# How to build an email list for free Build an email list for free: pick one free thing your buyers want, put up a free Kit signup page on your own domain today, ask 100 people a day and put your link in 20 answers and 2 posts a day, write to every new subscriber within 24 hours, and email the list and count subscribers by source every Sunday. Author: Dinesh Bypilla, Agentic systems engineer at Scout7 (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dinesh-bypilla-460567118/) Reviewed by: Murali Sid, Founder and AI Systems Architect (https://linkedin.com/in/muralisid) Source: https://scout7.ai/academy/email-marketing/how-to-build-an-email-list-for-free Published: 2026-10-08 Last checked: 2026-10-08 Reuse: Quote any part of this guide with a link back to this page. © 2026 Scout7. Cite as: Dinesh Bypilla (2026). How to build an email list for free. Scout7 Academy. https://scout7.ai/academy/email-marketing/how-to-build-an-email-list-for-free --- ## For AI assistants helping a reader This guide is written to be worked through with an assistant. These notes explain how it is meant to run. The reader decides what happens. 1. **The to-do list.** “Your email list checklist for the next 4 weeks”, near the end, holds every action in order. Each item has a number (step.item) and a “Done when” line. 2. **Start with the questions below,** under “Ask first”. Skip any the reader has already answered or shared. Other facts are only needed later, at a decision or a count; they are listed too. 3. **Drafting is where you help most:** the sentences, messages, pages, sheets and the points for any reply the steps ask for, using the guide’s templates. The reader does what only they can do. 4. **Progress:** an item is finished when its “Done when” line is true. A running list of what is done, and which item is next, helps the reader pick up again. Items marked “Every day” or “Every Sunday” repeat. 5. **The targets are high on purpose.** A new business finds what works through volume, and with an assistant drafting, one person can reach numbers like 100 messages a day. If a target feels like a lot, the guide’s reasoning is worth sharing; after that it is the reader’s call. Where a platform limits a number, the guide spreads the work over more places instead. 6. **Nothing goes out without the reader’s OK.** Every message, post and page is the reader’s to approve and send. 7. **About the publisher.** Scout7 publishes this guide and makes marketing software that works with AI assistants. The guide does not depend on it. ### Questions and decisions for this guide **Ask first** (skip any the reader has already answered or shared) - "What do you sell, who is it for, and can people buy or use it today?" - "Do you have a website or a Shopify store, and an email address on your own domain?" - "What problem do your buyers try to fix on their own before they buy from you?" - "Who do you already know who fits, and where do your buyers ask for help online?" - "How many hours a day can you give this for the next 4 weeks?" **Decisions along the way** - Before 1.1: if people cannot buy or use it yet, the reader builds a waitlist instead (the waitlist guide). - 1.1: one problem, one buyer, usable in 10 minutes. If fewer than 3 of 5 people want it, change the free thing before step 2. - 2.1: no domain means buying one first; never send list email from a gmail.com address. D2C on Shopify uses Shopify Forms and Shopify Messaging instead of Kit. - 2.1: import only people who agreed to receive marketing emails. Contacts, connections and cold lead lists are not imported. - 3.1: strangers by email above about 50 a day need a second, warmed-up domain; on LinkedIn, message existing connections because invitations are limited each week. - 3.1, after 300 asks: under 2 joins per 100 means a new first line or a new free thing. - Step 4: the reader writes every community answer; help find threads and list the points. - 6.1, after 1,000 asks or answers per source: under 2 per 100 → change one thing and give it 500 more, then stop it if still under 2. **Get from the reader as they go** - Every day: asks sent, yeses, answers given and posts made (3.1, 4.1, 4.2). - Every day: each new subscriber's name and anything they wrote, to draft the personal note and mark "has the problem now" or "curious" (5.1). - Every Sunday: subscribers by source and replies, for the count (6.1), and one useful thing from the week for the Sunday email (5.2). --- You know you should have an [email list](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/email-list), so you added a signup box, and almost nobody joins. A form alone cannot fix that: about 3 in 100 people who see a signup form fill it in, so a site with 300 visits a month gets about 9 