How to create (and use) a restaurant email list

When restaurant owners think of ways they can reach and connect with their guests, many overlook email. It feels dated. It could be misconstrued as spam. How do you even collect email addresses for your guests? The secret: A restaurant email list.

There are actually many reasons why email is one of the best ways restaurants can engage with their guests. We’ll get into those below, as well as some tactics that make collecting guest emails a breeze. A restaurant email list is an important, useful marketing tool — and it’s not as hard to build it from scratch as you may think!

Ready to connect with your guests via email? Read on for all you need to know.

Why do you need a restaurant email list?

When restaurants consider their marketing options, email isn’t always their first choice. Here’s why it should be.

• Email helps build personal relationships with guests.

  Email is a great way to reach guests in a way that feels personal to them. It’s easy to customize emails to address recipients by name, for example, and to automate sending emails to mark important dates in their lives, like birthday or anniversary offers.

  But there’s another important reason: Customers say they like getting emails from businesses. In a Popmenu consumer survey, 71% said that email is their preferred way of hearing from a restaurant, while 40% said they prefer text messages.

• Email encourages loyalty.

  Another big benefit to email is that generally, your restaurant’s email list will be made up of guests you’ve already had some sort of contact with. That means email is a great way to remind guests about your restaurant and encourage them to make repeat visits. Harvard research has shown that increasing repeat visits to your restaurant by just 5% can, in turn, boost profits by up to 125%. We’ve seen similar results with clients such as the Big Vibe Group, with one concept earning $37,000 in online ordering in 6 months after the launch of their email campaigns. 

Email has fantastic ROI.

If you’re looking for marketing on a budget, email is a great option. Studies have shown that for the restaurant industry, you can expect to see $44 in returns for every $1 spent on email marketing. 

When pairing email marketing with online ordering, it’s even easier to track the ROI of your campaigns. UTMs on links and tracking code on web pages can help you identify when a guest visited your website to place an order after opening an email. For a more user friendly solution, Popmenu’s Marketing Overview dashboard automatically tracks revenue earned from marketing activities, making it easy to understand what’s working (and what isn’t) for email campaigns. Because of easy-to-use tools like this, Woody’s Q Shack identified an additional $4,000 earned just from sending out a few emails.  

Email integrates well with other marketing efforts.

You can use email as a standalone marketing strategy, but it also easily integrates with other marketing efforts your restaurant might be doing. For example, you can cross promote between email newsletters and your social media accounts. You can also use email to highlight promotions or events your restaurant is using to draw in more guests.

How do you build a restaurant email list?

In order for your email list to be effective, you need real email addresses from people who are likely to actually visit your restaurant and engage with your brand online. 

There are third-parties that will sell you what they say is a comprehensive database with thousands of email addresses already on it, but you should avoid that strategy. Those aren’t likely to be quality contacts for your restaurant, and mass messaging them could get you flagged for sending spam.

It’s more work and it takes more time, but building your restaurant email list from the ground up will be far more lucrative in the long run. Here are 12 ways to start gathering email addresses from your guests and building an email database you can use to market your restaurant.

12 ways to get more people on your restaurant email list!

• Promote your email list with a pop-up.

  When guests visit your website, greet them with a pop-up that lets them know about your email outreach. Ask them to sign up, and consider sweetening the deal with a welcome offer, like 15% off on their next order if they join your contact list. One client, Hail Mary’s, has seen significant growth in their email list after launching a website pop-up that offers $5 off an order!

• Take direct online orders.

  Similar to online reservations, online orders can also help you gather guests’ email addresses. One thing to keep in mind is that this will only work if you take online orders directly from your website. If you use a third-party delivery app, like UberEats or Postmates, the app collects the guest’s email address — not you. Poppy’s Pizza & Grill has seen the value of owning your OLO, with an email list that has grown to over 2,500 since taking direct online orders.

• Create email-only offers.

  Guests are more likely to sign up for emails from your restaurant if they know there’s something in it for them. Encourage sign-ups by creating email-only offers for subscribers. Then, when you use any of the other tips on this list, mention to guests that signing up will get them a gift card, a discount, or another perk. Teppanyaki Time, has seen the success of this strategy by advertising an enticing “$15 off” to grow their email list to over 4,000 engaged followers.

• Create a contact form for your website.

  Rather than just listing your phone number and email address on your website’s contact page, add a contact form with a required field for email addresses — as well as other useful guest contact data. That way, any guest who reaches out via that form can be added to your restaurant email list.

Offer free wifi.

An easy way to collect email addresses from guests who visit your restaurant is to offer free wifi. Then, gate your network with a landing page that either requires an email address to use the wifi, or asks guests to sign up to receive exclusive offers and promotions.

Run a contest.

For decades, restaurants have run contests to collect business cards from guests. In 2024, you can do the same to collect emails. Offer a prize like a gift card, a party, or a special dinner event. Then, ask guests at your restaurant to sign up using their email for a chance to win.

Take online reservations.

Creating a reservation form (or using a reservation platform) can be another easy way to collect guests’ email addresses. When they request a reservation, ask for their contact information — including their email to confirm the reservation — and then give them the option to opt in to joining your mailing list.

