Building an email list is a good way to promote your business to clients, but it isn’t a necessity. Whether you’ll benefit from one depends on your specific circumstances. You have to put in a good amount of work to maintain engagement with your email list, which means less time spent on other areas of your business. If you’re doing alright without it and landing well-paying projects, then an email list might just hamper your ability to maintain those projects. On the other hand, if your business deals with products as well as projects, having an email list could come in handy to increase sales. If you aren’t having much luck with your current marketing methods and believe an email list might draw in more clients, it might also be a good idea to try one out.