Everything you need to know before building an email list in 2025

No shade to social media, but brands shouldn’t rely on it as their sole means of connecting with customers.
According to 2023 research from GWI, people are abandoning mindless scrolling for more intentional platform usage, with average daily social media time dropping globally.
Add Apple’s privacy changes to the mix, and you’re looking at skyrocketing acquisition costs alongside diminishing returns on social media ad spend.
Smart businesses are responding by refocusing on what works: email marketing. It’s no coincidence that 76% of companies rank email among their top 3 ROI-generating channels, according to Klaviyo’s marketing mix report.
Unlike borrowed social media audiences that algorithms can hide tomorrow, your email list is an asset you own and control—making it the cornerstone of sustainable growth in today’s digital landscape.
Email lists offer unique advantages that rented audiences can’t match:
No algorithms decide whether your message reaches its destination. When you need to announce a flash sale or important update, your message lands directly in your subscribers’ inboxes.
Every interaction builds your understanding of your audience. From open rates to click patterns, this data helps you craft increasingly relevant messages. You control this information—no platform can suddenly restrict your access or change the rules.
Once you’ve built your list, sending an email costs virtually nothing. Compare this to paid advertising, where reaching the same audience might cost hundreds or thousands of dollars each time.
Email subscribers have to explicitly opt in to receive communications from you, making them a receptive audience that can grow more valuable over time. Each new subscriber adds to your owned marketing power, creating compound returns on your list-building efforts.
5 strategies for building an email list
Getting someone’s email address is a value exchange. Think of it as a micro-transaction: visitors trade their contact information for something they want. The more valuable that “something” is, the more likely they are to make the trade.
Here are a few proven ways to make that exchange irresistible.
1. Give people a compelling reason to sign up
A sign-up incentive pulls visitors into your email list like a powerful magnet attracts metal. The most effective ones solve immediate problems or fulfill specific desires.
Here, see how fashion retailer DKNY demonstrates this principle with their stackable discount approach: “UP TO 70% OFF SITEWIDE. Subscribe now to get an EXTRA 10% OFF our existing sitewide offer.” This creates two layers of urgency—the existing sale and the additional subscriber-only discount.
