2 No-brainer Ways to Grow Your Email List - [With Examples Inside]

A long email list for e-commerce stores or for any online business is money! It is your shortcut to keep customers updated on new products and exciting offers. Rather than chasing your customers across multiple channels, an email list provides you easy access to their inboxes wherever they go. 

But here’s the catch: your potential customers are receiving hundreds of emails every day. Why would they voluntarily join your email list? 

via Stefanie Shank on GIPHY

This is why you need a personalized email strategy to grow your email list. You need to build their trust that joining your email list would be good value for them, be it educational, financial, or both. 

In this article, we will explain some of the easiest yet effective ways to solidly grow your email list. 

Let’s get started. 

Steps to Grow an Email List (+Examples) 

If we are being honest, there are multiple ways to build an email list. However, the process needs to be practical, affordable, and easy for anyone to do without technical difficulties.

And that brings us to the two simple steps to grow an email list: 

• Starting a newsletter for your brand 
• Using website opt-ins 

Let’s discuss each step individually, along with practical examples to get you started. 

Step 1: Start a weekly newsletter 

A newsletter regularly communicates with your target audiences and customers and shares useful resources and updates about your business. Unlike regular promotional emails, a branded newsletter is similar to a short article that focuses on creating real value with your audiences and bonds with them on a deeper level. 

For example, the Shopify retail newsletter shares merchant stories, tips for running e-commerce stores, etc. 

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This newsletter helps Shopify build a list of high-intent subscribers they can monetize anytime. Additionally, there are bonuses like building direct relationships with subscribers and converting emails into a profitable marketing channel. 

Building a newsletter is easy and cost-effective. Here’s how to get started: 

Pick a tool 

The first step to building a newsletter is to select the perfect tool. Email marketing platforms like ZEPIC are built to perform all kinds of e-commerce marketing activities, including sending newsletters. 

Here are the steps to set up your very first newsletter campaign using ZEPIC: 

Step 1: Sign up and click on Campaigns, followed by Email. 

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Step 2: Now click on Create Email Campaign. You will need to provide campaign details such as name, upload your email contact list, select recipient email ID, and type of campaign (for the newsletter, you should select One Time. After inserting all details, click Continue. 

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Step 3: Select a template of your choice. Don’t forget to click Preview to ensure the template suits different device types. 

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Step 4: Now, personalize the template. Add CTAs, videos, brand icons, and social proofs. Review everything and send it. 

Set up your landing page 

Since your end goal is to grow your email list and you will redirect potential subscribers to your newsletter landing page, it needs to be engaging. Your newsletter landing page should clearly explain your value proposition, what to expect from your newsletter, when to expect it, and similar details. The landing page should compel users not to leave your site without subscribing. 

Below is an example of Pretty Little Marketers’ (PLM) newsletter landing page. 

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Set up email sequences and automations  

Once your landing page is live, set up email sequences and automations. 

Create a welcome email sequence so that as soon as a new subscriber joins your email list, they receive a welcome email with personalized discounts, a joining bonus, and free resources. Following the example of PLM, here’s their welcome email, which talks about what to expect from the newsletter and redirects you to some of their latest issues. 

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You can also segment your subscribers based on predefined criteria. For example, a subscriber who joins your email list without any promotion can be directly segmented as a high-intent subscriber. You can add a tag to segment this subscriber or automatically add them to a different email list, like ‘Promotional sequence,’ to monetize their purchase intent faster. 

Send your first newsletter and track its performance 

And that’s it. You are pretty much ready to send your first newsletter. Before you hit the ‘send’ button, there’s one teeny little detail that you have to check—ensuring that your email domain is ready aka verify your domain.

Domain verification is basically proving that you own a website. It confirms that you control the domain, giving you access to features like setting up email services(so that you can send your newsletter) or other tools for your site. Plus, verifying your domain helps keep it secure and ensures that no unauthorized people can use it.

Once that is done, don’t forget to track metrics such as open rate, unsubscribes, and clicks to understand how your target users engage with your newsletter. This will help you make informed decisions and identify new strategies to grow your email list. 

