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Email Marketing Leads: A Complete Guide To Generating and Converting Them
A Simple Guide To Build an Email List Into a Sales Machine
Kawusara Salley
April 9th, 2025
Is email the “dinosaur” of digital marketing strategies? Yes.
Does that mean it’s dead and gone? Surprisingly, no.
In fact, the email marketing industry is thriving and growing.
In 2020, it was a $7.5 billion industry; and, by 2027, it’s expected to hit $17.9 billion, growing at 13.3% per year.
Clearly, the question isn’t whether email marketing is dead. Instead, it’s whether you’re using it the right way to get the results you want for your business.
While the core principles of email marketing remain the same, the tactics that worked a decade ago aren’t as effective today.
Inboxes are more crowded, consumers are more selective, and generic email blasts no longer get results.
To consistently use email marketing to generate and convert leads, you need to build a quality email list, send relevant emails, and keep people engaged. In this article, we’ll go over simple, practical ways to do exactly that.
Why Trust Me?
Kawusara Salley has three years of experience with email marketing, working on side projects and volunteering to help businesses with their email projects. She’s also a passionate technical writer who enjoys deep research and sharing her unique insights in plain, simple language.
Table of Contents
What Are Email Marketing Leads and Why Do They Matter?
Email marketing leads are people who have shared their email addresses with you in exchange for something valuable—whether it’s a discount, a free resource, or exclusive content.
The fact that they’ve done this signals two things. First, they are already somewhat aware of your brand. Second, they trust you enough to give you access to their inbox.
As a result, these people are more likely to engage with your emails and eventually become paying customers.
However, that doesn’t mean you should constantly flood their inbox with sales pitches.
Instead, the goal is to nurture these relationships, provide value, and build trust—so when they’re ready to buy, they choose you.
But why are these leads so valuable in the first place?
1. You own your email list.
Unlike social media followers or website visitors, your email list is an asset you own.
Platforms like Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram can change their algorithms, reducing your reach overnight. Worse, accounts can get suspended or banned with little warning.
Take what happened to Lara Acosta, for example. One day, she had over 100K followers on LinkedIn. The next day, her account was gone. Just like that, she lost direct access to her audience, leads, and a key income stream.
With email marketing, you don’t have that risk.
You can reach your audience anytime, without relying on any algorithm whatsoever or worrying whether you’ll violate any set of strict rules.
2. Email marketing helps you stay connected with potential buyers.
Not everyone who visits your website or follows you on social media is ready to buy immediately. If you don’t capture their email, there’s no guarantee you’ll cross paths again.
But if these potential buyers are on your email list, you can stay in touch, nurture the relationship, and keep your brand top of mind.
Over time, these people get to know, like, and trust you—which makes them far more likely to buy when the time is right.
3. Email lets you send targeted content.
Unlike social media posts or website content, email allows you to send messages that are more relevant to different groups in your audience.
You’re able to group email leads based on demographics, interests, behaviors, and past interactions (aka segmentation, more on that later) and send these groups targeted content based on this data, making it easier to keep them engaged and turn them into paying customers.
How To Generate High-Quality Email Marketing Leads
So you know what email marketing leads are—now how do you actually attract and persuade them to share their email addresses with you?
It’s a lot simpler than you think. Let me break it down.
1. Create a Valuable Lead Magnet.
No one hands over their email address for free.
If you want people to willingly share their details, you need to offer something valuable in return. The best way to do this is by creating a free resource (aka lead magnet, freebie, or opt-in) that solves a problem, addresses a challenge, or helps your audience achieve a specific goal.
Ask yourself questions like:
What’s a common struggle my audience faces that I can help them solve quickly?
What question do I get asked all the time that I could answer in a free resource?
What mistakes do people in my audience frequently make, and how can I help them avoid it?
Once you have an idea, choose a format that best delivers the value. Here are some common lead magnet types:
Quiz
Ebook
Checklist
Template
Audio file
Workshop
Case study
Masterclass
Cheat sheet
Creating one freebie—free ebook, checklist, or template—is perfect for starters. Here is all you have to do:
As your audience grows, a single lead magnet might not be enough—especially if you cover a mix of related topics or different sub-niches.
Take Paige Brunton’s YouTube channel, for example. She offers multiple freebies to help different types of people in her audience, like:
DIY-ers who want to build their own Squarespace website
Freelancers looking to start a Squarespace web design business
Web designers who want to attract clients through content marketing
You don’t have to create as many freebies as Brunton, but you get the point.
Now, what if you’re not ready to create a lead magnet yet? That’s totally okay….but you should still give people who find you through your website or social media the option to join your email list.
Instead of a lead magnet, simply invite these visitors to subscribe for valuable content, updates, or insights delivered straight to their inbox.
You can always add a freebie in the future to boost signup rates.
