How to Get Your First 500 Email Subscribers Using Facebook?
It seems that just about everyone is on Facebook these days. You can find friends and family, your grandparents, your kids, your favorite celebrities… that old high school crush (we won’t tell!). But, businesses too have a place on Facebook, from the largest corporations to the smallest mom and pops, everyone seems to have a presence.
This begs two questions.
First, why is Facebook so important?
Second, what can Facebook do for me?
We will be specifically taking a look at Facebook as a tool to grow your email list, though it’s worth noting that Facebook is the number one resource that consumers use today when researching a business, especially a small, local business. So it stands to reason that if you’re a business owner, Facebook is now an essential component.
If you don’t know how to set up your Facebook account to use the elements we’ll be talking about here, check the help section. There is a plethora of information there, and you’ll learn how to breeze through these things in no time!
Step 1: Add an email sign up link
Facebook provides page owners with a tab where fans can “Sign Up” and from there they will be taken to a page where they can opt in. The steps are different depending on your email provider, but it should only take you about 15 minutes to do, and these are 15 minutes well-spent. This is the easiest way to add to your email list.
Step 2: Give something away
Hosting a contest or a giveaway is a great way to get lots of positive attention and spread the word. People just love a free… well, anything! Be careful with your wording here, as the Facebook terms state that you may not use likes or shares as a prerequisite to any contest entry. Most importantly, give away something that only your ideal subscribers would want.
Step 3: Offer a trade
Suggest that your prospective subscribers trade something for their email address. This could be as simple as an ebook, or a video. The point is, it’s something simple and cost-effective for you as the page owner, and a benefit to your audience. Another option is to give coupons to those who sign up for email.
Step 4: Drive them away
Yep, that’s right. Get them off your Facebook, and push them to your website. You can have and email opt-in on your blog posts, either in the sidebar or in a lightbox pop-up, and when you share valuable content you’ll snag new subscribers on their way to your blog. Adding great photos will help you get the attention you need to reel them in.
Step 5: A perfect landing page
The “About” box on your Facebook page is a tool that few page owners are using to its full potential. Most of us send people to the home page of our websites. But a much more effective use of this feature is to send fans to a landing page specifically designed to capture email addresses.
It’s important to make sure they can dodge this landing page without having a headache. Some people want to get to know you before signing up. But setting up your incoming Facebook traffic this way will increase your opt-ins by 300%. Yep, that’s quite a jump from just one simple tweak.
Step 6: Pay for it
Facebook ads are a powerful tool when used correctly. This step is last on the list only because it’s the one that will require the most effort upfront. It will also be the biggest means by which to grow that email list by 500.
Yes, you have to pay for it. But consider how long it would take you to build your list organically using the free methods above, versus setting up a per diem budget and watching your email list practically grow itself? Don’t forget that your time is money too.
Using Facebook ads really is a wise investment when you’re looking to get the wheels turning, because Facebook has the capability to find your ideal audience for you, and put your page right under their noses. There are almost a billion and a half people using Facebook now, so imagine being able to hand pick the ones who you think are best suited to view your ad. That’s power.
You might be thinking, ok, but this seems like it’s going to be complicated. Actually, it’s not. The folks over at Facebook have made this process pretty self explanatory. It won’t take you all day to learn, you don’t have to know code, and you don’t have to write a program. It’s as easy as plugging your content in, and picking the demographic you want it in front of.
Now, you’re probably thinking sure, but what about the cost. The cost of a Facebook ad campaign is entirely up to you. Set your daily limit, for example, $5. The program then gives you $5 worth of advertising for that day. Obviously, the larger your budget, the faster your email list will grow.
Could you give up that Starbucks every morning to grow your email list and get your business off the ground? That’s all it takes to get moving.
For an in-depth look at how to get started with Facebook ads, along with some specific examples, check out this post over at Smartblogger. This gives you an exact outline of what you need to do and how to do it. There are example Facebook screen shots here, and a detailed outline of what makes the perfect Facebook ad.
To Wrap Up....
Whatever method you choose to use to start increasing your email list, remember that it’s not going to happen overnight. Everything is a process, but this process is eventual. If these proven methods aren’t working for you, then content may be an issue.
