6 Tried and Tested Ways We’ve Used to Build an Email List

If you’re looking to level up your marketing game, building a solid email list is a must. A good email list means you own your audience. You are less susceptible to changing social media algorithms, where audiences change because of the fluctuating visibilities. 

As a marketing guy, I’ll teach you my ways to grow your email list, should you build your own or buy one, and how to make the most of your email list.

Here’s a sneak peek of what you can expect:

1. Create a timed pop-up
2. Offer incentive
3. Feedback form
4. Put subscribe form on every post
5. Use Identity Marketing
6. Find email addresses instead of waiting for them with Sapiengraph
7. Run ads
8. Whitepaper or industry reports
9. 404 pages

These methods do not only come from me, they’re also from real-world examples shared by our current employees, as well as those working on our sister brand Proxycurl—whether they’ve used them at their current job, past jobs, or in personal projects.

Methods we have tried

Create a timed pop-up

A timed pop-up is a pop-up after a visitor spends a certain amount of time or scrolls a certain percentage down your page.

This targets users who’ve spent a good amount of time on your site, indicating their interest. It’s a great way to grab leads from engaged visitors instead of those who are just passing through.

I run my own newsletter: How Not To Suck At Writing, and did my own little experiment with timed pop-ups.

This is a small case study but I’ve managed to garner 37 subscribers so far with this method.

This is another pop-up example from SatPost by Trung Phan.

You can take things a bit further by showing a pop-up to returning visitors.

Digital Marketer's case study on onsite retargeting showed the power of well-timed pop-ups. By targeting returning visitors with a pop-up after 15 seconds (excluding newsletter and sales pages), they generated 2,689 leads in two weeks and boosted the average time on page by 54%.

Best practices

• Keep your pop-up design simple and uncluttered.

• Keep the form short and sweet to boost completion rates. Don’t make it feel like they’re filling in government forms. I personally love the copy “Just your email, please” in the text box. The word “just” makes it feel super easy.

• Always make it simple for visitors to close the pop-up. A clear, easy-to-spot “X” button does the trick. You wouldn’t like it when you’re stuck with a pop-up, right?

• Also, mention “free.” I just feel like without it, the copy loses its selling power. People want value to be given to them before they’ll give you their email.

Offer incentive

At Sapiengraph, we have offered several Google Sheets templates. Most of its functionalities are free, but for the automated data enrichment feature to work, visitors have to sign up for a free Sapiengraph account.

This is to encourage product adoption by giving these sign ups a taste of Sapiengraph's capabilities, to convert them into paying customers later on.

Same goes for Proxycurl. Usually, companies simply encourage visitors to sign up for a free trial by offering trial credits.

Not only do we offer credits, but we also offer a trial API key, making it more enticing for users to explore and experience the product. 

For those of you who are non-technical, a trial API key is an access code that lets you pull data from Proxycurl, but using free trial credits.

A typical API key alone doesn’t allow access unless you have credits. So, the trial credits act like a payment, giving you a limited amount of data usage.

Simply put, the trial API key is like a password to a website, but the trial credits are like the subscription that lets you access the site. Without the subscription, the password alone won’t get you in.

Feedback form

At her previous company, Chloe, our current marketing manager, hosted a virtual hiring event.

After the event finished, she encouraged attendees to fill out a feedback form as a way to gather email addresses. Basically, killing two birds with one stone. 

This method was particularly successful since the email list she was building was targeted towards hiring news. People who attended the virtual hiring event were already keen on the topic, and were less likely to opt out of the mailing list.

Can’t show you the full uncensored thing, but I’ll mock it up for you. Something as simple as this would suffice.

* The QR code and website listed here don’t work. If you want to chat with us or submit real feedback, use [email protected] 

I’d recommend using Google Forms for this. It’s free, and they have an option to collect email addresses of your respondents.

Best practices

• Make sure your participants are informed in the form that they’ll be added to an email list and give them the option to opt out.

• Ideally, the email list you're building should be centered around a topic similar to the event held

Put subscribe form on every post

Adding a subscribe form to every post makes it easy for readers to sign up whenever they’re ready. It grabs their attention right when they’re most engaged, boosting the chances they’ll hit that subscribe button.

We’ve gained a few subscribers ourselves from doing this on our blog posts. We use Ghost as our blogging platform, and it tells me which article prompted them to subscribe.

