Ten years ago, the best (but staggeringly expensive) way for brands to reach large groups of consumers was through television advertisements. However, in today’s world fewer and fewer people are engaging with television networks while an ever increasing number hop on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. This trend is good news if you’re an online retailers and publisher because you have the chance to reach the largest number of people on the platform you’re most comfortable with.

Through the changing times, however, email has been a constant. The groundbreaking service practically grew up with the Internet, which is perhaps why it has become synonymous with the collective online experience—around 89% of Americans check their email at least once a day.

With such heavy and practically guaranteed traffic, email marketing has and continues to be a prominent form of online marketing. In fact, email marketing has been proven to me more effective than social media marketing, even in today’s day and age.

So, if you’re an online retailer or publisher, growing your email-marketing list is crucial. With more people to reach, you’ll always have new prospects for conversions and referrals. Now let’s go back to those social networks—by implementing the features and tactics outlined in this article, you can take full advantage of social media’s sprawling reach to cultivate a larger email marketing list.

Create Incentives for Signing Up

Scratch your email list’s back and they’ll scratch yours—it’s only fair! Creating the following incentives on social media is one of the best ways to encourage people to sign up for your website’s email list.

Exclusive Discounts & Content

In the world of e-commerce, it’s okay, even smart to be exclusive. If you’re an online retailer, create specials and/or products only certain shoppers can take advantage of by signing up for your email list, like:

  • Discounts
  • Free shipping
  • Product giveaways
  • Early access to upcoming products

If you’re a publisher, create content only certain visitors can access, which could include:

  • Newsletters
  • Exclusive articles
  • Content from guest authors

Use your social media accounts to really spread the word about your exclusive features. Always include a link to your subscription page and/or a call-to-action button (we’ll get into those later) directly through the social media platform.

This is a winning tactic because there’s practically no risk involved for your email subscribers. There’s no obligation to pay and the reward is instantaneous. Comparably, there’s low risk for you (the online retailer/publisher) too. When someone signs up for your email list, they’re likely to follow through on a purchase since they’ll receive a discount and/or special products, or visit one of your pages with exclusive content, which will up your page views and corresponding ad revenues.

The beauty of social media is that sharing is easy. If one subscriber really likes your exclusive discounts, products, or content, they may be inclined to re-post your email sign-up promotion. That’s free exposure and possibly even more people to add to your email-marketing list.

Example of Jody’s, a small boutique in Nashville, using discounts as an incentive to sign up for their email list—posted on Facebook

Example of subscriber exclusive content from Double Pass’ [soccer publication] Twitter account

Giveaways & Contests

This strategy is a fun one—come up with a contest or giveaway on your site where users can enter by providing their emails. When brainstorming a contest/giveaway, keep the following tips in mind:

  • Make the prize unique and unforgettable—make it something people will want to brag to their friends about.
  • Don’t ask for too much personal information—people will become uninterested in completing their entry and may start to question why you need so much information.
  • Only promise what you can—make the prize easy and quick to deliver to the winner without breaking your budget.

When you’ve come up with the perfect prize, it’s time to spread the word! Create posts that are shareable and include clear links and/or CTAs to your email sign-up and entry page. Create buzz by encouraging people to re-post your contest/giveaway, maybe even offering an additional entry for each person they refer. You’ll have a generous amount of entrants and new email list subscribers in no time.

Example of UC Berkeley using a contest on Facebook to promote sign-ups with UPS

Make Signing Up Easy

This tip may seem like a no-brainer, but can have a huge impact on whether your efforts to grow your email list are fruitful or not. When you make social media posts encouraging people to sign up for your email list, make it as easy as possible for users to do so. This means not burying the subscription link in the post’s text, where it can easily be scanned over and missed. Put the link at the end of the post, with a lead in like, “Click here to subscribe” or “Sign up here”.

If available, include CTA buttons directly on your social media posts—doing so takes much of the guessing out of the sign-up process for your visitors. Instead of clicking on an external link, which may be relatively less noticeable in the first place, users can rest assured they’ll be taken directly to your email sign-up page. Currently, Facebook allows you the option of putting “Sign Up” and/or “Save” buttons on your business page’s ad posts. If you have a company Facebook page, be sure to take advantage of these innovative features.

Example of clear CTA and “Save” buttons on District 5 Boutique’s Facebook account.

Use Targeted Ads on Your Social Media Networks

Because social media networks get so much traffic, there’s a plethora of highly personalized consumer data for you to use—it would be a missed opportunity not to take advantage of the targeting social media allows. Create ads on your social media channels targeted at the audience(s) most likely to enjoy your products and/or content. You can refine your reach based on users’ geographic location, remarketing, demographics, interests, and more!

Learn about creating highly targeted advertisements on the following popular social media networks using the resources below:

By promoting sign-ups for your email list via social media ads, you’re guaranteed to reach your most relevant (and promising) prospects.

Promote Webinars on Social Media

If you’re a content-based site, hosting webinars is a great way to add people who are interested in your website’s topic(s) to your email list. The free education and opportunity to interact with like-minded individuals are both undeniable incentives for users to sign up. If possible, add guest speakers to the agenda to make the webinar even more enticing.

By promoting your webinar with social media, you’ll reach the largest number of potential participants, thereby increasing your chances of growing your email list. Make sure the sign-up link and details about the time and place of the webinar are clearly visible on your social media posts.

Using social media to promote your webinars presents unique benefits. First, people can easily share your webinar with their friends and followers who may be interested in the topic, meaning you get free exposure to potential email list subscribers who are more likely to follow through and sign up. Additionally, participants can leave questions and/or suggestions in the post comments before and after the webinar is complete, offering instant feedback and valuable interactions with your visitors.

Example of promoting a webinar on AI marketing via LinkedIn

 

The Takeaway

Using social media allows you to cast the widest net for potential email list subscribers. You’ll enjoy the combined advantages of high traffic exposure, better targeting, and ease of sharing only social media can offer. By using the practices and strategies outlined in this article, your email list and subsequent profits will continue to grow.

How have you used social media to grow your email lists? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.