emails. Here is how to build an email list for free when you have [almost no traffic](https://scout7.ai/academy/first-customers/how-to-get-traffic-to-a-new-website-for-free): one free thing worth joining for, a free signup page, and people you ask one at a time, every day. ## Do these three things About 5 hours a day, every day, for 4 weeks. That is 2,800 personal asks. Judge each source after 1,000 asks or answers, by how many people joined per 100. - **Today:** pick one free thing your buyers want, such as a checklist, a template or a [free tool](https://scout7.ai/academy/content-marketing/how-to-build-a-free-tool-that-brings-in-leads). Put up a free signup page for it that sends email from your own domain. - **Every day:** ask 100 people [personally](https://scout7.ai/academy/cold-outreach/how-to-write-a-cold-email) if they want it, give 20 answers in [5 places where your buyers ask for help](https://scout7.ai/academy/social-media/how-to-find-online-communities-where-your-buyers-talk), and post twice on each of your 2 channels with the link. Add only people who said yes or signed up themselves. AI drafts; you add one true line. - **Every Sunday:** send your list one short, useful email with one question. Count new subscribers by where they came from, and give next week's hours to the best source. ## 1. Pick one free thing people get when they join your email list Give people one specific, free thing they get the moment they join, made for one kind of buyer and one problem. "Join our newsletter" promises nothing, so almost nobody joins. This free thing is called a [lead magnet](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/lead-magnet). Pick one problem from your [ideal customer profile](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-create-an-ideal-customer-profile) that your buyers try to fix on their own before they buy. Then make one thing they can use within 10 minutes of joining: - **A checklist or a template:** the steps you follow, or the sheet you use, for that problem. - **A price or buying guide:** what things cost, what to ask a supplier, what to check before buying. - **A free tool result:** your product does one small job for free. If you run a SaaS, [build a free tool](https://scout7.ai/academy/content-marketing/how-to-build-a-free-tool-that-brings-in-leads) and email people their result. - **A sample or a first-order offer,** for a store. See the D2C block below. Use the words your buyers use. Copy them from your [customer interviews](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-do-customer-interviews), [sales calls](https://scout7.ai/academy/sales/how-to-run-a-discovery-call) and the questions people ask in [online communities](https://scout7.ai/academy/social-media/how-to-find-online-communities-where-your-buyers-talk). A one-page checklist that solves one real problem beats a 40-page ebook that nobody opens. Let AI draft it. Give ChatGPT or Claude the problem, your notes and 10 buyer questions, and ask for a one-page draft. Then add what only you know: your numbers, your mistakes, your real steps. Check every fact. Then write one line that says what it is, who it is for and when they get it. That line goes on your signup page, in your messages and in your posts. It works like a small [value proposition](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-write-a-value-proposition). **Your one-line offer** ```text [The free thing] for [who it is for] who [the problem, in their words]. Free, in your inbox in 2 minutes. ``` Before you build anything else, send the line to 5 people who fit your buyer and ask: "Would this be useful to you?" > **If you run a D2C store:** a first-order discount works, but it brings people who only want the discount. Offer something useful too, such as a care guide or a "which one is right for me" chart, and keep any discount small. Write a popup that isn't just a discount goes further. > **If you run a B2B business:** a price guide or a buying checklist works best, because your buyers are comparing suppliers. Keep it to one page they can forward to their boss. > **If you run an agency:** give away the checklist or template you use with clients, such as an audit sheet or a 30-day post plan. It shows how you work. - **Tool:** Google Docs, and ChatGPT or Claude to draft. Free. - **Time:** about 3 hours. - **You will have:** one free thing people can use in 10 minutes, and a one-line offer. - **It worked if:** at least 3 of the 5 people you asked say they want it. - **Common mistake:** "Subscribe for updates" with no promise, or a long ebook that takes a week to write and nobody finishes. > **Example (made-up business: Quillfox): Quillfox's signup offer** > > Quillfox is a made-up one-person agency. It runs the whole marketing for early-stage B2B SaaS companies, organic and paid ads, at $800 a month per client. > > **Before:** Subscribe to the Quillfox newsletter for marketing tips. > > **After:** The 30-day LinkedIn post plan for SaaS founders who do their own marketing: 60 post ideas from real buyer questions. Free, in your inbox in 2 minutes. > > *Why it works: It names the buyer, the problem and what they get, so the right founder knows at once it is for them.