There are two ways to do this:

1. Put form at the bottom of the post

Here’s an example from Sapiengraph’s recent article about ways businesses compete for customers.

2. Put form at both the top and bottom of the post

Here’s an example from Marketing Machine, a weekly newsletter about marketing news that I subscribed to.

Initially, we put the form at both the top and bottom of each Sapiengraph post. But we personally opted to put it at the bottom only, because we couldn’t measure if having it at the top actually boosted sign-ups.

That said, I’d still suggest putting forms at both the top and bottom of your posts. People engage with content differently. Some might want to sign up right away, while others need to read through everything first.

Having the form in both spots gives you the best chance to catch them when they’re ready. Even if it’s hard to measure the impact of the top form, it’s better to have it there than miss out on potential sign-ups.

Use Identity Marketing

Identity Marketing is when you tap into identity as a psychological motivator. People are more likely to take action when it aligns with the identity they want to be known for.

For example, in one of my cold emails, instead of writing “We’ve helped many customers,” I said, “We’ve helped many founders or CEO.”

Another example is, instead of saying “Subscribe to our newsletter,” say “Become a member by subscribing to our newsletter” or “Join other fellow marketers by subscribing to our newsletter.” 

Voter turnout jumped by 15% when people were encouraged to be "voters" instead of simply being asked to "go vote."

Best practices

• To make this effective, you should find common attributes of your high-value customers with customer data enrichment or by identifying your ideal customer profile

Find email addresses instead of waiting for them with Sapiengraph

Tools like Sapiengraph can help you find the email addresses of your target audience quickly instead of waiting for weeks for them to give their emails to you.

I personally used this method a few months ago for a cold email campaign.

I searched for the emails on Sapiengraph, exported them, and plugged them into Smartlead.

Let’s say your target audience is founders or CEOs of tech companies regardless of size. With Sapiengraph’s People Prospector, you can find 10,000 of these CEOs' emails in seconds.

Here’s how.

A quick heads-up about emails: we’ll do our best to find them, but if we can’t, we’ll clearly state “None Found” so you won’t unlock a profile that’s not useful.  

Sapiengraph works on a credit system, and the good part is searching is completely free! You only spend credits when you choose to unlock a specific profile (30 credits each). Whether you’re after just one profile or all 10,000 results, you’re in control of what you unlock.  

With the free trial account, you can unlock up to 3 profiles.

To export, simply click the Export button on the top right.

That’s not the only way. You can also find emails through spreadsheets as well. 

Let’s find 20 CEOs or founders' emails of New York-based tech companies.

Methods we haven’t tried but are planning to do next

Run ads

We’re also planning to run FB or Google ads to boost brand awareness and reach a wider audience who haven’t recognized us yet.

Here are some examples.

Hubspot is running multiple ads. One of them is offering a 2024 marketing report as a way to increase brand awareness, brand authority, and increase email sign ups.

Newsletter companies such as The Hustle and The Runway Ventures run ads to attract more readers and email subscribers.

Best practices

• Make sure your ad copy focuses on the benefits of signing up for your email list.
• Run multiple ads with different creatives for A/B testing. If you look at Hubspot’s, The Runway Ventures’, and The Hustle’s Facebook ad library, you’ll see they have at least 5 different ads running at once.

Whitepaper or industry report

We also plan to offer a whitepaper or exclusive industry report in exchange for email addresses for our future growth strategy. This attracts individuals who are genuinely interested in the topic, increasing the likelihood of obtaining high-quality and targeted leads.

Not just that, providing exclusive insights can position our organization as a thought leader in our industry. This builds trust and credibility with potential or current customers.

For example, BrightGauge has 18 whitepapers and guides.

When you select any one, you’re directed to a download page.

404 pages

I’m planning to add a subscribe form on the 404 error pages to encourage them to subscribe instead of letting them bounce right away. 

It’s a simple way to increase the luck surface area of the company, every interaction is a chance to connect and convert.

For example, ban.do does this really well.

I'll update this article when we try these out to report on our findings.

Should you build an email list or buy one?

At Sapiengraph, we’ve built our own email list through inbound lead generation and also “bought” one using our software. From what we’ve seen, building and buying email lists each have their own pros and cons.

Pros of building an email list

Better engagement

People who voluntarily sign up for your mailing list are interested in what you have to say. Therefore, they’re more likely to open, read, and interact with them. 

When we revamped Sapiengraph and offered two months of free Lite plan in exchange for feedback from our mailing list, the response was incredible. We got tons of interest and new users.  

