Do It Yourself Email Marketing Series: Part 1 – How To Start Building Your Email List

If you want to get into email marketing, you need an email list to get started. An email list is normally (but not always) a text file (sometimes it comes in an excel spreadsheet) that contains a list of the emails that you are sending your message to. Building this list can take quite a bit of time, and it is important that you go about building it the right way.

What to Avoid when Building An Email List…

If you type in “Email list” into Google, then you have probably come across websites or individuals who are willing to sell you pre-made email lists with over 2 million people on them for a very cheap price. You should never purchase these lists. Below are some reasons why:

• Scam – Sometimes, you purchase the list and they will never even send it, merely taking your money
• It’s Illegal – In most countries, doing this is actually illegal. Now, the odds of getting yourself in trouble are slim to none, but do you really want to take the chance?
• Often times, more than half of the emails on the list are either fake or discontinued.
• The users on the email lists can sometimes be incentivized to receive emails in return for payment, meaning your emails will be falling on deaf ears. A large percentage of the emails on that list will not have any interest in your product whatsoever and will simply put your email in the spam folder.

Here is the Legit Method To Building An Email List:

Now that you know what to avoid when looking to create an email list, you can now start building one from the ground up. Listed below are the things you will need:

• A website
• A little money for advertising (to drive people to the website)
• Some coding knowledge (or have a freelancer do it for you)
• Patience

Step 1

The first step is to create a website. If you don’t know how to do this, there are websites out there that will guide you through this. HTML knowledge is beneficial here, but not necessary. After you have built your website, build a section that allows the user to sign up for a newsletter. This is the area where you are going to be gathering their emails.

Step 2

After you have your website completed, you need to start driving traffic to it. One of the most effective ways to do this is to purchase PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising. Popular places to purchase advertising are Google Adwords and Facebook Ads.

Step 3

The final step, which is waiting, is often time the hardest for people. During this step, you must remain patient and know that eventually people will sign up if your product/website is good enough. Sure, you’re not going to be getting a thousand people overnight, but a thousand people in 1 month isn’t too unrealistic. A good starting number is about 2000.

Related posts:

1. What Exactly is Email Marketing?