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Growing an email list is a marathon, not a sprint. If you have already built a solid subscriber base, you might be searching for tactics for further email list growth.
That action follows the same principles as building a list from scratch. The only difference is that it doubles down on existing processes and explores novel channels.
Also, it’s necessary to keep growing because email list decay (about 22.71% per year according to Zero Bounce’s email list decay report) is real.
In this article, I’ll walk you through 10 email marketing tactics you can implement to squeeze out more subscribers from your existing channels and tap into a new, broader audience.
Optimize your existing email list growth channels
Before chasing new channels, ensure you’ve made the best of your existing audience.
You might be surprised how many potential sign-ups you’re just leaving untapped. Sometimes, a few tweaks to your site and content work wonders.
Yet, I must be clear on one thing: There’s no miraculous growth hack for your email list. Instead, you’ll have to employ many small but targeted strategies at specific stages. The key is knowing when to apply which strategies.
Let’s take a closer look:
#1. Test CTA placement, copy, and format
Remember that signing up for your newsletter and other lead magnets should be stupid-simple.
To understand where exactly the ‘stupid-simple’ is for your avatar, A/B test CTA placement on prominent spots like:
- The top of your homepage
- The end of the blog post
- A subtle link in the website footer
- As a sidebar widget
- As a one-field form
- On your social media profile
Remember: Whatever you do, don’t add extra steps to the process. Each one threatens the conversion rate!
Next, experiment with copy. Check if something like “Get exclusive SEO tips in your inbox” attracts more new subscribers than “Subscribe to our Newsletter.”
For example, a study by The Newsletter Newsletter suggested that direct words like ‘try’ and ‘subscribe’ worked better than ‘enjoy’ or ‘yes please 🙂’:
Always remember that less is more with copy hooks. You should either showcase the benefit or stick to one direct action. Trying to get too creative or promising can compromise clarity.
Even big newsletters like The Morning prefer a direct CTA that reduces cognitive load:
Lastly, test different formats, such as pop-ups (especially exit-intent pop-ups that appear when a user is about to leave), slide-in forms, or inline forms embedded within content. Every audience responds differently, so let the A/B testing data inform your decisions.
Pro Tip: Using Google Analytics (GA4), identify high-traffic pages and ensure each has a prominent CTA.
#2. Social proof and trust signals (the FOMO effect)
You can display the number of subscribers you have (“Join 8,000 readers…”) or include short testimonials from a few happy subscribers. This builds credibility and gently creates the fear of missing out in your potential customer/subscriber.
To further break the ice, you can also sound more friendly and relatable by saying, “We won’t spam you. You’ll get our newsletter once a week. Unsubscribe anytime.”
Add new email list growth channels
We discussed tips for making the most of your existing audience. Once you’ve accomplished this, it’s time to cast a wider net, but not blindly.
Tapping into new channels like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, etc., might seem the go-to advice.
But!
Successful diversification is rarely that simple.
Diversifying growth channels is really about building trust in more places. It starts with knowing:
- Where your audience hangs out.
- What kind of content they care about.
If you’re picking channels randomly, you’re wasting effort.
For instance, video content can be a high-trust, high-conversion channel if published where your audience wants to watch. I mean, LinkedIn’s corporate audience might not welcome trivia wrapped into marketing messaging, but the Discord crowd might love them.
So, note that diversification isn’t guesswork. There’s no shortage of channels, but you must validate each before investing.
Here, I’ll specifically zoom in on two avenues for email list growth: website enhancement and building strategic partnerships.
#3. Establish marketing partnerships
If you partner with brands or individuals that share the same niche yet are not your direct competitors, you benefit from exposure to each other’s audiences.
For example, you can trade guest posts with a complementary business. You write a valuable article for their blog (with a bio or call-to-action that links to your newsletter signup form), and they do the same on yours.
Other collaborations include joint webinars, workshops, or podcasts. For example, if you host a podcast episode or a live session together gated by registration (requiring attendees’ email), both email lists will grow.
You can also develop co-branded lead magnets like an exclusive eBook or a toolkit. For instance, if you run a marketing newsletter, you might partner with a design expert to create a “Marketing + Design Best Practices and Case Studies” guide.
Again, there’s a But!
Do not get tempted to add every email. You must make sure the individual has opted in before you strike their inbox. An opt-in form like the one below from Spotify is a legal requirement.
