15 Reasons You Should Be Building An Email List in 2024

I was talking with a young social media influencer this morning and she was lamenting the fact that she had been shadow banned on one of her social media accounts and was losing income she relied on. As an online businesses owner over the last two decades, I offered some simple advice:

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
Always be building an email list

When everything is going smoothly and you’re getting results on social media, it can feel like the gravy train will never end. It’s easy to forget that you’re building your business on rented land and that you don’t make the rules.

What works great one year won’t necessarily work the next, algorithms are constantly changing, and tech platforms are worried about their profits, not yours.

But enough complaining about things we can’t control…

If there’s one tactic that savvy online marketers can always count on, it’s building an email list.

Before we built an engaged email list, it felt like we were on a constant revenue roller coaster and unable to build a sustainable business. Having a list changed all that, and allowed us to generate consistent revenue we could count on and nurture our audience in a much more predictable way.

If you’re grappling with any of these same challenges or if your goal is simply to shore up financial stability, building your email list should be priority #1.

If that’s not already enough to convince you, let’s delve deeper into 15 reasons why it’s time to start getting passionate about building your email list..

Reason #1: Ownership and Control

Imagine the effort you put into growing your social media following, only to have the platform’s rules change, your content buried, or your account restricted. Social media and search algorithms and policies can change at the drop of a hat.

Building your email list means you maintain ownership and control of the audience you’re building. Because your email list is something you own, it offers stability and control you can’t get from social media or search engines.

With the ability to reach your audience at any time, you decide what, when, and how to communicate.

Reason #2: High ROI

Email marketing is the biggest bang for your marketing bucks. Industry research estimates that businesses can expect an average return of $42 for every $1 spent on email marketing — and that’s significantly higher than other forms of marketing like social media or print ads.

Reason #3: Low Overhead

Email marketing is relatively cheap compared to paid advertising or direct mail and you don’t need a huge budget to get started.

Using strategies like content marketing, social media, and website sign-up forms, acquiring subscribers is affordable and accessible to businesses of all sizes and budgets.

Once you have an email list in place, the ongoing expenses are minimal too. Most email marketing platforms offer competitive pricing, with many offering free plans for smaller lists. As your list grows, the cost usually scales proportionally to your subscriber count.

Reason #4: Drive Conversions and Revenue

One of the most compelling reasons to prioritize email list building is its capability to drive conversions and revenue, here’s how:

New Product Launches: When you have a new product launch or a special offer, your email subscribers are the first to know. Having this direct line of communication can lead to swift and direct conversions, create initial buzz, and drive the crucial first wave of sales.

Flash Sales and Promotions: Running limited-time flash sales or promotions is an effective way to boost sales all year long. Fear of missing out (FOMO) drives subscribers to take advantage of time-sensitive offers.

Reason #4 Save Time

Email marketing platforms come with automation features that save you tons of time. Because you can “set it and forget it,” automated email campaigns allow you to nurture your audience while you’re busy doing other things.

You can automate tasks like sending welcome emails to new subscribers, follow-up emails based on user behavior, and even e-commerce recommendations, all of which help nurture leads and drive conversions without constant manual effort.

It’s also common for email campaigns to repurpose existing content such as blog posts, videos, and social media captions. In addition to saving time, this repurposing strategy increases value of your content by making it visible to a wider audience.

For example, we regularly create Instagram posts using The Content Calendar System and then repurpose them as emails. Educate, Convert, and Evergreen caption templates make perfect content for value emails that you can send out consistently even when you’re strapped for time.

Reason #6 Get Audience & Customer Feedback

Email marketing isn’t just about broadcasting messages, it’s a platform for two-way communication.

Subscribers can easily reply to your emails, ask questions, or provide feedback. You can even request testimonials and send surveys to your customers as a way to get feedback that guides product and service improvements.

This shows your customers that you care about their opinions and are dedicated to creating a great experience for them.

By actively seeking and implementing customer feedback, you can enhance your offerings — making them more likely to convert going forward.

Reason #7 Build Trust in Your Brand

Consumers are more likely to buy from brands they trust and email marketing is a great way to build it. When you send subscribers valuable content consistently, they’re more likely to consider making a purchase.

