How to Build an Email List That Actually Makes You Money

This marketing move can help you connect to and attract customers, without the hard sell.

For the new entrepreneur, marketing can be perplexing. Which digital strategy is best? Which offline ideas still work? How can you grow your business without risking a lot of money? While there’s a plethora of options, let me suggest that creating an opt-in email list is one of the best, most affordable, and most effective tools out there for growing your business. In fact, I won’t just suggest it, I’ll prove it.

First off, it’s essentially free. More important, when done right, email marketing has the highest ROI of any digital marketing strategy, with some reports showing a $36 return for every dollar spent. Given that, it really does behoove you to grow your list. Yet most small-business owners either ignore growing their list, or get it wrong if they do have a list.

The good news? Building a profitable email list is not difficult, and it starts with two key steps.

1. Create a lead magnet people actually want

No one joins an email list just to be sold to. People give you their email address when you offer something they find valuable. That’s why a good lead magnet is your most important step in building a list.

A lead magnet is an incentive you offer in exchange for someone’s email address. It could be a free checklist, e-book, video tutorial, or discount. Whatever it is, the key is that your lead magnet must solve a problem your audience actually cares about. Do that, and they will surely opt in. Don’t, and they won’t.

I have tried just about every lead magnet out there and have found there is one type that consistently outperforms all others. Often, this option gets a 50 percent opt-in rate versus 5 to 20 percent for others. It’s called an automated email course, or AEC.

An AEC is a free course that people get via email for five days in a row, with each day’s email teaching something new about whatever the subject matter is. After five days of free help, you then gently pitch your services to what is now a very warm lead.

Example: Let’s say you want to do business in India. Would you be more likely to opt in for a free “India business guide” PDF or a free, five-day email course promising “The 5 Biggest Mistakes People Make When Starting to Do Business in India (and How to Avoid Them!)”?

Unlike a single PDF or checklist, an AEC delivers ongoing value over multiple days, keeping subscribers engaged and reinforcing your expertise. For example, an AEC entitled “How to Land Corporate Clients in 7 Days” provides a clear, actionable promise that makes opting in a no-brainer.

Or what about an AEC for a lawyer’s website: “5 Smart Ways to Save $10K in Business Legal Fees.” Who wouldn’t opt in to get that?

So this is why an AEC is so powerful and why, incredibly, they often get opt-in rates of over 50 percent. Given all of that, you really should have one.

2. Use your list effectively (Hint: It’s not about selling)

Building a list is only half the battle. The other half is knowing how to nurture that list in a way that keeps people engaged and primed to buy. And here is where most small-business owners go wrong; they treat their list like a sales megaphone instead of a relationship.

The best email lists create value first. Instead of constant sales pitches, focus instead on delivering useful, entertaining, or inspiring content. Think of it as a variation on the 80-20 rule: Eighty percent of your newsletter needs to be about them and only 20 percent should be about you.

So here’s what you do: share quick tips, behind-the-scenes insights, success stories, free resources, or a unique insight.

Consistency is also key. Whether it’s once a week or once a month, you have to show up regularly. And make sure your emails feel like they’re coming from a person, not a marketing bot.

The takeaway: Build relationships, not a list of strangers

If you want an email list that actually makes you money, be like George Costanza and do the opposite, and remember: The less you sell, the more you will sell.

Because at the end of the day, people don’t buy from email lists. They buy from businesses they trust.

Feature Image Credit: Getty Images