To stress, mindless email distribution without permission can annoy the recipients. More importantly, you don’t want to ruin your sender reputation because of unsolicited emails.
As suggested by Statista, a low-quality email database (filled with random email addresses that have never been opted in or simply dummy addresses imported from a contact information provider) is often responsible for ineffective email marketing.
Note that the research is for UK specifically, but in my experience, the data is universally aplicable with only marginal differences. You can explore more about the topic in our email list cleaning guide.
Also, you might have to rethink your content strategy when you tap into a new audience (especially through partnerships). I mean, you shouldn’t think that the new subscribers are verbatim clones of the former audience.
So, don’t forget about the importance of personalized content, email list segmentation, and management. If your audience is diverse, they deserve curated and personalized content.
But how do you get started with partnerships?
Make a list of businesses, email newsletters, influencers, consultants, etc., in your niche. Filter out the direct competitors and reach out to the rest with a value proposition, like sharing audiences of similar size or engagement and medium (content, exposure, affiliate commission, etc.).
Here’s one of the friendly and crisp templates for a collaboration proposal:
| Hi [Partner’s Name] Just read your latest piece on [specific topic] and it really resonated with me. I’m [Your Name], running [Your Brand], and our audiences overlap quite nicely. I’d love if we could explore collaboration options. Maybe a guest post swap, joint webinar, or evem something simple like link sharing. I’m open to ideas. Let me know if this sounds interesting. Happy to jump on a quick call this week. Cheers, [Your Name] [Your Position] at [Your Brand] [Your Contact Info] |
#4. Launch affiliate or referral programs
Launching affiliate or referral programs can work wonders for your newsletter. But while both aim to drive signups, they differ significantly in setup, audience, and complexity.
A referral program involves existing readers inviting friends in exchange for small rewards.
An affiliate program brings in external promoters like bloggers or influencers, who earn money or perks for every subscriber they send your way. Setting up affiliate programs is more technical. It requires contracts, tracking systems, and payout workflows, and often demands more ongoing management.
Here’s a table to help you see the differences and figure out what’s right for you:
| Feature | Affiliate Program | Referral Program |
| Who participates | Anyone – bloggers, creators, influencers, marketers | Existing subscribers |
| Incentive type | Usually monetary (e.g., $1–$2 per lead), gift cards, or premium access | Tiered rewards (e.g., mugs, stickers, exclusive content, shout-outs) |
| Reward structure | Fixed or commission-based | Escalating rewards based on the number of referrals |
| Purpose | Acquire leads through external partners | Leverage the existing audience to grow via word-of-mouth |
| Control & Tracking | More formal and trackable with unique codes/links | Requires a referral system or tracking within your newsletter software |
| Examples | Common in B2B SaaS and paid newsletters | Used by theSkimm, Morningbrew, and similar content-driven publications |
| Extra tactics | Offer discount codes for affiliates’ audience to boost conversions | Build a strong community and use gamification to drive competition and participation |
Now, I’d like to draw your attention to the cost involved. A Whop study reports that newsletter referrals cost an average of $0.17 per subscriber versus $1-$3 from other acquisition channels.
So, do not underestimate the power of asking your audience to share. Your fans can be your greatest evangelists and salespeople 😀. Rewarding them only sweetens the deal and accelerates the process.
Attention: Finding affiliates isn’t so simple, regardless of whether you run a newsletter or an e-commerce brand. I came across an old yet relevant post of John Barker, who claims to have been working with affiliates for 15 years.
He pointed out that just being a part of an affiliate community or randomly partnering with 100s of affiliates won’t cut it. Finding affiliates that have an audience, are reachable, and will support you is the key.
#5. Contribute to others’ content as an expert
My favourite way to get featured as an expert is by subtly putting a link to your newsletter. This drives email signups and builds credibility while leveraging an existing audience within a different authoritative space.
Now, this content medium can be any: YouTube, blogs, podcasts, industry publications, etc. Most blog writers are always looking for SMEs to comply with EEAT.
You can also build an active profile on communities like Quora, Reddit, LinkedIn groups, or proactively answer journalists’ questions on platforms like HARO and Qwoted.
