A Definitive Guide On How To Get Emails From Instagram Followers

A Definitive Guide On How To Get Emails From Instagram Followers
29 April, 2022 • ... • 4945 views
Julia Zakharova
by Julia Zakharova

If you want to convert your cool Instagram audience into something more tangible, i.e. your potential buyers, you need to make sure that you can always reach them regardless of sophisticated Instagram algorithms. And the most reliable way for that is email marketing.

Let’s find out how to get email addresses from Instagram followers and boost your campaigns.

Why scrape Instagram followers’ emails

As you might have learned from our previous articles, for example, on how to build an email list, the most important thing that positively impacts conversion is not simply the size of your email list, but the quality, or engagement, of your subscribers. As a social media platform, Instagram allows businesses to build loyalty and create a community around their brands,  offering inspirational content and telling about corporate life and values.

Launched in 2010, Instagram promptly gained popularity with two million users registering in the first two months, and as of today, its audience exceeds 1.1 billion people, according to Statista. The promising opportunities of Instagram have allowed a large number of entrepreneurs to ensure their personal growth and gave them the possibilities of self-realization.

monthly users chart
The chart shows monthly users growth in Instagram. Source: Statista

But quirky platform algorithms quite often interfere (more on that later), and you may fail to reach your audience with special offers or promotions one day.

Email marketing allows you to contact your subscribers anytime and anyhow you like, while its unique solutions like personalization, segmentation, and others help you to perform most effectively. This is why it is a brilliant idea to bring your Instagram followers into your email list to send them offers, promos and interesting content directly.

Emails have the highest return on investment

Return on investment (ROI) is one of the main indicators of any business’s success. If you invest time, effort and money, you need to know how much your investment is generating and how quickly it will pay off. According to Litmus, email marketers get back $36 for every $1 they spend, making it the most effective channel. As for Instagram, reports show that on average, businesses generate $6.50 in revenue for each $1 spent on influencer marketing via Instagram.

You’ll be targeting the interested audience

People follow brands on Instagram for various reasons: to read news about their favorite companies, to be in the know of current trends and special offers, to get in contacts. They might do it for years and get very attached. So getting your Instagram followers’ emails means that you’ll have the contacts of those people who are genuinely interested in your business and have already invested their time at least, if not money. It makes those emails especially precious and a huge difference even compared to emails you can get from your website.

The message will reach the subscriber

The evolution of Instagram includes its constantly changing tricky algorithms. Every time you open the app, the Instagram algorithms decide in which order stories, reels, lives and photos will show up in your newsfeed. Besides, there is a notion of a shadowban, when the content does not appear in the feed at all for various reasons. It can be an upsetting experience for a blogger or a business account.

Email marketing ensures that you reach your audience: your email will reach the recipient, unless there are problems with the deliverability. The only thing that can tear you apart with your subscribers is the spam filter, but it is quite easy to avoid – our definitive guide on how to stop your emails from landing in spam folders will be of much help.

It is relatively inexpensive or even free

If you already have a solid list of addresses, you have several options on how to use them best compared to other marketing channels. You can even send out emails for free if you fit limits. Email marketing services like us provide limited free plans, but for better results and effectiveness you may choose the appropriate one that corresponds to your goals and scale.

Either way, as we already mentioned earlier, email marketing is a way cheaper way to reach your subscribers than Instagram. For example, the average CTR in social media is about 1% while the average email marketing CTR is 1.7-2.6%.

How to get email addresses from Instagram followers

It is a big thing to raise a big and engaged audience on Instagram, but if you manage to bring them to your email list and make them sign up for a newsletter – your marketing metrics will be much more effective. Check out our tips on how to get the email addresses of Instagram followers and also how to convince your followers to sign up for your email list.

Use your bio to let people sign up to the list

The Instagram bio is the 150-character description under the username on the profile page which allows inserting only one clickable link. This is a chance to tell about your profile and add a link to drive traffic to a website, or, in our case, to subscribe to the email list on a special landing. As you may see in the example below, the Flowercityarts page promotes the newsletter option in the feed and puts the subscription link in bio.

newsletter subscription link in Instagram bio
An example of promoting the newsletter in the feed and adding the link in bio on the main page

Note that there are several link in bio tools that allow to optimize that one link and provide additional information and interaction opportunities.

