Email marketing is an integral part of every successful digital marketing strategy. In terms of ROI, it frequently outperforms other digital marketing channels, making it a favorite among marketers who have to work on a limited budget. Email marketing is an excellent backup option if all your other marketing attempts start to fail. Your website might get blacklisted, your social media accounts might get blocked, but with an email list in place, you still have a means of reaching out to your audience.
The effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns is primarily determined by the size and quality of your mailing list. There are already many articles online on how to grow your email list, so we have decided to narrow down our focus on social media as a way of generating email leads. Give these techniques a try, and watch as your mailing list starts growing faster and faster before your eyes.
Add CTAs to Your Social Media Profiles
The most direct way to leverage social media for growing you email list is to include a call-to-action in all your social media profiles. Ideally, your CTA should point to a landing-page that gives them an option to receive some kind of benefit, in exchange for their email address. This tactic works best on your new social media followers, as they are more likely to interact with your brand immediately after hitting the subscribe button.
Offer Bonus Content
Creating quality social media content is essential for keeping your audience engaged with your brand. And if your content is good enough, your followers might be willing to lend you their email address in exchange for a second serving. There are two ways of implementing this strategy. One is to gate certain parts of content until your lead provides an email, and the other is to offer something extra for those willing to give away their address.
Host a Giveaway
If you are willing to invest a bit more into growing your mailing list, you can host a giveaway on social media. Give your followers the chance to win a premium prize simply by giving you their email address. Make sure that the prize you are offering is tailor-made for your target demographic – otherwise you will attract people who are just in it for the freebies, and are therefore unlikely to keep interacting with your brand. You can also go a step further, and give your contestants the opportunity to gain multiple entries to the contest for CTAs such as sharing the event on social media.
Add Sharing CTAs to Your Email Content
While we are on the topic of sharing, be sure to include the option to do so in your newsletters, courses, ebooks, and other bits of content you will be sending out in your emails. It costs you practically nothing to add a small share button at the end of every email you send, and those shares do add up over time. Giving people the option to share your email content will make you seem more generous and forthcoming, so your existing customers will want to return the favor.
Advertise on Facebook
This tactic requires some social media training in order to implement it right, but if you have the skills required, it can be extremely effective at expanding your email list. First you need to create a landing page with the appropriate CTA, or use one which you made previously. Then you have to set up the ad itself through Facebook, making sure to include an evocative title, a quality advertising copy, and an eye-catching image. Finally, you have to specify how much money you are willing to bid on a monthly level to have your ad displayed to your target demographic.
Create How-To Videos for Youtube
While it might not be immediately obvious, YouTube is as much of a social network as Facebook or Instagram. The type of content you need to produce in order to attract a following differs, but it is still a platform for generating email leads. When deciding on the kind of video you need to make to promote your subscription CTA, be sure to look into video tutorials. Creating how-to videos covering basic topics can easily acquire millions of views, and that is a lot of potential emails you stand to gather for your list.
Host an Online Seminar on Social Media
Some people require a bit of persuasion before they divulge their email. And in order to persuade them, you have to invite them to a talk first. This can be done by creating an online seminar, giving your target audience the opportunity to interact with you directly. Give your first session away as a freebie, and then provide the option to subscribe for future session by providing an email. This way, your leads will get a chance to see what they are getting before making a decision whether to commit to your brand.
Conclusion
While being a powerful marketing channel in their own right, social networks give businesses the opportunity to enhance their other marketing efforts as well, including those that involve email marketing. Growing your mailing list is just one of the things that can be made easier by properly using the social media tools at your disposal.
Michael Deane is the editor of Qeedle, a small business hub he has started with a couple of friends. He is also a digital marketing executive, always looking for ways to make his clients lives easier. You can find him on Twitter at @ Qeedle_
tammyhudgin.com 