The Email Mavens are on a mission to help our clients and students add THOUSANDS of new, engaged subscribers to their lists this year. Thousands of subscribers could equal MILLIONS of dollars in online sales, and we want YOU to get a piece of those millions too.
Today we’re sharing three underutilized winery list growth tactics we’re leveraging to help us capture the attention of those thirsty wine subscribers. Try one or all of these tactics at your winery to grow your list AND your ecommerce.
If you read or watched our first episode of 2025 you know that this year we’re committed to substantial list growth. Our Mavens On Demand membership is enjoying a quarterly deep dive training on this topic, we’re putting serious effort into acquisition for our full-service clients, and there’s an entire module dedicated to list growth in our online course, PRESS SEND.
And today’s totally free content wink is showing you three tactics we think you should try to grow YOUR winery’s list with new, engaged, thirsty wine drinkers! We aren’t seeing many wine brands leveraging these tactics but hopefully that’s all about to change!
1. Social Media Chat Automations
First up, grow your list using social media chat automations.
One of the bonuses inside PRESS SEND is a ‘Grow Your List On Social’ Playbook where we talk about the importance of leveraging your social media following to grow your email list. There’s often a bit of crossover between the two audiences. MOST wineries have links to their social handles built into their email footer, but I rarely see wineries post any kind of call to action on social media to get on the email list!
Of course, getting people out of the social platforms and onto a form of yours to opt in could be a challenge. So that’s why we love Manychat for setting up automated DM conversations that link to your opt-in forms or request the best email address to add. It’s simple, and Manychat’s free tier makes it easy to get started (check their current pricing page for the details).
This month, dip your toes in the chat DM automation waters. Create a social post that teases something you’ll be sending to email subscribers, or that mentions your email opt-in incentive, and set up a Manychat automation to deliver the link to opt in when a contact comments with a specific keyword.
2. Collabs!
Next, consider growing your list by collaborating with other businesses.
Birds of a feather flock together, and it’s quite likely that RIGHT NOW you’re hanging out with other businesses that hang out with customers you would want. But we aren’t looking at these hangouts as opportunities for list growth… until NOW!
- If you partner with an amazing restaurant for your winemaker dinners, look for ways your next event could cross-pollinate both of your email lists with each other’s contacts.
- Maybe you’re part of a winery co-op and share a space with other brands. Work with the wineries in your co-op space to create programming that adds value for a subscriber if they opt in to ALL of your email lists.
- Or perhaps you’re located on a wine trail, or you’re in a micro-AVA, where your collective power could be amplified as a benefit to the subscriber and to each other.
Even if you don’t tick ANY of those boxes, you can still use collabs in the year ahead to grow your list. Start thinking of what businesses might have customers on their email list that you would want to get your hot little hands on. Make a list. THEN, think of ways you could add value for THOSE businesses and start reaching out, offering to do just that. When you put generosity out into the universe you’d be surprised how much of that comes back to you…
Hopefully in the form of thousands of new, engaged subscribers.
3. Content-Based Opt-In Hooks
Finally, we’re going to be WAY more intentional in the year ahead about leveraging content-based opt-in hooks.
What is that? Think PDF downloads, first access to a specific release or sale, and gated content of any kind. Very few wineries are leveraging a content-based freebie these days, but it’s how many personal brands and digital companies grow their list.
In fact, the Email Mavens do it. And we’re about to do it to you right now! We created a List Growth Scorecard and Tracker to help your winery keep track of all the places you COULD interact with a potential subscriber and to monitor where your list is growing the fastest. (Tracking subscriber sources is the one list-growth metric most wineries ignore, and it’s the difference between guessing and growing.) To have it delivered straight to your inbox, visit emailmavens.com/list, enter your deets, and we’ll use the power of email marketing automation to deliver that sucker straight to you!
For a winery, it could be a seasonal wine pairing chart, printable coaster designs, a winemaker’s recipe, or the perfect itinerary in wine country featuring your winery and your favorite places.
“But… that requires a bunch of content creation! We don’t have time for that shit.”
Okay, then try using something you’re ALREADY going to do as a hook to get people on your email list.
In November, we worked with one of our full-service clients to set up a Black Friday Early Access list. These were people who wanted a head start on the Black Friday offers and were opting in specifically to get first dibs. We targeted contacts visiting the website who weren’t already set up in our system with this popup and ended up growing the email list by hundreds of new subscribers in just 10 days. (Your website signup forms have to be ready for that traffic. Here are the winery website signup fixes worth making first.)
You could do the same for your Memorial Day Case Sale, or for the release of your perennial sell-out rosé.
Look at your calendar for the next quarter and identify what you may be able to use as a hook to grow the email list. Set up your early access list, connect some forms to it, and start promoting it on your website and via your social media as well. Heck, you could even set up a Chat DM automation for it!
Which Tactic Will You Try First?
And that’s a WRAP! Three underutilized list growth tactics to leverage at your winery to grow your email list with new, engaged subscribers. Which one are you going to try first? Are you going to try all three?
If you’re feeling inspired and excited about all the new subscribers you’re going to get, join our weekly Email Party where we help you not only learn about email marketing, but help you DO your email marketing.
At Email Mavens, we believe every winery can sell more wine online by sending better marketing emails. And as you’re putting in all that work to send great emails, might as well put in some effort to get more people to actually SEE those emails! Right?!
Keep pressing send on your next best email.
Winery List Growth FAQs
How can wineries grow their email list on social media?
Post an actual call to action to join the list (most wineries never do), then use a chat automation tool like Manychat to deliver the opt-in link automatically when someone comments a keyword. The audiences overlap less than you’d think, which is exactly why the tactic works.
What is a content-based opt-in hook for a winery?
A freebie someone gets for subscribing: a seasonal pairing chart, a winemaker’s recipe, a wine country itinerary, or early access to a release or sale. Early-access lists are the lowest-effort version because they use something you were already going to do.
Do business collaborations really grow email lists?
Yes, when both sides add value for the subscriber: cross-promoted winemaker dinners, co-op programming that rewards joining multiple lists, or wine trail partnerships. Lead with what you can offer the other business, and the reciprocity follows.
