Email Marketing is King of the Digital Sales Strategies

We already know that email marketing is pretty much king of the 2025 marketing strategies – despite how many social media platforms you can promote on as a business owner these days. It’s a focused list of people who are actually interested in your content – it’s like the modern-day version of having a household on your physical mailing list, versus putting a random set of leaflets through doors in a cold-messaging campaign.

Both are important, but one of those is going to naturally lead to more conversions than the other.

The trick is though, you have to actually GET people onto that list, which in this day and age, requires them opting in themselves, because due to data protections we can’t just collect random email addresses online and then send to them. Or at least we can’t in a small business context, there are plenty of email lists available for sale online that the big guys buy and sell like candy at Halloween. The ethics of that… well, we don’t have time to get into that today.

Building an Opt-In is KEY to Email Marketing

If you want to get people on that list though, you’ve got to give them something worth getting. Now, for some businesses, that’s as simple as offering a coupon or discount to users who subscribe to your email newsletter! If you’re a product seller, that might be the way to go. Especially if you can take advantage of gamifying the opt-in. There are all kinds of fun plugins for your WordPress.org site that will let you do just that!

But if you’re NOT a product seller, or if you’re a product seller looking to have a more robust list of opt-ins to capture a larger, more diverse audience, then you’re going to have to get more creative than just offering a discount.

You don’t have to stick with just one!

And when we’re talking about these opt-in options, I want you to keep in mind the fact that you don’t have to stick with just one. I personally have a whole suite of free opt-ins that people can grab on my site, because they’re targeted to different subscribers, who want different things! And then each of those opt-ins sends those subscribers a unique nurture sequence that includes tips, tricks, and upsells. Basically: it’s a funnel. A simple one… but… if it quacks like a duck… right?

Opt-Ins that actually work

But creating an opt-in that people actually WANT isn’t always the easiest project, and I won’t lie to you and tell you there’s a one-size-fits-all solution to this problem. (And honestly, anyone who does is selling you something). Every business’ audience is different, and that means every audience will respond differently to different styles of opt-in.

So creating an opt-in that actually works isn’t about following a specific formula, it’s about knowing your audience, and meeting their specific needs. But that being said, there are still categories that opt-ins fall into, and no matter your audience, there’s something related to your niche in each of these that your people will definitely subscribe for. It’s just a matter of getting enough information about your people to see what will work for your business specifically!

1 – Cool Free Stuff/A Discount

The first type of opt-in that you can promote to your people is the one I already mentioned – discounts. But “cool free stuff” also fits into this category, which applies to more than just product sellers!

You can give subscribers a discount on your services, a discount on your products, free shipping (which is a popular one), or you can put together a digital product that’s available for free to subscribers as well! I recommend that if you take that route as a service provider, you create a product that’s more of a “preview” than a full product itself, but the world is your oyster!

2 – A How-To Guide or Practice

The next version of opt-in that works and is functional for almost any business, is creating a how-to guide for your people. Whether it relates to a topic you teach about, or unconventional uses for a product you sell, or even a DIY guide that helps walk people through a process, there’s going to be SOMEthing in your niche that could be formatted this way.

Maybe your yoga studio puts together a guided meditation, that people can use on the train on their way to work. Or your dog training company can offer a guide to the first three steps of training one’s new puppy. Whatever it is, make sure it meets a need your clients have, and you’ll be well on your way to collecting email addresses for your list, to nurture and eventually convert.

3 – An Educational Masterclass

This one is pretty similar to a how-to guide, but… not quite. And, it’s also best delivered in video format, instead of as a PDF or webpage. Educational masterclasses work for most businesses, whether and honestly they still follow a bit of the strategy from above. They’re designed to meet a need of your audience, but they also get your face in front of them, and not just in pictures you’ve popped into a PDF!

Masterclasses can be live, or evergreen – and you may have attended some by big names that LOOK live, but actually… aren’t. I don’t recommend these strategies because I find them disingenuous, but that’s a question of what you’re comfortable with.

If you’re struggling to think of an example of what a masterclass might look like in your niche, think about the questions you get asked. What do people want to know? Answer THOSE questions, and you can’t go wrong.

Creating your Opt-In, simply

So once you’ve selected the type of opt-in you’re going to create, you get to the easy part! Actually making it. I know that might sound like I’m exaggerating, but truly, the “building it” part is way easier than the “deciding” part!

If you’re making your opt-in in the format of a PDF, I recommend starting with a template for Canva, branding it to your business (or having it branded for you by a pro!), and then adding it as a download your people will receive when they opt-in. For a video opt-in, there are tons of options! You can use a password-locked page on your website, you can send them a link to a Loom video or Youtube video, or you can get extra fancy and use one of the platforms that will host your video masterclass for you.

Once you’ve made it, you can make the post-opt-in process as complicated or simple as you want! They can get a single email that has their cool stuff and then be sent to your main list, or you can provide a series of steps after the initial delivery of their opt-in, that further nurtures those leads.

Setting up your Opt-In page

Once you HAVE the opt-in, you need to create somewhere for your people to actually submit their email address. Now, this can be done in a whole variety of ways – everything from a pop-up on your website, to a devoted page. And honestly? I recommend having a variety of versions!

A devoted page you can link to from social media, an in-line subscription option on your homepage – collect. Those. Emails.

If you’re using Divi Builder for your website, it’s super easy to add opt-ins anywhere on your page, with the Email Opt-In module. It integrates directly with a ton of email marketing providers, so you’re likely to find yours in the list! If not, then you can use a code module to add the form directly from your email marketing provider.

Now… promote it!

Once you’ve got your opt-in page, AND the opt-in itself… it’s time to promote! This is where your social media comes in. Obviously there are other ways to promote, like if you have a focus on blogging for SEO on your site itself, then there will be people who land there without you really doing ANY promotion. But leveraging your social media audience to bring them onto your list is a streamlined method to use social media without RELYING on social media.

Problem: solved.