‍First, why should you focus on building an email list?

1. Email is personal

Your customers form a relationship with you, not your logo. That's why email is a great opportunity to showcase your personality and what makes you unique because it connects people to you AND your brand.

When you write your emails, you're not speaking to the masses. It's a 1:1 conversation.

Pro Tip: As you draft your emails, you should take advantage of email templates for efficiency. It also sometimes helps to pull up a photo of one of your clients and keep it in the corner of your screen as you write. This can help you visualize who you're speaking to, think critically about what unique problems they're facing, and lead with empathy in your copy.

2. You own your email list

"An email list is critical because you can't build your content on rented land," Joe Pulizzi, founder of Content Marketing Institute explained. "So many brands and companies build their audiences on Facebook and Google+, which is fine, but we don’t own those names – Facebook and Google do. If we are thinking like real media companies, the asset is in the audience. Getting an email address is the first critical step to figuring out who my reader is, and hopefully in the future, my customer of some sort. If our goal is to drive sales or keep customers happy in some way, we first need to get them as part of our audience. If I have one regret as a business owner, it’s not focusing on building our email list earlier in the process.”

Since "you can't build your content on rented land" put the same energy and focus - if not more - into your email list as you do your follower count.

3. You're writing to people who want to listen

Your subscribers are waving you into their inbox, and handing you the mic to tell them something interesting and helpful. They're proactively acknowledging you as the expert.

Your email list is often your most devoted audience.

This is why growing your real estate newsletter subscribers is so important: When you send good emails, not only are you staying top-of-mind with your SOI, you are building trust with new subscribers and cultivating a loyal, long-term following that will fuel your business growth.

4. We're obsessed with our email

On average, professionals check their email 15X per day.

Most of us are plagued by the habit of obsessively tugging on our screens to refresh our inbox.

In a recent survey, 81% of people said they prefer to open emails on their smartphones. Which means that for the majority of your subscribers, there are no distractions. No other posts. No other brands. Just your message on their screen.

5. Emails have a long lifespan

Your email doesn't get bossed around by an algorithm. It sits in their inbox until it's read or deleted.

Emails are also easy to find. If a subscriber ever wants to revisit an email of yours, all it takes is a quick keyword search at the top of their inbox.

6. ROI

Email is your most lucrative marketing tool. In terms of ROI, companies can expect up to $45 for every $1 spent on email marketing.

When you send emails, you build credibility. When you build credibility, you start more conversations. When you start more conversations, you close more sales.

So once you've got an email list, how do you get it growing?

Here are 4 easy ways to grow your email list:

1. Create a compelling Opt-In Page

Your Opt-In Page is where you pitch your lead magnet or newsletter.

Here's an example from copywriter Laura Belgray:‍

Why it works: This is an extremely clear offer paired with a persuasive pitch to sign up for her newsletter.

Not only does she include a humorous piece of social proof, but she also makes it obvious what you’re signing up for: “A masterclass in email marketing and storytelling.”

Here’s another example from Lenny’s Newsletter:

Why it works: It’s a smart idea to provide a “free sample” of your emails, so that your reader knows exactly what to expect.

Here’s one more example of an Opt-In Page, this time from Margo Aaron:

Why it works: Including candid comments from your audience is a surefire way to stoke some FOMO in your not-yet subscribers.

2. Use CTAs in your captions

Whenever you post on Instagram, consider adding a call-to-action at the end of your caption to drive people to sign up for your emails.

Whether you’re promoting a new lead magnet or your newsletter, this is a strong strategy if you want to drive more traffic to your Opt-In Page.

Here’s an example from copywriter Marisa Corcoran:

3. Make it simple to sign up for your newsletter

Remove any roadblocks that would make it even a liiiiiittle bit complicated for people to sign up for your newsletter.

Eddie Shleyner always includes this at the top of his newsletters, and it’s a smart way to pick up any stray email addresses:

Or, here's another strategy you could use: Include a “Was this helpful? Forward it to a friend who would find it helpful, too”  in your emails.

Here’s how Laura Belgray does it:

Once people subscribe to your list, consider driving them to a “Thank You” page, but don’t leave it at “thanks for subscribing.”

What Jocelyn K. Glei does here is brilliant. She simply asks her new subscriber to give her a retweet:

4. Make the benefit clear

Anytime you promote your newsletter, make what's in it for them extremely clear.

Just like this example from the Now I Know newsletter:

Why it works: When I hit "Subscribe" I know I'll be learning something new (and interesting) every single day.

Bottom Line

Now that you know why building an email list is a power move and a few ways to grow your list, lean into the strategy that resonates the most and go execute it.

You know the drill…

Let's get to work! 🚀