Here’s a list of all such platforms where you can contribute as an SME, build visibility and credibility, and ultimately grow your email list:
| Platform | Description |
| Connectively (formerly HARO) | Daily journalist queries via email. |
| Qwoted | Matches experts with media requests. |
| SourceBottle | Connects experts with media opportunities. |
| ProfNet | Distributes expert queries to subscribers. |
| JustReachOut | PR platform to pitch journalists directly. |
| Terkel | Community-driven Q&A content platform. |
| ExpertFile | Showcases expert profiles to the media. |
| Muck Rack | Media database and PR management tool. |
| Rolli | Vetted expert database for journalists. |
| Clarity.fm | Offers expert advice via calls. |
| Podchaser Connect | Connects guests with podcast hosts. |
| Quora | Community Q&A platform to share expertise. |
| Reddit AMA | Host “Ask Me Anything” sessions. |
| Medium | Publish articles to demonstrate expertise. |
| LinkedIn Articles | Share professional insights and content. |
#6. Content distribution across platforms
Producing great content isn’t enough; the ‘build it and they will come’ approach is just too optimistic and fate-driven. You must put in the work to distribute your content and ensure it reaches potential subscribers.
I’ll give you two tactics and an example of how to do it.
Whenever you publish a great newsletter edition, promote it on your socials. But don’t just drop a link and doze off; ensure the message suits the platform.
For example, on LinkedIn, you might put a short teaser or interesting insight from the piece, then share the link to the newsletter in the comments:
On Twitter (or X), you can share a compelling snippet/series of tips from the content, and invite people to read the full article via your newsletter link.
On an Instagram or Facebook page, you could even do a quick video or graphic pulling a highlight from your content, with a CTA to subscribe for the full story.
The goal is to turn your followers into email subscribers by reminding them what they’re missing if they aren’t on your list yet. Tease the value that lives in your emails.
Tactic 2. – Content republishing
You can also republish the same content on platforms like Medium, Dev.to (for tech content), and LinkedIn Pulse. Medium even lets you enshrine a tiny bio below the title – yes, put your newsletter link here.
The advantage?
People surfing through Medium or LinkedIn might stumble on your article even if they’ve never heard about you.
Pro Tip: Republish at least a few days after it goes live on your blog. A canonical link can bypass SEO issues. Medium, like most other free content platforms, uses canonical links.
Now, suppose you wrote “10 Tips to Master Landscape Photography” on your blog.
Here’s how you can distribute it like there’s no tomorrow:
- Post a carousel including 3 tips on Instagram with a “link in bio to get all 10.”
- Share a tip as a question on a photography subreddit, engage in discussion, and mention that you have a full list of tips fellow redditors might need to check out. Note that it’s a risky tactic, but if you already have a presence on Reddit, it could work.
- Republish the article on Medium in a photography publication.
- Tweet a tip a day for 10 days while calling interested folks to subscribe to your newsletter for more.
#7. Run contests or giveaways
Contests and giveaways, provided they are well-executed, can cause email list growth spikes.
People love the ‘winner’s dopamine,’ and if entering the contest simply requires an email subscription, many will happily oblige.
The important thing here is to verify all the addresses you collect this way. For instance, you can send them the verification email. If you have the capacity, add programmatic email verification at the backend of your lead capture form. Ideally, you’ll have both.
Otherwise, you may end up with a large number of dummy catch-all addresses, making it almost impossible to scale the conversion.
That out of the way, you need to plan the contest right (or it will end up in “expert” rants on LinkedIn). Here’s the quick scoop:
- First, your prize must comprise niche-relevant stuff: If you offer generic prizes like an iPad or a $100 shopping voucher, you’ll attract an audience interested in winning free stuff, not potential newsletter subscribers. If your newsletter revolves around healthy food habits, then a non-toxic saucepan would make far more sense than a generic mug or sticker.
- Next, set up an entry mechanism: The simplest way is to require contestants to give in their email and consent to join your email list. You could use a landing page or form for this. Yet, it must clearly explain the contest and have an email field.
- Finally, promote, promote, and promote: From social media posts and cold DMs to email reminders and community promos, leave no channel untouched. Be careful about cold outreach, though, as it could backfire and requires some strategic thinking. For more info on cold emailing, check this guide.
- Engage like your life depends on it 😀: During the contest and even after it, engage actively with the participants and maybe tease them with some of your best content pieces to remind them you have a dope newsletter.
