By Callum Macrae, Marketing Director
I’ve seen far too many businesses treat email marketing like a tick-box exercise.
Write something bland, send it out, hope for the best. But that’s not how you build relationships, or results.
Email can be one of the highest-ROI marketing channels in your business, if you treat it with the care it deserves.
So, the question becomes, “how do you build that list without annoying the very people you’re trying to attract?”
1. Give people a really good reason to sign up
Nobody’s sat at their desk thinking, “You know what I need today? More emails.”
So if you want to earn a place in someone’s inbox, offer something they actually want:
- A free guide, checklist, or shortcut to offer something of value
- A discount, freebie, or early access offer
- Entry into a giveaway or something with a bit of personality
But keep it relevant.
If your incentive doesn’t line up with your audience’s priorities, it’s not value, it’s noise
2. Make it stupidly easy to sign up
You’d be surprised how many websites bury their sign-up forms like they’re hiding state secrets.
Here’s the thing: if someone wants to hear more from you, don’t make them hunt for the option.
Put the form somewhere obvious, your homepage, blog, footer, even as a soft pop-up. Just avoid the kind that screams “GIVE US YOUR EMAIL OR ELSE.”
And don’t overcomplicate it.
You don’t need someone’s company size, revenue, and shoe size.
Name and email are plenty to get started. You can always fill in the blanks later through progressive profiling, learning more about your audience as the relationship grows, not before it’s even begun.
3. Lead with value, not volume
Your emails should feel like a nudge, not a noise. The best marketing doesn’t demand attention. It earns it.
So instead of leading with “Look at us”, lead with “Here’s something that might actually help.”
Share ideas. Solve a problem. Offer something useful, even if it’s just a moment of clarity in a cluttered inbox.
Yes, sales has a place. But if every message is shouting “BUY NOW,” don’t be surprised when the only click is ‘unsubscribe.’
Ask yourself: Would I read this? Would I remember it? Would I forward it to someone else?
If the answer’s no, it probably needs a rewrite, not a send.
4. You’re a guest in their inbox
Just because someone’s handed over their email doesn’t mean you need to hit them over the head with it.
Be clear about what they’ve signed up for.
Stick to a rhythm – weekly, fortnightly, whatever works, and don’t suddenly go from quiet to daily just because you’ve got something to sell.
Always include a clear way to unsubscribe. That’s not just good practice, it’s the law (thanks, GDPR). But more importantly, it’s about trust.
Because once people feel tricked, ambushed or overwhelmed…
they won’t just unsubscribe. They’ll remember why.
5. Let your best content do the list-building for you
If you want people to join your mailing list, don’t just tell them, show them what they’ll get.
Take a valuable piece of content – a guide, a checklist, a case study, even your newsletter itself, and put it behind a simple sign-up form on a landing page.
Then use social media to drive traffic to that page. You’re not begging for email addresses.
If what you’re offering is genuinely useful, people will sign up and opt-in.
You won’t need to chase.
So, what now?
If you’re serious about growing your list, stop thinking about tactics. Start thinking about trust.
Every sign-up is a person saying, “I’m giving you my time, don’t waste it.”
Respect that, and you’ll build something that lasts. Ignore it, and you’ll be just another brand getting binned before breakfast.
You don’t need to shout louder. You need to be more useful.
If you want a mailing list that drives leads, not just opens, let’s build it properly.
