Interact started in 2013 because a client asked us to put a quiz on his website so he could collect more emails. Back then, as it is today, the value of a visitor who didn’t join your email list was super low. And most people who were building brands online were focused on email list growth as the most important metric of success at the top of the funnel.
The same is true today in 2026. But now there are more entry points for a quiz. Websites still work great, but now you have Instagram, YouTube, and Podcasts all acting as substantial traffic drivers for quiz lead magnets.
So today I’d like to recap what really works when it comes to using quizzes for email list growth. No overhyping, no gatekeeping, just the strategy behind it, and how it functions to grow your email list.
Website Conversion Quiz
Starting off with the classic, which has worked incredibly well for 13 years, the website conversion quiz. The strategy behind a website conversion quiz is you want to know the most common question people have on their minds when they visit your website. As an example here from The Car Mom, the question people are asking themselves is “Which car is right for my family?” so Kelly’s quiz answers that question.
The way I like to think about a website quiz is like it’s greeting the website visitor and offering a personalized consultation to them. That’s exactly what Kelly said her quiz was built for when she was gracious enough to join us on our podcast (episode here).
Another great example of this is from Henry’s House of Coffee. Hrag, owner of Henry’s, and the creator of their coffee matchmaker quiz, told me that the whole purpose of the quiz was to try and recreate some of the magic of entering the coffee shop in San Francisco and having a conversation about which coffee beans would match your tastes and preferences.
I’ve had the privilege of visiting Henry’s multiple times, and going through the experience of touring the shop where the beans are roasted and smelling the different roasts, so it’s very cool to then see the online quiz capturing just a taste of that magic.
In Summary: Website quizzes answer the most common question people have, the prompts them to visit your website in the first place, and offer a personalized consultation through the quiz to help people find the right path forward for their particular needs and preferences.
Instagram Quizzes
Instagram quizzes come in two forms. There is the Link in Bio quiz, which serves a very similar purpose, and often is the same quiz, as the website quiz. Meaning that it’s answering the question on people’s minds who are wanting to learn more from you. Then there is the DM automation quiz, which people can take by commenting on an individual post or reel, and take a quiz.
A great example of this is from Dr. Sasha Hamdani, her link in bio quiz is “Where should I start?” Which is the question on people’s minds when they click through. Dr. Sasha is an expert on busy brains and big emotions, and the natural question people have on those topics is “What’s the first thing I should do?” because it’s a big topic.
The second way people share their quizzes on Instagram to grow their email lists is within individual posts, using DM Automation to send the actual quiz to people when they comment a certain word, usually “Quiz” This approach has emerged to be one of the top ways creator entrepreneurs drive list growth with quizzes because their audiences are on Instagram and that’s where the attention is.
I will describe how this works in super literal terms. The reels, carousels, and static image posts that creator entrepreneurs use to share their quizzes are just like any other social media post. Meaning that they live in the attention economy, and the posts are on topics that get attention.
The quizzes that are the follow-on to these posts are related to the topic of the post, and that’s why people would DM to take the quiz. The caption text is what connects the post to the quiz, and then people DM to take the quiz.
Podcast and YouTube Quizzes
These function in the same way as Instagram post quizzes, where you have a topic that is popular, then tie in the quiz either by mentioning it on air in a podcast, or within your YouTube video.
Summary and Conclusion
The main way quizzes convert visitors and audience members into email subscribers is by answering question that require you to learn more about the person who is engaging with your brand. You can ask those questions as if it were a mini consultation, and then provide a personalized answer in your quiz results. In return, the quiz taker shares their email with you to join your email list. This has worked extraordinarily well for 13 years, and it continues to convert quiz takers to email subscribers at a rate of 40% using the Interact quiz platform.