YouTuber uses email marketing to increase his video views using AWeber
By Sean Tinney October 6, 2022
Jared Polin of FroKnowsPhoto has 1.4 million YouTube subscribers and more than 232K email subscribers. But his success didn’t happen overnight. He cultivated his following over time with incredible content, a smart email strategy, and persistence.
His journey began in 2008, when Polin filmed a video of himself talking about his camera gear. It was awkward. He was visibly uncomfortable on camera. But he kept going. His following back then was non-existent, but he kept creating.
Slowly, people began to notice. They asked questions about his techniques and Jared answered them the best way he knew how: with videos.
How Jared grew his YouTube channel
Jared knew he could create great content all day, but if people couldn’t find it, it wouldn’t do anyone any good. He was no SEO expert, but he knew that the smart use of tags on the videos he uploaded on YouTube could get him better visibility.
“I knew if I could tag things smartly – ‘Nikon D3300’ for example – people are gonna look,” he explains. ”But if I tag that same video as, ‘The first ever Nikon review, this thing is awesome,’ it’s not gonna match that many keywords. I didn’t know much about SEO, but all I did was common sense.”
Jared also created new videos based on questions people asked him. That’s one of the main ways he was able to grow his following.
“When people had a comment, and it was a good one, I could make a video off of it,” he said. “Or people could submit photos I could critique, and that’s a piece of content I could put out into the world.”
Delivering consistent content gives people a reason to keep coming back. And when you create content based on your audience’s comments and questions, it shows them you’re paying attention. That’s the start of a beautiful relationship.
Use YouTube to grow your email list
Once Jared’s YouTube channel started to grow, he knew he couldn’t solely rely on YouTube to get his videos in front of his audience.
“Part of getting the message out was through email,” he explains. “Expanding your reach is getting hard to do unless you’re paying for it. If you want to reach your people, one of the best ways to do that is through email.”
To make sure his audience was aware of when he published a new video, he needed to email his subscribers. But in order to do so, he first needed to capture their email addresses.
To do this, Jared asks his viewers to sign up for his email list, often at the beginning of his most popular videos. Sometimes he even includes a clickable image of his form in his videos, as shown here.
Once a viewer clicks on the sign-up form image, they’re taken to the landing page on Jared’s website where his video lives. In this case, he includes a Nikon D5 “Real World Review” – where you can sign up for a free photography guide that expands on the content he discusses in the video.
It’s pretty ingenious.
Here’s what that page looks like:
“On YouTube, it’s all about the ask,” he said. “I’m putting out a piece of content and people are watching it. But before the video starts, in the intro, I say, ‘If you haven’t signed up for the Fro Knows Photo email list on the website, please put your name and email address in it and I’ll send you a free guide to capturing motion in low-light situations.’”
How Jared gets email subscribers
1 – Asks for email sign-ups at the beginning of his most popular videos.
See how he does it:
2 – Provides a free lead magnet that anyone watching his videos will find valuable.
On his sign-up form, he offers a free photography guide for capturing motion in low light situations – a topic that resonates with amateur photographers.
How Jared sets up his sign-up form in AWeber
How Jared sets up his automated emails in AWeber
After a new subscriber signs up to Jared’s email list, he uses email automation to welcome his new fans and to send the photography guide.
First Jared sends the welcome email.
Followed by the email with the photography guide.
Start using email marketing to grow your video views
Whether you’re a new YouTuber or have thousands of followers, it’s never too early or late to start .
Once you sign up for your AWeber account, you can have a new sign-up form and automated email up and running in no time. Just follow the same steps Jared took to grow and communicate with his subscribers.
