Whether you’re a blogger or a business building up your follower base, a good quality email list is vital. While email marketing remains a valuable weapon in your arsenal, it’s only as good as your content and subscriber list.

Before we get started, remember to follow best practice according to GDPR and the CAN-SPAM Act. We covered email marketing rules and regulations in a previous article which you can find here. This also goes hand-in-hand with creating opt-in forms that give visitors the opportunity to agree to receive email communications from you.

Building An Email List

Building your email list is undoubtedly one of the best ways to create a loyal fan base for your business. However, it is not as simple as sending everyone on the planet an email to sign up hoping that they do. Fact is, it’s a challenging task especially without the trust and continued engagement of an existing, dedicated audience.

Fortunately, the world of social media is incredibly powerful and a fantastic means to generate, nurture and grow your target audience. While there are rules you must adhere to, you are essentially in control of the content your potential readers see. Here are a few creative ways you can use social media to grow your email list.

Use Facebook And LinkedIn Groups

There is no denying that building a community is one of the best ways to establish trust and brand loyalty. Facebook and LinkedIn are two of the biggest social networking platforms with loads of features to help businesses grow.

In today’s social media driven world, it would be a mistake if you didn’t create Facebook Groups or LinkedIn Groups. Considering the sheer volume of people on these networks, it is something every business should at least consider.

Once you’ve established trust within your community, your brand will be in a good position to ask members to sign up for your newsletter and start growing your email list. The only way to achieve this is through regularly posting quality and value-adding content. Here is a compelling article from Neil Patel on how to create a LinkedIn Group.

Include A Call-To-Action Button On Facebook

Another small but valuable option is adding a CTA on your Facebook business page. The process super simple and you have various options to choose from including “Sign up”, “Send Email”, “Call Now” and “Learn More” among others. See our screenshot below:

Depending on where you want to send the leads to, your button can link to a squeeze page, newsletter sign up form or another destination. This helps maximise the full potential of your Facebook Fans but only if your content is relevant and adds value.

Facebook Live Or Instagram Live Show

Instagram Live (IG Live) is a feature that works within Instagram Stories where you can broadcast live videos to other users on Instagram. It forms part of Instagram Stories, which had more than 500 million daily active users in 2018 (Instagram, 2018). Here is how to start a live video on Instagram.

Similarly, Facebook Live is a video streaming feature that allows you to broadcast a live video to your target audience. You can do this from your Facebook business page or personal profile. Once you’ve created a Facebook Live video, it remains on your profile making it easier for viewers to access it if they missed the live event. These videos can be shown on your news feed during the live event and once the event has concluded.

Snapchat, Instagram or Facebook Stories

Another interesting way to show valuable content and possibly generate more sign-ups, use Instagram Stories or Snapchat. This will allow you to show additional behind-the-scenes content whether it’s launching a new product, an exclusive offer or feature among others.

The concept is simple; include a link to your newsletter in your story but make it clear to your audience why they should visit your web page and sign up. For example, if you are launching a new mobile app and share it in the Story, tell your audience how your newsletter will keep them informed of all the latest tech updates.

Interesting Social Media Statistics

To give you an idea of how big Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram have become, take a look at these figures:

• Snapchat has about 190 million daily active users
• There are more than 14 billion daily video views on Snapchat
• Facebook has 2.32 billion monthly active users and 1.52 billion daily active users
• Facebook Stories has 300 million daily active users
• People ‘like’ 4.2 billion posts on Instagram every day

We only highlighted a few but for all the statistics, check out ‘Amazing Social Media Statistics And Facts’

Using YouTube Cards To Drive Traffic

Like overlays or pop-ups, you can add YouTube cards to your video. These are essentially panels with a clickable call to action (CTA) that appear on-screen when someone watches a YouTube video. These can be images, external links and even content that viewers can download when they click the CTA. Add YouTube cards to your video to increase your email subscribers by mentioning your newsletter and including a link to it. It is a great way to promote your brand and encourage engagement.

How To Use YouTube Cards

There are five different types of YouTube cards you can use:

• Video or playlist: Promote another public YouTube video or even a specific time in a video
• Channel: Provide a link to another channel you’d like your viewers to know about or thank the channel for their contribution
• Donation: Mention a non-profit or a special cause of your choice to encourage donations
• Poll: Encourage viewers to participate in a poll
• Link: Link to an approved website outside of YouTube (must meet these requirements)

Send Regular Social Media Posts To Build Your Email List

Consistently promoting free products or downloadable content can increase your engagement with existing customers and new followers. And while persistence is often the only way to convince your audience, don’t overdo it. If it sounds too much like a sales pitch or purely a marketing gimmick, you may come across as pushy and your audience may be put off.

Always balance things out and don’t just post about your specific product or service. Add a few funny memes, relevant articles or customer testimonials. It’s easier and faster to use social media management tools like Sendible, Hootsuite, Social Pilot or SocialBee as you can schedule posts well in advance while having access to detailed analytics.

Build Your Email List With Contests And Giveaways

The last one on our list is contests or giveaways as this can really help bulk up your email list. However, don’t offer something random and pointless, make sure the prize adds value and encourages engagement. Promote the contest or giveaway on all your social media channels and see how fast your email list can grow.

If you would like to know more about social media marketing and list building strategies, get in touch for a free consultation. We can help you find a solution that works for your brand. Have you come across (or used) any other strategies to increase your email subscribers? Please comment in the section below as we’d love to hear your thoughts.