While an email list is not a bad thing on the contrary it is important and works well if created properly within clear guidelines and goals, it remains only an option among many others available to online marketers worldwide.

The take
Those in favor of email lists completely neglect the fact that there are millions of marketers and semi-professional individuals just as good or maybe better without any lists of any sort

Mail or to be precise email marketing is only a platform not different from any other platform of communication between the buyer or consumer and the distributor or seller. Think of an email list as a social platform such as Facebook or Twitter or LinkedIn and the list goes on.

On the email list platform, you have followers or readers interested in what you have to say and from time to time they might decide to buy one of your products or services. This is exactly what happens on the other side of the fence. Friends and followers on Facebook groups and other social platforms do just the same but with better interaction and speed.

list building is so 90s just like CDs and Zip drives, they'll work now if you have them but there are much better ways that outperform anything they can offer. If you have a list use it if it still works for you. As a marketer, you won't underestimate any source of income if it generates what justifies the effort.

The better way to build a list is to become a good marketer with products and services that people need and want and from there you can slowly build a well-segmented email list with laser-targeted clients who trust your expertise, professionalism, and judgment that they'll get only emails that matter.

300 Billion emails sent daily to unsuspecting users who don't even know they exist, let alone interact with them.

Remember this, if so many people promote it, it's probably not the thing to go for. It's not a scam but it's misleading, to say the least. Giants like GetResponse, A Webber, Mail Chimp, Constant Contact, and many others will always tell you "your life is nothing without a list" But you should know better by now.