One of the biggest frustrations I hear from health experts is this: “I’m consistent with my emails, but my email list is mostly full of past and current clients. How do I grow my email list and actually get new potential clients on there?”

In this episode of The Nourished CEO Podcast, I break down why “join my newsletter” doesn’t work (and never has), how to create a lead magnet that actually converts, and why messaging specificity is the key to growing your email list as a health expert with people who are ready to invest in your services.

If your email list growth feels stagnant or you’re attracting freebie-seekers who never buy, this episode will show you how to close that gap.

LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE OF THE NOURISHED CEO PODCAST

Or listen and subscribe for free on your favorite app: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube Music

---

How to Grow Your Email List as a Health Expert (With the Right People)

If you’re a health coach or practitioner, you’ve probably been told a thousand times that you “need to grow your email list.” And yes—that’s true.

But let’s get real: more subscribers doesn’t automatically mean more clients.

What you actually want is to grow your email list with the right people—the ones who are actively searching for answers, feel urgency around their problem, and are ready to invest in solving it.

In this post, I’m going to walk you through the exact strategies I shared with one of my Nourished Business Accelerator clients, who wanted to know:

How do I get more ideal future clients onto my list so that my emails actually lead to discovery calls and sales?

The answer comes down to two things:

1. Messaging specificity

2. A strong lead magnet

So let’s dig into exactly what that looks like and how you can start implementing it in your business today.

---

Why “Join My Newsletter” Doesn’t Work

Here’s the hard truth: no one actually wants to “join your newsletter.”

People don’t wake up thinking, “I’d love more emails in my inbox today!” What they want is a solution to a very real problem that’s keeping them stuck, frustrated, or even up at night.

That’s why simply telling people to “sign up for my newsletter” will almost always fall flat. Unless they know they’ll get immediate value from those emails, they’re not going to take action.

Instead, you need to give them a specific, compelling reason to hand over their email address. That’s where your lead magnet comes in.

---

Create a Lead Magnet That Solves a Specific Problem

Most coaches and practitioners I work with do have some kind of lead magnet. But the problem is that it’s often way too broad.

For example, one of my clients had a lead magnet that was just a general “list of labs to check for hormone health.”

Sounds useful, right? Except—it wasn’t attracting the right people.

Why? Because it was too vague.

Now, imagine reframing that exact same resource like this:

• “The Top 5 Lab Tests to Ask For if You’re Struggling With Hair Loss”

• “The Exact Labs to Run if You’re Tired of Feeling Exhausted Every Day”

See the difference?

Both might contain similar information, but the specificity makes all the difference.

A woman losing her hair will be far more motivated to download the first option than a generic “learn about your hormones” guide.

The same goes for cycle health. Instead of a vague “learn about your cycle” resource, you could try:

• “The Hormone Lab Guide Every Woman with Missing Periods Needs to See”

• “What Your Cycle Length is Telling You About Your Fertility (And What To Do Next)”

The more specific your lead magnet is, the more it feels like it was made just for them. That’s how you attract buyers—not just freebie seekers.

---

How to Know If Your Lead Magnet Is Specific Enough

Here are two simple questions to ask yourself about your lead magnet:

1. Do they know they have this problem?
   If your audience isn’t even aware it’s an issue (or they don’t care about it), they won’t be motivated to download your resource.

2. Do they care enough to want it fixed now?
   If it’s a “maybe someday” kind of problem, you’ll end up with passive subscribers who never move forward to pay you.

Let me give you a personal example.

A few months ago, I was six months postpartum and noticed clumps of my hair falling out. My scalp was itchy and uncomfortable.

And even though I knew hair loss could be “normal” postpartum, I still panicked.

What did I do? I immediately went on Amazon and bought products to fix it. I was willing to spend money that day to solve the problem.

That’s the kind of urgency you want to tap into with your lead magnet.

Compare that to cycle length. If my cycle is 40 days, do I care? Maybe. But am I racing to spend money to fix it today? Probably not.

This doesn’t mean you can’t help with those things. But when it comes to growing your list with buyers, focus on problems people know about, care about, and are motivated to solve.

---

Promote Your Lead Magnet the Right Way

Once you have a strong, specific lead magnet, the next step is to actually get it in front of people.

Here are a few strategies you can use:

• Tease what’s inside your emails.
  Instead of just saying “join my newsletter,” highlight the specific content they’ll get. For example:
  “This week in my [insert fun newsletter name], I’m sharing the 3 hidden hormone disruptors you’re probably exposed to every day. Join here to get it in your inbox tomorrow.”

• Create urgency around your lead magnet.
  Frame it as a solution they can’t afford to wait on. (“If you’re noticing more hair in your brush than usual, grab this guide now to see which lab tests can uncover the real cause.”)

• Use Instagram strategically.
  Rather than only pushing for DMs or discovery calls, alternate by directing people to your free resource. You could share a short Reel highlighting one quick tip from your lead magnet, then tell them where to download the full resource.

Remember: the goal isn’t just to get more names on your list. It’s to build a list of people who are already signaling they’re ready for support.

---

Keep Selling Every Step of the Way

Here’s something most people forget: you have to sell people on engaging with every step of your funnel.

• Sell them on giving you their email address.

• Sell them on actually opening the lead magnet.

• Sell them on consuming the content inside.

• Sell them on booking a discovery call.

• Sell them on working with you.

This doesn’t mean being pushy. It means always answering the question: “What’s in it for them?”

Too many practitioners create beautiful resources but never think about whether their audience actually cares enough to read or apply them.

If they don’t, it doesn’t matter how good the content is.

So go back through your lead magnet and emails with fresh eyes.

Ask yourself: Would my ideal client care about this? Does it speak to what they already want?

That’s how you turn a “good” funnel into one that actually works.

---

Focus on Buyers, Not Freebie Seekers

I’ll be blunt: you don’t want your list full of people who just want free tips forever.

You want the people who are actively seeking help, feel urgency to fix their problem, and would rather spend money than waste hours trying to piece together DIY solutions.

That’s why specificity in your lead magnet and messaging matters so much.

It filters out the freebie seekers and pulls in the people who are ready for the next step.

---

Key Takeaways

If you’ve been frustrated with slow email list growth—or worse, a list full of people who never buy—remember this:

• Specificity sells. Speak to one clear symptom, pain point, or desire your ideal client has right now.

• Lead magnets should solve urgent problems. Make them feel like you’re giving the exact answer they’ve been searching for.

• Sell every step. Don’t just get emails—get engagement, discovery calls, and clients.

• Focus on buyers. Attract the people who are ready to invest, not just collect free content.

When you get this right, you’ll stop wondering where your next client is coming from—because they’ll already be raising their hand and joining your list.

---

Ready to Build a List of Buyers, Not Freebie Seekers?

If you’re realizing this is exactly what you need—growing your list with the right people, dialing in your messaging, and building a business that consistently attracts and converts high-paying health clients—I’d love to support you inside my Nourished Business Accelerator program.

Just DM me the word NBA on Instagram, and I’ll send you the details and application so you can see if it’s the right fit for you.

Share this with someone who needs it!