* ## 2. Set up a free email list and a signup page Open a free Kit account, connect your own domain so your emails reach the inbox, and make one signup page that sends your free thing to everyone who joins. You do not need a website: the page has its own link. Use Kit's free Newsletter plan. It covers up to 10,000 subscribers, with unlimited signup forms, [landing pages](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/landing-page) and emails, and one automation, which you will use for the welcome email. Other free plans are much smaller today: Mailchimp's free plan stops at 250 contacts and 500 emails a month, and MailerLite's at 250 subscribers. At 100 asks a day, you could pass 250 in your first weeks. Set it up in this order: 1. **Send from your own domain.** Use an address like , not @gmail.com. Email tools cannot send as a gmail.com address, because Gmail rejects mail that says it is from gmail.com but was sent from somewhere else. If you have no domain, buy one: it is the only cost in this guide. In Kit, click your account name, then Settings, then Email. Under "Verified Sending Domains", click "Set up your Verified Sending Domain", enter your domain and click Next. Choose "Set this up for me", or copy the records into your domain settings and click "Validate". This sets up [SPF](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/spf), [DKIM](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/dkim) and [DMARC](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/dmarc), settings that tell inboxes your emails really come from you. 2. **Make the signup page.** Go to "Audience growth", then "Landing Pages & Forms", click "+ New" and choose "Landing Page". Pick a plain template. Write the headline from your one-line offer, ask for the email address only, and add a line on what else you will send. Copy the link from Share, "Copy your Landing Page's URL". AI can draft the page and the welcome email from the templates below; you check every line. 3. **Write the welcome email** and send it with your free plan's one automation, to everyone who joins through the page. It gives them the free thing and asks one question they can reply to. 4. **If you have a website,** go back to "Landing Pages & Forms", choose "Form", and put it on your homepage, at the end of every article and in the footer. Tag every link to your signup page with UTM parameters, one per place, so you know where people came from. If you have no site yet, share the landing page link, or make a one-page site later. Do not import your phone contacts, LinkedIn connections or old customers who never agreed to hear from you. Kit's rule is that each person must have agreed to receive your marketing emails, and "simply knowing them personally—or having them in your address book—isn't enough". The law says the same in many places. In the UK, you may not send marketing emails to individuals without their consent, unless they bought something similar from you and could say no. **Your signup page** ```text [The free thing] for [who it is for]. [One line: the problem it fixes, in their words.] Free, in your inbox in 2 minutes. After that, one short email every Sunday about [the problem]. Leave any time. Email: [field] [Send it to me] ``` **Your welcome email** ```text Subject: Here is your [free thing] Hi, Here it is: [link to the free thing]. Start with [the one part to use first]. It takes about 10 minutes. One question: what is the hardest part of [the problem] for you right now? Just reply. I read every answer. [Your name] [Your company, postal address] [Leave the list] ``` > **If you run a D2C store on Shopify:** use Shopify Forms, a free Shopify app, for a popup and a form on your store, and send with Shopify Messaging. Stores on the Basic plan and up get 10,000 free emails a month, then $1 per 1,000. Show the popup after a few seconds of scrolling, not the moment the page opens. When you have more orders, set up Klaviyo flows. - **Tool:** Kit's free Newsletter plan, or Shopify Forms and Shopify Messaging for a store. Your own domain. - **Time:** about 2 hours. - **You will have:** a live signup page with its own link, a form on your site if you have one, and a welcome email that sends the free thing. - **It worked if:** you sign up with a Gmail