“The value is in the email marketing list.” Every business owner has heard it before. As the pressure to add email marketing to your marketing mix grows, you may be wondering, “How in the heck do I grow my email list?”

Well, guess what? You don’t need complicated funnels and fancy lead magnets to grow a respectable email list very quickly.

All you need to start growing your email list is an email service provider and a few tips. I recommend Mailchimp for beginners because it integrates with everything and is easy to use. But, there are many other options. The important thing is to find an email service provider that works for you and start building your email lists.

PLEASE READ MY DISCLAIMER ABOUT AFFILIATE LINKS

Here are 5 simple ways to get started with email list building:

1. Your Email Signature

You may be thinking, “How can I collect an email from someone I am already emailing?” And the answer is simple. By adding an email opt-in to your email signature, you are inviting everyone who sees your emails to sign up for added value. Think about how many times your emails get forwarded or someone else is copied to an email. These are all people who may sign up for your email list. And it doesn’t cost you any advertising money. An example of am email signature opt-in is this:

2. Giveaways

Just like the old fishbowl giveaway at a trade show or conference, online giveaways work well for collecting email addresses. Create a giveaway that builds an email list of your ideal client in a few simple steps:

1. Select the perfect prize. Make sure that your prize will attract your target customer. Stay away from generic prizes, like gift cards, that everyone will want to win.
2. Use a professional giveaway platform. We recommend KingSumo Giveaways because it complies with all giveaway laws and encourages giveaways to go viral.
3. Start sharing. Spread news of your giveaway on social media and on your website and watch your email list explode.

For a detailed, step by step tutorial for creating giveaways, check out this article: The Case for Giveaways: How Every Business Can Grow An Email List Overnight.

3. Social Media

Add your email opt-ins to every social media profile, including LinkedIn and Facebook. Include the link to your opt-in in your About sections and don’t be afraid to let your social media followers know how they can sign up for your industry updates.

4. Website Pop Up Boxes

It is widely debated whether or not pop-up boxes are more of a distraction than they are worth. If you set your pop-up box setting correctly, they can collect emails at an unbelievable rate. Make sure that your pop-up box is simple to complete. Ask for no more than three fields. Set your pop up box to display no sooner than 5 seconds. Allow visitors to start reading content before they are hit with the pop-up box. For a less intrusive way to collect emails, consider an exit intent box instead. While not as effective, you will still experience an increase in email sign ups.

5. Export It

Chances are, you have an email list of prospects just waiting to be exported and you don’t realize it. Did you know that you can export the email addresses of your LinkedIn contacts?

To export LinkedIn connections:

1. Click the My Network icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
2. ClickYour connections on the left rail.
3. Click Manage synced and imported contacts near the top right of the page.
4. Under Advanced actions on the right rail, click Export contacts.
   • You may be prompted to sign into your account.
5. Click Request Archive.
6. You will receive an email to your Primary Email address which will include a link where you can download your list of connections.

And there you have it! A ready made list of emails waiting to be added to your email marketing provider. Simply import the csv file to Mailchimp and you are ready to start email marketing.