Starting an Email List: 6 Things You Need

You hear a lot of people talking about the need to start an email list.  The money’s in the list, they’ll tell you.  And that’s true, although there’s a bit more to it than just email people and earn money.

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But one of the things that isn’t always mentioned is what you need when starting an email list.  The why is important but so is the how.  It can seem a pretty complicated business.  But don’t worry, I’ve broken it down into six things you need with a few tips to go with them.  Let’s try to keep it simple for starters, eh?

Why use email marketing?

Before we dive into the how, let’s take a moment on the why just in case you’ve never heard anything about the benefits of email marketing before (or just need a little reminder).

Ask companies what’s their best return on investment (ROI) of their marketing channels and the last decade, the answer has been email marketing.  Okay, not every company excels at it.  Not everyone has it sorted (here’s me raising my hand).  But for those who have even a basic system, you can see the benefits. 

Here’s a couple of ‘whys’ to help illustrate:

• Email has a bigger reach than even social media because there are around 5 billion email addresses out there.  Almost everyone has one, business or personal, sometimes a few of them.  That makes for a LOT of potential
• Reach on emails is much better than on social media.  90% of emails get delivered (although they may end in spam or filters, that’s another story) whereas the average organic reach of a Facebook post is around 2%
• People take action based on stuff in emails but they don’t always even notice stuff on social media.  For example, click through rates for email are around 2-3% versus the CTR from a tweet at 0.5%

However, probably the most important why of all is down to the customer.  If you ask people how they prefer to hear from a brand, nearly three quarters will say ‘email’.  It is convenient, detailed, easy to manage and easy to use.

6 things you need to start an email list

Now we’ve looked at the core whys for building an email list, let’s look at those six things I mentioned that you need to get started.  They may not be as complicated as you would think!

1.     A domain or professional website address

While you can in theory set up an email marketing app without one, a professional email address or domain email address is commonly required.  Those ‘myfunnynamehere@gmail.com’ aren’t usually accepted as a way to set up email marketing software.

But the good news is that it is pretty simple to get one of these.  My host, Lyrical Host, lets me easily set up domain email addresses through the Control Panel.  Most hosts will do the same.  You can route them through a free Gmail account or even go for a paid G-Suite account for extra features and storage.

2.     A great freebie (so knowing your audience)

Now, this isn’t strictly essential to starting an email list but I would recommend having a freebie.  You can simply pop up an opt-in form that says ‘join my list’ or something but it helps people to have an incentive to take that action.

A freebie, opt-in incentive or lead magnet (which are all the same) is something you give people as a thanks for joining your list.  There are millions of different things you can use but it is a good idea to know your audience and create something that helps them with one small pain point.

Here’s one example – a lot of my people are here to find out about Pinterest.  Top question about Pinterest is keywords: what they are, where do you find them, where do they go.  So I created a free guide that helps them with the basics, where to find them and how to make use of them.  That’s a freebie.

3.     An email marketing tool

An email marketing tool is one of any number of companies that allow you to create opt-in forms, collect email addresses and send emails to those people.

My favourite is ConvertKit and I also like MailerLite for my food blog because they offer very visual emails.  Others include Mailchimp, Active Campaign, Drip and more.  Do a bit of research and look for one that has the features you need and maybe the ones you are going to need.

A few key things to look for include:

• Create opt-in forms in the app
• Segment your list in some way such as with tags or groups
• Automatically spot duplicate people so they don’t count twice
• Send email sequences automatically when people sign up

Cost is the other factor and that’s one you need to decide for yourself.  But think a bit about what you can make from email as opposed to what you are making now.

4.     A content calendar of emails to send

One of the biggest mistakes people make with email marketing is that they create an email list and the don’t email the people who sign up.  Usually because they have no idea what to email them.

That’s why creating a basic content calendar for emails is another of the things to do before you start.  Sure it will change, you’ll refine it and make tweaks.  But have a basic idea of what you want to email and when.

For example, my basic calendar is to email every Wednesday at 11am EST.  I have two firm slots:

• Week 1: digital marketing news – a roundup of notable news articles from the world of digital marketing for the last few weeks
• Week 3: Pinterest trends look ahead – tips on what to create new pins for, what content o plan and what content to update based on holidays and seasonal trends

The other two weeks can be more flexible.  One is usually a Pinterest tip, often based on a previous blog post or something new I’ve found.  The other might be something related to another area I cover on the blog, a tool or app I love, an affiliate product or even a quick ‘get to know your audience’ style post

5.     Opt-in forms on your blog

Now you have am email marketing service and a freebie.  So the next job is to create a way for people to sign up for that freebie and add themselves to your email marketing service.  These are called opt-in forms.