Promote your newsletter 

You will only get more people to subscribe to your brand newsletter if you promote it well. Here are a few easy ways to promote your newsletter: 

Promote it on your website and social media platforms 

Going, an app to track real-time flight deals shares weekly travel newsletters with travel hacks and research tips. The brand promotes its newsletter in its website as well as social platforms. 

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Step 2: Use website opt-in 

Another great way to grow your email list is by using opt-in forms on your website. When users fill out an opt-in form, they give you their consent to send them emails related to your latest offers, product launches, and SALE sessions. You can offer special incentives to make them readily subscribe to your email list.  

Here are a few effective tips to grow your email list using opt-ins:  

Offer special discounts for joining your email list  

All new shoppers expect a special joining discount. For e-commerce stores, one of the best ways to leverage this is by asking them to join your email list. You can simply add a pop-up on your website (like the non-alcoholic spirit brand Aplos does) or send this offer through your newsletter to be shared with others to join the list.  

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💡What do we learn from it? 

• Offer a special discount for joining your email list 
• Mention clearly other terms (like the minimum order amount here) to avail of this discount so customers are clear 
• Link other terms and privacy policies for the users to check out before subscribing

✅What could have been better? 

We love how to-the-point the offer is. To elevate it, Alpos can add interactive content maybe have a quiz too to collect some first-party data and be able to personalise later from the captured data eg. “favorite fruit”. Alternatively, offering free shipping to email listers could also be a great offer to encourage that first order coming in. 

Offer member-only discounts and unbelievable incentives 

Who doesn’t love to spend an afternoon in an Ikea store? You can shop and enjoy the food (maybe not in that order 😎). Ikea understands its customers' needs beyond their products and gets users to join its email list for special discounts and delightful food offers as well. 

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💡What do we learn from it? 

• Build a tangible offer that includes a physical experience 
• Talk to customers, know what they love the most about your brand, and plan your incentives accordingly

✅What could have been better? 

A more detailed breakdown of the offer could have been nice. For example, percentage of offer, what is the minimum amount etc. All of these elements would make the offer much more transparent for the audiences. 

Nudge on the first mover or innovator aspiration 

Nobody likes to come second, and e-commerce customers are no exception. Online fashion store Old Navy nudges on this emotion. They specifically mention in their opt-in form that upon joining their email list, subscribers will get updates on new arrivals, upcoming sales, and other nice things. 

💡What do we learn from it? 

• Subscribers to your newsletter are probably the ‘innovator’ crowd who could spread the word for your brand faster when they do get access to your special offers and releases first 
• The text below the form clearly explains what opt-in subscribers get when they join the email list 

✅What could have been better? 

Since most users don’t spend enough time reading the offering below the form (small font size too), it could be a better idea to add them in brief but legible pointers below the email address field. 

Empower your customers by letting them choose their options 

A great way to build trust among customers while getting them to sign up for your email list is what online retailer Zalando does. Watch how they provide the customers to select what kind of updates they want to receive from the store. This increases users’ trust, and they can make decisions based on individual preferences. 

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💡What do we learn from it? 

• Don’t push the users to subscribe; instead, give them genuine reasons to subscribe 
• Empower your audiences by providing them with options, let them pick the kind of updates they want to receive 

✅What could have been better? 

While we appreciate how Zalando is providing users with choices, we recommend adding other  channels too now that they’ve built trust with the user. Eg WhatsApp or SMS for delivery notifications? Why not!

Growing an email list is NOT easy, and it doesn’t happen in ONE day. You have to set realistic expectations, try out different strategies (opt-ins or newsletters or both), and finally pick and start on one that works best for you to begin with.

E-commerce stores can also explore unified customer experience platforms like ZEPIC to grow contact customer lists across multiple channels such as Email, WhatsApp and SMS. The benefits of having it all together is preventing message fatigue at the customer’s end, as well as preventing mishaps and frustrations from using different tools to manage the very same customer’s contact details and marketing communications. There’s a free 14-day trial of ZEPIC you can explore while you grow your email lists.

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