Doesn’t it feel like no one uses the phone anymore? Everyone is either texting or emailing; even the fax has all but become obsolete. With most people having a strong dislike of junk mail, spam, and telemarketers, you’ll be hard-pressed to gain any marketing ground without the consent of your customers. Without a list of emails, you simply have no way of nurturing existing clients or prospects. Your email list is the lifeblood of your digital marketing strategy. The best part of using email is you’ll end up with a litany of people who actually want to hear from you. Here are five ways to entice prospects to give up their email addresses.

1. Great Content:

Invite your readers to subscribe to your blog and your newsletter. If you developing great content that actually solves a problem for your prospects, they will read your stuff, share it, and see you as an expert. Remember, you should be posting to your blog twice a week and sending a newsletter at least once a week to really have any impact.

2. Free Downloads:

Everyone loves free stuff. Especially, if it something that is really helpful. If you have created any digital content, leveraging them can be a great way to build your contact list. You can offer an eBook or a video series. You can even offer a free book chapter or a podcast interview. Guaranteeing an immediate bonus or benefit can be very appealing reason to get on an email list. Check out my free ebook 10 reasons why social media campaigns fail as an example of how to prepare an eBook giveaway.

3. Membership Rewards Program:

Membership rewards programs are a great way to get email addresses on your contact list. Offering something “exclusive” to those who signing up for your email list is great incentive. This method gives businesses a legitimate reason to keep popping up in your inbox. Offering discounts to email customers also gives you the flexibility of choosing how often (or not) you reach out to your email list.

4. Pop-up Offers:

It is a strategy to create a 3-5 second pop-up window immediately when prospects arrive at your website. Many websites utilize pop-ups asking for an email address right away in return for an immediate discount on goods and services. You can also require an email address to access the content on your website. The worst thing about this approach is that some people get turned off, and will not comply or return to your website. The best part about this approach is that if someone is trying to browse your website, they’re already interested in what you offer and just might will out your form! This can bolster your email list while also showing a high open rate.

5. Events:

Offering early access to events can be another useful way to give your email list a boost. You can offer advance purchases for conferences, books, products, and exclusive VIP packages.

A healthy email list is crucial to your marketing efforts! Be creative, but practical, by offering perks of value to your prospects that are a win/win and affordable to you.