Grow Your Email List (and get the likes!)

Grow Your Email List (and get the likes!) 

I hear this all the time. 

"I want more "Likes" on my Facebook page. How do I run a "Like" ad?"

ARRRGG! Please! Don't focus your marketing efforts on getting that like. I mean, sure, having tons of likes "looks" good because you have some social proof. And sure, you can run ads to your Facebook fans, but besides that, there aren't many other reasons. (Now don't get me wrong--these two reasons are good, but there IS a better way to get the like than just running a "like" ad.) 

So, if you're set on getting the 'like', just hear me out first. I'm going to give you a more strategic way to do this so hang tight, but let me share a little ditty with ya first.

When I first started learning about digital marketing, the first course I took was “Profit Lab” which is now called “List Builders Lab” by the wonderful Amy Porterfield. The biggest take away from that course was to GROW YOUR LIST. At first, I thought, what the HECK is a list? But once I started to understand how digital marketing worked, it clicked. The 'list' is not just names and emails. The list is your tribe of leads....of potential customers. Your list is what makes the money. (Ever hear the phrase "The money's in the list"?) The list is what will make you profitable. But don't forget, behind every email is a person who is looking to you for knowledge and support, so don't take that lightly. Yes, you want to grow your list, but you also want to LOVE on your list. You want to provide your list with great value because as you do that, they'll learn that you know your s***, they'll learn to trust you, (and they'll hopefully turn into paying customers). But, I digress.....

After completing Amy's course, I heard her message loud and clear! Social media changes like I change my mind (that's what my husband says, anyway....) and if Facebook were to go ‘POOF!’ tomorrow, how the heck are we going to market to your customers if we have no list??? (You’re up the digital marketing creek with no paddle, my friend.)

So, I knew the list was my golden egg. The next question was how do I grow this list? 

Amy's course went on to give me a road map, and I want to share that with you. It includes a list building funnel, but for the point of this blog, I'm going to share a funnel that will get you the like as well. So, stop spending money on that like ad. Here's what I want you to do instead: 

Step 1: Create a lead magnet. This is also called a freebie. This is a valuable item or piece of content that will entice the user to give you their name and email address.  This can include an offer like free shipping, 10% discount code, or information like "Top 10 reasons why you need to grow your email list" or "Top 5 ways to eliminate sugar from your diet." It can be a video, PDF, coupon, case study, lookbook, etc. But, it's something that is SO good they won't believe it's free!

Step 2: Instead of running a "Like" Ad (which is now listed under "Engagement" in Ads Manager), you're going to run a 'Conversion" ad and drive people into your funnel. The user will get your awesome lead magnet, and you'll get their name, email, and the like. (Doesn't that sound like a more valuable deal than just the like?)  

Now, there are additional pieces you'll need to do this (which is why some might not want to bother), but I promise, if you follow this funnel, you'll thank me later. Here's what you'll need:

• A Facebook Ad (You'd need this anyway if you were doing a like ad.)

• A Landing Page (This is where someone will go to enter their name and email address.) I use Lead Pages to create a very basic landing page. You can also use a 'hidden' page on your website. 

• A Thank You Page (This is the page they'll be sent to AFTER they enter their name and email address). I also use lead pages for this. Here's where the magic happens. This is where you're going to ask them for the like. On the thank you page, you're going to say: 

"Thanks so much for grabbing my free download! Be sure to LIKE my page for more great free content and discounts! Click BUTTON to like my page!" 

That button will take them right to your Facebook business page where they can "like" it. Now, if you have a Facebook group you want to grow, you can also direct them to your group page. In this case, your thank you page will say:

"Thanks so much for grabbing my free guide. Click BUTTON to join my private Facebook group to get more free content and discounts."

Here's a sample of my Thank you page displayed after someone grabs my free Facebook Ad Starter Kit. 

So, that's it friends. If you follow this funnel, you'll get the like AND an email address where you can nurture them into life-long buyers!

If you're a visual person like me, you'll want to download this free list building/like funnel. It's a great map of what to do at each step.