Advertise your email list all over your restaurant.

Guests who visit your restaurant will be reading several times during their visit — take advantage of that by advertising your email list on menus and table tents. You can add a QR code that takes them to a signup page to make it easy for guests to join your restaurant email list right from their table.

• Add email information to your receipts.

  Another place you can advertise your email list is on guests’ receipts. You’ve probably noticed restaurants who offer a discount to guests who complete a survey shown on their receipt. This is a great tactic for collecting email addresses.

• Ask guests in person for their email addresses.

  Particularly when you’re just getting started building your restaurant email list, you can also just ask guests in person if they’d like to join. This will likely be especially effective if you have regulars with whom you’ve formed a relationship — let them know about your new email efforts, and they’ll likely be happy to help you out.

• Start a referral campaign.

  Once your email list starts getting off the ground, you can ask guests who are already on it to refer their friends and family. Offer another perk, like a discount, free appetizer, or gift card, to guests who get others to sign up for emails.

• Promote your email newsletter on social media.

  And finally, if your restaurant business already has social media accounts, you can promote your email list there. Make posts that encourage guests to join and link to a page where they can sign up.

How do you use your restaurant email list?

Building your restaurant email list is just the first step. Next, you have to use it. Keep in mind these best practices as you start creating restaurant email marketing campaigns.

Make your emails look great.

It’s important for your emails to look good to readers and guide them to the action you want them to take. Start with an exciting subject line to capture their attention and re-engage them with an eye-catching image at the top of the email. Now that you’ve got their attention, hit them with the exciting stuff - an offer or a discount! Finally, be sure to tell your readers how to act by providing a clear call-to-action at the end of the email. 

Write catchy subject lines.

How your email looks won’t matter if no one reads it, and the best way to encourage guests to open your emails is with a subject line that catches their attention. Use your subject to highlight promotions, events, or discounts for higher open rates.

Make your emails mobile friendly.

More and more web traffic comes from smartphones rather than desktop computers. It’s very likely that your guests will open your emails from a mobile device, which means you need mobile-responsive design that won’t force them to pinch and zoom to read too-small text.

Test your emails before sending them.

Before sending emails to your entire email marketing list, send them to yourself and some other restaurant employees to test them out. This will check their deliverability, as well as give you a chance to see how they look on multiple devices before sending them out to guests.

Settle into an email rhythm.

As you start sending out regular emails, try to develop a cadence to your timing. Sending a daily email will likely overwhelm guests. Once every few months might give them enough time to forget about your restaurant in between emails. Start out sending a marketing email every few weeks to once a month. Monitor your KPIs like open and click-through rates, and experiment to see what helps them improve. Many email marketing tools have dashboards to help you better understand your email performance. One example is the Marketing Overview, available through Popmenu. This dashboard shows you top performing emails and revenue attributed to email marketing. Understanding which emails bring in the most revenue is essential in deciding where to spend your time and effort. 

Mind the CAN-SPAM Act.

The CAN-SPAM Act helps protect Americans from unwanted spam emails from businesses. Violating it could cost your restaurant serious fines. To stay in compliance:

Ideas for email marketing content.

Most restaurant owners aren’t marketers. When they think of marketing, they often think of traditional ads, like those on TV or in print. In the digital age, marketing encompasses so much more than that. Below are some creative email marketing ideas that will help promote your restaurant that feel much more natural than a traditional ad.

Provide welcome offers.

When guests first sign up for your mailing list, send them a welcome offer, like a discount on their next purchase, that encourages them to make a visit to your restaurant right away.

Create special days of the week.

Claim a day of the week to be a special day at your restaurant. For example, offer #TiramisuTuesday at an Italian restaurant, or #WineWednesday at a bar or happy hour spot. Then, send emails on or right before that day to highlight any specials you’re offering for the day.

Promote holiday offers.

Holidays provide many opportunities for restaurants to promote themselves and their offerings. Send out holiday deals. Email a reminder to make Valentine’s reservations. If you have a special menu or a holiday event, use your restaurant mailing lists to promote it.

Send birthday offers.

When guests sign up for your email list, ask them for their birthday. Then, before the big day, send them a special birthday offer. A free drink or dessert is a great option.

Highlight your menu.

If you want to promote any specific menu options, an email is a great way to do so. You can also send out emails to let guests know if you’ve made changes to your menu, like if you add new chef’s specials or seasonal dishes they might want to try.

Do You Need Help with Email Marketing?

Everything we’ve covered so far is a lot to consider. If you feel like you simply don’t have the time or energy to invest in email marketing, we have a great solution for you.

Popmenu Boost is a marketing service made specifically for restaurants. We help out with content (like email marketing) and act as a guide in the ever-changing world of marketing. With Boost, you will work with a designated restaurant marketing professional to create strategic plans to take your digital marketing to the next level.

Boost goes far beyond email marketing to create a comprehensive strategy to stay connected with your guests, drive online ordering revenue, and increase overall marketing impact.

And the best part? There’s no need for you to be a marketing expert. You just have to be the expert in your restaurant and we’ll act as the marketing support to help you reach your goals.