2. Use Signup Forms and Pop-Ups To Capture Leads.
Once your freebie is ready, the next step is setting up a signup form in your email marketing software. This is where people share their details to receive your freebie.
At a minimum, your signup form should ask for an email address, but you can also include fields for a name or phone number if needed.
To better understand your audience, you might add multiple-choice questions, such as:
What best describes you? (Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced)
What are you most interested in? (Option A / Option B / Option C)
How did you hear about us? (Website / Social Media / Friend)
What type of content would you like to receive? (Tips / Case Studies / Product Updates)
For example, Louise Stigell, a Sweden-based artist, attracts both English and Swedish audiences, so she includes a question in her signup form to identify a subscriber’s preferred language. This allows her to send content in the right language.
However, keep your form short and simple—asking for too much information upfront can turn people away.
If you want to collect more details, you can always include polls and surveys in your future emails to gather them.
After designing your signup form, you’ll have to set up a basic automation linking it to your freebie. This ensures that as soon as someone signs up, they automatically receive an email with the freebie inside it.
Sometimes, website visitors might miss your signup forms, so you might want to display popup forms on your website as well.
Pop-ups work like signup forms, but they appear on-screen while a visitor is browsing your site. You can set pop-ups to trigger based on different actions:
Scroll percentage: When a visitor has read a certain percentage of an article
Time delay: After visitors have been on a page for a set amount of time
Exit intent: Comes up when visitors are about to leave the page
Page load: Shows immediately when a visitor loads a page.
Pop-ups are a great way to capture leads. But if they’re overused or poorly timed, they’re likely to frustrate visitors and drive them away.
Here are some common mistakes to avoid:
Instant pop-ups: Showing a pop-up right after someone lands on your site might be okay. But if a visitor has to close a pop-up (especially the full-screen overlay pop-up) every time they open a new blog post, it quickly becomes annoying.
Too many pop-ups: Bombarding users with multiple pop-ups back to back on a single page or blog post overwhelms them and distracts them from why they came to your site in the first place.
Hard-to-close pop-ups: If the close button is tiny, hidden, or missing, visitors may feel forced to sign up just to get rid of it. This could lead to them leaving your site altogether.
3. Design Landing Pages To Capture More Leads.
Don’t have a website to add your signup and popup forms? No worries, you can add them to landing pages instead.
A landing page is a one-page site designed to get visitors to take a single action, like signing up for your freebie.
Unlike a full website, landing pages are easy to create and can be set up in minutes.
Even if you already have a website, having dedicated landing pages for your lead magnets is still a good idea. Here’s why:
✅ No distractions: Landing pages don’t come with with menus and a multitude of links that distract someone from signing up to your email list
✅ Easy to share: You get a direct link to your landing page, which makes it easy to share on social media, or even in ads.
✅ Better tracking: Many landing page builders let you track the visits and conversions your landing page gets, so you can make tweaks if needed.
Email marketing providers like beehiiv, Kit (formerly ConvertKit), and Mailchimp let you create landing pages inside their platform.
There are also dedicated landing page builders like Carrd, Leadpages, and Instapage, which give you more design options and can be connected to your email marketing platform of choice.
Most of these tools provide ready-made templates that you can tweak to match your brand, so you don’t need to be a designer to make it look good.
If you want better customization but find that landing page builders are too expensive, you can create a landing page on your own website instead.
For example, here’s a landing page Paige Brunton built inside Squarespace to promote one of her freebies.
Instead of a simple opt-in form, Brunton added an extra section that introduces herself to establish credibility and build trust. She also outlines what’s inside the freebie, so visitors know exactly what they’re getting, encouraging more people to snag the “juicy” freebie because they know it’ll be worth their time.
4. Set Up an Automated Welcome Sequence
Before you start driving traffic to your lead magnet, you need a welcome sequence in place.
A welcome sequence is a series of 3–7 automated emails that follow the initial email delivering the freebie.
When someone joins your email list, that’s when they’re the most engaged—they’re excited, they remember who you are, and they’re paying attention.
This is your opportunity to build trust, nurture the connection, and keep them interested in what you have to offer.
Here’s a simple welcome sequence structure based on Lizzie Davey’s newsletter. When you sign up, you’ll receive a 3-part welcome series after the initial email (Email 0) confirming your signup and delivering the freebie.
Email 1 (Welcome and Introduction): Welcome your new subscriber, introduce yourself, and set expectations for what’s to come. You can also include a soft pitch for your offer, either within the email itself or as a subtle mention in the P.S. section.
Email 2 (Provide Value): Share something useful, like a lesson, strategy, or resource. This reassures subscribers that you're not just here to sell, but to help. If you didn’t include a soft pitch in Email 1, this is another opportunity to do so. You can also tease what’s coming up in the next email, so subscribers will look out for it.
