10 Ways to Build An Email List for Your YouTube Channel

10 Ways to Build An Email List for Your YouTube Channel

10 Ways to Build An Email List for Your YouTube Channel
10 Ways to Build An Email List for Your YouTube Channel

Building an audience on YouTube is one thing, but to take that connection to the next level you need to get your viewers to join your email list.

Email is still the most powerful channel for deepening your relationship with your audience. Email is personal. It’s something we all check every single day.

And when you convince a YouTube viewer to join your email list, not only does that mean they’re more engaged with your content, but that you own access to them. You’re no longer at the mercy of the YouTube algorithm, you can contact them directly anytime you like.

Plus, if you’re selling a product you’ll want to pitch it using your email list. Why? Well, a study by the e-commerce platform Gumroad showed that email was the highest converting channel when it came to people clicking on a product and following through on a purchase.

Products promoted via email had a conversion rate of 9.4% compared to the 2.2% of conversions that came via YouTube. Even if you don’t yet have something to sell to your audience, it’ll be well worth your time to start building those relationships now.

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Why capture your YouTube subscriber’s email address?

Email is still one of the best ways to keep in touch with the audience you’ve already earned. Why? Because it allows you to connect with them in a place they check every day: their inbox. Your emails aren’t limited by an algorithm — every person gets every email every time.

When you have your own email list, you’re able to communicate exclusively with an audience of engaged viewers who enjoy watching your videos.

Plus with email, you can let viewers know when a new video is released, or share other content they might find valuable, such as a blog post or ebook. Emails also allow you to build trust with your subscribers.

Getting your subscribers on your email list can also help you increase your revenue through courses, subscriptions, and merch.

Why is this important?

Because email is the #1 channel that consumers use daily and prefer for both personal and marketing communications. That means if you want to use your YouTube channel to sell your products or services and grow your business, then you’ll need to focus on getting viewers off of YouTube and onto your email list.

If you still aren’t convinced, check out these Email Marketing vs Social Media Performance Statistics. I think it will be a real eye-opener for you.

10 Ways to Build An Email List for Your YouTube Channel

Building your email list will take a few tools, including:

  • time
  • effort and dedication
  • communication skills
  • ability to relate to people
  • an internet connection with access to YouTube
  • one YouTube account
  • a word-processing program, such as Word, Notepad, Pages, etc.

These are all things most people have access to. If you do not have a YouTube account, I suggest you make one. It will benefit you in the long run.

Let me show you how to build your email list using YouTube comments in just Ten simple steps.

1. Create a Welcome Video

As I alluded to earlier you have the option of setting up a welcome video that will be displayed to every visitor who comes to your channel.

One easy way to create a winning welcome video is to use one of your most popular commercials.

Another way to do it is to create a video where you personally thank the viewer for coming to your page and detail all of the benefits they are going to get from watching your videos before sending them to sign up for your newsletter.

Your welcome video can be a little bit longer than your commercials but should still be no longer than about 90 seconds. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different kinds of welcome videos to see what gets the best reaction from your viewers.

2. Add a call-to-action (CTA) to your video content

One of the easiest ways to encourage people to join your email list is to – you got it — ask them. The ask is commonly known as a call to action or CTA. This can be as simple as adding a text overlay or verbal instruction in your video asking viewers to subscribe to your email list for updates, exclusive content, or special offers.

Make sure your CTA is clear and compelling, and consider offering an incentive like a free e-book or discount code to entice people to sign up.

3. Contact the YouTuber

You can build your list of more than just YouTube comments; you can also contact the YouTuber personally. This works very well if done correctly and with tact.

You do not want to spam the video creator. You do want to invite them to have a look at your videos or your products because you both are a part of the same industry. This is where you can ask for their feedback or their advice to get the ball rolling.

Some great icebreakers include:

  • asking about current industry strategies
  • mentioning something from one of their video topics
  • discussing upcoming trends in your industry

4. Add Links, Annotations, and Cards

Another easy way to make sure that your viewers join your email list is to use links, annotations, and cards.

Let’s start by discussing links. You’ll want to make sure that you include a link to your email harvesting landing page in each and every video you create. These links can be inserted into your videos with the bare minimum amount of video editing knowledge or you can have someone create them for you on a site like Fiverr for a few dollars. Don’t post another video without a link to your landing page.

Annotations you’ll have to hurry with as YouTube plans on discontinuing them pretty soon but they currently allow you to layer links, playlists, and subscription options over your video starting in the last 30 seconds. Make sure you link all your existing video annotations to your email-harvesting page before May to take advantage.

5. Embed sign-up forms in your video descriptions

You have valuable real estate in your video description, use it to provide opportunities for viewers to join your email list, sign up for your services, or to check out your social media accounts.

One of the options can be to sign up to receive valuable content through email. This works especially well if you’re creating tutorials or how-to videos that offer value to your audience.

In your video description, include a link to your email sign-up page along with a brief description of the benefits of signing up. You can also use tools like Leadformly or Typeform to embed a sign-up form directly into your video description.

6. Contact or Comment

Now that you have a lengthy list of commenters to choose from, select your best candidates and click on their usernames.

This process is the same process you go through with the YouTube video creator.

What you can expect from this process is to repeat it until you build your list.

  • Click on their username
  • Click on the About header
  • Land on the About page
  • Initiate contact

Some commenters may not have an About section set up as part of their YouTube account, meaning there is no easy way to contact them. In this case, it’s best to select your next commenter and continue from there.

7. Use YouTube Ads

While I could write a whole post on using YouTube ads through Google Adwords, I’ll leave that for another day and just mention some basics here.

First as you probably already know from using YouTube there are the kinds of ads you can skip and the ones you can’t. There are also ads that are shown off to the side or in search listings (in the display). Once you decide on the kind of ad you want to use YouTube will walk you through the process and the analytics you’ll need to track.

Because YouTube advertising is one of the newest forms of video advertising, it is currently much cheaper than text ads and video views can often be had for a few cents.

As with all PPC ads you’ll want to make sure that you’re split testing your ads and budgeting responsibly so that you don’t end up with a huge bill for a bunch of 3-second views.

8. Ask in your video

Asking your viewers to sign up for your email list directly in your videos.

To make this approach work, you need to lay the foundation for the ask throughout the video by mentioning how your viewers can find more information by signing up for your email list.

This can be done casually and naturally within the content of your video. Then, at the end of your video, you can encourage viewers to sign up for your email list.  Remember to highlight the benefits of joining your email list. Also, make sure the signup process is as simple and straightforward as possible.

9. Comment On Other People’s Videos In Your Niche

Last but not least, one of the most consistent ways to get more email subscribers from YouTube is to comment on other people’s videos that are related to what you teach.

By commenting on other people’s videos and adding value you become a valued member of their YouTube page which will encourage viewers to check out your page as well. If you do a really good job of commenting the other video’s creator may even want to discuss setting up a joint project down the road.

I don’t expect you to finish reading an article like this and immediately start doing everything I mentioned, so before we wrap this article up let’s go over the key points, one last time.

We started off by discussing how YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine online, with over 3 billion searches a month.

5 Proven Ways To Grow Your Email List Using YouTube

10. Make Playlists

One of the best ways to get more engagement from your viewer and get the most chances to convert them into an email signup is through the use of playlists. Creating playlists allows your viewers to quickly and easily find the videos they are most interested in and explore different topics.

Consider creating specific categories for your playlists based on what you teach. You could have demonstrations, exercises, and even testimonials. The idea is to separate them into lists so that your viewer can decide what they are interested in.

On the back end, the analytics on your playlists will tell you what your readers are most interested in so that you can design more videos on those subjects.

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