Every business wants to grow its email list. Traditional methods of growing your email list rely on collecting addresses from your website visitors through sign-up forms, gated content, and pop-ups.
But what about all of the potential customers who visit your website, engage with your content, and then leave – without ever filling out a form? What if you could capture emails from website visitors automatically – without disrupting their experience?
When we talk to clients about this, the first question they have is: How does it work, and is it legal?
Let’s break it all down.
How Identity Resolution Works to Capture Emails From Website Visitors
Identity resolution allows businesses to obtain real, verified email addresses from anonymous website visitors. This is done through cookie-based tracking technology and it enables brands to reconnect with people who visited their website but left without filling out a form.
Here’s a simplified breakdown of how the new technology works:
- A visitor lands on your website.
- A tracking script (installed on your site) recognizes the visitor based on the information available via cookies and sends that information to a secure, privacy-compliant database.
- The email is automatically synced with your email platform (like Omnisend, Klaviyo, or HubSpot).
- A personalized, follow-up email is sent from you to encourage further engagement. If they engage and don’t opt-out, you can eventually email them regularly.
Only “new” email addresses are captured, ensuring you don’t pay for existing subscribers.
Is It Legal? Understanding Compliance & Best Practices
Every CEO we speak to about this has the question: Wait, is this even legal? The short answer: Yes, when done correctly and in compliance with U.S. privacy laws.
Here’s why:
- Only U.S. traffic is tracked – Identity resolution is not used in the EU due to GDPR restrictions. So the technology isn’t capturing anyone outside the US.
- Cookie consent is required – A website must display a cookie consent that informs visitors of tracking and provides an opt-out option. The opt-out is respected. So if someone has strong feelings about being tracked, they will not be.
- Privacy policies must be updated – Your site’s privacy policy should disclose how visitor data is collected and used, and how they can opt out.
- Emails must follow CAN-SPAM regulations – This means including unsubscribe options, clear sender info, and no misleading subject lines.
These best practices ensure that emailing website visitors remains both ethical and legally compliant.
Why Identity Resolution Is a Game-Changer for List Growth
Most businesses are spending thousands on marketing and driving traffic to their website – whether it’s through paid ads or search engine optimization or social media. But when 98% of visitors leave the website without signing up for email, that’s a huge missed opportunity.
And the pop-up form they’ve added to help capture some of that exiting traffic? The stats are equally bleak: only 3% will fill out the form, and that’s especially true if they’re visiting on mobile.
By incorporating identity resolution into your list growth strategy, you can:
- Capture and email visitors
- Pay for new email leads that are already interested in your service
- Save time on list-building – The process is automated and integrates with your email platform
- Increase conversions – Sending follow-ups to warm leads beats cold lists anytime
This technology is particularly powerful for events, eCommerce, and high-ticket businesses, where re-engaging visitors can lead to high-value conversions.
Who Provides The Technology?
Email capturing technology is growing, and there are a number of providers in this space:
However, most are geared towards enterprise level accounts and offer yearly contracts. That can be a barrier to entry for small to medium-sized clients, and that’s why we developed our List Growth Services – to be able to offer monthly, managed service in this space.
Take a look at these case studies to see how our clients increased sales in months with list growth services:
KINONA List Growth
InvisiLift List Growth
Our list growth service is an easy, inexpensive solution to capture email addresses of your website browsers so you can grow your list quickly.
Common Concerns & FAQs
“Isn’t this invasive? Will people get mad?”
Not if done correctly. A visitor has already shown interest by visiting your site. A well-crafted introductory email (with an easy opt-out) ensures a positive experience.
“What if I already have their email address?”
No problem! Your email database is synced in real-time to ensure only net new leads are being synced to your ESP and being receiving your warm up flow.
“Can I test this before committing long-term?”
Absolutely! Many businesses run 3-month tests to measure success before expanding. A typical test might look like this:
✔ Lead Cost: $0.25 per captured email
✔ Estimated Monthly Leads: 1,000
✔ Total Cost for 3 Months: $3,250
“How will we measure ROI?”
In order to calculate ROI, we’ll ask for access to known purchasers and match the emails to those who purchased after being targeted through email. It may take a little while for people to warm up to your business and your brand, so we suggest trying it for 3 months and seeing what your ROI looks like.
Is List Growth Right for You?
You should consider using identity resolution for list growth if:
- You’re already investing efforts to bring traffic to your website
- You are able to update your legal terms/privacy policy on your website
- Your target audience consists of a high number of US clients or customers
- Your email marketing is already effective and you are looking to grow
- You are struggling with cold lists, have high spam reports or aren’t seeing the results you need from email
List growth services might not be right for you if:
- You have little to no US traffic
- You’re not willing to make updates to privacy policy/have a cookies consent banner
- You have no resources to follow up with these people, such as no email marketing platform
About Centric Squared
At Centric Squared, we believe a strong email strategy has to include solid list building. With our list growth services, we can transform how you capture and nurture high-value leads through email. With seamless integration with your website and ESP, you can grow & nurture your list automatically. We’ll help you increase your marketing ROI & help you navigate the technicalities and nuances.
Want to learn more? Book a complimentary session to see how this can work for your business. 🚀