With 4.48 billion email users, email marketing is not going to disappear in the nearest future for sure. To convert prospects into paying customers and make money with an email list, it’s significant to attract more email subscribers.
And there are many ways to grow your email list, but most businesses mostly rely on customer loyalty and luck, neglecting ‘not-so-obvious’ channels like Instagram that could help them reach engaged target audiences and convert them into email list subscribers.
Believe it or not, Instagram is one of the best social media platforms with huge potential for getting more email list subscribers.
Why should you grow your email list with Instagram?
At first blush, Instagram isn’t the best platform for collecting emails.
Not only does Instagram target visual learners who perceive visual content better than emails, but it also has its in-built channels for communication like comments and direct messages.
But Instagram is an underrated marketing channel for email list building.
When done right, Instagram is the right tool for email list building. Here are three main reasons why:
- Instagram’s audience is big and engaged. Instagram’s community counts 2 billion monthly active people, 90% of whom show interest in brand communication. Your potential customers are active on Instagram, so it’s no wonder that 79% of marketers invest time and effort into Instagram, making it the second most popular social media channel after Facebook.
- People crave business communication in-app. Since Instagrammers love following brands in-app and they spend a considerable amount of time on the platform, Instagram has become their preferable channel for business communication. And it can be a great place to coordinate social media and email marketing.
- Instagram has in-app features for email collecting. From email contact buttons to clickable links in the bio and link stickers, there are various Instagram lead generation strategies to give a try that can help you grow your email list with ease.
Yes, businesses of all sizes and niches leverage the power of Instagram to collect email addresses and, therefore, convert followers into email subscribers. And here’s how it looks in action:
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Now that you understand the potential of Instagram for collecting email addresses, let’s walk through actionable ways on how to grow your email list with Instagram.
1. Make good use of your Instagram bio
Modern people have a short attention span of 8 seconds, and they are bombarded with branded information from all sides, so it’s getting harder to achieve your marketing goal, like growing your email list, unless you realize the power of a well-written Instagram bio.
Your Instagram bio is like a business card that tells visitors and followers everything they should know about your business. Being limited to 150 characters, you should know effective tips on how to make the most out of your Instagram bio to collect more email addresses from potential customers.
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Include a clear CTA in your bio
Not all of your Instagram followers know about your email marketing campaigns. What is more, people may not understand the reason to share their email addresses with your company unless you say it directly.
Thus, it’s important to include a clear call to action in your Instagram bio that encourages visitors to take a specific action, like joining your email list. But you should also guide them on how to sign up for your email list with ease.
Let’s take a look at the example:
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And here’s another idea of using a CTA in your bio that aims at growing your email list:
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Inspiration needed? A few more ideas on a clear CTA that aims at email list building:
- Join our email list now 💌
- Share your email address to be on our email list!
- Sign up for our email newsletter with the link below ⬇️
- Get early access to our product launch as an email subscriber 😏
Link back to your lead gen landing page
Having 150 characters isn’t enough to tell everything about your business and products while telling more about your email list and the benefits of being an email subscriber. However, Instagram has a handy feature, a bio link, that allows you to redirect interested visitors to the dedicated landing page where they can get more information.
When you have a lead gen landing page on your website, not only can you boost web traffic, but you can also convert followers into subscribers if you have a simple signup form. Plus, you can choose from a variety of signup form builders and email collection tools to build your email marketing list with ease.
What is more, there’s no need to focus on one URL as Instagram now allows users to add up to 5 links in the bio. And if you need to add more links, you can rely on link in bio tools like Linktr or Smart.bio to create a custom link for your account, just like in the example below:
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And here’s what users see when they tap on that link–a simple landing page with clickable action buttons:
With the right landing pages, you can collect contact details or even get more customers on Instagram; just don’t forget to make it easy for users to book your services or buy your products with a few clicks.
Add an email button as a contact option
Do you have a business profile? Your Instagram bio also includes contact buttons that help businesses improve communication with customers. Users can add phone numbers, locations, or email addresses so that people can choose the best communication channel.
If email marketing is a part of your strategy and you want to grow your email list fast, it’s better to include your email address in the bio and add an email button as a contact option so that interested visitors and followers could reach out to you via email. This way you can collect their email addresses in an easy way.
Check out how it looks on Instagram:
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2. Encourage followers to be on your email list
The idea of using emails for marketing products and services isn’t new and users get bombarded with hundreds of emails daily. According to one research, people get a big number of promotional emails and 40% of users claim that they have over 50 unread emails in their inboxes. To stand out from the crowd and make sure your email subscribers open and read your emails, it’s important to make it their own choice to be on your email list.
List the benefits of being an email subscriber
To use Instagram to promote your email marketing list, it’s a smart idea to create a series of posts where you explain the benefits of being an email subscriber. It would also be great if you could rely on audience segmentation and create posts for selected groups of people, showing the benefits that matter most to them.
Benefits of being an email subscriber can include:
- exclusive discounts
- early access to product launch
- free shipping and returns
- VIP online events
- the latest business news
- product trial period
The Good Living Co is a great example of this strategy in action. They have a short yet descriptive caption that goes straight to the point:
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When you start collecting emails on Instagram and you want to hook the attention of your following, you can rely on live-streaming platforms and invite your CEO or niche influencers to tell audiences about the benefits of being an email list subscriber in real-time. Being available for a short period of time, people experience the fear of missing out (FOMO) effect, so they are more likely to watch your livestream in order not to miss something important.
