5 Steps For Converting Your Followers to Email Subscribers

Let’s turn your social media following into a valuable asset!

You might have an audience on Medium, Twitter, LinkedIn, Quora, or any other social media platform. But do your readers have a way of directly reaching out to you?

Conversely, if your profile on either of these platforms is blocked for some reason, do you have any way to still reach out to your audience and let them know of your plans for the future as a writer?

The answer to both these questions is to have your own email list.

I’ve already talked about why an email list is so important. In brief, here are some reasons why a newsletter can be a game-changer for writers:

• You’re your own boss. There’s no need to wait for approval from editors before your words reach your readers.
• The connection with readers is intimate. They know what they’re reading is only available to a select few on the internet.
• When you build a publishing schedule, your newsletter keeps you accountable.
• You can build it into a powerful income stream.

This post is about how you can convert your social media audience to email subscribers. If you’re a writer with a loyal audience on social media and you’re wondering how to convert them to email subscribers, this article is for you.

1. Design A Unique CTA

Your CTA (or call-to-action) is an image or line of text prompting your readers to take action, i.e. sign up to your email list.

For your social media followers to sign up to your email list, you need to give them a solid reason. You can do this by promising them a lead magnet of extra value that’s previously unpublished and has in-depth content, like a free eBook or an email course.

Place the CTA at a strategic location

• Make sure the sign-up link is as visible as possible. Place it in your Instagram and Twitter bio, your Facebook profile, and your Facebook Page About section.
• Whenever you write long-form content on platforms like Medium or Quora, add a sign-up link with an attractive CTA at the end.
• If you have a website, add a pop-up window directing the users to your lead magnet. BlogMarketingAcademy reports that pop-ups can deliver decent click-through rates of around 2%; which is higher than most other opt-in forms on websites.

2. Run A Fun Contest or a Giveaway

Most people love a good contest because it ignites the fire of competition in their hearts. When you run a social media contest, it has more chances of getting high engagement and exposing your profile to more people. Then, you can easily convert your ideal prospects into email subscribers by making the email sign-up a necessary criterion to be eligible for the prize.

Here are some points to keep in mind while running the contest:

• Decide on the type of contest, and then, choose a platform that’s the most likely to get engagement for a contest like that.
• Think of a prize that aligns with the vision of your newsletter. The people who are interested in winning such a contest will the people who stand to gain the most from being your email subscribers.
• Offer multiple prizes to increase the odds and persuade more people to take part and join your email list.

3. Offer A Discount on Your Upcoming Content

Your readers may not want constant reminders to subscribe to your email list, but if you create premium content that solves a problem they have, they’d love to know more.

A powerful way to drive more newsletter subscribers is by offering your upcoming product or service at a discount to the people who join your email family.

Here are some important points to remember while doing this:

• Keep engaging with your readers on social media to understand what kind of content they need from you. A great way of knowing this is by studying the most common questions you get asked over DM.
• Build a product that’s centered around your audience’s requirements.
• Before making a sales pitch, educate your readers on what exactly you’re offering, how it will benefit them, and why they are the right audience for your offering.
• Don’t get disheartened if the first announcement doesn’t lead to results right away. Follow it up with more free content along the lines of your upcoming launch.
• End each post with a CTA sharing about the pre-launch discount.

4. Engage More to Promote Your Email List

No matter which social media platform you’re active on, your content calendar needs to be planned in a way so your content drives people to your email list.

This is a long-term commitment because you’re slowly niching down. Being so specific might drive a lot of your existing followers away, but that’s alright. The goal is not to have thousands of followers who barely remember how or why they signed up. The goal is to have an engaged, loyal audience who trust your work and keep waiting for your next post.

When you create content centered around your niche, every social media post can have a prompt that leads to your lead magnet. Adding a CTA to subscribe to your email list at the end of every post will make more sense when you follow this step.

Here are some steps to engage with your community more:

• Run polls and AMAs on your social media profiles asking people to name the issues they struggle with the most. Create polls to zero in on the two most common problems your followers have.
• Plan your content calendar around both these poll options. Share the poll results each time you create content around these, so your readers know how you’ve used feedback to serve them better.
• If the social media platform lets you know which person voted for what option, reach out to them via DM and share a link that sends them to your newsletter sign-up.
• Do frequent live sessions on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn so people can ask questions in real-time. You can also collaborate with other creators in your niche to spread your message to more potential subscribers. Keep the email list signup link pinned to the chat throughout the live video.

5. Follow Up With New Subscribers

Now that you’ve used the steps above to convert your social media followers to email subscribers, remember that your goal is to build lasting relationships with them, and not have them unsubscribe after they’ve received whatever lead magnet you promised them.

Here are some ways you can engage your new subscribers:

• Send them a welcome email with the promised lead magnet (your free eBook, email course, or discount on the new product).
• Ask questions like how they found your email list and why they chose to sign up, etc. Encourage them to reply to these emails.
• Run a small survey to understand what they are looking for and what expectations they have from you. Use these inputs to further fine-tune your newsletter and cater to the demands of your expanding audience.

Final Words

An email list is among the most powerful ways to building relationships with your audience and sell products online. Your subscribers are your most engaged target audience, and as your email list grows and expands, it will make all the difference to your income and reputation.

Summarizing, here are the five ways you can convert your social media followers into email subscribers:

1. Design a unique CTA and place it at strategic locations all over your social media profiles.
2. Run a contest or a giveaway for new subscribers.
3. Offer a discount on your upcoming product or service launch.
4. Engage more on social media to promote your email list.
5. Follow up with new subscribers to make them feel like they’re a part of your community.

Social media following is just a number. But your email subscribers are a valuable asset. These are the people who took time out of their lives to go beyond the usual “Like and comment,” and engage with you on a deeper level.

If you target them the right way, you’ll generate more traffic and make more money in the long run.