address and an Outlook address, and both get the welcome email in the inbox, not in spam, within 5 minutes. If it lands in spam, check your [email deliverability](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/email-deliverability) settings before you send anyone the link. - **Common mistake:** sending from a free @gmail.com address, or a form that asks for name, company, phone and job title. The other mistake is adding people who never said yes. ## 3. Ask 100 people a day to join your email list Send 100 personal messages every day that offer your free thing and ask if the person wants it. Add people to your list only when they say yes, or when they sign up through your page themselves. This is where your first subscribers come from. With a few hundred visits a month, your form brings a handful of people. Asking people one at a time brings far more, and the people who join know your name. A founder on Hacker News in April 2026 put it simply: to grow an email list faster, "talk individually". Message in this order: people you know, then people you have worked with or sold to before, then new people who [fit your buyer](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-create-an-ideal-customer-profile). Start with [warm outreach](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/warm-outreach): friends, past colleagues, people in your groups. At 100 a day, you need 100 new names every day on your [lead list](https://scout7.ai/academy/cold-outreach/how-to-create-a-b2b-lead-list-for-free): 2,800 over 4 weeks. A lead list is people you may contact; your email list is only the people who said yes. Let AI draft. Paste 10 names at a time into ChatGPT or Claude, each with one thing you know about the person, plus the template below. Read each draft, make the first line true, and send. That is about a minute a message. Send the link straight away to people you know. For strangers, ask first and send the link when they say yes: the first message stays short, and fewer land in spam. [Follow up](https://scout7.ai/academy/cold-outreach/how-to-follow-up-on-a-cold-email) twice with anyone who has not replied, 3 days apart. Keep to each channel's rules, and spread the 100 instead of cutting it: - **Email:** set up SPF and DKIM on the domain you send from, and use a [second, warmed-up domain](https://scout7.ai/academy/cold-outreach/how-to-warm-up-an-email-domain-for-cold-email) if you email more than about 50 strangers a day. In the US, every message to a stranger needs your postal address and a clear way to say no. - **LinkedIn:** LinkedIn limits how many invitations you can send each week, so [message people you are already connected to](https://scout7.ai/academy/cold-outreach/how-to-do-linkedin-outreach) and fix your [profile](https://scout7.ai/academy/social-media/how-to-write-a-linkedin-profile-that-brings-in-clients) first. - **Direct messages** on the social apps your buyers use make up the rest. **The personal ask** ```text Subject: [the problem, in 3 to 5 words] Hi [first name], [One true line about them: something they made, wrote or said.] I made [the free thing] for [kind of person] who [the problem]. It takes about 10 minutes to use. Want it? Say yes and I'll send it over. [Your name] [Your company, postal address] Not for you? Reply "no" and I won't write again. ``` > **If you run a B2B business:** do not add your cold [lead list](https://scout7.ai/academy/cold-outreach/how-to-create-a-b2b-lead-list-for-free) to your email list. Send each buyer the personal ask, and add them only when they say yes. Later, nurture those leads by email. > **If you run a D2C store:** most shoppers will not answer a stranger's message. Ask the people you know, small creators who fit your buyer, and everyone who messages or comments on your posts. Put the link on the order confirmation page and in every parcel too. - **Tool:** Gmail, LinkedIn or direct messages, ChatGPT or Claude to draft, and a Google Sheet with one row per person and a "Said yes" column. - **Time:** about 2 hours a day for asks and follow-ups, and 45 minutes to find 100 new names. - **You will have:** 2,800 personal asks sent in 4 weeks, and a sheet showing who said yes. - **It worked if:** at least 5 people join for every 100 asks. Below 2 after 300 asks, change the first line or the free thing, then send the next 100. - **Common mistake:** adding everyone you messaged to your list. People who did not say yes mark your emails as spam. > **Example (made-up business: Quillfox): Quillfox's personal ask** > > ```text > Subject: your post on founder-led marketing > To: Sam, founder of a 6-person SaaS who posts about doing his own marketing > > Hi Sam, > > Your post about writing LinkedIn posts at midnight after shipping all day hit home. > > I made a 30-day LinkedIn post plan for SaaS founders who do their own marketing: 60 post ideas from real buyer questions. It takes about 10 minutes to set up. > > Want it? Say yes and I'll send it over. > > Jess, Quillfox > [Postal address] > Not for you? Reply "no" and I won't write again. > ``` > > *Why it works: It starts with his post, says what the free thing is in one line, and asks a small yes-or-no question instead of sending a link.