#8. Leverage paid advertising for sign-ups
The initial scaling of your email list growth might even burn a small hole in your pocket. But if you do it sensibly, new users will start crawling back up from that hole.
I mean, paid ads can really shoot up your email list growth if the targeting is laser-focused and CTAs are clear, concise and tempting.
The most common channels for running your paid ads include Facebook, Instagram, Google, and LinkedIn (best suited for B2B). Each of these platforms can target certain demographics, geographical areas, behaviours, interests, and other traits for focused targeting.
Here’s how you can exploit paid ads for email list building:
Use a dedicated landing page
Don’t send your ad traffic to your homepage and expect them to find the newsletter sign-up button. Create a separate landing page that speaks loudly about what you offer (your lead magnet or the value of your newsletter). It must have an email capture form, without any distractions.
A single call-to-action would work best – basically, the page says, “Subscribe now to get X benefit.” Also, try to match the ad’s imagery/message and brand design to the landing page for a cohesive experience.
Highlight the value in your ad copy
Your ad copy space shouldn’t be more than two sentences. So focus on the benefit.
For example: “Free Weekly Social Media Hacks – Join 10,000+ marketers who get actionable tips in their inbox every Monday.” That’s an ad about benefits.
If you’re offering a lead magnet like an eBook or checklist for signing up, mention it prominently (“Download our free 20-page guide on SEO, plus get our weekly SEO newsletter”).
Try lead ads
Lead form ads on LinkedIn and Facebook allow users to submit their emails on the platform. In fact, the pop-up supports auto-fill, reducing friction, perfect for email list growth.
Yet, you’ll have to sync those emails into your subscriber list later, and please don’t skip welcome emails confirming their consent to join the newsletter.
Budget and measure
Don’t immediately spend loads of money on ads. Instead, start with a modest budget to calculate your cost per subscriber. For example, if you spend $50 and get 100 subscribers, that’s $0.5 per subscriber.
With this number, you’ll know what to expect when you run a full-fledged campaign.
Also, track ad conversion carefully. Most ad platforms and your Landing page tool can track that easily.
Retarget warm accounts
People who have already interacted with your ads are the low-hanging fruit here. Most ad platforms can help you with retargeting your website visitors using invisible pixels (small scripts put on your site).
It’s a great way to capture leads who just needed an extra nudge.
Remember, paid ads can be your go-to solution if you desire quick email list growth.
#9. Understand why people join
Heard about off-label product features? The same could apply to newsletters, not just Birkin bags.
What if there’s something great about your email content that you haven’t displayed in your ads, CTAs, promos, or landing pages?
You can ask your subscribers via quizzes:
- Why did you join the email list?
- What could I do better?
- What are you struggling with?
- What topics interest you the most?
Then you can proactively act on the feedback.
These insights will help you:
- Retain your subscribers.
- Make your relationship with your target audience more interactive.
- Educate you about your value proposition.
- Make valuable content upgrades to your email newsletter.
#10. Put your newsletter link in your email signature
You send dozens of emails daily to website visitors, colleagues, and clients. Now, if you just add your newsletter link to your email signature, you are amplifying its visibility manifold.
Let’s see how you can design an effective email signature with a newsletter link:
Craft a clear Call-to-Action (CTA)
Your CTA should be concise and compelling. Phrases like “Subscribe to Our Weekly Insights” or “Join Our Newsletter for Updates” can prompt recipients to take action.
Utilize visual elements
Incorporate buttons or icons to make the newsletter link stand out. Visual cues can draw attention and increase click-through rates. Ensure that these elements align with your brand’s aesthetic for consistency.
Ensure mobile responsiveness
With a significant number of emails opened on mobile devices, your signature must display correctly across all screen sizes. Test your signature on various devices to guarantee optimal appearance and functionality.
Use trackable links
Implement UTM parameters to monitor the effectiveness of your newsletter link. This data can provide insights into subscriber sources and engagement levels.
These steps will ensure you make the best of avenues that you had never thought you’d use for marketing – yes, like email signatures.
Grow smart and send smarter
Steady email list growth is achievable, and this article discusses some tried-and-tested tactics.
Yet, keeping email deliverability robust, open rates high, and operations compliant with email marketing laws is a whole new battle.
So, here comes Mailtrap to your service.
Ready to grow your email list and land in the inbox, not the spam folder?
Try Mailtrap for free and supercharge your email game, from list growth to flawless delivery.