Email 3 (Provide More Value and Soft Pitch): Continue delivering value (helpful tip, actionable advice, etc.) and mention your paid offer for those who need more support. This is also a great place to share testimonials, offer a discount, and invite subscribers to reply with questions they have about your paid offer.
This is just one of a billion ways to set up your welcome email sequence. If you're unsure how to structure yours, here’s a tip for you:
Create a separate email account and subscribe to the email lists of top brands in your niche. Pay attention to these details:
How these lists structure their welcome sequence
The number of emails in the series
The timing and spacing between emails
The structure and content of each email
5. Drive Qualified Traffic to Your Forms and Landing Pages
No matter how valuable your lead magnet is, it won’t generate leads unless you actively promote it.
There are many ways to promote your freebie. Here are a few effective ways and how to get started:
1. Blog
If you have a blog, use it to attract your ideal audience by writing content around topics they’re already searching for.
Research relevant keywords, create helpful blog posts, and naturally embed your signup forms (or link to your landing page) inside the post, in the sidebar, or in the footer.
You can supplement these signup forms with popup forms, like Tonia Kendrick does on her website.
For example, Kendrick promotes the signup form for her business planning workbook at the end of every blog post.
Additionally, Kendrick uses five different pop-ups, each tied to a specific content category.
So if a visitor reads a post about time blocking, they’ll see a popup offering a time-blocking freebie. If they’re reading about business budgeting, they’ll get a popup for a budgeting-related freebie.
With this setup, visitors find you organically through search engines, engage with your content, and subscribe to your email list if they want more.
2. Podcast
If you have a podcast, mention your freebie as a helpful resource for listeners. Give them a reason to sign up by tying it to something valuable you’ll be discussing in your podcast episodes.
Plus, make it easy for listeners to access by linking it in the show notes.
3. YouTube
YouTube is another great way to drive traffic to your freebies.
Create video content around your freebie’s topic—whether these are tutorials, product reviews, or insights from your life and personal experiences.
Then, mention the lead magnet in your videos and encourage people to check it out in your description and pinned comment.
4. Pinterest
Pinterest is a visual search engine that can drive steady, high-quality traffic to your lead magnets.
It works especially well if your audience is primarily U.S. women, ages 18–34. It’s also a great platform for popular niches like travel, beauty, fashion, home decor, DIY, food, and fitness.
Your goal with Pinterest should be to create eye-catching, SEO-optimized pins for your freebies.
For every freebie you have, create at least 5 different pins (with unique visuals, titles, and descriptions) that link to it.
Ensure that the pins’ titles and descriptions contain relevant keywords your audience is typing into the Pinterest search bar.
Besides directly linking to freebies, you can also create pins that link to your blog, podcast, or YouTube content, where your freebies are mentioned.
5. Social Media
For social platforms like Instagram, X (Formerly Twitter), and TikTok, place your freebie link in your bio.
Then, create posts, reels, and stories that naturally lead into your freebie and encourage people to go to your bio to check it out.
If you offer multiple freebies, set up a link-in-bio page that lists them all in one place.
For instance, Alex Cattoni, founder of the Copy Posse, has multiple freebies (and other resources) listed on one page and placed in the bio of her Instagram profile.
6. Collaborations
You don’t need a huge website and social audience to grow your email list—you can leverage other people’s audiences instead. One way to do this is by writing guest posts for established blogs. If allowed, mention your freebie within the post or in your author bio.
Another option is podcast interviews. Share your expertise on someone else’s show and introduce your lead magnet as a free resource for listeners.
Take Cody Berman, co-founder of Gold City Ventures, who was featured on the Making Sense of Cents blog.
Berman shared how he made over $6,000 with his Etsy Printables shop, and his responses were turned into a blog post. This gave him the perfect opportunity to mention his freebie, which is a workshop on making money with printables. It was highlighted at both the beginning and end of the post to maximize visibility.
7. Ads
I saved this for last because, honestly, ads aren’t necessary to grow your email list.
If you’re just getting started, focus on organic methods first. You can absolutely build an engaged audience using the organic strategies we’ve discussed so far.
But if you’ve built some traction and have a budget to invest, ads can help you scale faster.
Facebook and Instagram ads are a great starting point. They give you detailed targeting options, so you can reach the people most likely to need your freebie.
How To Nurture and Convert Email Leads Into Paying Customers
Now that you’re gaining email leads and sending them through your welcome sequence, what’s next?
You need an email marketing strategy to keep your readers engaged, so they get used to opening, reading, and clicking links in your emails.
The more your readers interact with your content, the more likely they are to buy from you.
Stay Consistent To Keep Leads Engaged
Just like you post regularly on social media to keep your audience engaged, you should aim to do the same with email.
Don’t just show up when you have something to sell—keep in touch consistently with valuable content.
