Again and again, it proves out that email subscribers are much more valuable to your online business than social media followers. Having permission to email someone about your offer is much more likely to convert to a sale, especially during a launch, rather than catching them by chance when they show up on social media (or fighting with whatever algorithms the social media platforms put in place this week).
But many of you who have been blogging or building your business for awhile have a much bigger social media following than an email list, so how do you go about turning social media followers into email subscribers?
Once you have the first 3 email list building essentials in place, start implementing these 6 strategies on social media to turn followers into email subscribers.
1 – Share your opt-in via social media posts
Share your opt-in regularly on social media. Post it to your Facebook page, Twitter feed, LinkedIn profile, or mention it on Instagram.
Yes, even if you did it last week, someone new will see it this week. That’s how social media works. Besides, someone might need to see it several times before they take action and actually join your email list. Share your opt-in regularly and receive new email subscribers.
2 – Make your email subscription very visible on social media profiles
Unless you are running a launch, you’ll want to promote your opt-in via your social media profiles. Consider your header images (like the one inside the Momstyle Your Business Facebook group and on the Momstyle Your Business Facebook page) and pinned posts.
Pay attention to small details. On my Twitter profile, I have a link to “http://www.bridging-the-gap.com/free-resources” which redirects to my opt-in page. This way, the URL is part of positioning that there are free resources on the other side. A similar strategy would work on Instagram.
3 – Post new content to your blog
Consistently creating new content, posting it to your blog, and sharing it to social media, will also expand your email subscriber list. You can increase conversion to your email list by mentioning your opt-in right inside the blog post. For example:
(By the way, if you’d like to learn more about creating a financially-freeing online business, I offer a complimentary guide: 10 Steps to Building Passive Income with Digital Products.)
Yes, just like that. Add that copy after the first couple of sentences and then pick up with your blog post. There doesn’t have to be a logical break for this to work. If you read more articles here, you’ll see me doing this all the time, either to mention our email list or one of the products in our store.
4 – Create videos and live streams
Videos and live streams tend to get more exposure and attention on social media. The important thing is to mention your opt-in whenever you record a video or live stream and then link to directly to it in the comments or introduction.
One easy way to do this is to do a video series specifically about your opt-in. So if your opt-in has 3 parts, record a video about each part and then mention and link to your opt-in from each video.
5 – Share guest posts and podcasts
When you are featured on someone else’s blog or podcast, be sure your bio or show notes contain a link to your opt-in. Additionally, you can suggest links to related articles on your website, so if a reader or listener decides to click, they might also join your newsletter via your sidebar or under-the-post opt-in boxes.
Then, be sure to promote the post or podcast on social media as well. This helps you build stronger relationships, which will help you secure even more guest spots in the future. Besides, when your followers listen in to your interview, they will get to know you better and you’ll increase your chances of converting a social media follower into an email subscriber.
6 – Host a live “event” for email subscribers only
Finally, a great way to convert a social media following into email subscribers is to host a limited time, live event. Common examples include webinars and free challenges. In order to join the webinar or receive the challenge prompts, participants must register – and when they register they join your email list.
One important thing to note about live events is that the promotion during and after the event can be just as effective, if not more so, than the conversions you receive leading up to the event.
During the challenge or after the webinar, encourage participants to share insights or ask you questions via social media. Facebook groups are perfect for this. These posts will tend to be more interactive and get more visibility, so make it easy for new people to opt in to the replay or sign up for the challenge mid-stream.
While We Are Talking About Email Lists…
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