LEVERAGE SOCIAL MEDIA TO GROW YOUR EMAIL LIST

Email marketing is one of the most effective marketing tools out there. It creates and maintains connections, builds an engaged audience, and helps build trust and credibility. It’s also extremely cost-effective — email marketing has an average ROI of $36 for every dollar spent.

So one of your goals should be to grow your email list, and one of the best places to source subscribers is from your social media channels. 

People follow your brand on social media because they are interested in something about the account — you, your look, your product, your service, maybe even just the music you use in your reels. No matter what led them to follow you, you’ve got their attention and their trust on some level. They’re primed to interact on a deeper level with your brand.

Here are 4 ways to leverage your social media platform to build your email list:

1. Invite people directly. Add it as a call-to-action on some of your posts. You can connect it to a specific initiative or just make a general call for email signups. Some examples include: “Want to stay in the know? Sign up for our email newsletter!” or “Sign up for emails and we’ll send you a 15% off coupon.”

2. Create lead magnets. Typically these are videos or short PDF guides/checklists on topics your audience is interested in and curious about. For example, Rebecca is planning a trip to Lake Tahoe next month. Earlier today one of her favorite Instagram pet influencers offered a guide to the best dog-friendly beaches in Lake Tahoe. To get the guide, she needed to put in her name and email address. No problem! The form was filled out and now she’s happily planning her and Aspen’s visit to Lake Tahoe. People have few qualms about submitting their email address in order to get something valuable for free. 
   
   And remember, these guides don’t have to be long, detailed, or touch on every aspect of your business. You want to give them some useful information, but leave them wanting more. Let’s say you’re an interior designer. You could create a guide for “The top 5 ways to decorate with your pet in mind” or “Everything you need to know about using green paint in your kitchen.” Pick one subject, offer your expertise, and make sure people know where to go when they want more information.

3. Host a contest or giveaway. This one is simple — “Sign up for our newsletter to be entered into our contest!” People on social media love contests that are easy to enter like this. Forget tagging five friends, posting to stories 3 times, following 10 different accounts, and answering the troll’s riddle before you’re entered to win. If you keep it simple and let people like your post and sign up for your newsletter to enter, you’ll be surprised how many people will participate.

4. Add the link to your bio. People can’t sign up for your newsletter if they can’t find the link. So make sure it’s included in the link in your bio, even when you aren’t directly referencing it. You want it to be easy to find.

You might be thinking - but won’t people just sign up for the coupons, the free guide, or the giveaway, and then unsubscribe right after? They might! But not as quickly as you might think. People will often stay subscribed to email newsletters long after the initial promotion has passed. 

But here’s the key: as we said in the beginning, people who follow you on social media are already primed to engage with your brand in a deeper way. So even if they sign up for your email list to get a certain promotion, they aren’t new to your brand. They’re interested, and they enjoy hearing more about you. You should retain most of your subscribers, guiding more people to your website, and, theoretically, making more sales!

Making all the connections from social media to email marketing to effective website design can be overwhelming for small business owners. That’s why we’re here! We can help you dial in your communications plan from first touch to final sale. Get started by filling out THIS FORM.