Share tips, resources, personal experiences, behind-the-scenes updates, case studies, and anything that educates, inspires, or entertains your subscribers.
Pick a sending schedule that works for you, whether that’s daily, weekly, or monthly.
If creating new content feels overwhelming, repurpose what you’re already posting on your blog or social media. You can also link directly to these posts in your emails to drive traffic to them.
Keep a swipe file of content ideas. If you’ve subscribed to email lists from top brands in your niche, keep an eye on how they engage with their audience and save any ideas you find useful.
Use Segmentation and Personalization To Boost Engagement
People engage more when an email feels relevant to them.
So instead of always sending the same emails to your entire list, segment your audience to help you send targeted and personalized content.
For example, you can segment leads by the following criteria:
Segmenting your audience based on these details allows you to send your readers personalized emails, which go beyond just addressing them by their first name.
For instance, an email marketing lead who downloaded an Instagram growth freebie would receive emails related to Instagram, while someone who grabbed a TikTok checklist would get TikTok-related content.
A customer who bought a product from you might get emails recommending related products or offering an upsell, or a subscriber who hasn’t opened your emails in a while could receive a re-engagement series to win them back.
Run A/B Tests for Higher Conversions
Your emails will get different levels of engagement, but you don’t have to guess why that’s the case—A/B testing (aka split testing) helps you find what resonates best with your audience.
The goal is to identify which elements impact open rates, click-through rates, and conversions the most.
When running A/B tests, don’t change everything at once—test one thing at a time to see what makes a difference.
Here are some elements to experiment with:
Subject lines
Email preview text
Send times and days
Call to action (CTA) placement and wording
Plain text vs. design-heavy emails
Most email marketing platforms, including beehiiv, have built-in A/B testing tools that make running these tests easy.
The more you test, the better you’ll understand what makes your subscribers open, read, and click your emails.
My Favorite Tools for Managing and Growing Your Email Leads
Email marketing tools make it easier to manage everything in one place—signup forms, landing pages, automated email sequences, and more.
There are plenty of options out there, which can make choosing the right email marketing tool a bit overwhelming.
To make it easier, here are my top picks, each with its unique strengths:
1. beehiiv: Best for Lead Growth and Monetization
Why I like it (besides its simple interface and generous free plan):
Access built-in growth tools, like the referral program and recommendations engine, for attracting new subscribers.
Publish specific newsletter posts to your beehiiv website for future subscribers to view, read, and subscribe.
Turn your email content into an income-generating asset via ads, boosts, and paid subscriptions.
Get detailed analytics into your daily subscriber growth, acquisition sources, and newsletter performance.
2. Kit (Formerly ConvertKit): Best for Digital Product Sales
Why I like it:
Access a variety of pre-made signup forms, landing pages, emails, and automation templates.
Track the views and conversion rates of your signup forms and landing pages.
Connect natively with 20+ course and membership platforms like Kajabi, Circle, and Patreon.
Host your digital products on Kit, so you don’t have to pay for a third-party tool.
3. Flodesk: Best Affordable Option
Why I like it:
Access professional, modern, and aesthetic email templates.
Beautify your emails with custom fonts, image collages, and Instagram feeds.
Pay a flat-rate monthly subscription fee for unlimited subscribers and emails (however, there’s no free plan).
My Closing Thoughts on Email Marketing Leads
The best time to start generating email marketing leads was yesterday, but you aren’t late if you get started today.
Use the steps we’ve covered as a guide and start taking action—create your freebie, design your signup forms and landing pages, drive traffic to them, and, most importantly, show up consistently in your subscribers’ inboxes with valuable content.
The more value you provide, the easier it becomes to turn subscribers into paying customers.
And if you’re looking for a tool that makes growing and monetizing your email marketing leads easier—whether through selling digital products, running a paid newsletter, or earning from ads—beehiiv is for you.
Sign up for a free beehiiv account and start building your email list today.
Email Marketing Leads: Frequently Asked Questions
What Are Leads in Email Marketing?
Email marketing leads are people who have shown interest in your business by sharing their email address with you. They might have signed up to receive a freebie or to get your unique insights via email. Either way, they’re potential customers who could eventually turn into loyal buyers.
How To Get More Leads in Email Marketing?
The best way to attract more leads is by offering something valuable for free in exchange for someone’s email. This could be an ebook, webinar, checklist, or template that helps solve a specific problem.
To maximize signups, promote your free resource across your website and social media, so more people see it and sign up.
How To Get Emails for Leads?
To collect emails, add signup forms and pop-ups to your website, so visitors can subscribe.
If you don’t have a website, create a landing page with a signup form and share the link on your social media platforms.
Does Email Marketing Generate Leads?
Yes, email marketing generates leads if you offer a freebie, promote it across your website and social channels, and set up signup forms and landing pages where people can share their email in exchange for the freebie.
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