Email List Building Checklist

PMM or content lead writes the ICP slice this magnet targets — industry, company size, role, and the specific job-to-be-done. Cite the persona doc; if the magnet doesn't match an existing persona, escalate before drafting. Avoid one-size-fits-all assets that score every lead the same.

Pick one: gated guide, template, benchmark report, calculator, webinar, or assessment. BOFU intent (templates, calculators) converts tighter; TOFU (industry reports) scales wider. Document the funnel stage so lead scoring in HubSpot or Marketo grades correctly.

Content strategist writes the brief: working title, outline, target keyword cluster, persona, CTA next-step, and citations needed. Designer pulls templates from the DAM (Brandfolder / Frontify) so the asset matches current brand guidelines.

Every statistic, customer quote, and competitive comparison needs a cited source in the substantiation file. Comparative claims fall under the Lanham Act — unsubstantiated comparisons against named competitors are how brands end up in cease-and-desist letters.

Book the platform (Zoom, ON24, Goldcast), set the date, line up speakers, and draft the run-of-show. Webinars need a 3–4 week promotion runway; build registration emails and reminder cadence into the lifecycle plan.

Stage in HubSpot, Webflow, or whatever CMS the team uses. Hero, value props, social proof, form, FAQ. Match the H1 to the ad copy that will drive traffic — message-match drives conversion rate more than design polish.

Three to five fields max for TOFU (email, first name, company, role); BOFU can ask for more. Map each field to the CRM property — don't create a parallel "Job Title 2" that breaks lead routing in Salesforce.

Separate, unchecked consent box for marketing emails — GDPR doesn't accept bundled consent, and pre-ticked boxes are banned. Link to privacy policy. For California traffic, the "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" link must be reachable from the page footer.

Open the page in an incognito EU profile. The OneTrust / Cookiebot banner should load before Meta Pixel, LinkedIn Insight Tag, and GA4. If pixels fire pre-consent, the privacy promise breaks and so does the audit trail. Gate via tag-management consent state in GTM.

Use the team's UTM convention doc — lowercase, no spaces, consistent source/medium/campaign values. Inconsistent UTMs are the #1 reason GA4 acquisition reports become uncomparable across campaigns.

Test iOS Safari, Android Chrome, and a tablet width. Confirm form submits, thank-you page redirects, and any JS-driven exit-intent doesn't break on touch. Half of B2B traffic and most B2C is mobile.

Wire the form to HubSpot, Marketo, or Pardot via native integration or webhook. Test a submission end-to-end: contact created, list membership applied, lead source stamped, CRM sync fires within the expected SLA.

Welcome email within 5 minutes of signup, nurture cadence over 3–4 weeks. Each email includes physical mailing address and a working unsubscribe link — CAN-SPAM requires honoring opt-outs within 10 business days.

Run the sending domain through EasyDMARC or MXToolbox. SPF aligned, DKIM signing, DMARC at minimum p=quarantine. Gmail and Yahoo bulk-sender requirements (Feb 2024) reject unauthenticated mail outright.

Determine whether the audience includes EU, Canada, or California traffic. EU and Canadian leads need express opt-in (GDPR / CASL); double opt-in is the safe default. US-only audiences can use single opt-in but still need CAN-SPAM-compliant unsubscribe.

Turn on double opt-in in the MAP for the EU/CA segment so consent is logged with timestamp and IP. This is the documentation regulators ask for if a complaint lands. Leads aren't added to the active list until they click the confirm link.

Build segments by industry, role, and lifecycle stage so downstream sends match interest. Tag the magnet topic on every contact for re-engagement triggers and lead scoring in the MAP.

Queue posts in Hootsuite, Sprout, or Buffer for LinkedIn, X, and any active platforms. Stagger across two weeks; UTM each link with a unique campaign value so attribution doesn't collapse into one bucket.

Build campaigns in Google Ads, LinkedIn Campaign Manager, or Meta Ads Manager against the ICP audience. Set frequency caps, daily pacing, and a hard budget ceiling. Confirm conversion event maps to the actual form submit, not a page-view proxy.

If the launch includes paid creators or partner sends, FTC Endorsement Guides require disclosure: #ad at the top of the post, or "Paid partnership with [brand]" via the platform's disclosure feature. Put disclosure language in the partner brief — don't assume it's understood.

Pick a segment that matches the magnet's topic — sending a procurement template to a list of front-line engineers tanks engagement and sender reputation. Run a Litmus or Email on Acid render check before send.

Pull GA4 and MAP reports: sessions, conversion rate, signups by source/medium, CPL by paid channel. Compare to the launch target. Flag any source where conversion rate is below 1% — message-match or audience targeting is likely off.

Check inbox placement via GlockApps or seed-list testing. Hard bounce rate above 2% or complaint rate above 0.1% means the source is suspect — pause and investigate before scaling spend.

Demand-gen lead documents the outcome: hit, miss, or hold. "Hold" triggers a 2-week extension on paid spend before the kill decision. Capture the call so the next launch can reference it.

Triggered when launch underperforms but is salvageable. Book a 60-minute working session to revise headline, hero, form fields, or audience targeting. Re-test for two weeks before the kill decision.