8 ways to grow your email list on Instagram

There are at least eight different ways you can grow your email list on Instagram, and I want to show you all of those ways, and how you can start implementing every single one of them.

You can skip the read and watch the video here:

Before we get started talking about the different ways you can grow your email list on Instagram, I first want to just stress the importance of growing an email list to begin with.

It’s so important that you start growing an email list in your business because it can be a source of immediate information. If you’re looking for sales it can be a source for sales.

If you were just looking to figure out what it is you’re going to start a business on, growing an email list can actually be the first step in figuring that out.

If you’re interested in growing an email list you’re going in the right direction because inside of my business growing that email list has really resulted in creating a multi six-figure business. I don’t utilize my email lists the same as I do social media.

Social media for me is where I nurture my audience, and where I find new eyes for my content. However, my email list is really where I show up to give the best information, the best advice, and also the best resources and the best service.

When I’m looking to sell something my email list is where I go. Because you don’t own social media, but you do own your email list, and as soon as you encounter your very first problem on social media, you will realize the importance of growing that email list.

I can’t stress enough how important it is.

#1 Link in bio

The first place where you can create more email subscribers is by including a link in your bio.

Here is a screenshot of my Instagram, and you can see that I have a call to action to click the link in my bio.

When you click that link it opens up to a special on-brand page where I have different things available for my Instagram followers. They can join one of my paid programs, or they can also join my email list.

Including a link in your bio, and some kind of a call to action is the first way that you can start growing your email list on Instagram.

#2 Highlights

Now, number two is adding highlights to your Instagram.

Instagram highlights are a great way to showcase various different things in your business from different products, client testimonials, to your brand story, and sharing behind the scenes.

One of the things that you can really highlight in your Instagram highlights is any freebies, or lead magnets, or maybe you have an automated replay of a webinar that you use to grow your email list. You can utilize one entire highlight on your Instagram for your lead magnets.

You can pre-plan your highlights, and what’s shown inside your highlights utilizing Canva templates, and then sharing those templates to your Instagram stories. Once you’ve shared them to your Instagram stories you can actually add them to your highlights.

The way that you add something to your highlights is you tap on your Instagram stories, and any stories that you’ve added you’ll see this highlight button, so you click add to highlight. You can choose which highlight you want to add it to, or you can create a new one.

#3 Post captions

The third way that you can get more email subscribers on Instagram is by adding call to action in your captions.

If you’re looking to grow your email list whether you want someone to view your Instagram Highlights, or click the link in your bio, or anything else, one of the best ways is to add that call to action inside of your captions.

The way that I like to structure a caption for people to take action on is number one, create a hook, or a headline, something that really grabs their attention.

Then number two, give them the information that I’m wanting to share with them. Maybe I’m sharing a step-by-step process, or maybe I’m sharing a personal story.

The third step is relating it to your audience and giving them a call to action of how they can take the next step.

I might post this video as an IGTV to my Instagram, and I might say, as the hook or the headline, “Stop if want to learn how to grow your email list on Instagram keep reading.” The body or the description of the caption is going to give the eight steps to grow your email list on Instagram.

The call to action isn’t just a call to action to “Click the link in my bio to learn more.” It’s going to qualify my audience as being interested, and then give them the call to action.

What do I mean by qualify?

Essentially it just means let them know that they’re the right person to click on the call to action.

For this IGTV video I might say something like, “If you are a content creator, a course creator, or a membership site owner, and you’re looking to grow your email list on Instagram, I have the best free templates for you in the link in my bio.”

As you can see that qualified my audience as course creators, content creators, or membership site owners. Anyone who thinks of themselves as any one of those things their ears are going to perk up, or they will be paying more attention because they identify as that.

You want to definitely qualify who your audience is in your captions, and they’ll identify themselves in your content, and go and click the link in your bio. Just saying click the link in my bio is oftentimes not enough.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQQ5yP5L1pz/

#4 Stories

Number four happens to be sharing your Instagram stories, and providing calls to action to join your email list in your stories.

We did already talk about Instagram highlights and how you can save your stories to your highlights. However, you shouldn’t save all of your stories in your highlights, and you certainly shouldn’t always have calls to action on every stories.

It is good practice a few times a week to encourage your new followers and existing followers to join your email list.

Just like the caption, and the structure of the caption – hook, meat of the caption, and call to action – your Instagram stories can perform the same way.

