What do the most successful online stores have in common? Email is one of their top revenue channels.

Email marketing has many advantages over other sales channels. It’s cost-effective, drives high customer lifetime value, and is less affected by external factors like Google algorithm changes. Essentially, email is the only channel you truly own—besides direct traffic.

So, if you're a small online store owner with some traffic already, how do you get people to join your email list? And no, don’t even think about buying an email list—it never ends well.

How to get subscribers for your email list

Try Facebook Lead Ads, designed specifically for collecting emails, and experiment with different value propositions. You can target people who have already interacted with your store or social media, or even create a lookalike audience based on these interactions. If you already have an email list, use it to create a lookalike audience and target them with ads.

Collect emails at checkout by adding an email marketing opt-in. Many people will subscribe if your store looks trustworthy. The downside? Not everyone makes it to checkout and completes a purchase, so this method alone won’t grow your list quickly.

Popups can work well, but only if they offer real value and are triggered correctly. Don’t hit users with a newsletter popup the second they land on your store—it feels like spam. Instead, set proper triggers, like:

• The user has been on your site for at least 90 seconds.
• They’ve browsed multiple pages and seem engaged.
• They’re about to leave without making a purchase (exit intent popup).

Basically your popups have to be as on point as

If you’re using a popup to collect emails, make sure it offers something worthwhile. A basic "Subscribe to our newsletter" won’t cut it. Instead, test incentives like:

• A 10-15% discount (or at least €5—full euros often convert better than low-percentage discounts).
• Free shipping.
• A free add-on, like personalization.
• A free product with purchase.

Yes, the initial cost might seem high, but you should factor in the customer lifetime value. You might spend a few dollars to get them to subscribe by offering a discount or a free gift with their order, but if they become a subscriber, they might make multiple purchases in the future.

Along with popups, try using teasers—small elements that open a signup form or popup when clicked. They’re less intrusive than popups but still effective. Most popular email marketing platforms, including Klaviyo, support them. If you’re not sure what they are, this link will help.

Interactive popups, like games, often work extremely well. Some popup tools let you display a wheel of fortune where users enter their email for a chance to win a prize or discount. Who doesn’t like spinning a wheel for a reward? Just make sure the prizes are actually valuable.

Mystery boxes work well too—ask for an email to open a mystery box. It plays on curiosity and the fear of missing out. There’s a great sketch in Family Guy where Peter Griffin chooses a mystery box that might contain a boat instead of just getting a boat.

Instead of offering a general discount, consider targeting a specific brand or category. For example, if a user spends 2 minutes on the Montessori toys page, display a popup that says, “Get €15 off Montessori toys when you subscribe to our newsletter.” This makes the offer more relevant and appealing.

Product giveaways can work well, but be cautious. If the prize isn’t directly related to your store (e.g., giving away an iPhone), you might attract a lot of subscribers who aren’t actually interested in your products. However, if the prize aligns with your niche, it’s worth a try. Essentially, tell visitors that if they leave their email and opt in, they could win [insert a relevant prize].

If you have a blog in your store with great, useful content that people actually read, ask them to subscribe to your newsletter—promise them content just as good as what they’re reading. Popups or embedded signup forms work well for this (and all email marketing tools offer them).

Multi-step popups are another effective strategy. For example, the first step asks if the visitor wants a discount (yes/no), and the next step collects their details. This creates a small commitment before asking for their email, increasing the likelihood of conversion.

Don’t have multiple popups running at the same time, and no matter what kind of popup you add, always check how it looks on mobile. We often see popups that look great on desktop but are a disaster on mobile.

Subscribe form in the footer – You can have it there, but without a real incentive, no one will sign up. Even in the footer, give people a reason to subscribe, like a discount, free shipping, or something valuable. You can also embed signup forms anywhere on your site, but for them to convert, they need to offer something worthwhile.

Manually asking for email consent – It’s time-consuming, but we’ve seen stores email customers post-purchase, asking if they’re happy with their order and if they can send them emails in the future (while promising not to spam). Basically, getting explicit consent in a personal way.

Back-in-stock notifications – Let visitors sign up to get an email when an out-of-stock item is available again. But make sure to also get their overall consent to use their email for future marketing.

Live chat opt-ins – If you have a live chat, you can ask users to enter their email before starting a conversation. Or, add a newsletter opt-in CTA at the end of the chat.

Account creation – Don’t force customers to create an account to make a purchase (or sign up for emails as part of that flow). But at checkout, you can offer them the option to create an account—it’s just not a priority for small online stores.

Conclusion

No matter what methods you use to collect emails, keep your message clear, short, and focused on the value the customer gets. Also, emphasize that you don’t spam—people appreciate that.

When done right, email marketing can be a great revenue source. If you get someone to sign up and provide real value, they might stick with you for years—bringing in hundreds, if not thousands, of euros in revenue.