Promote signups in the stories

You can drive traffic to your newsletter signup page through Instagram stories. In October 2021 the platform issued a major update, allowing all accounts to add links to stories. Earlier, this feature was available only for profiles with over 10k subscribers.

newsletter sign up promotion in Stories
An example of a newsletter sign-up promotion via Instagram Stories. Source: Swipe File

You can simply use a photo on the background with a link, or, like in the example above, design layouts specifically for stories. The design should support your landing page and thus enhance your brand identity.

Run a promotion or a contest

The best way to boost engagement, attract new followers to your profile and eventually collect new customers is to launch an Instagram contest. Besides, you may convert these newcomers into your email subscribers by asking them to provide an email as a contest condition and collecting this information. It may be a link leading to a light landing page.

Instagram contest
An Instagram contest for an ecological project encourages to join the list of email subscribers. Source: Neal Schaffer

Use freebies as lead magnets

A lead magnet is a free item or service for the purpose of collecting contacts. Marketers can be skeptical about this instrument since it doesn’t ensure a long-lasting result and effectiveness. However, if used wisely, lead magnets help drive subscriptions, grow the audience and convert them into real customers of your products.

Instagram is about a trustworthy relationship with your audience, so think over something on your page that is helpful for your followers. It may be a checklist, a chapter of your book, a list of exercises, or anything else for free. Well, actually, in exchange for their email addresses.

a freebie example
Writer and blogger Gabrielle Bernstein offers to join her free workshop following a subscription. Source: Ivorymix

After having received new subscribers, consider hyper-targeted email campaigns so that they don’t leave and become customers.

Use ads to get your message seen

When you plan a marketing campaign, email and Instagram can work as mutually beneficial players, utilizing each of their unique advantages. Another way to turn your followers into newsletter subscribers is to use ads. Collaborations with bloggers or other brands can involve the advertising of your email channel, however, if you have a budget, you can launch an ad campaign on Instagram. A paid post or video or stories will show up more often and for a target audience, and all you need is to elegantly incorporate an email subscription into the campaign.

Instagram ads
The sponsored post offers to click a link with a freebie to collect emails and names. Source: Social Media Examiner

Contacting your competitors’ followers

Instagram as a platform is secure, so if your page is private, no one can find your email address, unless you allow it to do that. But if you leave your email in your bio, this piece of information becomes public and may be included in the email list of anyone. Moreover, business Instagram accounts have to leave contact details, namely an email or a phone number. So, when you click the button, you get the needed email address.

email button
By clicking an email button you acquire the email address

Analysis of your competitors gives you a better understanding of your product and market. However, you cannot simply scrape addresses and include them in your email list without permission. Note that automatic media scrappers may violate users’ privacy and the platform terms. But there is a legal solution: cold emails that get responses. Unlike spam, cold emails have a clear objective, they are personalized and are sent from personal addresses.

Offering a lead magnet to new followers

Send a welcome message to all your new Instagram followers and include a link to a lead magnet which they can receive in exchange for an email. There are special tools that can be used to send automated Direct messages like Stim Social, Instazood, BigBangram and others.

In conclusion

Today digital marketing encourages us to create new ways of communicating with our audience. Digital campaigns have ceased to be restrained by one communication channel: nowadays it is a complex combination of interactions through various platforms, including email, social networks, and SEO tools within one campaign, flavored by immense creativity. If you want to know how to get emails from Instagram followers and use this platform to boost email marketing, keep in mind the following points:

  • Put your email address in your Instagram bio or fill it in the form to display as a button. Keep it short and simple.
  • Promote subscriptions in your posts, stories, and reels.
  • Launch contests, giveaways and offer freebies in exchange for email addresses to gather a contact list.
  • Analyze your new subscribers and offer them personalized offers to convert them into real customers.
Article by
Julia Zakharova
Editor, digital & printed media contributor
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