How to Start an Email List

Why an email list?

Every business, entrepreneur, online content creator, or influencer needs an email list.

25 Free or Cheap Ways to Build Your Email List!

Why? When so many of us are focused on gaining followers on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, it's important to remember that Instagram owns that list - not you.

Should something happen and you get de-platformed, your trusted App stops working on a product launch day, or the audience who was previously seeing your posts has been affected by the ever-changing algorithm and your views are dropping, you need a backup plan.

Email marketing (also known as lead generation or growing an email list) is a tried-and-true method to ensure that you can contact your fans and potential customers whenever you want to.

Creating an email list is a quick and simple way to ensure that you're able to reach your audience without solely depending on a middleman (such as Instagram or YouTube) when it's time to launch your next product.

(Check out 25 Free or Cheap Ways to Build Your Email List!)

the perks of having an email list

-An email-opt-in landing page invites your followers and potential customers to build a deeper relationship with you and your brand. That required action step tells you they're truly interested in what you're offering. The quality and dedication of your audience on an email list can be even more powerful than the half-hearted quantity of an audience on Instagram.

-Sending automated messages is a massive time saver. Welcome emails, followed up by sequence emails that teach a skill or tell a story leading up to a sales pitch or offer - these are all immensely valuable tools for marketing and making sales. Automation is a LIFESAVER when it comes to growing a business and brand!

--Track your audience in real time, with invaluable data containing click-through rates, sales, and more!

the best email list program

With a simple Google search, you'll find there are lots of email list program options. So which option is the right one for you?

A common "first-step, training-wheels" program like Mailchimp is often chosen by entrepreneurs just starting out. Mailchimp is free, but it's not the easiest to use. There is a bit of a learning curve. Also, Mailchimp cuts off at 2,000 subscribers. And while 2,000 may sound like a big number now, you're going to outgrow that very quickly!

A few more Mailchimp cons:

No phone or Live Chat customer support. (And let's be real, nobody wants to wait a full day to receive an email response from Support when they have a question and want to get their emails out today.)

There are no stock photos available for use, and there's only one Sign- Up Form template per list. (My favorite company has 6,000+ stock photos to use, unlimited Sign-Up forms, and over 700 easy to use email templates to choose from!)

So what is the best email list program?

I would highly recommend checking out AWeber! Not only is it incredibly user friendly and simple to use, it includes a ton of valuable perks:

-A simple "Drag and Drop" email builder.

-Automated emails. (Create these emails once and schedule them to send continually in a "drip sequence" once a week, once a day, or once a month...it's all super customizable!)

-Easy import for subscribers. (Do you have an old list or addresses you need to transfer over? AWeber can do that for you!)

-AWeber boasts a HUGE list of App Integrations, so you can easily sync programs you're already using like Wordpress, PayPal, Squarespace, or Wix. Handy tools like Facebook Lead Ads, LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms, Survey Funnel, Crowdcast, and hundreds of others, are a huge perk!

-Beautiful, easy-to-use, customizable templates.

-7 Days a Week Customer Service.

-And the very best part? You can get started for free!