3 Creative Email List Building Tactics That Actually Work

Last week, I was at Katy Perry's concert here in Atlanta. 

It was a wild show.

She's flying around the arena on a giant butterfly. Doing backflips. Lasers.

Pop superstardom at its finest. 

Then halfway through, Katy stops the music.

"Ok Katy Kats, now YOU get to choose which song I play next!"

The crowd goes wild.

"Just scan that code and vote!"

I roll my eyes. My wife elbows me hard.

"Vote!"

Fine. Whatever. I'll play along.

I scan the QR code and BAM.

Email opt-in page.

At this point I completely lose it.

I leap on top of my chair and start shrieking like the group of 7-year-old girls next to me.

"YASS KATY, YOU OPT-IN QUEEN!!"

My wife is mortified. The security guard is yelling at me to get down. 

The rando in a shark costume gives me a high five.

But I'm in total awe.

What can I say?

Email marketing gets me pumped up.

"Always Be List Building"

Here's what Katy Perry’s team gets that most brands don't: your email list is your most valuable asset. 

Period.

You own those contacts. You can reach them anytime without having to pay Mark Zuckerberg.  

Everyone keeps saying email is "old school" this and "dead" that.

But guess what? Every single major brand is still fighting tooth and nail to get your email address. 

Because they know getting permission to market to someone is insanely valuable.

Three Creative Ways To Grow Your Email List

Most brands only think about list building on their website. Which you absolutely should be doing.

But…. there’s a few other places I’ve seen work too.

1. Physical Store QR Codes 

I've worked with a few retail brands on this. We set up scannable codes at checkout that give customers a discount off their next purchase or a gift card for the online store. They're already buying, so you know they're qualified, and you’re already setting up the next sale.

2. Social Media Short Codes 

Always put these in your bio. "Text SAVE to 12345 for 15% off." Since people on social media are on mobile, it's super easy for them to just fire off a quick text.

3. Programmatic TV ads

This is probably for bigger brands, but I've been noticing this trend more during live events like football games. Brands use their ad time to get people to join their email list for an offer instead of pushing for a sale. Amazon has a one-click opt-in feature to get email notifications about featured products. The big boys get it.

Bonus: Pen and Paper (No Joke) 

I saw this at Hobby Lobby. As you walked into the store they had an honest to God physical signup sheet. Their demographic skews older, so pen and paper kinda makes sense for them. I wouldn't recommend this. But even Hobby Lobby understands list building matters.

Bottom line:

The goal is always the same: get permission to reach people directly.

Take a moment and think about where YOUR customers already interact with your brand. Then get creative about asking for their email there.

If you're struggling with your retention marketing and need someone to take it off your plate, hit reply and let's chat about how we can help.

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