In the world of online business, email list building is the process of developing a database of email addresses of people who have an interest in your business and are willing to consider buying from you. So how do you build a customer list? Here are 5 easy steps to follow.

1. Start with an email autoresponder.

You need reliable autoresponder software when you’re building a customer list. An autoresponder can automatically send potential customers a sequence of prewritten emails when they sign up for your list. It will keep track of who you send it to, the subject line, the text within the email, open rates, click rates, and how many messages you have sent.

2. Put a subscription form on your website.

Your email list building strategy starts with a subscription form. This is a form that can be easily created by your autoresponder software. You place the subscription on your website so that your website visitors can see it and insert their email address. You only need to ask for your email address at this stage, as the more details you ask for, the less likely people are to give you their information.

3. Offer something of value for free.

To encourage someone to give you their email address, you’ll need to offer something of value in return. This is how you build your list. Keep in mind that what you give away will reflect on the quality of the products and services you sell. You can give away something like a free report, video, or newsletter related to your business and it should be emailed to the person as soon as they sign up for your list via your autoresponder.

4. Set up a sales funnel.

Now that the prospect is on your list, you need to guide them through a process of understanding the benefits of your products and services. This is your sales funnel, which is a series of emails sent to your prospect with various upsells and downsells of products. As you build a customer list, a potential customer, on average, will need to see or hear your marketing messages at least seven times before they act and buy from you.

5. Always provide value.

One of the most important elements of building an email list is to consistently provide value to the people on your list. Sure, your content is aimed at specific reasons to buy your product, but you don’t want it to sound like a nagging sales pitch. As you deliver valuable information, your subscribers will begin to trust you and see you as an expert in your market. Then they will be more likely to buy from you.