The Email List Playbook for Musicians: Build It, Grow It, Get It Opened

So... hackers spent a full week trying to steal my Instagram account.

Thank god for two-factor authentication. But it got me thinking...

What if I woke up tomorrow and all my followers had just... vanished?

You know what CAN'T disappear? Your email list.

And that's why you need one, like, yesterday.

Why an Email List Is Worth It in 2026

1. It's YOURS forever. Instagram can ban you. TikTok can disappear (remember when we thought it would?). But email addresses? They stay yours.

2. You can be yourself. Want to tell the whole story, or share what happened in the studio? In an email you can write way more, and be more honest about it.

3. You instantly stand out. Almost no musician has ever asked me to join their email list. The one who does is the one I'll remember.

How to Set It Up (It's Stupid Easy)

Get a domain from GoDaddy.

Get a free email address from Zoho.

Sign up for Kit or Mailchimp (both free to start).

Done. Seriously, that's it.

3 Ways to Grow Your List

Way 1: Collect emails automatically with Feature.fm. When you promote a song or playlist, create a landing page that asks each person who clicks to join your email list first.

In my experience, more than 50% of people do it. So when you put the link in your bio or run ads to it, you're building your list automatically, and every click becomes a potential fan email. One of the playlist campaigns on my case studies page has collected more than 10,000 email addresses this way.

Way 2: Ask nicely. If you write a weekly newsletter, post about it on your socials, and tell your audience what they'll get if they sign up.

Write about intriguing subjects, like "My 7 days playing songs naked on the streets of Afghanistan" (okay, maybe not that extreme). But you get it. Give people a reason to WANT your emails. Tease the story on Instagram, and deliver the full thing to your list.

Way 3: Offer something in return. What can you give someone who signs up? A free sample pack, an unreleased demo, a ticket to your next show? Post about your gift on social media, or even run ads to it.

Then create an automated sequence so every new subscriber gets the gift instantly.

I get it. Email feels old compared to TikTok.

But if Instagram ever disappears, you'll still have those emails.

Start small. Even 50 people are 50 fans who want to hear from you.

(The hackers never got into my Instagram, by the way. But if they had, I could still write to every person on my list. That's the point.)

Getting people to share their emails with you is only step one. Now let's make them READ what you send.

What's a Welcome Sequence?

You can't assume the people on your list know you. Most of them join right after discovering you for the first time.

So if someone just joined and the first email they get is about your upcoming show, what are the odds they'll come when they know nothing about you?

The odds are close to zero.

That's why you need a welcome sequence, which is a set of emails that go out automatically when someone joins your list.

For your welcome sequence, pick 3 of these 5 emails and write them in your own words:

• Deliver what you promised (if you told them they'd get something)
• Welcome to my world (links to your socials, music platforms, etc.)
• My hero story (what makes you different, without your full background)
• Here's what to expect (what emails you'll send and how often)
• A shocking or relatable story (like why you moved to [your city] for music)

Good Subject Lines Can 10x Your Open Rates

It doesn't matter how good your email is if people don't open it.

Here's a marketing rule that took me YEARS to understand: humans are irrational creatures.

You expect your fans to act logically, but they never do. So your subject line doesn't have to be exactly about what the email contains.

Types that work:

• Curiosity: something intriguing that draws people in
• Famous references: using well-known things
• OMG: shocking and outrageous
• Counterintuitive: going against conventional wisdom
• One-worders: short, punchy, to the point
• Numbers: they make it specific

The Technical Stuff

How often: Once a week keeps the momentum. Twice a week gives you more data and keeps you on people's minds. Three times is for announcements, like tours or new songs.

When: I usually send around 9-10am Eastern. That's evening for Europe and a full day for Americans to read it.

Important: Don't let ChatGPT write your emails. Your personality is your only advantage, and people can tell when an email was written by someone else.

What I do (and recommend): I use Claude to improve grammar, spelling and flow. But the base content, the stories and the voice have to be yours.

If you want to see how I write mine, you can join my newsletter and read along.

Your Homework

Set up a 3-email welcome sequence this week, even if you only have 20 subscribers (:

A Content Idea to Try: Let Your Followers Write the Lyrics

Here's a Reel idea that also gives people a reason to stick around. A musician sits with a guitar, hums a melody, and asks people to write the lyrics in the comments.

It shows your talent, gets your audience talking, and makes them part of the song.

And if you want more ideas like this, The Content Vault has 308 content ideas with examples, a planner and AI captions.