Build Your Mailing List

Everything you need to know about lead generation, compelling opt-in offers and effective email marketing, collected on one page.

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Getting Started with Email Marketing

You already know that email should be a core part of your marketing efforts. It's not optional if you want to run a successful, profitable online business.

But how do you get started collecting subscribers on your website?

How exactly will this help your business grow?

You'll find the answers to all these in the articles and videos below.

Opt-In Offers

Create Compelling Opt-in Offers

Do you want to grow your mailing list fast?
It's time to give your visitors an irresistible reason to subscribe, by offering something free and valuable. Because who doesn't love free stuff?
In this topic, you'll discover how to choose an offer, create amazing landing pages, and automate the entire process so you can instantly deliver your promise.

Opt-in Forms

Generate Leads With Effective Opt-In Forms

Gone are the days of boring opt-in forms begging visitors to join a newsletter.
If you want to grow your list, your opt-in forms need to be unmissable and compelling.
In this topic, you'll find our best advice for designing stunning opt-in forms that look good on any device. 

Email Marketing

Email Marketing Made Simple

So many businesses get email very wrong. But you're not going to make those mistakes.
An effective email marketing strategy helps people to know, like and trust you, so they feel comfortable taking action on your offers.
In this topic, we share our best email marketing content, from setting everything up and writing the emails, to optimizing for more opens and clicks.

Advanced Email Marketing Strategies

Fine-Tune Your Email Marketing Strategy

Already have a growing email list and an effective strategy?
What's next? How can you produce even more value?
This topic is filled with ways to take your email marketing to the next level.
Advanced segmentation, personalisation, quizzes, autoreponders… there's always something to learn that can super-charge your online business.

Buy Thrive Suite And Get Instant Access To All Of Our Conversion Focused Site Building Tools + Thrive Theme Builder!

Yes, really.

Click the button below to see how you can save more than $700, get instant access to all of our plugins and all of our themes (yes, even Thrive Architect with all of the landing pages & Thrive Leads!) and a whole range of further benefits.

Build your mailing list

All Articles in This Category

How To Build Your Mailing List with Thrive Themes

Are you ready to finally see results from your email list?

This page is full of useful topics for anyone looking to start, build or improve their online mailing list and email strategy. Together, we'll transform email into a powerful, profitable way to reach your audience.

build your list
I want to get started with email marketing.

Every website says an email list is important, but I don't know where to begin. How can I start collecting subscribers on my website? How will this help my business grow?

I want to grow my email list.

So far, email has been an afterthought for my business. I know it's important, and I'm ready to give it more focus. How can I significantly grow my email list on my website?

I want to use my email list more effectively.

Email marketing has to be more than just sending weekly newsletters. How can I get the most value from my email list? How do the experts use email to grow their business?

I want to know more about my email subscribers and customers.

If I can understand my audience better, I think I can send them more relevant content and offers. How can segment my mailing list into similar groups and interests? Can I automate this?

What will you learn here?

This page brings together our best articles and videos on building highly effective mailing lists to drive more visits, sales and conversions to your online business.

It doesn't matter at what stage your business is – there's always opportunity to power-up your email marketing.

We'll help you get set up, find your first subscribers, and experience your first conversions.

If you already have a mailing list, we'll help you grow and nurture your audience to drive more sales.

Read the summaries below to understand which topics can help your business improve.

Opt-in Offers


Accelerate your list growth with compelling offers that encourage subscribers.

People don't share their email address to be bombarded with commercial offers. They expect to receive value in return for their attention.

But when every website is promising value (and often failing to deliver), how can you stand out?

That's where opt-in offers shine. 

Opt-in offers are promises: visitors share their email address and you send them something useful or entertaining. They are also a powerful way to grow your email list!

Compelling opt-in offers:

  • grow your email list, fast!
  • let you tag new subscribers with the topics that interest them.
  • build trust and credibility by providing immediate value.
  • allow people to read and share your free resources, so your business stays front-of-mind.

What will you learn?

In this topic, we share our best tips to make your mailing list irresistible. 

Other topics focus on how people sign up, and now it's time to explore why.

You'll learn how to create stunning landing pages that communicate the benefits of joining your email list, so that people feel compelled to join your community.