On the other hand, when we cold-emailed people outside our list with the same offer, we mostly heard... crickets.

Protect your reputation

Sending emails to random people can hurt your sender's reputation and inbox placement. Inbox placement refers to the percentage of emails that make it into recipients' primary inboxes instead of being caught by spam filters. It’s a key measure of how healthy your reputation is.

If enough recipients mark your emails as spam, it’ll be harder for your legitimate subscribers to get your marketing messages, as your emails might land in spam instead of in their inboxes.

Cons of building an email list

Time-consuming

Building your own email list can definitely be time-consuming, kind of like landing your first few customers. But once you get the ball rolling, attracting subscribers will start to feel like second nature.

If you’re in it for the long haul, this is a must-have strategy for any business.

Pros of buying an email list

Reach more people who are interested in your offer

Strict anti-spam rules have made many marketers afraid of buying or renting email lists. And that’s for a good reason because plenty of bad lists out there can get you blacklisted fast. 

But if you buy a high-quality lead list from a trustworthy provider such as Sapiengraph, it can be a valid strategy.

Probably you’re starting a new business and you have no existing email list, buying an email list is a great strategy to acquire your first few customers.

In fact, Proxycurl got off the ground by “buying” emails through our software and cold emailing them.

Save time

Buying a pre-vetted email list can save you a ton of time compared to building one from scratch. 

Instead of spending weeks or months gathering addresses through lead generation, you get instant access to potential customers who may be interested in similar offers. This means you can launch your campaigns right away and start seeing results sooner.

Plus, a good vendor will saves you time from doing segmentation yourself because they usually provide lists already segmented by firmographic data, demographics and geographics.

Cons of buying an email list

Your inbox reputation may be harmed

Bought lists where the recipients have not consented to be sent offers may annoy the recipients. This can result in low open rates, high unsubscribe rates, and worse, high spam reports.

How to use your email list for marketing

Nurture leads

The point of having an email list is to build relationships and turn them into loyal customers. Here's how you can keep them engaged and build trust over time:

1. Start with a warm welcome

First impressions matter! Your welcome email is the subscriber's first interaction with your brand, so make it count. 

Keep it short, friendly, and helpful. Give them a quick introduction, share your top-performing posts, and set the tone for what they can expect from you moving forward. A solid welcome email can really boost engagement.

2. Divide your list into groups

There will be a time when you need to send different emails to different subscribers. Break your list into smaller groups (a.k.a. segments) based on things like interests, purchase history, or engagement level. 

That way, you can send personalized content that speaks directly to what each group cares about. For example, new subscribers might get a welcome series, while loyal buyers get a special discount.

Here’s an example of our email list segmented based on industry.

3. Automate your emails (without losing human touch)

Email automation saves you time by automatically sending the right emails at the right moments—like after someone signs up, clicks a link, or abandons their cart. 

Just remember: automated doesn’t have to mean boring. Keep your tone warm and conversational so it still feels personal.

Steven relied heavily on Rebump for email follow-up automation, which was effective in boosting responses. However, he faced a few issues:

• Rebump’s templated emails ended up in spam.
• The AI-powered plan cost nearly $50/month.
• Scaling it for the entire company was too expensive.

Rebump was a must-have for Steven, alongside tools like Gmelius. But after getting no response from support about the spam issue and a rejected pricing negotiation, he decided to build his own version with responses personalized with AI. He just rolled it out as an internal follow-up automation tool for Sapiengraph’s marketing team. Problem solved!

4. Share content they actually want

Consistently send valuable content your audience cares about. Think personal tips, tutorials, industry insights, or educational articles they can’t get anywhere else. 

By helping your subscribers solve problems or learn something new, you’ll become a go-to resource they trust. Trust = loyalty. Like this article :)

5. Get them talking

Emails shouldn’t be a one-way street. Encourage them to reply, take a quick survey, or vote in a poll. This kind of engagement makes them feel heard and gives you valuable insights about what they need and want.

Send special offers

Special deals are a great way to encourage your subscribers to take action. Here’s how to use them effectively:

1. Exclusive discounts just for them

Make your subscribers feel like VIPs by offering discounts they can’t get anywhere else. Time-sensitive deals work especially well because they create urgency.

For example, we’ve offered our email subscribers a free 2-month plan of Sapiengraph in exchange for their honest feedback.

