While social media is great for raising awareness and reaching new people, it's very hard to generate revenue when you're fighting ever-changing algorithms.

We've generated nearly $4m in revenue via email lists in the past 10 years and we've experimented with tons of ways to attract new people. In this article, we'll share 11 tactics you can use today to increase your email subscriber growth.

Tactic #1: Create a Compelling Lead Magnet on Your Homepage

Gone are the days of having an email signup form on your website that simply says, "Get my updates." People are entering their email addresses left and right but when they don't receive immediate value, they ignore your emails completely.

That's where a great lead magnet comes in! By incentivizing your target audience with a piece of exclusive content, you are strengthening the trust level they have with your email list from the start!

A lead magnet is a powerful tool and it should do the following...

Lead Magnet Must-Haves

• It needs to be compelling and interesting

• It needs to pique a potential subscriber's interest

• It needs to solve a quick problem (think 30 minutes or less)

• It needs to be delivered immediately without friction

• It should feel worth paying for, even though it's free!

Great, that's the barrier to entry for creating a compelling lead magnet, now let's talk about the different lead magnet types you can use that will boost your email marketing efforts.

Lead Magnet Types

• An e-book or guide (PDF)

• A 3/5/7-day series of emails

• A short online course

• Exclusive content not shared elsewhere

• Quiz results from a free quiz

• A pre-recorded webinar

• A free trial or timed-access to content

• Discount codes for first-time customers

Those are just a small handful of lead magnet types. Any additional content you can dream up that will entice someone to subscribe will work.

Use Copy and Design to Increase Lead Magnet Conversions

Most email marketing softwares have pre-made templates for lead magnets. Feel free to use these, but remember to add your own design flair to match your brand and the offer your lead magnet conveys.

One of the most important things a great lead magnet needs to do is be CLEAR about the problem it solves and the benefit it offers.

🔴 Example BAD lead magnet copy: "Enter your email to receive my free 3-day email course."

🟢 Example GOOD lead magnet copy: "If you're looking to 10x your social media content creation in half the time, enter your email and I'll send you 3 actionable tactics you can start using today!"

Make sure to place your lead magnet front and center on your website. If you're trying to maximize conversions and build a high-quality email list, don't hide your lead magnet in the footer of your website.

Tactic #2: Use a Welcome Mat on Your Website

Incorporating a Welcome Mat on your website can be a strategic entry point for increasing your email list. A Welcome Mat presents a clear and compelling message for visitors to subscribe to your email list at the top of your website (like a welcome mat greets you before walking through a door to a home).

Considerations for Using a Welcome Mat:

• Visibly Clear Offer: The Welcome Mat should prominently showcase the value proposition with a very clear sign-up button.

• Simple Sign-Up Process: Encourage sign-ups by having an easy-to-complete form that asks for minimal information, usually just an email address.

• Delay Timing: Some Welcome Mats allow for a delay in appearance, which can stop someone from scrolling and take notice of a piece of content that appeared after the page loaded.

Remember, just like we mentioned with lead magnets, it's not enough to simply say, "Sign up for my email updates" in a Welcome Mat. You want to encourage and entice someone to enter their email address by offering a ton of free value.

Related Tactic: Use a Popup, Slide-In, or Exit Intent Opt-In Form

Similar to a Welcome Mat, utilizing popups, slide-ins, and exit-intent popups can be key tactics in your email list-building strategy.

These forms are designed to capture attention at different points in the browsing experience and encourage someone to enter their email to receive additional related value.

Types of additional Opt-In Forms:

• Popups: Appear while users are browsing, offering relevant content or an incentive for their email addresses. Be wary of triggering a popup too soon on the initial page load as that can create an angry audience that won't susbcribe.

• Slide-Ins: Sometimes called "toasters," these appear at the corner of the page as a visitor scrolls down, serving as gentle reminders to subscribe without blocking content.

• Exit Intent: Triggered when a user's behavior indicates they are about to leave the site, tempting visitors with an enticing offer or a piece of valuable content.

You absolutely can use all of these strategies to build a healthy email list, just remember to think about your website visitor's overall experience and not bombard them with too many messages to join your email list all at one time.

