{"id":20816,"date":"2016-01-19T11:15:50","date_gmt":"2016-01-19T17:15:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crazyeggblog.wpengine.com\/?p=20816"},"modified":"2026-01-06T15:15:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T23:15:14","slug":"killer-email-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crazyegg.com\/blog\/killer-email-list\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Create a Killer Email List From Thin Air (A Beginner’s Guide)"},"content":{"rendered":"

You\u2019ve probably heard people say, “the money is in the list”. What does this mean?<\/p>\n

In online marketing<\/a>, you need to learn how to create an email list fast and from scratch.<\/a><\/p>\n

This is the best form of communicating with your customers. Even though social media gets a lot of attention, the most valuable digital channel is building your email list for free.<\/p>\n

\"the<\/a><\/p>\n

Image Source<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

Study after study has shown that email beats out every other form of online marketing in terms of ROI.<\/p>\n

According to Adobe, email has an ROI of $40 for every $1 spent. That beats organic search and paid search combined!<\/p>\n

\"roi<\/a><\/p>\n

Image Source<\/i><\/p>\n

When compared with all the other forms of online marketing across all industries and niches, email wins the day. Always.<\/p>\n

\"comparison-of-most-effective-online-marketing-tactics\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Image Source<\/i><\/p>\n

But if you don\u2019t have an email list, none of this makes any difference.<\/p>\n

The only way that you can maximize your marketing value is by building a list.<\/p>\n

But how do you build a list?<\/em> What if you\u2019re starting from ground zero \u2014 no email list whatsoever?<\/p>\n

The following is a step-by-step process that you can follow if you have absolutely no<\/em> email list.<\/p>\n

How to Create an Email List From Nothing<\/h2>\n

You can\u2019t create an email list if you don\u2019t have a few other things in place first. At a minimum, here are the resources that you should have before<\/em> you start creating your email list.<\/p>\n

1. You must understand your audience<\/h3>\n

Who are you targeting? Before you begin building an email list, it\u2019s helpful to have an idea of who these people are<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I recommend that you create a marketing persona<\/em> \u2014 a made-up person that represents your ideal customer.<\/p>\n

A basic persona should look something like this. Fill in the gaps with everything that you know about your<\/em> target audience.<\/p>\n

\"complete<\/a><\/p>\n

Image Source<\/i><\/p>\n

A complete persona would look something like this:<\/p>\n

\"rachel<\/a><\/p>\n

Image Source<\/i><\/p>\n

The more you know about your audience, the better!<\/p>\n

\"know<\/a><\/p>\n

Image Source<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s why creating a persona is so important. You need to figure out where<\/em> your audience hangs out.<\/p>\n

First, you need to find people, and then<\/em> they will give you their email address. One of the most valuable places to find your audience initially is through social media. If you can discover where your audience hangs out socially, you will be able to get their email addresses more easily.<\/p>\n

\"women<\/a><\/p>\n

Image Source<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

2. You must have a website<\/h3>\n

Next, you need a place where your potential list members will gather.<\/p>\n

Basically, you need a website.<\/p>\n

Creating a website can be a big scary step, so let me explain how to make this as easy as possible.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t need a huge website in order to create an email list. In fact, all you really need is a landing page \u2014 a single-page website that contains your email opt-in form.<\/p>\n

You can create a beautiful landing page in just a few minutes using any one of these services:<\/p>\n