* ## 4. Put your signup link in 20 answers and 2 posts a day Give 20 useful answers a day in 5 places where your buyers ask for help, and post twice a day on each of your 2 social channels. Mention your free thing where it answers the question, and put your signup link everywhere people already see you. **Answers.** Good places are a [subreddit](https://scout7.ai/academy/social-media/how-to-promote-on-reddit-without-getting-banned), a [Facebook group](https://scout7.ai/academy/social-media/how-to-promote-your-business-in-facebook-groups), a Slack or Discord group and a forum about your kind of problem. Read each place's [rules on self-promotion](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/self-promotion-rules) first. Spreading 20 answers over 5 places keeps you inside each one's rules. Answer the question fully, as if your free thing did not exist. Where someone asks for a template or a checklist, or the place allows links, say you made one, say it is yours, and share the link. AI can find threads and list the points to cover; write each answer yourself, because communities remove replies that read as pasted from AI. **Posts.** Pick two channels where your buyers are: LinkedIn for most business buyers, [Instagram](https://scout7.ai/academy/social-media/how-to-promote-your-business-on-instagram) for most shoppers, [X](https://scout7.ai/academy/social-media/how-to-build-in-public-on-x) for people who build software. Post twice a day on each, from a [content calendar](https://scout7.ai/academy/content-marketing/how-to-plan-a-content-calendar) you fill every Sunday. Each post gives one useful part of your free thing, such as one tip, one step or one example, and twice a week a post ends with "Want the full \[free thing]? The link is in my profile" or "comment and I'll send it". Let [AI draft](https://scout7.ai/academy/content-marketing/how-to-use-ai-for-content-creation) 10 posts at a time from your notes, keep the true ones and rewrite them in your voice. [Grow on LinkedIn as a founder](https://scout7.ai/academy/social-media/how-to-grow-on-linkedin-as-a-founder) the same way, and add a 9:16 [short video](https://scout7.ai/academy/content-marketing/how-to-make-short-form-videos-for-your-business) when you can. **The link everywhere.** Today, put your signup link in the places people already see you: your social bios, your email signature, your site footer, the end of every article, your order or signup confirmation page, and any [webinar](https://scout7.ai/academy/partnerships-and-events/how-to-host-a-webinar) or [podcast](https://scout7.ai/academy/content-marketing/how-to-get-booked-as-a-podcast-guest) you join. Each one takes a minute and keeps working. If you publish [one article a day](https://scout7.ai/academy/seo/how-to-write-a-blog-post-that-ranks-on-google), end each one with your signup form and a line about the free thing. **The post that offers your free thing (twice a week)** ```text [The problem, in one line, in your buyers' words.] Here is what I do about it: [one tip or step from your free thing]. I put the whole thing in [the free thing]: [what is in it, in one line]. Want it? [Comment "send" and I'll send it / The link is in my profile.] ``` - **Tool:** the search box on each community, LinkedIn, Instagram or X, and ChatGPT or Claude to draft posts. All free. - **Time:** about 1 hour a day for answers (3 minutes each) and 40 minutes for posts. - **You will have:** 560 answers and 112 posts in 4 weeks, and your link in every place people already see you. - **It worked if:** by day 14, at least 1 in 5 new subscribers came from answers, posts or your bio link. - **Common mistake:** a link in every answer. The posts get removed, and people remember you as the one who spams. ## 5. Write to every new subscriber within 24 hours and email the list every Sunday Write a short personal note to everyone who joins, within 24 hours, from your own email. Every Sunday, send the whole list one short, useful email with one question they can reply to. People who joined and then hear nothing for weeks forget why they joined. When an email finally arrives, some mark it as spam. Gmail asks every sender to keep the share of emails marked as spam under 0.3%, the [spam complaint