach your audience directly.

Reason #3: Trust and Connection

Email marketing helps create a genuine connection and build trust with your audience. Consistently delivering valuable content to your subscribers’ inboxes fosters trust, turning curious onlookers into loyal fans or customers.

Section One: Where Do You Start With Building an Email List?

Before diving into technical details like choosing an email service provider or creating signup forms, it’s essential to lay a strong foundation.

Step 1: Tame Your Ego and Focus on Quality Over Quantity

Avoid getting caught up in vanity metrics like the number of subscribers. Yes, we know you want to grow your subscriber numbers and this article will touch on that later. Early on, you want to focus on building a highly engaged list of people genuinely interested in your content.

The more you can hit "send" every week (or whatever cadence you choose) and avoid obsessing about the number of subscribers, open rate percentages, or click through numbers, the better off you'll be.

Step 2: Define Your Ideal Audience

If you try to build an email newsletter for a big, broad audience, it's going to take FOR-EV-ER.

What you should do, is narrow down your audience to a single ideal subscriber.

• Understand their specific problems

• Know what other type of content they like to consume

• Figure out what values they hold true

• Create moments of commonality

Use this persona as a filter to ensure your content and signup forms attract the right people. Come back to this person whenever you're sitting down to write your next email newsletter.

Step 3: Get Your Initial Subscribers

We all start at 0 subscribers. The first people who get on your email list ARE going to be existing contacts, friends, social media connections, etc.

If you have experience using Google or Meta ads, you could absolutely use them to grow your list early on (we've never done that, so we can't share that experience).

The most important thing you can do is offer a compelling reason for people to sign up, emphasizing the value they will receive. Don't say, "sign up to get my emails," position your email list as solving a problem for your ideal audience persona and what they need.

Step 4: Convert Visitors to Subscribers

Ensure your email signup forms clearly explain what subscribers will get and why they should sign up. Place forms strategically on multiple pages of your website and consider using subtle pop-ups or exit-intent windows.

If you tuck your email signup forms away at the bottom of your website, you're devaluing them and saying they're the least important thing. Move them up! Try to have an email signup form above the fold on your highest trafficked pages of your website.

💡 Further reading: Creating Effective Lead Magnets that Convert Visitors to Subscribers

Step 5: Commit to Consistency

Consistency is key to growing your email list. Decide on a regular sending schedule and stick to it. This helps build trust and reliability with your subscribers.

Section Two: What Should You Email Your Subscribers About?

Deciding what to email your subscribers can be daunting, but focusing on helpful and entertaining content is a good start.

Send Helpful Content

Share valuable insights, tips, and advice relevant to your audience. If you’re a photographer, for example, write about composition, gear recommendations, and step-by-step guides.

If you’re unsure what to write about, share your journey, lessons learned from mistakes, and helpful resources you're finding along the way.

Send Entertaining Content

Engage your audience with entertaining content that reflects your personality. Use humor, share unique perspectives, create memes, etc, to keep your emails interesting and enjoyable.

Pro-Tip: Ask a Question in Your Welcome Email

Your Welcome Email has the highest open rate of ANY email you will ever send. Take advantage of this excellent opportunity to engage new subscribers. Ask a question to learn more about their interests and challenges, which can inform your future content.

Section Three: Email Providers, Subject Lines, and Other Tips

Choosing the right email service provider (ESP) and crafting compelling subject lines are crucial for effective email marketing.

Choosing an Email Service Provider

🐣 Beginners: MailChimp is user-friendly and free for up to 2,000 subscribers, making it ideal for beginners.

🎨 More Design-Focused: Flodesk is a great option for creating visually beautiful emails and they're starting to offer automation and tagging too.

🤓 Advanced Needs and Automation: ConvertKit* offers excellent subscriber tagging, automation, and customer support, making it suitable for those selling digital products or needing advanced features.

*We've used seven different email platforms in the past decade and we've switched back to ConvertKit. Also, this is our affiliate link for ConvertKit where we earn a small commission if you signup.

Writing Great Subject Lines

A great email that doesn't get opened is a waste of your time. You don't have to spend hours pining over your next subject line, just use these three tips:

1. Avoid Clickbait: Be straightforward and honest in your subject lines.

2. Keep it Simple: Simple and direct subject lines often perform best.

3. Less than 60 Characters: Don't write long subject lines, shorter is better.

If you still need help, here are three resources to craft better subject lines: CoSchedule’s Subject Line Tester, Email Subject Line Grader, and Tips To Writing Great Subject Lines.

Other Email Marketing Tips

There are a couple of things you can do to set yourself up for email success and most of these are applicable at any stage of your email journey.

Survey Your Subscribers: We highly recommend placing a survey in your initial Welcome Email if you're trying to learn more about your audience. Also, consider sending a demographic survey every six months to your entire list. If you want people to fill out your surveys, send them as dedicated emails (don't squeeze a survey link in a 1,000 word email 🙅‍♀️🙅‍♂️).

Tagging is Your Friend: Whether it's setting a tag when someone clicks through to a sales page, purchases a product, tagging someone as they go through an email sequence, or using tags to let people opt-out of automations, we LOVE tagging and find it to be one of the most useful tools you can implement in your overall email marketing strategy.

Use Mail-Tester.com: This free service allows you to send a test email of your next broadcast to an application and get an email review score. You'll find out any DNS changes you need to make, spam warnings, and even if your sending email has ended up on a blacklist somehow.

5 Email List Building Mistakes to Avoid

Avoid these common pitfalls to ensure your email list remains valuable and effective.

Mistake #1: Being Unclear About What Subscribers Will Get

Be transparent about the content and schedule of your emails. Set clear expectations from the start.

Mistake #2: Focusing Only on Subscriber Numbers

Quality is more important than quantity. Focus on building a list of engaged subscribers who value your content.

Mistake #3: Making It Difficult to Unsubscribe

Make the unsubscribe process easy and straightforward. It’s better to have fewer, more engaged subscribers than a large number of disinterested/disgruntled ones.

Mistake #4: Overdoing Incentives

Avoid building a list based on giveaways or incentives. Focus on attracting subscribers interested in your content and offerings. Lead magnets are great, but put more attention on the value those bring rather than them being "free" resources.

Mistake #5: Over-Formatting Emails

Keep your email formatting simple. Focus on delivering great content rather than relying on fancy designs and templates.

A Few Final Tips to Keep Your Newsletter High-Quality and Authentic

Find a format that suits you and is easy for you to create ongoing. Work with your strengths and don't try to write an email newsletter like someone else if that format isn't best for how you create.

Keep your content tailored to your ideal audience. Remember, someone is subscribing to your email list for a specific reason. If you deviate from the content that got them there, you should expect to lose their attention. Your content can shift and change over time! Just be smart about it and communicate those pivots clearly.

How do find your unique writing voice? Just write naturally and let your writing voice develop over time. The more you write and hit send one emails, the more your authentic style will emerge and stand out from everyone else.

When all else fails, remember, the best email strategy is one that you can stick with and enjoy.

By focusing on delivering valuable, consistent, and content only you can create. You will build a loyal and engaged audience. Start today and watch your email list grow!