The MAGIC formula that converts social followers into email subscribers
5 ways to get 25%-50% of your social media audience onto your email list
You've built a social audience, but you're struggling to get them onto your email list or newsletter, so you can actually monetize them.
This will teach you how.
It's the same formula I've used to convert 35%+ of my followers on Twitter/X into email subscribers — and it's worked for hundreds of my clients, too.
Introducing MAGIC.
The 5 best ways to grow your email list from social media
MAGIC is an acronym that stands for:
Magnets (lead magnets)
Asks (pre and post CTAs / teasers)
Giveaways (comment to get giveaways)
Inbox (DMs to followers)
Complete profile (optimized social bio)
Most people struggle to get emails from social because they're not even using one of the MAGIC strategies!
Introducing all 5 could 5X-10X your growth from social.
Here’s how they work…
Magnets (lead magnets)
Asking people to “join my newsletter” doesn't cut it anymore.
You need an incentive, a bribe, to get people off social and on your email list.
Promote your lead magnet:
In your profile / bio
As a comment / reply to your posts
At the end of long posts, threads, or carousels
And occasionally as dedicated social posts
The best lead magnets:
Provide immediate value
<15 minutes to read or watch
Have a dedicated landing page to increase conversion rate
Solve a narrow problem! Don’t share a comprehensive solution (that’s for your paid products/services)
A great lead magnet should take <30 minutes to create. Most of the time, a lead magnet is content you repurpose from your newsletter or pull from your paid product.
Tease your newsletter content before and after it’s published.
A pre-CTA tells people about what your newsletter covers ~24 hours before it's sent.
Post-CTAs tell people about what they missed after your newsletter is sent.
Here’s an example:
With Pre-CTAs, you create:
Fear of missing out (FOMO) on your content
Urgency to sign up and get access to that content
Curiosity to see what the newsletter content is about
Giveaways (comment to get giveaways)
This is the best way to grow your email list from LinkedIn and Instagram. They can work on other platforms too.
Here’s how:
Create a lead magnet or email gate a newsletter you've published. This is the “thing” you’ll give away.
Create a social post about the lead magnet. (Instead of calling it a lead magnet you’ll call it a “playbook/guide/cheatsheet/template/blueprint/etc”)
Ask people to comment one word on your post so you can DM them a link to get access.
DM them a link to the landing page — and reply to their comment so they get a notification about checking their DMs.
Examples:
After people comment to “get” the lead magnet, send a DM like this:
On Instagram, this can be automated with ManyChat.
Expect to convert 25%-50% of your comments into email subscribers.
Inbox (DMs to followers)
The easiest way to get newsletter subscribers from social is to simply send a “warm DM” to all your new connections/followers.
They already followed you. Why not ask them politely to sign up?
Most followers won’t know you have a newsletter unless you tell them!
After you get a new connection/follower send a DM like this asap:
“Hey NAME,
Thanks for the follow! / Good to connect!
If you’re looking for my best content on [topic] I only share it with newsletter subscribers.
Sign up for 1 email / week here: [Link]
In any case, see you around [LinkedIn/IG/etc]!”
Edit this message to fit your personality, newsletter, and style.
This can be automated with ManyChat on Instagram. Or you can hire a virtual assistant to do it for you on other platforms.
You’ll convert 10%-30% of new followers into email subscribers.
If you want to make this more effective, instead of sharing your newsletter, share a relevant lead magnet.
Treat your social profiles like a landing page designed to convert visitors into followers and email subscribers.
Don’t use a linktree! It kills conversions.
The only link in your bio should be to your lead magnet landing page or newsletter landing page.
Have a clear call-to-action for the newsletter or lead magnet in your profile.
Include your value proposition — how you help your ideal audience or customer avatar.
Just by spending 15 minutes re-writing and optimizing your profile for newsletter subscribers, you'll drive growth automatically for months to come.
That’s the MAGIC formula
Start using one of these strategies immediately.
Over time, do all 5 on a monthly basis, and you could convert 20-50% of your social followers into email subscribers.
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