[2026] Do You Still Collect Email Leads?

AliceInSEOLand

AliceInSEOLand

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Sorry for the stupid question, but I'm just curious.

So back in the day, we used to run ad campaigns with an email opt-in form to 'warm up' the leads, build trust, authority, and so on before we push an offer. Bla, bla bla... you know what I mean.

But, as you know, in modern times (2026) users seem to have wisen up. They know email optins = spam.

My last email campaign was like back in 2022-2023 and it didn't go well because half of the signups didn't even confirm their subscription, and about 10-15% were using temporary emails like mailinator, etc. So there's no doubt there were a lot of bot users and fake signups.

Not just that, I even got rude comments like, "WHY MUST I SIGN UP? SO YOU CAN SPAM ME?" or some joker would sign up then paste all the contents of the opt-in magnet in the comment to let everyone know.

I notice most users now won't bother with email optins anymore, unless if you really, really have a sweet offer to give them or they wouldn't even bother.

So do you still do email opt-ins at this time and age? Or am I just having negative confirmation bias here?
 
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i have optins in my content site, that sign up to view content and vote, bookmark and upload their own, so anyone that opts in to the list I email. (many people do as they see the free version of the site is pretty good and they like it). It helps when you warm them up with a cookie consent banner. if they are happy with that, there is a good chance they will sign up if they want something, as your site will be regnised as secure and trustworthy (if you have some of the very familar cookie solutions styles)
 
It’s not a stupid question at all, you’re just noticing how user behavior has shifted. Email opt-ins still work, but only when there’s a very clear, immediate value that makes it feel worth it for the user. If people feel forced, they’ll either bounce or use fake emails like you’ve seen.
 
You're not crazy, old-school email opt-ins for cold traffic are basically gone. People just feed you burner emails now.

Instead of fighting Gmail spam filters, look at Telegram. It's growing insanely fast rn and there’s a massive opportunity to jump in early and dominate a niche there. Pushing your traffic to a TG bot or channel gives you push-notification open rates that completely crush traditional email. That's where the real attention is in 2026.
 
AliceInSEOLand said:
Sorry for the stupid question, but I'm just curious.

So back in the day, we used to run ad campaigns with an email opt-in form to 'warm up' the leads, build trust, authority, and so on before we push an offer. Bla, bla bla... you know what I mean.

But, as you know, in modern times (2026) users seem to have wisen up. They know email optins = spam.

My last email campaign was like back in 2022-2023 and it didn't go well because half of the signups didn't even confirm their subscription, and about 10-15% were using temporary emails like mailinator, etc. So there's no doubt there were a lot of bot users and fake signups.

Not just that, I even got rude comments like, "WHY MUST I SIGN UP? SO YOU CAN SPAM ME?" or some joker would sign up then paste all the contents of the opt-in magnet in the comment to let everyone know.

I notice most users now won't bother with email optins anymore, unless if you really, really have a sweet offer to give them or they wouldn't even bother.

So do you still do email opt-ins at this time and age? Or am I just having negative confirmation bias here?
Click to expand...
You're not wrong. The era of "collect any email and blast them later" is pretty much over. People are tired of spam and have become very protective of their inboxes

What I've observed is that it's not about stopping lead collection, but completely changing the follow-up. Blasting generic newsletters to a list of cold signups just burns the domain

The only emails that still get replies are those that are hyper-relevant. A specific observation, a timely offer, a real problem they have

It's less about the list size and more about the match between the offer and the recipient
 
E-posta pazarlaması hâlâ önemli. Bence yanılıyorsunuz.
 
It's one of the most important assets to create because you own that list.

No platform can ban you from it.
 
If you want to send spam emails, for a legitimate business, that will probably just damage your reputation and won't really attract any customers
 
The email lead game is still kicking, but it's gotten a whole lot more selective. If your lead magnet isn't a goddamn masterpiece, you're better off just throwing your money into a bonfire, because these days, people are way too savvy to give you their precious email addresses for a generic freebie
 
I think email still works very well, but the psychology around it changed a lot.
People are exhausted from spam, so weak lead magnets and forced opt-ins get ignored instantly now.
The funnels performing best usually offer something highly practical, niche-specific, or instantly actionable.
 
