Brands invest in email marketing for a reason. It’s still the best channel to increase revenue. But to reach that delicious $36-$42 return for every dollar spent, you first need a quality email list. Huge lists with zero engagement won’t get you far.
So, how do you get there? These strategies will help you grow an email list without compromising lead quality.
Website Analysis and Optimization Tips
A website is the best tool to collect email addresses. But turning a website into a contact-generating machine requires investment. Quality content, SEO, and link building are just the start of the journey!
Track Real-Time User Behavior
Google Analytics is great for analyzing lots of visitor data. Other tools can show where visitors click, how far they scroll, what they download, etc.
Woopra, CrazyEgg, and Mouseflow are good tools to start with. Woopra also provides website owners with visitor profiles (including their emails, when available). The idea is to ‘see people behind the numbers’—something Google Analytics doesn’t do. Next, it has advanced filters for segmenting future email campaigns. You can choose any behavioral metrics, i.e., email clicked, drafted, or bounced. Here is a preview of how it looks in action.
This functionality already gives website owners room for creativity when segmenting visitors. And we all know that lead segmentation is key, right?
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Some tracking tools assign each visitor a lead temperature score based on engagement. So, it saves you time figuring that out yourself. Snitcher also registers visitors’ business emails. So, it’s great for B2B email marketing. Here is an example of a Snitcher dashboard:
Give people a reason to subscribe
Don’t want to snitch? Then, give people a good reason to subscribe – and you will never need to spy on your visitors again! Just joking – of course, you will. Offering free downloads for subscribing is a general SaaS practice. In retail, the best strategy is to provide a first-time discount.
Then again, you can take a risk and try something different. Reserve some content for registered users, offer discounts, or annoy them with pop-ups! Yes, that also works sometimes, especially if you do that with a touch of humor, like OptinMonster:
The best part is how the message gets straight to the pain point. “You intended to leave, and that’s what your website visitors do, too!” The worst part, in my opinion? The get-started call to action leads to a purchase page, which is too much of a commitment. A trial could’ve been better. You could use similar logic to get visitors’ emails. Good part? It should be easier because you’re not asking leads for their hard-earned money—just an email.
The trick is to find your leads’ pain points and address them in the ‘subscribe now’ form. Then, the leads will happily share their emails. And the best part? They will remember who you are when they get your promo materials. If you know your ideal customer and meet their needs, they may even stay subscribed.
Keep A/B testing CTAs and landing pages.
A/B testing should be a no-brainer. But many brands just leave their website as is after development ends. That’s not how you keep growing an email list, so keep testing. Hundreds of tools with similar features can help you do that. The best are Unbounce, Optimizely, VWO, Google Optimize, and Convert.
Growing an email list from external sources.
Your website should eventually become the primary source of acquiring new email addresses. But the beginning is always rough. So, if you are only getting started, use external resources to speed things up.
Note: using external resources does NOT mean buying an email list! You should never do this. It will not work. There is no way to segment those lists. You simply do not know who these people are and what they want. Chances are, they do not want anything from you.
The second reason is that sending to email lists you buy will harm your sender reputation. Hitting too many invalid addresses or spam traps will blacklist your email address or domain.
But there are better, 100% transparent ways to grow your email list from external sources. The top ones are:
Contact Directories for Cold Leads
Use professional, updated contact databases to grow your email list. They’re a legitimate, effective way to do so. Here, the easiest way to start is SignalHire. The database has millions of verified contacts and hundreds of customizable search criteria. Location, workplace, job title, and education filters can help spot potential leads. Here’s how it looks in practice:
This tool is great for B2B marketing. First, identify professionals in design, marketing, software development, or any other niche. Then, use the relevant industry filters to find them and reach out. But take care! When you contact someone for the first time, state your purpose. Then, explain how your offer can help.
With some imagination, the same contact-accumulating logic can work in B2C. The trick is to identify your ideal customer’s industries or potential employers. In this case, you can go the other way around: search the company directory to see everyone who works there.
Social Media for Warmed-up Prospects
Social media is an excellent tool for acquiring new contacts. The main trick is to find sites where your leads are and start networking. Then, it’s down to creating content that inspires shares, comments, and discussions. Engage as many people as possible and regularly add new prospects to your database.
How? Manually is always an option. Just check every new lead after they engage with your content. Each like, repost, or comment counts! Often, you will be able to see users’ contact info directly on their profile page. Remember SignalHire we already discussed? Well, it has a browser extension that can reveal contacts if the contact info is unavailable. If a person is already in the service database, clicking a plugin icon will pull this data. As for you? You will not have to close the social tab to get the contact data.
Also, remember to feature relevant links on your social profiles. This information could be a link to a landing page or an offer to subscribe for more. Whatever it is, the CTA should be brief and eye-catching. With quality content, regular posts, and clear CTAs, people will come to you. At least, that’s what everyone keeps telling us.