There are as many ideas about these as there are about freebies.  So let’s just cover the basics:

• A form should collect their email address, first name is a nice optional extra but don’t ask for anything you don’t need.  Keep it simple!
• A form can include an image of the freebie called a mock-up.  This helps people visualise a digital product
• If you are offer something like a discount code from products or services as your freebie, create a simple graphic in Canva that shows them this
• Forms often have a link to your privacy policy so make sure you have one

There are two main categories of forms – inline and pop-ups.  An inline form either appears at the bottom of the post or you can manually insert it at any point with a little code.  A pop-up appears at some place on the screen to grab their attention.  Pop-ups are controversial, some people hate them, they need to be used carefully but they DO work!

6.     A basic landing page for your freebie

This final step is one you can omit if you want but while you are in the process of setting up, it never hurts to get it done.  By creating a basic landing page for your freebie, you have somewhere to send people when you tell them about it.  You can even create Pins leading straight to it.

Some of the email marketing providers offer basic landing pages as part of their service.  ConvertKit do – you make the template look how you want then just use their WordPress plugin to designate it onto a new page.  People sign up and are added to your list just like with a form.

How to get people onto your email list

Once you have these foundational pieces in place, you are ready to start building your list.  But how do you do that?  Like everything, there are a few different ways to approach this!

Add opt-in forms to your blog

The obvious way to tell people you have a freebie and give them the chance to opt in is to have those forms on your blog.  A sidebar sign up form is a popular one as well as in and at the bottom of posts.

You don’t want to overdo it by having the form three or four times in a post.  But once above half way or beside a relevant section in a post is good and right at the bottom never hurts.

A pop up that promotes your freebie

I’ve mentioned pop-ups are controversial and not everyone wants to use them.  I don’t like the big, full screen style that stop you seeing the content – and Google isn’t much keen on them either.

I don’t mind the smaller ones that appear in the bottom corner.  Or the bars that pop up along the top of the screen.  Whatever type you have, make sure they are easy for people to get rid of with an ‘x’ option clearly visible.

Pins promoting your freebie

I mentioned making pins to your landing page for your freebie and this is something you should do regularly.  You can also make pins that mention the freebie as part of the blog post.

This works well for content upgrades or freebies that are fairly specific to the content.  For example, with my Pinterest keywords freebie, I have a post on the same topic.  I’ve made pins that highlight the freebie as well as talk about the post so people realise it is there.  Mock-ups, they are your friend!

Social media posts promoting your freebie

As well as Pinterest, tell people on your other social media channels about your freebie and your list.  Some places, you can make links that let you sign up straight from the page (such as Facebook) but other times, send them to the landing page so they can see how awesome your freebie is – and sign up.

What to email your list

As part of those six things you need, I mentioned planning some content to send to your list.  But that’s not all you need when it comes to effective email marketing.  Some of these things you’ll add as you build your list but it pays to have them in your mind.

Set up a welcome series

A welcome series is a series of emails that you send to people when they first sign up.  This is usually an automated process and starts with delivery of the freebie.  There are tons of ideas about how many emails to send and what they should contain.

I follow Kate Doster’s process that she lays out in her course Love Your List.  Hers starts with a basic five email sequence then there’s another five you can add if you want.  There’s no set pattern, number or anything you need to send, it is all about finding what works for you and your audience.

Create a plan of content to send them

We’ve talked about that idea of what you want to send them but that’s going to be an ongoing job.  Not only do you want to check that your regular slots are working and people are reacting to them but you need to keep coming up with different ideas for those other slots.

One of the biggest mistakes people make with email marketing is that they give tons of value to their subscribers – but they never ask for anything that makes them money.  You’ll only get that ROI if you actually tell them about something they can buy!

Ideas for things to ‘sell’ in an email include:

• Your products
• Services you offer
• Affiliate programs or products you love
• Affiliates you have used or have been recommended to use
• Physical products you use around the house

With any affiliate programs, always check the terms of use.  For instance, you can’t include Amazon links in an email but you can send your subscribers to a dedicated page on your website that features your favourite stuff from Amazon. 

Most little programs and individual bloggers or business owners aren’t too worried where you add those links.

One last tip – Don’t get upset about unsubscribes!

As you start to get people on your list and email the, you’ll start to see people unsubscribe.  Don’t worry about it!  It is okay that people unsubscribe because there’s a good chance they would never buy from you, interact with your emails or even your content. 

Plus they save you money!  Most email providers price by list size so every time someone unsubscribes, you are saving money.  In that way, you could actually celebrate them leaving your list and making space for someone who is into what you do.

Starting your email list today

Starting your email list might seem daunting but it doesn’t need to be.  yes, there’s a few moving parts to put together but you’d be surprised how easy these can be to get going.  Aim for done not perfect! 

Then start telling people you have this thing, this freebie and get them signing up.  Get in a routine of regularly emailing them and measure what works.  Then you can move towards the world of that great ROI that the big marketers always talk about.  Or at least making a bit of money from your list!

What’s your biggest hang up about starting a list?  Tell us in the comments and we can help!