Run an Instagram giveaway
Interactive social media content has always been popular among social media users. That’s why marketers often implement Instagram giveaways as one of the effective methods in their strategies. Moreover, running contests drive engagement and help business accounts grow 70% faster.
When it comes to email list building, you can also utilize the popularity of Instagram giveaways to convert followers into subscribers, as everything depends on the giveaway rules and the entry methods. To get more potential subscribers, simply ask participants to sign up for your email list with the help of signup forms.
However, keep in mind that you need to offer valuable prizes to make viral giveaways that grab the attention of your target audience. Something like gift cards, discount codes, or branded products can work best for you as it gives you an opportunity to attract the right audience who has interest in your company, not just the prize itself.
Let’s take a look at an Instagram giveaway that aims at growing email subscriber list:
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Once you’ve increased your email list with the help of Instagram giveaways, rely on email finder tools like Signalhire or Hunter to verify collected emails and make sure you let subscribers manage their email subscription so that they could set up their email preferences and stay active subscribers for a long time.
Make good use of Instagram Story features
To build a high-quality email list, make sure that your email subscribers consciously confirm the subscription. And when you leverage the fear of missing out, chances are your subscribers take action faster.
With 500M Instagram Story users and the right Story features, Stories can be a great tool in collecting emails. Why? People spend much time scrolling Stories and Instagram has features to make the email sign up process easier and faster.
The most handy Story features for growing your email list include:
- Clickable Story link. This feature in Stories allows you to link back to your lead magnet or lead gen landing page, where people can share their email addresses in exchange for getting something valuable in return.
- Question sticker. The proven way to attract the right people to your email list is to ask your followers who have an interest in joining it. You can also invite followers to share their email addresses when replying to your question.
- The countdown sticker. It helps followers to turn on reminders and sign up for your email marketing campaign once it’s up.
To get a better understanding of how Instagram Stories work in this case, take a look at how Tailwindapp collects emails with the clickable link:
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And an example of how you can use the question sticker:
3. Aim at targeting a wider audience
It’s no secret that not all of your potential email subscribers follow you on Instagram. Hence, it’s a smart idea to target your audience outside of your Instagram business account so that you can reach a wider audience.
And if you’re not a well-known brand with a solid Instagram following, it’s better to promote your account with the help of other already-established communities who have the same target audience as you.
Team up with Instagram influencers
Word-of-mouth marketing has always been an effective tactic that influences consumer behavior. With the rise of Instagram influencers, it has become even easier for marketers to provide social proof and encourage target audiences to take the desired action. Why? Around 81% of people claim that influencer endorsements drive their interest.
When chosen correctly, influencers can help you reach a wider audience, so you can also collaborate with them to grow your email. Simply put this information on the brief and highlight the importance of promoting your email list. Influencers have engaged and loyal communities so it can help you get more subscribers fast.
To maximize efforts with influencers, ask influencers to create engaging Instagram Reels to get a chance to be featured on the explore page and include a descriptive caption that explains how to join your email list, just like in the example:
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To understand the ROI of your influencer marketing campaign, you can always rely on an Instagram analytics dashboard where you can find insights and all relevant information about the performance of endorsements. It can help you make better decisions in the future and improve your influencer marketing strategies.
Turn loyal fans into brand advocates
Practically every company aims at building a loyal customer base. Despite the wide choice of options on the market, people want to build long-lasting relationships with the same brands and 72% of customers feel loyalty toward at least one business.
For building your email address list, you can also make the most out of your loyal fans. How? Just turn them into brand advocates who are interested in spreading the word about joining your email list in their social media posts.
One of the best ways is to feature your loyal customers in your email newsletter. This way, current subscribers feel like a part of the email community, and they are more likely to promote your newsletter to their audiences. Check out an example:
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To find relevant loyal customers, rely on social media monitoring tools that provide you with information on what people say about your brand and detect loyal fans with ease. Then, you can enhance your loyalty marketing strategy, using referral programs or offer exclusive discounts to encourage loyal fans to promote your email signup.
Create dedicated Instagram ad campaigns
With a large user base on Instagram and a focus on friend-made content on the feed, it’s easy for brand content to get lost in the feed. The best way to stand out from the crowd is to run Instagram ad campaigns.
Instagram now offers different objectives for your campaign, so you can get more email signups if you opt for Instagram lead-gen ads.
Case in point:
The Technological University of Mexico, UNITEC, knew about the popularity of Instagram among its target audience, so the company decided to run Instagram lead-gen ads to attract potential students. The ad showed students and included a caption that told readers more about the possibilities of enrollment. Here’s how it looks in action:
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Interested viewers could also learn more information about the business after filling out the registration form, sharing their full name and email addresses. This approach helped UNITEC obtain qualified leads who have strong interest in their business to add them to the newsletter and send informative content via email.
If you want to get even better results, you need to offer something valuable for viewers to motivate them to share their contact details, like email addresses: lead magnets, discount codes, or business freebies work best.
In closing
Long gone are the days when Instagram was a simple photo-sharing app for communication with friends. It has evolved into a powerful marketing tool that even has potential for growing your email list.
Not only do Instagram users have an interest in brand communication in-app, but Instagram also offers great features to improve capture. To sum up, here are three main things you need to remember if you want to grow your email list with Instagram.
- Make it easy for visitors and followers to understand that you invite them to join your email list.
- Give potential subscribers a solid reason to join your email list.
- Think about ways to reach a wider audience of potential subscribers who don’t follow your business on Instagram.
Now that you know how to grow your email list with Instagram, it’s high time to engage and convert subscribers with the right type of emails.
