This post was updated January 19th, 2021
Email is a very effective tool for marketers because it provides an opportunity to maintain engagement among your customers. Of course, you can’t take full advantage of this tool if your email list doesn’t have many subscribers.
That’s why you should look for multiple ways to build your email list. Simply relying on a signup prompt on your website won’t yield the best possible results. In fact, opt-in rates among website visitors tend to be relatively low.
If you want to know how to get more subscribers, consider leveraging social media. Building an email list with Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms can be a very smart tactic, and these strategies will help.
1. Promote Additional Email Content on Social Media
Your followers on social media platforms typically follow you because they appreciate the type of content you share. Thus, they may be interested in learning how they can get more of that content.
That’s why a simple social media email marketing tip is to promote email list sign ups with each post. The call-to-action (CTA) within each post leads to email list sign up — here are some examples:
- “Increase your leads after learning from our new eBook”
- “Schedule a demo with us to see how to catch up on missed revenue opportunities”
- “Read our new study on content performance and how it affects your marketing”
However, these posts are not paid; instead, they are a part of the content that you post organically onto your page. When people are interested enough in your content, they will be encouraged to click through without even having to be targeted by an ad.
2. Use Targeted Ads on Facebook
Building your email list with Facebook is a useful marketing strategy because it allows you to target specific types of users with your ads. After all, you already know who your customers are. You know their age range, location, and interests.
Facebook ads with an email list sign up CTA let you reach people who match your criteria. This helps to optimize your overall return on investment as you consider how to get more subscribers.
3. Host a Social Media Live Event
Live events on social media can be particularly engaging for your followers and an effective tactic when considering how to get more subscribers. If you partner with an influencer in your field, this can make the content even more appealing.
Marketers can use this strategy for growing email lists by simply promoting the live event throughout its duration — before, during, and after.
How to Grow Your Email List Using Facebook
Just make sure the event offers genuine value to your followers; this should be your first priority. You won’t have much success building your email list with Facebook this way if the people watching your event don’t feel entertained or educated.
For instance, if you’re marketing an apparel brand, consider hosting an event in which you show your followers ways they can create seasonal outfits with your items. If you’re marketing a consulting business, host an event in which you offer exclusive tips for professionals in your industry.
In order to make this an effective strategy for building your email list, make sure to follow event email marketing best practices and include the proper CTAs throughout the lifecycle of the event.
4. Promote a Giveaway
This is a simple tactic that can be very effective. Just all your social media followers know you’re offering a discount, free product, or related promotion to randomly-selected users who sign up for your email list. The chance of winning the contest will motivate plenty of them to opt-in, letting you build your email list.
5. Join an Online Community
Platforms like Instagram and Facebook allow users to form groups based on common interests. Thus, you should look for groups that relate to your industry when growing your email lists with engaged and interested subscribers.
That doesn’t mean you should join these social media groups and immediately start asking people to sign up for your email list. The group rules may even prohibit such behavior.
Instead, you should actively participate in the groups until you’re a trusted member and can use social media for email in a more organic manner.
Don’t treat group members like potential customers that you only want for email list sign up. Instead, treat them like people who share your interests — consumers want this type of authenticity from brands. Once you’ve made some connections in these groups, use them to promote and build your email list.
Use Social Media to Drive Email Signups
Remember, all your marketing channels are important. You don’t need to think of them as separate from each other. If you’re not satisfied with the number of your subscribers, use social media for growing email lists.
You’ll be surprised at how well these marketing strategies complement one another when integrated.