2. Give early access

Reward your subscribers by letting them access sales or product launches before anyone else. It makes them feel special and gives them a reason to stay subscribed. Plus, highlighting this perk can even attract new sign-ups.

3. Try bundle deals

Offer bundled discounts where subscribers can get more value by purchasing multiple products together. Not only does this boost your sales, but customers also love feeling like they’re getting a great deal.

Ad campaigns

Other than nurturing your email list with emails, you can also nurture them with ads. Here’s how to do it:

1. Target ads to your list

Upload your email list to Facebook Ads or Google Ads to create “custom” or “lookalike” audiences. These ads will reach people who already know your brand, which means they’re more likely to convert.

2. Run retargeting ads

Stay on top of someone’s mind who has clicked an email or visited your site without buying anything with retargeting. Show them reminders of the products they viewed, or sweeten the deal with an extra discount to nudge them toward a purchase.

What makes a great email list?

Engaged subscribers

Your list should include people who actively engage with your emails, as this leads to higher conversion rates. Make sure to regularly review engagement metrics to identify and nurture these active users.

Email marketing performance in the B2B SaaS sector can vary, but there are general benchmarks to consider. 

According to Mailmodo, the average open rate is approximately 15.14%. Powered by Search reported that the average click-through rate (CTR)—the percentage of recipients who clicked on one or more links within the email after opening it—is around 2.44%.

Our open rates are above average, but the clicks on our links need improvement.

Easy and straightforward to unsubscribe

Make sure your unsubscribe button is easy to find, like this.

Don’t be discouraged when someone unsubscribes. That just means there’s one less irrelevant prospect you have to deal with. And they basically help clean your email list for you.

Segmentable

Being able to segment your list by demographics, geographics, interests, or behaviors lets you send more targeted messages. Personalized content makes your emails more relevant and helps boost your campaign performance.

Back when Chloe worked at an e-commerce company, her team would tailor their CRM messaging to match where someone was in the sales funnel.

For example

• If you added something to your cart but didn’t check out, they’d send you an email specifically nudging you to complete the purchase.
• If you had already checked out before, they’d send recommendations for similar products you might like.
• And if you signed up but didn’t take any action, they’d send an offer or incentive to get you engaged.

This is only feasible for companies with larger budgets that can afford to invest in precise targeting through their CRM.

Top tools to manage your email list

Having a great list is one thing—managing it well is another. These tools can help:

Redash

Redash is a data visualization tool. Like any other business, we store our customers’ emails in a database. With Redash, we can easily filter and segment our customers based on specific criteria.

Do note that you need SQL skills to use Redash. Despite being a writer, I‘m able to use this because I have a background in computer science.

With a simple SQL query, I can see who’s using our People Prospector the most by tracking the number of profiles they’ve unlocked.

I can also find out who canceled their subscription and why they canceled it.

Then, with this information, based on the specific stage of B2B pipeline that the users are in, I can send a personalized email to upsell, ask for feedback, or win them back.

For a more detailed review of Redash, check out this sales analytics article our CEO Steven wrote.

Sendy

Sendy is an email-sending tool. I’ve used Sendy for cold emails while the other marketing staff like Joseph and Chloe have used it for sending relevant content and newsletters such as informing updates and requesting feedback.

For a more detailed review of Sendy, check out this outbound email automation article our CEO Steven wrote.

Mailchimp

Key features

• User-Friendly Interface: Mailchimp has an easy-to-navigate dashboard that makes managing email lists and campaigns simple. Also, its drag-and-drop email builder lets you quickly design great-looking emails.

• Segmentation and Personalization: You can segment your audience based on factors like demographics or engagement to send targeted campaigns that boost interaction.
• Automation Tools: With features like Customer Journeys, you can set up automated email sequences based on user behavior.

• Analytics and Reporting: Mailchimp offers detailed analytics to track important metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and subscriber growth.

Pros

• Packed with features suitable for both beginners and experienced users.
• Strong email deliverability, with many users achieving great inbox placement.
• Detailed analytics for tracking and optimizing performance.

Cons

• The advanced segmentation options can feel a bit overwhelming for newcomers.

Here’s a tutorial I found helpful:

Constant Contact

Key features

• Ease of Use: Constant Contact offers a beginner-friendly interface with a drag-and-drop editor to make creating email campaigns and forms easy.
• Segmentation tools: Organize and target your audience effectively with segmentation tools that use contact tags and behavioral data.

