Social media can help grow your brand and possibly your revenues, but have you thought about how it can also help grow your email marketing list? Let’s explore some ideas for how to capitalize on this hot marketing medium…
Facebook & Networking Sites
You’ve got a Facebook group or fan page, or maybe a LinkedIn group… you post updates, resources like guides, recipes, or whitepapers, and promotions for sales or events. Are you promoting email marketing opt-ins too? Fan pages and forums or groups are a great place to add a prominent call-to-action for your email marketing signup form. Be sure to make the benefits of opting in clear (exclusive offers, resources, etc.), and any incentive that you are offering (free shipping, PDF, or discount, etc.).
You can offer links in your emails for subscribers to share the message on Twitter, but there is also untapped potential in promoting list growth over the Twitterverse. Let’s say you’re queuing up the next newsletter or a hot sale promo email… a day or two before, you could tweet out a link to your opt-in form with a missive such as, “Exclusive 25% off coupon in this week’s email – are you on the list?” or, “This month’s newsletter is about to drop with an exclusive whitepaper on XYZ – get subscribed now!” I would recommend limiting these shout-outs to avoid turning off your followers – perhaps to every other week or monthly, depending on response.
Your Blog
Many blogs have a call-to-action somewhere to encourage email signups, but are ignoring a critical segment of their readers – the commenters. These folks are the most engaged in your blog, why not ask them to subscribe? I haven’t seen any blogs that include a checkbox to opt-in to email marketing and I’m curious if anyone else out there has an example. Perhaps this is a limitation of blog publishing software, or perhaps a gesture of goodwill towards commenters to avoid abandonment due to a fear of spamming. You definitely do not want to automatically add commenters’ email addresses to your list without asking permission first, or bury an opt-in clause in your site policy.
Final Thoughts
Trust is key in the communities of social media and blogs. You can turn off followers immediately by pushing the sales pitch too heavily or abusing their loyalty. And if you turn off these very vocal people, you can bet your bottom dollar they will spread the word over every social site they use. Tread lightly and test thoroughly, and please… share your experiences in the comments below (we promise we won’t email you!).
Julie Waite
Email Marketing Strategist at Bronto
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
“Many blogs have a call-to-action somewhere to encourage email signups, but are ignoring a critical segment of their readers – the commenters. These folks are the most engaged in your blog, why not ask them to subscribe?”
Julie,
What a great point! I’ve noticed too a big disconnect in how people link their social networks, http://www.impressionsthroughmedia.com/?p=3309, but hadn’t incorporated email into my thinking. Always get great insights from Bronto.
Thanks for your post.
Best,
Debbie Hemley
Thanks, Debbie! Your post exploring how the big guys promote (or don’t promote) social media was very enlightening. Email should definitely be a part of their strategy, and it would be interesting to see how those brands incorporate email with their social media efforts.