In practice, a polished profile is not always a guarantee of success. But you still need it. Think of it this way: any website needs structured data to communicate with Google, right? This way, it can show up in relevant searches. Well, your social profile serves the same purpose.
Professional Sites for Business Promotion
Facebook and TikTok are great and fun, but they cast a wide net. Early marketing is about narrowing this net down. If your product targets certain professions, find social sites for your experts.
Here is a quick list to get started:
- Technology and Programming: GitHub, Stack Overflow, HackerRank, Product Hunt.
- Design and Creativity: Behance, Dribbble, 99designs.
- Writing and Journalism: Medium, Substack, Contently.
- Medical and Healthcare: Medscape, Doximity, PubMed.
- Legal and Law: Justia, Law.com, Lexology.
- Education: Edmodo, Teachers Pay Teachers, Khan Academy.
- Construction and Architecture: Houzz, ArchDaily, Buildertrend.
How can it work in practice? Suppose you sell plumbing tools. That makes construction workers your target audience. Go to Houzz’s “Find Professionals” tab. It lists potential buyers in various categories.
Network on specialized sites and forums if you can use them to meet your ideal buyers. The same tip applies to local events. If you can go out and meet your prospects, use every opportunity. And don’t forget to connect on social media!
How do you turn your customers into brand ambassadors?
Getting new leads and growing your email database are essential. But existing customers matter more than new leads. So, most of your efforts should focus on building strong relationships with them.
People talk, right? That means they can help you grow. If you nurture existing clients right, the word will spread. The same is true for warm leads who haven’t reached the buying stage yet.
The five golden rules of email marketing to remember are:
- valuable content,
- referral rewards,
- freebies,
- consistent schedule,
- and quality segmentation.
Want more examples? Here they are.
Unique content that offers value.
Converting emails should be short, to the point, and valuable to the recipients. Timing also matters. Take a look at this promo email from Flix. The first and last lines say it all: “2025, here we come. Let’s make it happen.”
Referral programs
Asking leads and buyers to invite friends can expand your reach and connect you to new audiences. Again, the message should be short and precise. There should be no complicated steps! Make the logic simple and transparent, like The Body Shop does: Register. Share. Reward. That’s it!
Contests & giveaways
Everyone loves a freebie! So, hosting a contest (with prizes) can attract more leads and expand your email list. Just decide how to attract new leads—through referrals or social media. Both have pros and cons.
Referrals will get you fewer leads, but these leads will be warmer. Nobody wants to get spammy, right? Your recipients will only share the invite with those who might care, which means a warm lead!
Social media will get you more exposure, but new leads (if any) won’t be so warm. And yet, inviting people to social contests is a better idea because it’s easier for most users. Here is how a giveaway contest promo can look over email:
Consistent schedule
How do you stay in touch with your leads without getting too annoying? How much is too much in email marketing? Opinions differ because brands, businesses, and audiences are all different. If you want to play it safe, weekly is the most popular option. But in the end, it all comes down to campaign monitoring. Reviewing campaign performance helps you find what content connects with your audience. You can also see how much content is too much.
Quality lead segmentation
That’s the most critical part of any email marketing campaign. Treat each lead group differently. What works for regular buyers may not convince new prospects. Different stages of the marketing funnel, remember?
Start with proven segmentation practices like demographics and geography. When you get more behavioral and psychographic data, use it.
Note that classic segmentation criteria are a solid start. But they cannot beat campaign monitoring data. That’s where the real magic and creativity happen. Study your audience and learn what resonates best.
BONUS REMINDER: Optimize for mobile.
It’s astonishing that we still need to discuss this in 2025. But here goes – don’t forget mobile optimization! It is still an issue, even with high-performing brands. Take a look at this email from Wix:
Looks okay, right? It’s clear, short, and has value for the recipient. Just one thing. Here’s how it looks on mobile:
Here, it looks like Wix is calling people to unsubscribe. After all, that’s the only thing that stands out on the mobile version! Has there been no testing? Does Wix not have enough tech resources to use responsive design?
In any case, always keep mobile in mind. Better yet – use the ‘mobile-first’ principle. That’s how most people open their emails. It feels like email marketers are the only ones left reading promo emails on desktops today.
With iOS users, a sleek design for their native mail app is non-negotiable! Take a look at the picture below. Which do you think has a higher chance of conversion? But Android users are also getting pickier, so do not underestimate them.
And one more thing. Regularly clean and update your list to keep it relevant. Removing inactive subscribers ensures higher engagement rates and better deliverability. And brand reputation, too.
Takeaway
These email marketing and lead acquisition strategies are primarily about consistency. More importantly, they are about inspiring trust and naturally growing your email list. Sure, new businesses may not have the time and resources (yet) to implement each of these steps at once. But that is not a problem at all! Just start small and keep scaling your efforts. Soon enough, you will see your contact database grow.