• Event Management: Built-in event management tools, including signup forms and ticket sales.
• Social Media Integration: Promote your email campaigns on social media to expand your reach and boost engagement.

Pros

• Perfect for beginners and experienced alike, thanks to its simple design and helpful resources.
• Excellent customer support, including the option for phone assistance.
• Great for event management alongside email marketing.

Cons

• Lacks advanced automation in lower-tier plans compared to competitors like Mailchimp. Higher-tier plans are needed for more complex workflows.

Here’s a tutorial I found helpful:

Kit (formerly known as ConvertKit)

Key features

• Intuitive Design: Kit’s simple, user-friendly interface makes it easy to create emails, forms, and landing pages without technical skills.

• Advanced Automation: The platform shines in automation. It allows users to build detailed workflows based on subscriber actions for delivering targeted content and nurturing leads.
• Tagging System: Kit uses a powerful tagging system to segment your audience by interests or behaviors.

Pros

• Designed specifically for creators with features tailored to content-driven marketing.
• Excellent automation tools for building lasting customer relationships.
• Seamless integration with platforms commonly used by content creators.

Cons

• Pricing can get expensive as your subscriber base grows, especially compared to other tools with similar features at lower price points. For example, for the Creator plan, it’ll cost $9/month for 0-300 subscribers. When you reach 301 subscribers, it’ll cost $25/month

Here’s a tutorial I found helpful:

Busting myths about email lists

Myth 1: A bigger list is always better

Nope! A small, engaged list is way more valuable than a huge list of people who couldn’t care less about your emails. But if you have to choose either one, always choose quality.

Myth 2: Buying a list will get you blacklisted

This is a yes and no.

A bad list can harm your inbox reputation and inbox placement due to high spam complaints. In turn, you will get blacklisted by your email service provider (ESP) and your emails will land in spam folders instead of inboxes.

Buying a bad list also exposes you to outdated or invalid addresses. This can lead to higher bounce rates. 

Your ESP keeps a close eye on bounce rates because it’s a key part of your sender's reputation. If your bounce rate is high, usually more than 5%, it looks like you’re not managing your list well, which makes you seem less trustworthy. 

As a result, your ESP may deprioritize your emails or blacklist you and your emails will land in spam folders instead of inboxes.

But you will never have to worry about that if you buy a good list from a trustworthy vendor.

Myth 3: Email marketing is dead

Email marketing is far from dead. With over 4.5 billion people using email globally, and expected to hit 4.8 billion by 2027, email remains one of the most popular ways to communicate. 

In fact, 88% of users check their email multiple times a day, showing just how relevant and engaging the platform still is.  

Also, personalization is a major thing in marketing, and email is a great tool to send personalized offers. 

People also subscribe to email lists because they want to receive content that feels personalized and relevant to their interests, making them more likely to engage with your messages.

Myth 4: Avoid spam-triggering words

Modern spam filters have gotten much smarter and now take into account more than just trigger words. According to mailmodo, spam filters also consider overall email engagement, sender reputation, and content quality. 

This means that a well-crafted email with a few words that are traditionally seen as "spammy" could still land in the inbox if the sender has a strong reputation and good engagement rates.

The context in which certain words are used is also taken into account when determining whether an email gets flagged as spam. 

For example, phrases like "act now" might be fine in a legitimate promotion, especially if the offer is real and clearly explained. 

So, not all instances of spammy words are treated the same by filters.

FAQ

1. How do I ensure my email list is compliant with regulations?

To ensure compliance with regulations like GDPR, provide clear opt-in forms and allow users to easily unsubscribe whenever they want.

2. How often should I send emails to my subscribers?

It’s generally recommended to send emails regularly but not too frequently. A good starting point could be once a week, bi-weekly, or once a month, depending on your business, content and audience preferences.

3. What is the significance of building an email list?

Growing an email list is super important for marketing—it lets businesses stay directly connected with their audience without having to rely on social media platforms and their ever-changing algorithms.

4. Should I build my email list from scratch or buy one?

Building your own email list leads to better engagement and safeguards your sender reputation, while buying a list can save time and quickly grow your audience. However, each approach has its trade-offs—like the risk of damaging your inbox reputation when using purchased lists.

5. How can I keep my subscribers engaged over time?

You can keep engagement strong with personalized content, regular updates, exclusive offers, and by fostering two-way communication through things like surveys or polls.