Growing your email list is an essential part of your social media marketing campaign.

Wait. What?

“What’s email got to do with social media marketing”, you ask?

Aren’t they two different things? Don’t they operate independently from one another? Is one better than the other?

Yes and no.

And… no.

The thing is, in order to run a successful online marketing campaign for your business, you need both social media and email.

They each serve you differently, but when used strategically, they work together to get you bigger and better results.

The key is to use social media to grow your email list.

Use social media to appeal to a wide audience.

Then, use email to lock that audience down, so you can further engage with them, until you are able to convert them into clients.

Why do this?

Can’t you just use social media to engage and convert customers?

Well – you can, but it’s much more difficult and time-consuming (not to mention energy and focus-consuming) to do it this way.

For one thing, traffic on social media can be abundant, but it can also be fleeting.

An engaged reader might come across on your blog link, click on it, get redirected to your website, love what they read, and then they’re gone.

Poof.

That is, until the next time you’re able to stop them in their tracks, while they are surfing the Internet.

Given the high volume of content and advertising that the average person is exposed to every day on social media, you’ll have to spend valuable resources to get their attention back again.

And again.

And again.

Depending on which research you listen to, you need to captivate someone’s attention 7-21 times (or more) before they consider buying from you.

That’s a lot of work trying to get someone’s attention.

That’s a drain on your resources.

But… if you were able to get their email address while they were surfing that first time, you’ll have a much more captivated audience, now that you have direct access to their inbox.

If that’s not reason enough, consider the fact that you don’t own or have complete control over any social media platform (unless you’re Mark Zuckerberg or someone like him).

That means, you don’t get to control changes in algorithms or terms of usage or anything that can work against your social media marketing efforts.

What if – despite your best efforts to run a clean and legitimate business account – someone hacks into your Twitter profile and spams your followers and, as a result, Twitter disables or suspends your account?

It happens. Trust me.

You don’t have control over Twitter.

Or Facebook.

Or Instagram.

Or YouTube.

Or LinkedIn.

Or anyone.

However, you DO control and own your email list.

Here are some really easy and effective strategies you can use to get people to voluntarily sign up for your list, so you can grow your business…

Have a strong call-to-action to get people to sign up for your email list.

The easiest way to get people to subscribe to your email list is to ask.

So simple.

I know, it sounds ridiculous.

But, the big mistake that many entrepreneurs make is that they assume that people will just automatically subscribe once they’ve been given value.

This isn’t how it works.

Remember that your target audience is surfing the Internet, scanning for articles and interesting content – they are not poring over every last detail.

When they see something that catches their attention, they scan, absorb, and then they move on to the next thing, without giving it a second thought.

Here today, gone today.

So, unless you ASK them to stop and sign up, the idea isn’t even going to enter their mind.

When you ask, make sure you include a reason as to WHY they should sign up for your email.

You have to promise to deliver value and then keep that promise.

No one is going to want to sign up for your advertising eblast.

They want information, tutorials, inspiration, laughs… real value.

Give it to them.

Promise them that by subscribing to your email, you will make their lives better somehow, and then consistently deliver on that promise (otherwise they will unsubscribe).

Finally, make is super-easy for them to subscribe. Have an easy form for them to fill out and don’t ask for everything under the moon.

Just get their name and email address, and then set them free, if you can help it.

Write an ebook and grow your email list.

Offering a free downloadable ebook is a great way to grow your email list.

Writing an ebook will immediately position you as an expert in your field and raise your brand’s profile.

Writing an ebook is not as difficult as it sounds, especially if you’ve been business blogging, or creating some form of content, for some time.

All you really have to do is compile some of your best articles, format them into a simple PDF file, and then make it downloadable from a landing page or your company website.

Then, use social media to get the word out about your ebook.

Services such as Constant Contact will enable you to create a simple form on your website or landing page, where people can sign up for your ebook and automatically get added to your email list.

If you’ve got a sense of what types of questions normally come up when engaging a new prospect, you should have a good idea of what topics you should cover in your ebook.

If writing an ebook isn’t your thing, consider other types of lead magnets that also work, such as: infographics, videos, worksheets, checklists, whitepapers, etc.

Host a webinar to grow your email list.

Hosting a webinar is also an effective way to grow our email list.

Put together a presentation that you can deliver live, using a webinar platform such as Zoom, Google Hangouts, Start Meeting, or Webinar Ninja.

Then, promote your webinar using social media.

Get people to sign up (with their email address) to attend the free webinar, where you will deliver value to your target audience.

Remember to keep the sales to a minimum, and focus on delivering real value (otherwise, you are just going to turn people off).

After the webinar, follow-up with a recording of the webinar (in case they missed it, or want to review your valuable information) and take this opportunity to promote your service or product.

When launching a social media campaign to promote your business, do not forget to incorporate strategies to grow your email list. Email marketing, when used strategically with social media marketing, will add more power for less effort to your online marketing efforts. Strong calls-to-action, writing ebooks (or creating other lead magnets), and hosting webinars are all great ways to grow your email list.

If you’re ready to take your business blog to the next level, check out my FREE eBook, “How To Blog Like An Entrepreneur” here…