Sometimes that's as easy as sharing when new content is published, but you can take it to the next level by offering something free in exchange for their email address.

We'll explore how lead magnets and content upgrades can sky-rocket your list growth, and we'll share tons of creative ideas that you can apply to your business model.

Not confident in your design skills? Don't worry, in this topic you'll discover how easy it is to design beautiful PDFs and other free printables.

On the technical side, we explain how to seamlessly deliver your opt-in offers so your subscribers receive what you've promised. Even while you sleep.

Opt-in Forms


Create stunning opt-in forms that build your mailing list faster.

Opt-in forms are the visual and mental starting point for your mailing list.

They're where promises are made and expectations are set.

But opt-in forms don't have to be boring or intrusive.

The best opt-in forms are beautifully designed and cleverly integrated into your visitors' website experience. It shouldn't feel jarring to be asked to subscribe – it should be a natural step if you've chosen your audience well.

Effective opt-in forms:

  • make it ridiculously easy for visitors to subscribe to your mailing list.
  • look great on computers, tablets and mobiles.
  • let you tag new subscribers based on the page that converted.
  • align with specific content to grow your mailing list faster.

What will you learn?

In this topic, you'll find everything we know about crafting amazing opt-in forms to build your list faster.

Discover the best places to feature opt-in forms across your website, to improve signups and maintain a good user-experience.

Should you rely on traditional forms such as below each blog post?

Or try more creative placements like slide-in forms and exit intent popups?

Let's find out together.

You'll learn how to design beautiful opt-in forms that look stunning on any sized device.

Here at Thrive Themes, we're fanatical about improving conversion rates. In this topic, we share our tips and research to help your opt-in forms convert more visitors to email subscribers.

Email Marketing


Build an effective email marketing plan to inspire your audience to take action.

Some people believe that email – not websites or social media – is where most customers are made.

The invitation to share your message directly to people's inbox can't be overstated. Believe us, we've tried!

Get it right, and you'll build a list of loyal fans ready to take action.

Get it wrong, and you'll build resentment, unsubscribes and SPAM complaints.

Are you ready to learn the difference?

Email marketing:

  • allows you to continue conversations, even after people leave your website.
  • builds trust over time, and encourages people to take action.
  • reduces your reliance on other communication platforms outside of your control, such as Facebook.
  • allows you to segment and market to your audience by what interests them most.

What will you learn?

In this topic, you'll explore how to use your mailing list as part of your overall marketing strategy.

A list of email addresses alone won't make money, it's how you use it that really counts.

We'll break down the overall framework for your email marketing, and look at how each stage ties into your business goals.

You'll learn to craft effective thank you pages and welcome emails – the very first thing new subscribers experience. This is vital for setting expectations and reassuring them that you're the real deal.

You'll discover how to improve your email open and click-through rates, increase deliverability, and ensure you're complying with rules like GDPR.

If you struggle to write sales emails, you'll find our advice on how to sell to your audience without losing your soul along the way.

We can't write your emails for you, but we can share the tools and skills you need to run a profitable email marketing campaign.

Advanced Email Marketing Strategies


Advanced Email Marketing Strategies

More subscribers, more conversions, more insight for your business.

If you're happy with your email performance, you don't have to read this section.

…

Still here?

Great! Let's talk about how you can get even more value from your mailing list.

The perfect email strategy is to send a personalized email to each subscriber, individually tailored to their personality, demographics, needs and behavior.

It would like an email from a close friend who knows you so well.

Of course, that's not practical or scalable, but you can get as close as possible by identifying similar groups of subscribers.

Want to know how?

Advanced email marketing offers these benefits:

  • Align your offers with subscribers who are more likely to take action.
  • Use ways to make subscribing more fun and interactive, such as quizzes.
  • Show different website content to subscribers and non-subscribers.

What will you learn?

In this topic, you'll learn how to take your email list to the next level.

You'll find helpful articles and videos on how to segment your mailing list, to ensure the right people receive the right message.

We'll share tips on automatically tagging subscribers based on their actions, so they effectively segment themselves!

We'll explore how to deliver pre-written emails automatically, so your subscribers benefit from your message and offer, regardless of when they signed up.

