Email Marketing in 2026: How to Create a List and Make Money

Email marketing remains the channel with the biggest return on investment of all digital marketing. According to hubspot, each euro invested in email marketing generates an average of €42 of return — a ROI that no other channel can consistently match.

In 2026, with the decline of organic reach on social media, the email list became even more valuable. It's the only digital asset that really belongs to you: without algorithms, no range limitations, no risk of the platform disappearing or banishing your account.

Step 1: Choose the Email Marketing Platform

The first decision is to choose where you will manage your list. Options for beginners:

• Mailchimp — Free up to 500 subscribers. Intuitive interface, good starting point. Limitations on automation in the free plan.
• brevo (formerly SendinBlue) — free up to 300 emails/day, with no subscriber limit. Good option if you have many subscribers but you send it with low frequency.
• Kit (formerly convertKit) — The content creators' favorite. Intuitive visual automations, integrated landing pages, beautiful forms. Free plan up to 1 000 subscribers.
• SubStack / BeeHiIV — If you want a newsletter that is also a publication, these platforms combine list management with editorial tools and integrated monetization.

Step 2: Create an irresistible lead magnet

People don't give the email for anything. You need to offer something of genuine value in return. The Lead Magnet is that incentive. The most effective ways:

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. As an Amazon member, I earn a commission on qualified purchases at no additional cost to IT. know more.

Step 3: Creates subscription forms and landing pages

The Lead Magnet needs a place where people can sign up. best practices:

• Form at top of page — the first third of any page has higher conversion rates
• Pop-up with intentional output — appears when the user moves the mouse to close the tab. Intrusive but effective — 2-4% conversions
• Landing Dedicated — A page just for the subscription, without distractions. Create with kit, Mailchimp, or tools like other platforms
• inline in blog articles — puts a form in the middle of the most popular articles, in the relevant context

Step 4: Write emails that people open

The Subject Line is the most important element of any email. Determines whether the message is opened or ignored. According to statist, the average opening rate of emails in 2026 is 21.5% — but the best breeders systematically achieve 40-60%.

Subject lines principles that work:

• Create curiosity without being clickbait ("Why did I stop using Instagram")
• Specificity ("3 mistakes I made when launching my first product")
• Customization ("[Name], your 30-day plan starts today")
• Genuine urgency ("Last time for tomorrow's webinar")

For the body of the email, he writes how he would write to a friend — informal, direct, without corporate language. Simple text emails usually have opening and clicking rates higher than the elaborate design emails.

How to monetize your list

An e-mail list can generate income in several ways:

• Sale of own products — the most effective channel for launching and selling your products or services
• Affiliate links — recommends relevant products and receives commission for each sale
• Newsletter Paid — charges a monthly subscription for exclusive content (5-20€/month)
• Sponsors — Brands pay to appear on your newsletter. With 5 000+ subscribers, you can charge €100-500 per sponsorship

Use Kortilink to create traceable links in all emails you send. So you know exactly which email generated the most clicks, which product was clicked the most, and at what time your subscribers are most active.

The Golden Rule: Never send only promotional emails. For each sales email, send two or three emails with genuinely valuable content. Your list is a relationship, not a broadcast channel. Treat her with respect and she will reward you for years.