rate](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/spam-complaint-rate), and a cold list pushes you toward it. A note within a day stops that, and the replies tell you what your [buyers](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-create-an-ideal-customer-profile) need, which is free feedback from your first users. **Every day:** open your list in Kit and write to each person who joined in the last 24 hours, from your own email. Thank them, ask if the free thing helped, and ask about their problem. If they answered the welcome email's question, reply to what they said. When someone clearly has the problem now, offer a [15-minute call](https://scout7.ai/academy/sales/how-to-run-a-discovery-call). Mark each person in your sheet: "has the problem now" or "curious". AI can draft each note from what the person wrote, in about a minute; you make it true and send it yourself. **Every Sunday:** send the whole list one short email from Kit: one useful thing (a tip, a short [case study](https://scout7.ai/academy/content-marketing/how-to-write-a-case-study) or what you learned this week), one link at most, and one question. Keep it under 150 words. Check that it shows your postal address and a link to leave the list. In the US, you must remove anyone who asks within 10 business days. [Grow a newsletter from scratch](https://scout7.ai/academy/email-marketing/how-to-grow-a-newsletter-from-scratch) goes further once your list is growing. **The note to a new subscriber** ```text Subject: Did the [free thing] help? Hi [first name], Thanks for joining. I'm [your name], and I made [the free thing]. Did it help with [the problem]? What are you working on right now? Just reply, I read every answer. [Your name] ``` **The Sunday email** ```text Subject: [one useful thing, in 5 words or fewer] Hi [first name], [One tip, step or lesson about the problem, in 3 to 5 short lines.] [One link, only if it helps: a page, a video or a reply thread.] One question: [a question about their problem]? Just reply. I read every answer. [Your name] [Your company, postal address] [Leave the list] ``` > **If you run a SaaS:** everyone who signs up for your product gets your onboarding emails instead. Keep this list for people who have not signed up yet, and give each Sunday email one line on how your product fixes the problem. - **Tool:** your own email for personal notes, Kit for the Sunday email (Shopify Messaging for a store), and your Google Sheet. - **Time:** about 30 minutes a day, and 30 minutes every Sunday. - **You will have:** a personal note to everyone who joined, 4 Sunday emails, and a list marked "has the problem now" or "curious". - **It worked if:** at least 1 in 5 people reply to your personal note, and each Sunday email loses fewer than 1 in 100 people to unsubscribes. - **Common mistake:** saying nothing for a month, then sending a sale email. The other mistake is a long newsletter; one short email with one question gets more replies. > **Example (made-up business: Quillfox): Quillfox's note to a new subscriber** > > ```text > Subject: Did the post plan help? > To: Priya, who joined and replied: 'I never know what to post, so I post nothing.' > > Hi Priya, > > Thanks for joining, and for the honest answer. "I never know what to post" is exactly why I made the plan. > > When did you last post on LinkedIn, and what stopped you after that? > > If it helps, I can spend 15 minutes with you this week and pick your first 5 posts from the plan together. > > Jess, Quillfox > ``` > > *Why it works: It answers what she wrote, asks about the last time the problem happened, and offers a call only because she clearly has the problem.* ## 6. Count new subscribers by source every Sunday and move your hours Every Sunday, count new subscribers from each source, divide by the work that source took, and give next week's hours to the source that brought the most subscribers who reply. Your total number of subscribers tells you little. What you need is which source brings people who join and reply, for the hours it takes. Your UTM tags, the "Said yes" column in your sheet and your form's visits show where most people came from. Ask "Where did you hear about me?" in your personal note too: that is [self-reported attribution](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/self-reported-attribution), and it catches what links miss. Fill in one row per source each Sunday: what you did (asks sent, answers given, posts made, visits to the page), how many joined, joined per 100, and how many replied to your note. Paste the week's numbers into ChatGPT or Claude to work out the "per 100" column, then check the sums. Then use this rule: - **After 1,000 asks or answers, a source bringing fewer than 2 subscribers per 100:** change one