If you feel you've already covered the basics, don't worry – we'll help you move into overdrive with advanced list building tactics, such as interactive quizzes and challenges.


It's Time to Upgrade Your List Building Strategy!

The days of building a huge mailing list with only a generic weekly newsletter are long gone.

There are just too many emails fighting in a daily battle for our attention.

If you want to build your mailing list faster, you need to give people a compelling reason to subscribe.

Let's look at the 7 main methods available to gain new subscribers:

Generic Opt-in Forms

Offering subscribers the chance to receive regular, old email newsletters.

The theory is that visitors see the same opt-in form on every page, each time they visit your site – until they relent and subscribe. 

In reality, most people aren't regular visitors. You only have one chance to capture their email address before they move on.

Generic Opt-in Forms

Offering subscribers the chance to receive regular, old email newsletters.

The theory is that visitors see the same opt-in form on every page, each time they visit your site – until they relent and subscribe. 

In reality, most people aren't regular visitors. You only have one chance to capture their email address before they move on.

Content Subscriptions

Offering to notify subscribers of new blog content, videos, podcast episodes etc.

This method works best if you regularly publish episodic content, such as videos, podcasts and comics. It also works well for brands and individuals with a popular celebrity status.

It's less effective if you sell custom made dog beds, or offer Ukrainian translation services.

Content Upgrades

Offering highly relevant freebies that closely align to a particular piece of content.

Now we're moving up a gear!

Content upgrades are the next logical step for anyone who has enjoyed your content and wants more.

Printables, bonus videos, case studies, cheatsheets, recipes, checklists… unleash your creativity and watch your email list grow.

Lead Magnets

Offering valuable freebies to communities on other websites and platforms.

Similar to content upgrades (which take place on your site), you should be offering something of value in your offsite marketing campaigns: Google, Facebook, guest posts, social media etc.

Customized landing pages and opt-in forms make this method easy and effective.

Simply offer the lead magnet, capture their email address, and automatically deliver the freebie via your website or email.

Quizzes and Tests

Offering interesting quizzes to engage visitors (and appeal to their vanity!)

Quizzes are a fun way of building your mailing list. Simply ask visitors to complete an interactive quiz and provide their email address to see the results.

Quizzes can be serious…

  • Which learning style suits you best?
  • Test your grammar knowledge with our quiz
  • Are you eligible for small business funding?

And quizzes can be silly...

  • What kind of personality type are you?
  • Would you survive this desert island challenge?
  • How much do you know about Justin Bieber?

It all depends on your creativity and audience.

Quizzes also offer another powerful benefit: they enable your visitors to share information about themselves in their answers. This lets you automatically segment them in your mailing list, to send them personalized offers.

Challenges

Not to be confused with quizzes!

Challenging the subscriber to a personal commitment, or to be part of movement or community.

If that sounds complicated, don't worry. These examples will make it crystal clear:

  • Join our 30 day vegan diet challenge. We share 1 new recipe every day.
  • Improve your sketching skills and join our 14 day quick-draw challenge.
  • Ready to join our 10-minute Yoga body challenge?

This can be a powerful list building method if your audience naturally forms communities, or if they need support in their transformation journey.

Tool access

Offering online analysis or tool results.

This method is best suited to technical expertise or software businesses.

SEO agencies may offer an online tool that analyzes a web page and makes recommendations on how to improve.

Landscaping professionals may offer an online tool that allows people to redesign a garden, and then calculates how much soil, mulch or gravel is required.

If you have the technical ability to offer an online tool, it can be a fantastic way to both attract website visitors and capture their email addresses.

Start Building Your Email List Today!

Email marketing is a key part of online business – the ability to develop a relationship with your audience, even if they don't revisit your website, is priceless.

Building your mailing list shouldn't be an afterthought for your business. It should be front and centre in all your marketing efforts.

This page is your starting point to find articles and videos that will help you take your mailing list and email strategy to the next level.

Buy Thrive Suite And Get Instant Access To All Of Our Conversion Focused Site Building Tools + Thrive Theme Builder!

Yes, really.

Click the button below to see how you can save more than $700, get instant access to all of our plugins and all of our themes (yes, even Thrive Architect with all of the landing pages & Thrive Leads!) and a whole range of further benefits.