7 Expert Tricks to Grow Your Email List with Social Media
By Olivia Dello Buono February 6, 2017
We asked the experts at Buffer how marketers can leverage their social media channels to grow their email list bigger, better and faster!
Email is one of the most effective ways to turn your passive ‘likes’ and followers into loyal customers. If you’ve already built up a fanbase for your business on your social channels, it’s time to take the relationship to the next level by inviting them to join your email list.
In last week’s #EmailChat, we chatted with Brian Peters, Marketing and Social Media Manager at Buffer, to learn how marketers can leverage their social media channels to grow their email list bigger, better and faster!
Needless to say, there were a ton of insights and tips that resulted from our chat – all of which I’ve outlined below.
Here’s why email is different than social media
One of the best things about social media is that it lets you reach new fans and audiences in a very public way. People can search for your topic or area of expertise and stumble upon your page at random or through a friend or family member referral.
But social media can get crowded. If you’re not investing in paid advertising, there’s a good chance your posts won’t get seen (let alone by the right people).
The good news? Engaging your audience is – all you have to do is add email to the mix!
The even better news? Your subscribers are likely to be more engaged because they opted in to hear from you.
You can set the timing and frequency of when you want to deliver content to your prospects. There’s no algorithm to work around. With email, it’s super easy to track who your content is reaching and how it performed. (And if you’re using a trusted email service provider, there’s no question about whether or not your content is actually getting delivered.)
Q1. What sets email marketing apart from social media? #EmailChat pic.twitter.com/1TId7YjBkh
— AWeber (@AWeber) February 2, 2017
A1: 1/2 What I love about email is the control that marketers have over output/delivery. There’s no algorithm to work around! #EmailChat
— Brian Peters ✈️🌎 (@Brian_G_Peters) February 2, 2017
A1: it is easier to track open rates and click through rates, and know how effective your email marketing campaign is. #emailchat
— Indigo Evolution (@indigoevstudio) February 2, 2017
A1 You own your email list. To quote @Crestodina: "Its not Google. It's not Facebook. It's not Twitter. It's mine." #EmailChat
— Olivia Dello Buono (@oliviadello) February 2, 2017
How social + email can work together
Despite their differences, email and social media work better together.
Social media is a great way to reach new audiences and communities of people. Email is how to keep them engaged and nurture the relationship. It’s a win-win!
Leverage both of their strengths to really amp up your marketing strategy as a whole.
You might also like: Quick Tips Video: Growing Subscribers via Social Media
Q2. How do social media and email work together? #EmailChat pic.twitter.com/v9NUAzgNA0
— AWeber (@AWeber) February 2, 2017
A2: 1/2 Email is a great way to drive awareness/traffic to your content & company initiatives through targeted messages.. #EmailChat
— Brian Peters ✈️🌎 (@Brian_G_Peters) February 2, 2017
A2: You can upload your email list on Facebook via custom audience feature & run ads. Great way to boost engagement & traffic. #EmailChat
— Sandeep Mallya (@sanmallya) February 2, 2017
A2: social media becomes the ice breaker and email is the proposal 🙂 @AWeber #emailchat
— Tejaswi Raghurama (@Tejazz89) February 2, 2017
Tricks to grow your email list with social
So how do you get your followers to sign up for your email list? The answer is surprisingly easy!
You can share lead generating resources or content upgrades, like a webinar, PDF guide or ebook, as an incentive in exchange for their email address.
Another simple way to boost your list growth is to host a contest or giveaway with a valuable, relevant prize. Just remember to state that entrants will be added to your email list (or give them the option to opt-out).
Q3. How can you leverage social media to grow your email list? #EmailChat pic.twitter.com/UBJpjLpt0v
— AWeber (@AWeber) February 2, 2017
A3: 1/2 Sharing "lead generating" content on social such as ebooks, case studies, webinars, offers, and industry studies… #emailchat
— Brian Peters ✈️🌎 (@Brian_G_Peters) February 2, 2017
A3: 2/2 will help to drive traffic to your biggest email list growth initiatives that are determined by your business ⚡️ #emailchat
— Brian Peters ✈️🌎 (@Brian_G_Peters) February 2, 2017
A3 Offer valuable incentives or content upgrades in exchange for an email address and promote on social. #EmailChat
— Olivia Dello Buono (@oliviadello) February 2, 2017
A3: When posting an email opt-in offer, briefly describe the benefits of joining the email list #emailchat
— Indigo Evolution (@indigoevstudio) February 2, 2017
The platform that’s most effective for list building…
…is a tricky one. There isn’t exactly a best or worst platform for growing your email list – it’s really dependent on where your audience is.
Brian suggests Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn as good places to start because they are the most “landing page” friendly. And while we definitely agree, don’t overlook channels like Pinterest and Instagram. Both are really good places for finding new audiences through search.
If you’re willing to invest a little, Facebook ads are a great place to promote your list. You set the targeting and budget for your ads. You can also create lookalike audiences based on the profiles of your current email subscribers.