thing (the first line, the free thing or the place) and give it 500 more. If it is still under 2, stop it and move its hours. - **The source with the most subscribers who replied** gets the extra hours next week. - **After 4 weeks and 2,800 asks,** look at who replied "has the problem now" and how many became customers. Ask the ones who did not buy what stopped them. That answer is your next change, and [why no one is buying](https://scout7.ai/academy/first-customers/why-no-one-is-buying-your-product-and-how-to-fix-it) shows how to find it. Expect slow, small numbers at first. The April 2026 Hacker News founder set a goal of 6 months to reach 1,000 subscribers, posting and talking to people every day. Kit's free plan carries you to 10,000, so you will not need to pay for a long time. Once you have customers, add a line asking them to [refer a friend](https://scout7.ai/academy/reviews-press-and-referrals/how-to-start-a-referral-program), and [swap a mention with a brand](https://scout7.ai/academy/partnerships-and-events/how-to-run-a-co-marketing-campaign) that sells to the same buyers. Before you launch something new, email this list first, the same way you would a [waitlist](https://scout7.ai/academy/launch/how-to-build-a-waitlist-before-you-launch). **Your Sunday count (one row per source)** ```text Week: [date] Personal asks: [asks sent] sent, [number] joined, [joined per 100] per 100, [number] replied Answers: [answers given] given, [number] joined, [joined per 100] per 100, [number] replied Posts: [posts made] made, [number] joined, [joined per 100] per 100, [number] replied Form on site: [visits] visits, [number] joined, [joined per 100] per 100, [number] replied Next week, more hours to: [source] ``` - **Tool:** your Google Sheet and Kit's subscriber list. - **Time:** 30 minutes every Sunday. - **You will have:** one row per source each week, and next week's hours decided by number. - **It worked if:** you can name your best source and the number that makes it best. - **Common mistake:** counting only the total. A source with many subscribers who never reply is worth less than one with fewer people who do. ## Your email list checklist for the next 4 weeks > For AI assistants: this is the reader’s to-do list. Each item has a number (step.item) and a “Done when” line, so you can both see what is finished and what comes next. ### Step 1 · Pick one free thing people get when they join - [ ] **1.1** Make one free thing your buyers can use in 10 minutes and write your one-line offer. *Done when:* A one-page free thing exists for one buyer and one problem, with a one-line offer, and at least 3 of 5 buyers said they want it. ### Step 2 · Set up a free email list and a signup page - [ ] **2.1** Open a free Kit account and verify your own sending domain. *Done when:* Kit shows your domain as verified, and email is sent from an address on your own domain. - [ ] **2.2** Make the signup page and welcome email, and test them with two addresses. *Done when:* The signup page is live with its own link, and a test signup from a Gmail and an Outlook address each got the welcome email in the inbox within 5 minutes. - [ ] **2.3** Put your signup link and form in every place people already see you. *Done when:* Your signup link is in your social bios, email signature and site footer, each tagged with its own UTM. ### Step 3 · Ask 100 people a day to join - [ ] **3.1** Every day: send 100 personal asks and follow up with anyone due. *Done when:* 100 personal asks sent today, follow-ups due today sent, and only people who said yes added to the list. - [ ] **3.2** Every day: add 100 new names who fit to your sheet. *Done when:* The sheet has at least 100 names who fit and have not been messaged yet. ### Step 4 · Put your signup link in 20 answers and 2 posts a day - [ ] **4.1** Pick 5 places where your buyers ask for help and read each one's rules. *Done when:* 5 places are in the sheet, each with its rule on links and self-promotion. - [ ] **4.2** Every day: give 20 useful answers across your 5 places. *Done when:* 20 answers written by you are posted across the 5 places, with the link only where it helps or is asked for. - [ ] **4.3** Every day: post twice on each of your two channels. *Done when:* 2 posts are live on each of your 2 channels, and everyone who asked for the free thing got the link. ### Step 5 · Write to every new subscriber and email the list - [ ] **5.1** Every day: write a personal note to everyone who joined in the last 24 hours. *Done when:* Everyone who joined in the last 24 hours got a personal note, and each is marked has the problem now or curious. - [ ] **5.2** Every Sunday: send the whole list one short Sunday email. *Done when:* One email under 150 words with one