How to Build an Email List for Your Nutrition Business

Setting up an email list is the smartest thing you can do for your business.

Research shows that email marketing performs significantly better than other ways of marketing, like social media or ads.

Today I’ll show you a step-by-step process for building an email list for your nutrition coaching business.

We’ll talk about how to get potential clients on your list using lead magnets and freebies, and the best way to do it.

The most important part… how to set up the emails so people want to open and read them.

The importance of building an email list

Let’s start by talking about the benefits of building an email list.

1. You Own It

This might sound a little strange, but if you think about marketing on apps like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, you’re at the mercy of algorithm and policy changes.

While you attract your audience through your content, you have no real power or insights on your audience or their demographics.

Think about it: if all social media apps just disappeared, you’d have no way to save your followers’ contact information or be able to repurpose your content.

With an email list, you own all contact information that comes your way, and you have full control over what your audience sees.

Even if you change email platforms, your contacts are yours to keep. This gives you full control, which is incredibly valuable for your business.

2. Email Leads to Increased Sales

If you’re anything like me, the first thing you do after waking up is check your email. Most likely, your potential clients are the same.

When your clients see your emails in their inbox, you want them to want to read them. This is what builds your business into their daily routine.

This builds your “know-love-trust” factor quickly, leading to sales.

3. Email Allows You to Expand on Helpful Topics

Unlike short-form social media content, where you have to condense your thoughts to keep your content short and engaging, email gives you an opportunity to expand on the topics you’re sharing.

Not only does this make your job easier as a coach and business owner, it makes your email feel more exclusive, like your email list is an exclusive club.

This also helps to position you as an authority, which leads to more sales.

How to Build Your Email List

The first thing you need to do when creating your email list is figure out how to get people on it.

You need a strategy that leads your clients to your list.

The best way to do this is by offering a free lead magnet.

A lead magnet is a valuable “freebie” you offer to your audience in exchange for their contact information.

It’s a win-win for both the business and the customer. The customer gets free value, while the business gets a lead.

Now it’s time to create your lead magnet as a nutrition coach.

Want to Learn More?

1. Create Something Your Potential Clients Actually Want

This means understanding the mindset of your average client right now.

Understand where they’re at before starting your coaching, and what they think they need to be successful at reaching their goals.

When brainstorming for your lead magnet, keep in mind your client’s goals (weight loss, muscle gain, increased energy), and the obstacles they are facing while reaching those goals (lack of motivation, nutrition, time, etc.). You will use this information to create a lead magnet that best fits your ideal clients.

The most common mistake we see coaches make when creating a lead magnet is that it’s too complex.

Your lead magnet should be simple and easy for your clients to put into action quickly.

My best-performing and most helpful lead magnets have been simple lists like grocery lists, protein source lists, and home workout guides.

People love these simple guides because the information inside can be implemented immediately, without much pressure.

Now it’s your turn: think of a simple guide or list you can provide to potential clients as a lead magnet.

Once you have your idea, you have to make sure your potential clients want this lead magnet before you spend time creating it.

To validate that this is something your potential clients want, try creating a story or post that says:

“I am thinking of creating [insert lead magnet idea]. Comment [emoji] below if you want it!”

If people are expressing interest in your idea, that’s how you know it’s something your ideal client wants.

2. Create the Lead Magnet

The hard part’s now over. You have your idea, and you know it’s something your potential clients find valuable. Now you just have to make it.

You have a few options for where to create your lead magnet. Some good places to start are Google Docs, Canva, or Notion. Make sure to include a logo, image, quick win, and a call to action for your lead magnet to feel more personalized and be more effective at getting people to pursue next steps with your coaching.

3. Setting Up Your Email Service

Now that you have your lead magnet, you can set up your email to automatically send it.

There are many platforms you can use for this, but the one we currently use and love is ConvertKit. It’s incredibly easy to use, and you can have your email list set up and running in less than 20 minutes.

Here’s how to use it:

1. Create an account

2. Build and customize a landing page

   A landing page is a single web page with one function, which in this case is downloading your lead magnet.

3. Set up an Incentive Email

   An incentive email is the message sent right after someone signs up for your lead magnet, giving them access to the free resource they’ve requested.

   In ConvertKit:
   Settings → Incentive → Upload/Link Your Lead Magnet

4. Test

   Run a test email to make sure everything works how you want it to.

4. Run a 3-Email Sequence

You can stop here and begin promoting your lead magnet, but we recommend taking it a step further and creating a 3-email sequence to send to your potential client after they download their lead magnet.

We recommend this because if your client is interested in your lead magnet, they know they’ll benefit from your advice to solve a specific problem they are facing. This means that they would benefit from your coaching as well.

This makes the perfect opportunity to send some extra information, and potentially get them to sign up for your coaching.

When creating these emails, don’t make them lengthy newsletters. Focus on keeping them similar to content in your captions, just more casual and story-based with some kind of call to action.

Here are the steps to do this in ConvertKit:

Send → Sequences → Create New Sequence

We recommend following a similar format to this when setting up your email sequence:

Email 1: Deliver the freebie
Email 2: Expand with value or quick win
Email 3: Share your story and offer help

5. Promote Your Lead Magnet on Social Media

Now that you have your automated email funnel set up, it’s time to promote your lead magnet on social media.

There are a few ways to do this. You can make a dedicated post advertising it (maybe you even pin it to the top of your feed), but ideally your lead magnet will be easy to add as a CTA to most of your content.

This allows it to feel more organic and less pushy to your audience.

For example, if you made a sample grocery list, you can work this into almost any piece of content by saying something like:

“If you want to know exactly what to eat to lose weight, download my Weight Loss Grocery List that’s linked in my bio.”

You can talk about your lead magnet in stories, captions, and even DMs with potential clients.

And since it’s fully automated, your work is done after you create a post talking about it.

Final Thoughts

Creating an automated email list is one of the easiest ways to draw more attention to your coaching. As long as you’re creating helpful resources and talking about them on your social media, you’re effortlessly drawing in new leads and potential clients.