Email is a great way to build relationships with your audience, increase loyalty and sales, and strengthen your position as an industry expert by delivering valuable content.

Reason #8 Automate the Customer Journey

Email marketing allows you to tailor your communication for different stages of the customer journey. For example, welcoming new subscribers, educating them about your products or services, and encouraging them to make a purchase.

The ability to guide customers through their interactions with your brand with email increases conversions, satisfaction, and brand loyalty.

Reason #9: Precision Audience Targeting

Email marketing is all about delivering the right message to the right people and this level of precision is hard to achieve through other marketing channels.

With email marketing, you can segment your email list into different groups based on factors like demographics, behavior, or past interactions.

This allows you to tailor your messages and send different content or offers to new subscribers, loyal customers, or those who have shown interest in specific topics, products, or services.

When your subscribers receive content that speaks directly to their interests, they’re more likely to engage and convert.

Reason #10: Personalization

Email platforms like ConvertKit or MailerLite (our faves, but there are many others!) allow you to address your subscribers by their names to give your message a personal touch, and to deliver content that’s relevant to their specific needs and interests.

This personalization goes a long way in making your subscribers feel valued and understood. By personalizing emails, you can create a deeper, more personal connection and build trust and loyalty.

Emails that are personalized tend to have higher open and click-through rates, and when customers receive content and offers that resonate with them, they’re more likely to engage and make purchases.

Reason #11: The Right Message Delivered at the Right Time

You can schedule your emails to be sent at specific times when your audience is most likely to check their inboxes, increasing the chances of engagement.

Email marketing platforms also offer automation tools that allow you to set up behavior-based triggers.

For instance, if a subscriber clicks a link in one of your emails, you can automatically send them a follow-up email with related content or a special offer. With this kind of automation, you’re making sure you’re delivering what your audience needs when they need it.

Reason #12: Enhanced Customer Engagement

Whether it’s sharing blog articles, industry insights, or exclusive offers, you can keep your audience engaged with your brand with email marketing. This consistent communication keeps your brand top-of-mind and reinforces your expertise and authority in your industry.

Reason #13 Customer Retention

Did you know the cost of acquiring a new customer is 5 to 20 times more than keeping an existing one? Or that increasing customer retention rates by just 5% can increase profits by 25%?

By only focusing on acquiring new customers, you’re missing out on a golden opportunity to increase your bottom line by selling to existing customers, and email is hands-down the best way to reach them.

Through email campaigns, you can re-engage with previous customers, offer loyalty rewards, and keep them informed about new products or services. This helps build long-term relationships and encourages repeat business.

Reason #14 Exclusivity for Offers and Promotions

Email marketing is an ideal platform for offering exclusive deals and promotions to your subscribers. People enjoy feeling like they’re part of an exclusive group, and offering special discounts, early access to sales, or unique offers can motivate your subscribers to take action. This sense of exclusivity is a powerful motivator to make a purchase and fosters long term loyalty.

Reason #15 Increase Lifetime Customer Value

Lifetime customer value measures the average revenue you can expect from a customer over the course of their relationship with your brand. Higher lifetime customer value = higher profits.

Cross-selling and upselling strategies can be immensely profitable, as customers are more likely to purchase additional products or services when they already have an existing relationship with you.

You can use your email campaigns to increase lifetime customer value by introducing complementary products or services to your customers (cross-selling), encouraging them to upgrade to a higher-tier offering (upselling), and running regular email promotions.

Conclusion

By now, we hope it’s clear that building an email list is one of the smartest investments you can make to increase revenue and conversions.

By prioritizing list building, you don’t have to worry about being at the mercy of tech platforms that are constantly changing the rules of the game.

If you’re ready to take your email marketing to the next level, be sure to explore some of our related articles and leave us a comment if you have any questions!

Recommended Reading:

A beginner’s guide to email promotions: how to boost sales all year long (with examples + free planner)

9 Power tips for running high-converting email promotions

8 things to do before running your first (or next!) flash sale

12 Holiday email promotion ideas to boost 4th quarter sales (+ free planner)