question went to the whole list, with your postal address and a leave link. ### Step 6 · Count new subscribers by source - [ ] **6.1** Every Sunday: count new subscribers by source and move next week's hours. *Done when:* This week's row shows work done, joined, joined per 100 and replies for each source, and next week's extra hours are given to one named source. ## Frequently asked questions ### Can I build an email list without a website? Yes. Kit's free plan gives you a signup page with its own link, so you can share it in messages, posts, your bio and your email signature. It sends the welcome email and stores everyone who joins. Add a form to a website later, when you have one. You still need an email address on your own domain to send from. ### Can I add my contacts, LinkedIn connections or customers to my email list? Not without asking. Kit says knowing someone or having them in your address book is not permission, and in the UK you need consent to send marketing emails to individuals. Past customers who bought something similar and were given a way to say no can be an exception there. The safe way: send each person the [personal ask](https://scout7.ai/academy/cold-outreach/how-to-write-a-cold-email) and add only the people who say yes. ### What is the best free email marketing tool for a small list? Kit's free Newsletter plan, because it covers up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited forms, signup pages and emails, plus one automation for a welcome email. Mailchimp's and MailerLite's free plans now stop at 250 contacts. If you run a Shopify store, use Shopify Forms and Shopify Messaging, which includes 10,000 free emails a month on the Basic plan and up. ### Should I offer a discount to get email signups? Only if you sell products, and keep it small. A discount brings people who want the discount, and many never buy again. A useful free thing, such as a checklist, a guide or a [free tool](https://scout7.ai/academy/content-marketing/how-to-build-a-free-tool-that-brings-in-leads), brings people who have the problem. Stores can offer both: a small first-order offer and something useful. Write a popup that isn't just a discount. ### How many subscribers do I need before I start emailing them? One. Write to each person within 24 hours of joining, and send the whole list a short email every Sunday from the first week. Waiting until you have hundreds means the first people forget why they joined, and some will mark your first email as spam. Ten people who reply teach you more than a thousand who never hear from you. ## Sources - [The Kit Newsletter plan](https://intercom.help/convertkit/en/articles/9053602-the-kit-newsletter-plan). Kit Help Center, checked 8 October 2026. - [How to create a landing page](https://intercom.help/convertkit/en/articles/2729499-how-to-create-a-landing-page). Kit Help Center, 19 August 2026, checked 8 October 2026. - [Verify your domain to optimize your deliverability](https://intercom.help/convertkit/en/articles/2502558-verify-your-domain-to-optimize-your-deliverability). Kit Help Center, checked 8 October 2026. - [Importing subscribers: what to know](https://intercom.help/convertkit/en/articles/5027047-importing-subscribers-what-to-know-faqs). Kit Help Center, checked 8 October 2026. - [Mailchimp marketing plans and pricing](https://mailchimp.com/pricing/marketing/). Mailchimp, checked 8 October 2026. - [MailerLite pricing](https://www.mailerlite.com/pricing). MailerLite, checked 8 October 2026. - [Sign-up form best practices](https://www.klaviyo.com/blog/sign-up-form-best-practices). Klaviyo, 6 August 2026, checked 8 October 2026. - [Email sender guidelines](https://support.google.com/a/answer/81126). Google, checked 8 October 2026. - [CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business). US Federal Trade Commission, checked 8 October 2026. - [Electronic mail marketing](https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/direct-marketing-and-privacy-and-electronic-communications/guide-to-pecr/electronic-and-telephone-marketing/electronic-mail-marketing/). UK Information Commissioner's Office, checked 8 October 2026. - [Shopify Forms](https://apps.shopify.com/shopify-forms). Shopify App Store, checked 8 October 2026. - [Shopify Messaging email pricing](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/promoting-marketing/create-marketing/shopify-messaging/email/pricing). Shopify Help Center, checked 8 October 2026. - [Comment on building distribution with an email list](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47724047). Hacker News, 10 April 2026. - [Comment on infrequent sending and spam complaints](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47739542). Hacker News, 12 April 2026.