Remember that the first step to your success will always be the same: providing relevant and engaging content that your followers will benefit from reading.
Good luck, and happy mailing!
This begs two questions.
First, why is Facebook so important?
Second, what can Facebook do for me?
We will be specifically taking a look at Facebook as a tool to grow your email list, though it’s worth noting that Facebook is the number one resource that consumers use today when researching a business, especially a small, local business. So it stands to reason that if you’re a business owner, Facebook is now an essential component.
If you don’t know how to set up your Facebook account to use the elements we’ll be talking about here, check the help section. There is a plethora of information there, and you’ll learn how to breeze through these things in no time!
Step 1: Add an email sign up link
Facebook provides page owners with a tab where fans can “Sign Up” and from there they will be taken to a page where they can opt in. The steps are different depending on your email provider, but it should only take you about 15 minutes to do, and these are 15 minutes well-spent. This is the easiest way to add to your email list.
Step 2: Give something away
Hosting a contest or a giveaway is a great way to get lots of positive attention and spread the word. People just love a free… well, anything! Be careful with your wording here, as the Facebook terms state that you may not use likes or shares as a prerequisite to any contest entry. Most importantly, give away something that only your ideal subscribers would want.
Step 3: Offer a trade
Suggest that your prospective subscribers trade something for their email address. This could be as simple as an ebook, or a video. The point is, it’s something simple and cost-effective for you as the page owner, and a benefit to your audience. Another option is to give coupons to those who sign up for email.
Step 4: Drive them away
Yep, that’s right. Get them off your Facebook, and push them to your website. You can have and email opt-in on your blog posts, either in the sidebar or in a lightbox pop-up, and when you share valuable content you’ll snag new subscribers on their way to your blog. Adding great photos will help you get the attention you need to reel them in.
Step 5: A perfect landing page
The “About” box on your Facebook page is a tool that few page owners are using to its full potential. Most of us send people to the home page of our websites. But a much more effective use of this feature is to send fans to a landing page specifically designed to capture email addresses.
It’s important to make sure they can dodge this landing page without having a headache. Some people want to get to know you before signing up. But setting up your incoming Facebook traffic this way will increase your opt-ins by 300%. Yep, that’s quite a jump from just one simple tweak.
Step 6: Pay for it
Facebook ads are a powerful tool when used correctly. This step is last on the list only because it’s the one that will require the most effort upfront. It will also be the biggest means by which to grow that email list by 500.
Yes, you have to pay for it. But consider how long it would take you to build your list organically using the free methods above, versus setting up a per diem budget and watching your email list practically grow itself? Don’t forget that your time is money too.
Using Facebook ads really is a wise investment when you’re looking to get the wheels turning, because Facebook has the capability to find your ideal audience for you, and put your page right under their noses. There are almost a billion and a half people using Facebook now, so imagine being able to hand pick the ones who you think are best suited to view your ad. That’s power.
You might be thinking, ok, but this seems like it’s going to be complicated. Actually, it’s not. The folks over at Facebook have made this process pretty self explanatory. It won’t take you all day to learn, you don’t have to know code, and you don’t have to write a program. It’s as easy as plugging your content in, and picking the demographic you want it in front of.
Now, you’re probably thinking sure, but what about the cost. The cost of a Facebook ad campaign is entirely up to you. Set your daily limit, for example, $5. The program then gives you $5 worth of advertising for that day. Obviously, the larger your budget, the faster your email list will grow.
Could you give up that Starbucks every morning to grow your email list and get your business off the ground? That’s all it takes to get moving.
For an in-depth look at how to get started with Facebook ads, along with some specific examples, check out this post over at Smartblogger. This gives you an exact outline of what you need to do and how to do it. There are example Facebook screen shots here, and a detailed outline of what makes the perfect Facebook ad.
To Wrap Up....
Whatever method you choose to use to start increasing your email list, remember that it’s not going to happen overnight. Everything is a process, but this process is eventual. If these proven methods aren’t working for you, then content may be an issue.
Remember that the first step to your success will always be the same: providing relevant and engaging content that your followers will benefit from reading.
Good luck, and happy mailing!
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