Email lists are still around, but they're definitely not the golden goose they used to be. those temporary email addresses are a pain, and it's a drag trying to sort the real folks from the bots. honestly, i've shifted my focus. i'm putting more energy into building up my discord server, which seems to work way better for direct communication and community building
 
still works, just harder to do well. the fake signups and temp emails problem is real but it's mostly a traffic quality issue, if you're driving cold untargeted traffic to an optin, of course half of them are low intent
 
I still collect emails, just with lower expectations and better filtering.
Most users won’t hand over their inbox unless the value is obvious immediately.
 
AliceInSEOLand said:
Sorry for the stupid question, but I'm just curious.

So back in the day, we used to run ad campaigns with an email opt-in form to 'warm up' the leads, build trust, authority, and so on before we push an offer. Bla, bla bla... you know what I mean.

But, as you know, in modern times (2026) users seem to have wisen up. They know email optins = spam.

My last email campaign was like back in 2022-2023 and it didn't go well because half of the signups didn't even confirm their subscription, and about 10-15% were using temporary emails like mailinator, etc. So there's no doubt there were a lot of bot users and fake signups.

Not just that, I even got rude comments like, "WHY MUST I SIGN UP? SO YOU CAN SPAM ME?" or some joker would sign up then paste all the contents of the opt-in magnet in the comment to let everyone know.

I notice most users now won't bother with email optins anymore, unless if you really, really have a sweet offer to give them or they wouldn't even bother.

So do you still do email opt-ins at this time and age? Or am I just having negative confirmation bias here?
Click to expand...
If you give them great value for their sign up then, they will probably sign up. Also you need to make it crystal clear that they are signing up to your email list. And email lists are GOLD because you can market multiple products/services to them.
 
@AliceInSEOLand you are definitely not crazy, the burner email stuff is out of hand. I had the same issue last year running a sweepstakes campaign where almost 40% of the signups were fake or temp inboxes.

If you still need emails for custom audiences or whatever, the only way around this now is forcing social login. Put a "Continue with Google" or "Continue with Apple" button instead of an open text field. People are usually too lazy to log out of their main accounts on their phone just to grab a freebie, so you actually get their real primary address. @Orange22 makes a good point about Telegram too, but if you still want that email asset, social auth is pretty much the only way to bypass the mailinator crowd rn.
 
AliceInSEOLand said:
"WHY MUST I SIGN UP? SO YOU CAN SPAM ME?"
Click to expand...
If your website provides real value to the users (this worsks better on niche websites) they will not think that way, since value is expected to be provided. Collecting newsletters and doing email marketing still works very well.
 
Email still works for me, but I stopped treating the optin like the main event. If cold traffic lands and the first thing they see is “give email for PDF”, yeah they assume spam and throw a burner at you. What works better is let them consume something useful first, then ask for email at the point where they already want the next step... calculator results, saved report, coupon, alerts, whatever fits the niche. @Orange22 is right that TG can hit harder for some offers, but I wouldn’t fully drop email since buyers still use real inboxes when there’s actual intent.
 
Nowadays people using Whatsapp because it have much better algorithm to block those spam or junk message. Another reason is faster as everyone is the world have hand phone, it is much more effective and faster.
 
the temp email issue is definitely real but you can block most of those disposable domains pretty easily at the form level. there are cheap apis that do this in real time.

but even with clean emails, cold traffic optins are just tough now. people have zero patience. what worked for me recently is switching to interactive stuff... like a quick 3-question quiz or a calculator where they actually have to input some data to get a custom result. if they spend 30 seconds clicking options they feel invested and are way more likely to give a real inbox. the standard "here is my 10 page pdf" lead magnet is pretty much dead for cold traffic, nobody reads them anyway.
 
double opt-in is what saves me here. yeah you lose a chunk of signups at the confirm step but the ones who do confirm are way more likely to actually open later. the mailinator crowd rarely bothers clicking the confirm link so it filters itself.

the social login thing someone mentioned works but watch your conversion rate drop, some people get weird about giving google access even if its lazier for them. i still run it on offers where i need real inboxes though.

honestly the bigger shift for me isnt where i collect, its when. asking for email before they got any value is dead. let them use the tool or read the thing first, then the ask feels earned. and i wouldnt drop email completely for telegram, TG is great for the people who are already in but its terrible for actually owning the asset... one ban and your channel is gone. email you control.
 
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