3 Ways to Grow Your Email List With Twitter
Have you tried using social media to grow your email list?
One of the most powerful aspects of social media is just how well it integrates with building a strong email list for your business.
Of all of the various platforms, Twitter offers some of the best (and most unique) tactics to use if you’re looking to increase email sign-ups.
In this article I’ll go over 3 tactics to utilize Twitter’s massive audience to grow your email list with qualified leads.
Let’s get started!
#1: Link Your Twitter Bio to an Opt-In Page
Putting your website in your Twitter bio is a no-brainer, but smart marketers know that when you link to a page with a direct call to action (a “landing page”), this is going to convert much better than your general homepage.
Amy Porterfield does this well. She links to her webinar page in her Twitter bio so followers who are interested can opt in right away.
And there’s another reason why Amy does this well. She uses a WordPress plugin called Pretty Link for her webinar link instead of a random short link. Notice how the Pretty Link uses your own domain name for the link.
Here's Amy's bio with an in-profile link to her webinar.
This method is great because it will provide the authority of your domain. It’s easier to trust a link entitled “AmyPorterfield.com/webinar” than some random short link.
More importantly, it will give people an easy link to share to refer others to the resource, especially on Twitter.
Another benefit to having the link listed in your bio rather than below it (next to your location) is that the links in your bio show up all around Twitter and related sites.
Lastly, an added benefit is Pretty Link tracks the clicks.
When browsing Twitter lists (of all types), the bio is the only thing that shows up and only links or @Mentions are clickable.
Here’s an example of how a link in your Twitter bio will appear when people browse large aggregation sites like Klout.
Here is Amy’s bio with her aforementioned webinar link:
Third-party sites often show only profile information.
Your Twitter bio will get more exposure than you think, and having a clickable link to an opt-in page is a fantastic way to create more signups, all with one simple tweak!
#2: Use Twitter Tools to Offer a Free Bonus
You’ve likely come across tools like Pay with a Tweet or Cloud:flood before, but you’ve probably never used them like this!
If you’re unfamiliar, these tools allow you to give away something free for the “price” of a tweet. After a reader shares the link provided, they get access to the free content.
Here we see Pay with a Tweet in action, promoting a "free" ebook.
Most people do ask for these shares randomly within posts.
But there’s an even more powerful way of using these tools: ask for a tweet AFTER they’ve already opted in to your mailing list.
To do this, simply redirect new signups to a page where they can “pay with a tweet” for even more content.
Here’s what this 3-step process looks like:
1. A new subscriber will opt in to your newsletter from a newsletter signup page:
This page is used to download the ebook and share the landing page, all at once!
2. After they confirm their email, you would use your email marketing service (for example, AWeber or MailChimp) to redirect people to a “Pay with a Tweet” page that has additional content available for the price of a tweet.Use Pay with a Tweet or Cloud:flood to make sure that the link they tweet out sends people to your newsletter page.
3. Lastly, enjoy the benefits of giving extra value to your readers and having tons of people send out direct tweets to your newsletter page!
Nice!
All it takes is a free resource to give to readers who send out the tweet, a little effort to set this up behind the scenes and you’re set to have a newsletter page that receives a ton of shares.
#3: Use Click to Tweet to Make Your Signup Page Easy to Tweet
In addition to clever strategies to get more tweets for your blog content, take time to make your newsletter signup page worth tweeting about.
You can do this without having a freebie incentive too. When done right, this can help generate a massive amount of new email leads for you.
Here are some tips to get your newsletter signup page tweeted more:
1. Add a “sound bite” to your newsletter page. This is one of those tips that, once you see it, you’ll wish you’d have thought of it sooner. It’s dead simple to implement. On your newsletter page, add something that’s worth tweeting (a quote will often do) and allow it to be tweeted with a single click. You can use a tool like Click to Tweet to accomplish this.
Hiten Shah, founder of KISSmetrics, does this well on his newsletter page (which has over 150 tweets).
Now people have a call to action and a legitimate reason to tweet about your newsletter page.
Another tool you can use to achieve the same outcome is the Twitter @Anywhere Plus plugin, which allows you to create premade tweets like this:
This page can be shared on Twitter in a single click.
Add one to your newsletter page, and you’re set.
Make sure the content is something that your readers would like to tweet out (this is why quotes work well); don’t make it all about you!
2. Add a “tweetable” to your welcome email. This second tip does require people to opt in, but it’s also really effective. After people sign up to your newsletter, you can assume that they are quite engaged with your content and your message. One of the best times to ask for a small favor (like a tweet) will be to send a follow-up message immediately after a reader has signed up.
Here's the text that Jonathan Mead of Paid to Exist uses to get people to share his newsletter page on Twitter.
Again, for the call to action (“call to tweet”), the service Click to Tweet was used. You’ll notice the copy asks “if you agree,” rather than an outright request to share.
In psychology, this would be known as commitment and consistency: people prefer to stay consistent with things that they’ve already done, and if they’ve signed up for your newsletter, they are likely to commit to another small favor if asked nicely.
Use both of these tips. They give your readers an easy way to share your newsletter page.
This will ultimately attract a TON of qualified leads for your email list.
Now It’s Your Turn
What did you think of these tactics? Which one are you going to try first? Thanks for reading, and I will see you in the comments section below!
