Getting customers

Build an Email List: How I Gained 5,000 Active Readers

By Artur Neumann. Updated October 10, 2026.

My newsletter has about 5,000 active readers. More than 60 percent of them open my emails. When I send an email, I often see the first orders within 30 minutes.

I built this list step by step. At first without a big budget and without any tech skills. In this article, I show you the complete path. From the first lead magnet to the signup page to the regular email. This is exactly how I would start from zero again today.

Why you need your own email list

I call it the casino principle. If you build your marketing entirely on social media, you are playing in someone else’s casino. Facebook, Instagram and YouTube don’t belong to you. The platform can block your account. The algorithm can change overnight. Then your reach is gone, along with all your followers.

I know channels with hundreds of thousands of subscribers and no list of their own. That is a risky business. One blocked account is enough, and you lose contact with all your fans.

Your email list, on the other hand, belongs to you. It is a business asset. You decide when you reach your readers and what you send them. You see exactly who opens, clicks and buys. And you stay independent of any platform. So become the owner of the casino instead of playing in it.

This leads to a simple rule. Be active on social media, but always send people to your own list. Every post, every video and every podcast points to a signup page. Social media is the stage. The email list is your home. I show you how to build this stage in my article on how to build a personal brand.

Build an email list: the five steps

This is the path from zero:

1. Create a lead magnet your ideal customers want.
2. Build a simple signup page with double opt-in.
3. Win your first subscribers through your content or through ads.
4. Welcome new readers with an automated email series.
5. Write regular emails with value and a call to action.

Now let’s look at each step in detail.

Step 1: Create a lead magnet

Nobody signs up because your website says “Subscribe to the newsletter.” People give their email address for a gift. This gift is called a lead magnet.

The principle: you give your target audience something that solves a concrete problem. In return, you get the email address.

A lead magnet doesn’t have to be a big work. A PDF with 3 to 6 pages is plenty. The title is what matters. In my experience, the title accounts for about 80 percent of the success. Your ideal customer must read it and think: “That’s exactly what I want.”

These formats work in almost any industry:

• “7 Reasons Why…”: for example, “7 Reasons Why Every Business Owner Should Publish a Book”.
• “7 Deadly Mistakes…”: for example, “7 Deadly Mistakes in Winning New Customers”.
• A case study: for example, “How a Trades Business Won 200 New Customers with One Strategy”.
• A short video course with a checklist or template.

I’ve had very good results with e-books and reports. They appeal to our urge to collect. You sign up, save the PDF and feel good. My signup pages with a free e-book reach a signup rate of 50 percent on average. Every second visitor signs up.

The fit with your offer is key. A gift for everyone brings you many addresses, but no prospects who fit. Solve a problem your ideal customers have shortly before they decide to buy.

Step 2: Build a simple signup page

For the tech, you need four building blocks: a landing page, email marketing software, a confirmation email and a thank-you page.

The landing page is a single page with one goal. It shows the cover of your lead magnet, the title and a signup field. Nothing more. No menu, no logo, no long texts. The simpler the page, the higher the signup rate. I have tested this many times.

Ask for as little data as possible. First name and email address are enough. Every extra field lowers the signup rate.

In Germany, you need the double opt-in process. The prospect signs up and automatically gets a confirmation email. Only after clicking the confirmation link is the person on your list. Without this process, you risk cease-and-desist letters. It also keeps your list clean.

A detail from practice: don’t put the download directly on the confirmation page. Send the lead magnet in a separate email. People like to save and forward confirmation pages. Your statistics then count signups that aren’t real.

The email marketing software manages your addresses, sends the series and measures opens and clicks. Almost every common tool can do that. Start simple. You can switch later.

Step 3: Win your first subscribers

Start without an ad budget

Your content is the engine. Link to your signup page in every post you publish. Below every video, in every podcast description, at the end of every blog article. This way, each piece of content keeps collecting addresses for you, even months later.

Also, talk about your lead magnet actively. Write a post about the problem it solves. Then add a line like this: “You can get the complete guide for free on my site.” That works better than any link in your profile.

As a coach or consultant, you can also use every conversation and every talk. I show you how this works in detail in my article on how to get clients as a coach or consultant.

Grow with an ad budget

With ads, you grow faster. One principle: always run ads to the lead magnet, never directly to your offer. People rarely buy on first contact. They want to get to know you first and build trust.

Say clearly in the ad what people get. You then get fewer clicks, but qualified prospects. With this clear message, I reach signup rates of 50 to 70 percent on my pages. Depending on the industry, I pay about 2 to 3 euros per signup.

An example calculation from my practice

Say you make 2,000 euros profit per customer. On average, you need five intro calls to close one deal. So one call is worth 400 euros to you. A click on your ad costs about 2 euros.

Option 1: You send the ad straight to your booking page. 100 clicks cost 200 euros and, in my experience, bring about two calls. That makes 800 euros profit.

Option 2: You send the ad to your lead magnet. At a 50 percent signup rate, 100 clicks bring 50 addresses. For me, 50 addresses like these turned into about ten calls within twelve months. That makes 4,000 euros profit with the same ad spend.

Your numbers will look different. The principle stays the same: give first, then sell. The direct ad works for one day. The list works for you for months.

Step 4: Welcome new readers automatically

Right after signup, the interest is fresh. This is exactly when the new reader wants to hear from you. That’s why you set up an automated welcome series, a so-called autoresponder.

The first email delivers the lead magnet and briefly introduces you. Who you are, whom you help, why you do it. Then more emails follow at intervals of one to seven days. At the start, I write more often, later less often.

Each email delivers value and ends with a call to action. A tip, a short story, an example from practice. Plus a pointer to your next step, such as an intro call or an entry-level offer.

A number from my experience: about 80 percent of purchases happen only 30 to 90 days after signup. If you give up after two emails, you give away almost everything. Keep at it.

Step 5: Write regularly and with a system

Two hurdles decide the success of every email. First the open, then the click.

The subject line has only one job. It makes people curious. The first sentence then delivers a benefit right away. Every sentence should lead to the next one, all the way to the click.

This is how I build my emails:

• Three links per email: one at the top, one in the middle, one at the bottom.
• Each link gets its own call to action, for example “Get the guide here”.
• Links sit behind text, no bare URLs.
• A P.S. at the end, with a result or a personal note.

Before sending, I send every email to myself. I check it on my phone and test every link. That takes two minutes and prevents embarrassing mistakes.

About expectations: an open rate of about 30 percent is solid. My list is above 60 percent. The reason is not a trick. I only collect readers who really want my topic, and I write to them regularly. I show you how to write texts that lead to the click and the purchase in my article on how to write sales copy.

Your start this week

You don’t need perfect conditions. This is how you start:

1. Today, choose one concrete problem your ideal customers have and a working title for your lead magnet.
2. Write the PDF with 3 to 6 pages.
3. Build the signup page with double opt-in.
4. Link to the page in your next five posts.
5. Set up three welcome emails.

My 5,000 readers didn’t come in one month. But every single address has been working for me ever since. Start small and keep at it.

You can find more guides for your marketing in the overview of all articles. Related to this topic: Get customers with AI.