Five Email List Building Incentives

One of the easiest ways to quickly grow a targeted, opt-in email list for email marketing campaigns is to offer some kind of incentive to convince subscribers to sign up.

The basic process is this: the list builder will offer something for free, but it’s only available to email list subscribers. Anyone wanting the free item or information would then opt-in to the email list to receive the incentive.

There are many things that can be used as email list building incentives. Here are a few examples:

E-books – If the email list builder is an expert in an industry or niche, it’s likely that people will want to learn from him or her. By offering a broad collection of basic information to readers in an e-book for free, subscriptions can be built easily.

Reports – Generally shorter than e-books, reports can also be effective email list building incentives. Reports can be anything from an abbreviated e-book to original research and survey results in an industry.

Memberships – Offering even a limited free membership to the list builder’s site, or a partnering site, that’s relevant to the targeted subscribers can increase both subscriptions and potential membership upgrades or sales.

Exclusive Sales or Offers – Give special discounts to mailing list subscribers only (especially if the mailing list is for a retailer or service provider and the messages are designed to lead to direct sales).

Software – Offering a free software program or tool can be an effective way to build an email marketing list, and software exists that would interest just about any target group.

What incentives have you used to build your email list, which which have been the most successful for you? Share your ideas and experiences in the comments.

Note: This post was originally published on April 20, 2007. It was updated and re-published on its currently-listed publication date.

Jenn Mattern is a professional blogger, freelance business writer, consultant, and indie author. An active digital publisher, she runs numerous websites and blogs including All Freelance Writing, Freelance Writing Pros, and Kiss My Biz.

Jenn has over 20 years' experience working as a solopreneur running a 3-prong business of offering freelance writing and consulting services, running digital publications, and operating as an indie publisher of predominantly e-books.

This experience includes over 20 years working as a professional writer and editor, more than 20 years' experience in marketing and PR (specializing in areas like digital PR, online marketing, social media, and SEO), 19 years' experience as a professional blogger / online publisher (including web development), and around 17 years of experience as an indie author / publisher.

At Kiss My Biz, Jenn shares stories, tips, and tools from her own adventures in solopreneurship, while aiming to help fellow solopreneurs and creative professionals succeed even where it feels against the odds.

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