Q4. Which social platforms are most effective for list building? #EmailChat pic.twitter.com/4O0IS8QFhJ
— AWeber (@AWeber) February 2, 2017
A4 It depends! Where is your audience most engaged? #EmailChat
— Olivia Dello Buono (@oliviadello) February 2, 2017
A4. Facebook makes it difficult to get posts seen, but if you invest a little in ads, it can go a long way at growing a list!#emailchat
— Monica Montesa (@missmontesa) February 2, 2017
A4: 1/2 Facebook…. Twitter, & LinkedIn are great for driving email growth because they are the most "landing page friendly."
#emailchat— Brian Peters ✈️🌎 (@Brian_G_Peters) February 2, 2017
Check out more tips to growing your list with social media in our free guide.
These tools can help with growing your list
There’s a secret that separates great marketers from good ones: the 80/20 rule.
Sadly, producing great content isn’t enough. You need to reach the right people at the right time to get the results you want. And that’s why great marketers spend around 20 percent of their time creating content and 80 percent promoting it.
Luckily, there are a few tools out there to automate the process, so you can spend more time doing what you love!
Try out a social scheduling tool like Buffer, MeetEdgar or Sprout Social to automate your social media feeds. And don’t underestimate the power of the built-in tools. Facebook’s Subscribe tab, for example, is a surprisingly effective way to keep your email list top of mind.
Q5. What tools can we use to grow our email lists through social media? #EmailChat pic.twitter.com/PhPrgpj30P
— AWeber (@AWeber) February 2, 2017
A5 A social scheduling tool like @Buffer is great to automate content that drives traffic and leads to your list. #EmailChat
— Olivia Dello Buono (@oliviadello) February 2, 2017
A5. My favorite are tools that help run contests, like @heyo & @woobox #emailchat
— Monica Montesa (@missmontesa) February 2, 2017
A5: Buffer! 😉 Other great ones are Facebook's "subscribe" feature, ads, & a giveaway tool such as @rafflecopter!
#emailchat— Brian Peters ✈️🌎 (@Brian_G_Peters) February 2, 2017
Make your content share itself
Another secret that great marketers know? The power of social optimization!
Marketers who have mastered social media know how to find opportunities to increase the likelihood of people sharing their content, whether it’s adding sharing links with a tool like AddThis or embedding click to tweets within their blog posts.
You can also try syndicating your content on LinkedIn or Medium to maximize its reach.
Q6. How can we optimize our content for social sharing? #EmailChat pic.twitter.com/qBCC7lOoZT
— AWeber (@AWeber) February 2, 2017
A6: 1/2 We've found that "short & sweet" on social works wonderfully in tandem with a catchy headline. Make it shareable! 🚀 #emailchat
— Brian Peters ✈️🌎 (@Brian_G_Peters) February 2, 2017
A6 Click to tweets within your post, sharing buttons on your blog or website, and syndicated content via @Medium or @LinkedIn. #EmailChat
— Olivia Dello Buono (@oliviadello) February 2, 2017
A6. The best way to optimize is the easiest way… provide plenty of social sharing opportunities! #emailchat
— Monica Montesa (@missmontesa) February 2, 2017
Remember these social and email best practices
Whether you’re posting to your social feeds or sending an email to your list, it all goes back to the value you’re providing. How is your content helping your audience to solve a problem?
Testing is also key if you want to continually improve. Keep track of your analytics and try to repeat those successes.
Q7. What are some social and email best practices? #EmailChat pic.twitter.com/QXc7KkxFyf
— AWeber (@AWeber) February 2, 2017
A7 No matter what platform you're on, it's all about value. How is your content helping your audience? #EmailChat
— Olivia Dello Buono (@oliviadello) February 2, 2017
A7: 1/2 Test, test, test! Whether you’re running a social or email campaign it’s important to continually think OTB #emailchat
— Brian Peters ✈️🌎 (@Brian_G_Peters) February 2, 2017
A7. And pay attention to anything that boosts engagement! You'll want to repeat that success as often as possible. #emailchat
— Monica Montesa (@missmontesa) February 2, 2017
Save the date
Join us on Thursday, March 2nd at 12pm ET for the next #EmailChat. We’ll be talking email automation – you won’t want to miss it!
Join us for the next #EmailChat on 3/2 at 12pm ET. Hope to see you there! 👋🏼
— AWeber (@AWeber) February 2, 2017
How are you using social media to grow your email list? Let us know in the comments!
Tanja
2/7/2017 4:01 amThe custom audience email list is by far the best tool ever! Thank you for those tricks!
erpsandeep
2/7/2017 7:00 amNice Article to Read it ………….Thanks for sharing this Article.
ercharan
2/8/2017 2:23 amThanks for sharing this information and useful points were stated in the blog
charanerp
2/8/2017 6:48 amThanks for sharing this blog a useful information about the topic is presented
Nice Blog!
LUSEKELO MWAKITALU HUDSON
2/9/2017 12:47 pmEmail list is a greatest asset any business can have,and most of our prospects are in social media,this is the perfect combination to grow a business.
Nick Raineri
2/10/2017 10:46 pmSocial media is a growing platform and can be beneficial in many ways. Growing your email lists is another benefit it has. Thanks for sharing!