Grow Your Email List with this Simple Twitter Hack
I blog a bit and as a result, people share my writing on Twitter. I use Tweetdeck to surface these mentions, creating custom columns to search for tweets that contain “ryanhoover.me” or URL’s to guest posts I’ve written on PandoDaily, for example.
In return, I reply to each and every person, occasionally reviewing my feed to reply with gratitude:
A few weeks ago, I started experimenting with something new. After replying with appreciation, people often respond in kind. At that moment, I send a second reply with an ask:
If this looks foreign to you, you probably aren’t familiar with Twitter’s Lead Generation Cards. By simply including a link within my tweet, the card is embedded, giving users the ability to subscribe to my email list with a single click. It’s beautifully simple.
As a result, 60-80% of people convert. Why?
- They’re primed. They have already shown an interest in my writing and the small sign of personal, human interaction (e.g. “@grantwebster thanks for sharing, Grant! :)”) compels people to reciprocate.
- It’s damn easy. With a single click, they’re subscribed. They don’t even need to verify their email address. By reducing friction, conversion increase.
I know what you’re thinking. That takes a ton of time, doesn’t it? It can. Although entirely manual, this small personal touch is part of its charm and why it works; however, there’s certainly an opportunity to automate and perhaps productize this process. A more automated approach would also reduce chance of a potentially awkward, impersonal interaction - asking already subscribed to subscribe.
I have some other Twitter card experiments up my sleeve that I’ll reveal in the coming days. Subscribe to my email list so you don’t miss out.
Have some Twitter card hacks of your own to share? Let me know on Twitter (@rrhoover).