Tactic #3: Use Your "Link In Bio" on Social Platforms

It's impossible to deny the effectiveness of social media marketing as a solopreneur. Utilizing your bio as a way to grow your email list is a simple set-it-and-forget-it tactic.

Much like any other area where you're going to promote an email sign-up form, it's important to remember to offer value to potential subscribers. It's not enough just simply add a link to your newsletter signup and think that's enticing for people.

Due to user behavior on social platforms, think about creating platform-specific lead magnets that provide informative content related to the content you share. As an example, if you use TikTok, it's probably not a good idea to use an e-book as a lead magnet (user behavior on a vertical video platform is geared way more towards video and shorter attention spans).

Experiment with different ideas for your Link In Bio and see what has the optimal conversion rate.

Tactic #4: Host Webinars or Online Events

Hosting webinars or online events is a very effective strategy for business owners to grow their email list and engage with their target audience.

The video content that's exclusive to a webinar or an online event can lead to solid email list growth. Plus, you can market a webinar or online event to your current subscribers and if it's an attractive enough topic, they'll share it on your behalf!

Key Points for Webinars

• Registration Process: Include a very clear opt-in form for your email newsletter during the registration process for the event.

• Promotion: Promote webinars or online events across social media platforms and include a clear action button to sign up.

• Highlight Exclusive Content: Highlight the exclusive content that attendees will have access to by signing up.

Also, you don't have to create a webinar or online event yourself, you can join as a co-host and still reach prospective customers from audiences built by other people!

Tactic #5: Offer Discounts to New Subscribers

Offering discounts to new subscribers is a highly effective technique for business owners to expand their email list and engage with potential customers.

It's highly likely you've taken part in this tactic as an email list subscriber of another company! The offer of, "get 10% off when you join our email newsletter" can be extremely compelling AND is a nice double-dip of growing subscribers and paying customers.

Strategy for Offering Discounts

• Present the exclusive discount clearly: This can be done through an embedded signup form or through a popup form.

• Convert followers into subscribers: Discounts are a great way to use social media marketing to move people from a social app to your email list.

• Discounts can build a loyal customer base: It's one thing to amass a group of email subscribers, it's an entire other thing to have a big percentage of your subscribers be paying customers (even from a discount!)

It's not just ecommerce businesses that succeed with discounts, as a solopreneur you can offer a discount on your digital product too.

Tactic #6: Use Built-In Email Software Growth Tools

One email marketing strategy that has really grown in popularity the past few years is built-in growth tools from the email marketing software itself.

This tactic is really great because you can reach a broader audience of potential subscribers without have to do too much extra work.

We, personally, saw a 100% increase (!!) in our email subscriber growth when we started using ConvertKit's Creator Network. And the best part is? All we needed to do was ask a few friends who also use ConvertKit to recommend us and boom the new email addresses started flowing in.

Email Marketing Software That Offers This Feature

• ConvertKit (Creator Network)

• Substack (Recommendations)

• Beehiiv (Recommendations)

• SparkLoop (Upscribe)

You may be using another email platform, but based on our incredible subscriber increase, we believe it's worth switching email service providers to a platform that can help you grow your subscribers by barely lifting your finger. And no, you won't have to pay for a premium email marketing software to get these features, all of the ones listed above are very affordable!

Tactic #7: Pitch Yourself to Podcasters in Your Niche

When looking to pitch yourself to podcasters in your niche, start by researching and identifying relevant podcasts that align with your specialized knowledge or industry. There's no point in pitching yourself to podcasts outside of your niche OR to podcasts that don't have guests on their shows.

Once you create a contact list of potential podcasts, you want to think about your unique angle. Much like anything else in online business, it's important to create a compelling reason for someone to have you on their podcast.

Structuring A Winning Podcast Pitch

Similar to not using an email signup form that says, "get my email updates," it's important to do more than send an email that says, "I own a business in your niche, have me on your show." That's NOT compelling and is the fastest way to get you ignored.

When you are crafting an email pitch, you want to think about the unique perspective you can bring to their podcast listeners. What's your unique take? Your awesome story? What big takeaway or ah-ha moment can you provide their audience?