You can create a first story where you talk about what you’re about to talk about, hook them in on the topic. Then give a description and talk about the topic, and then give a call to action, but again, also qualify your audience.

Whatever your lead magnet is you can structure your Instagram stories like that.

I’ve actually created a video where you can learn more about Instagram stories.

#5 IGTV call to action

The fifth place that you can grow your email list on Instagram is IGTV.

It’s often underutilized because of the release of things like Instagram Reels, but IGTV videos are powerhouses for growing your email list.

If you scroll through my Instagram feed you will see IGTV videos that range from anywhere from 5 minutes to 10 minutes long, and they include calls to action for various different things that helped me grow my email list.

I provide value, and I hook my audience in on a topic they’re interested in learning more about, and towards the end or throughout the video I’m encouraging them to join my email list, or my community so that they can continue working on the goals that they have related to their Instagram content.

Don’t cross IGTV off your list. They really can help grow your email list with the right call to action.

#6 Reels call to action

Unless you’ve been living under a rock number six should not come as a surprise, but Instagram Reels happens to be one of the most popular ways to grow your Instagram reach, and Instagram following.

These are 15 second to 30 second videos that you can create on your Instagram feed. Oftentimes they’re just utilized for growing reach and growing your audience.

But if you’re not looking for ways to grow your email list with Instagram Reels, then you’re really missing key opportunities.

Not every Instagram Reel needs to grow your email list. However, you can sprinkle in Instagram Reels related to your lead magnets, or maybe a free webinar, or something that you are doing to grow your email list – you can use an Instagram Reel to highlight that.

Really utilize the Instagram algorithm, and what Instagram wants you to use to boost the subscribers to your email list. I’ve done this a few different ways.

One for my easy marketing planner, and you can go to my feed, and see this post on my feed, and see how I utilized it for a strong call to action.

But I’ve also seen other content creators use Reels to boost webinar registrations, or to grow awareness around their lead magnets in various different ways.

I’m curious what ways have you tried on Instagram Reels to grow your email list, and to get your Instagram followers off of the platform, and onto your email list? Let me know in the comments below.

#7 Do a story takeover with a collaborator

 The seventh way that you can grow your email list on Instagram is borrowing other people’s audiences.

It’s not something anyone often talks about but really what I’m referring to is collaborating with other content creators, because their followers are probably not following you. There may be a little bit of overlap depending on the collaborator you choose to collaborate with.

But doing Instagram Lives together, or collaborating on an Instagram Reel, or just tagging each other in various different posts, and creating conversations around similar topics that your similar audience might be interested in, gives your account and your content an additional boost to be seen by another content creator’s audience.

By collaborating with someone in your niche maybe not a competitor, but someone who has a similar audience could boost awareness. And paired with all the other things that we’ve talked about today, with the link in your bio, creating highlights, showing up in your stories, adding this next level component of collaborating can really do wonders for growing your email list.

#8 Run Instagram ads

Number eight is something that I don’t often talk about but it’s worthy of mentioning: running Instagram ads.

If you’ve tried everything that I’ve mentioned, and really gave it a good go, and things are starting to work out – you’re getting engagement, clicks, email subscribers – it’s a good idea to start boosting, or adding ad spend to some of that Instagram content.

If you have a post that got you lots of Instagram followers, and you go to your insights, and you find a post that got you lots of website clicks, it might be a good idea to add a little ad spend to that content so that you can reach new audiences.

We all know Instagram content has a very short life span of about 48 hours. If you have a piece of content that got you lots of email subscribers, and you want to keep that momentum up, one of the best ways is create an ad based on that content.

One of the easiest ways is to go to your insights and look through content that got the most website clicks. You’re going to go to your Instagram Insights, and you’re going to go to your content shared and filter it by website taps.

Everything at the top got the most website clicks, and you’ll click on one of those posts, and you can click on promote from there. Instagram will do its very best to find new audiences based on your existing audience to show that post too.

There are different ways to run different ads, and I’m certainly not going to teach you how to create Instagram ads. However, if you utilize the first seven, and you’re seeing some traction and email list growth, Instagram ads would be a natural next step for you to start looking into.

Now that you know more what about the next step? I’ve put together a done-for-you lead magnet template with 65 lead magnet ideas so you can get started right away.

If you’re finding it hard to get new subscribers, or connect with your audience, I’ve got a secret society Facebook group where you can join others and connect with other content creators.