These are things you must include in a winning podcast pitch email. Other considerations in your email pitches to podcasters:

• Start with your hook, your way of standing out and bringing value

• Share credibility (testimonials from people, success you've had, notable moments)

• Make it an easy "yes" for them (have an open schedule)

• Get creative! Podcasters likely get pitched often (and poorly), think of ways your pitch can stand out!

Grow Your Email Subscriber List from Podcast Interviews

The absolute easiest way to use other people's podcasts to build a high-quality email list is by having a dedicated lead magnet and landing page link that's just for each podcast.

Think about making it contextual to each podcast. Use a landing page on your website that has the podcast's name in it, for example: yourdomain.com/timferriss -- This piques curiosity and fans of a podcaster are more likely to signup when the calls to action are related to something they already enjoy.

Tactic #8: Create Social Content with Email Signup CTA

We already talked about using a Link In Bio on your social channels, now it's important to remember that every piece of social media marketing content you create can have a call to action to join your email list.

Think of your email list as continuing the story for prospective email list subscribers. The tweets, threads, posts, carousels, vertical videos, etc, should all capture someone's attention and convey a message, but then you want to tack on a mention of your email list and how it can continue to help provide value.

Bonus points for you if you were already thinking, "I could add a relevant lead magnet to the end of my social content to get new subscribers!"

Tactic #9: Write Free Mini Email Courses

Free email courses are a great way to have gated content held behind a multi-day email sequence for potential subscribers.

Mini email courses do NOT need to be overly complex or feature fancy marketing automations, but should focus on delivering value to new subscribers as quickly as possible.

An example email automation flow to create a free series of emails (mini email course) could look as simple as this:

• Create a compelling signup form that positions* your email course as a solution to a problem

• Upon confirmation, deliver awesome email content that gets straight into helping solve the problem

• 24 hours later, have your automated email campaign send the next helpful email

• 24 hours after that, send another helpful email

• Repeat for as long as you want your email campaign to be (3, 5, or 7 day sequences all work well)

*Bad example: Get my free email course, enter your email below. Good example: Learn 3 foolproof product launch strategies that ensure your next product launch is stress-free.

Really impactful free email courses help you avoid having inactive subscribers. By giving a ton of valuable information at the beginning of someone's journey on your email list, you're creating a stronger connection and building more trust.

Tactic #10: Build Small Free Tools (Advanced)

Building small free tools can be a highly effective strategy for growing your email list. By providing a tool that addresses a specific need or problem for your target audience, you establish your expertise and create a value proposition that encourages users to sign up with their email addresses.

With the proliferation of no-code builders like Zapier, Make, Pabbly, etc, it doesn't require extensive knowledge of code (or any knowledge of code at all!) to create a helpful tool.

While lead magnets like e-books, email courses, quizzes, etc are great, a tool that solves an immediate problem for a potential subscriber and saves them time can lead to incredible email list growth!

Example Free Tools

• Co-Schedule's Headline Analyzer (Article Headlines)

• Omnisend's Subject Line Tester (Email Subject Lines)

• SEO Stuff's Free Keyword Generator (Keyword Research)

• Growth Tool's Drip Scripts (Email Scripts)

If you find yourself unable to create the free tool you want using no-code tools, don't hesitate to post a job on a site like Upwork where you outline what you're trying to build and set a budget you're willing to spend. It might be more affordable than you think!

Conclusion

Growing a thriving email subscriber list is critical for solopreneurs looking to generate consistent revenue and have happy customers.

An email marketing list used to be an afterthought, but email lists are becoming businesses in their own right, selling for millions of dollars.

Whether you want to nurture your current customers, leverage social media marketing to attract new customers, or simply use effective email marketing campaigns to run a calm creator business, an email list will help you!

Remember, it's not just about building a collection of email addresses, it's about delivering valuable content to your target audience on a consistent basis.

When you send marketing emails and special offers to your subscribers, pay attention to conversion rates, inactive subscribers, and always be experimenting with your calls to action.

Without a doubt, these 10 tactics will help you grow a high-quality email list!