Learning how to grow your email list as a live streamer is one of the most profitable things you'd ever do for your brand. Of course, your live streams may have a primary goal – community building, expanding your audience, generating revenue through monetization, etc. But growing your email list can help get you closer to that goal.
If you don't want to depend on people's fleeting (and ever depleting) attention spans and keep counting on the chances that they'll remember to catch one of your live broadcasts, using your email list can be a great way to stay top-of-mind with your audience.
Why Email Marketing (Still) Works In 2022 (& Beyond)
In 2020, there were over four billion global email users, and this count is expected to grow to 4.6 billion users in 2025.
Your audience overall and potential customers, in particular, expect you to email them regularly.
According to SmartHQ, more than 72% of potential customers “expect” and prefer to interact with emails targeted explicitly toward them.
So, what kind of email messages work?
Well, all types of email messages count:
- Customer appreciation emails, “thank you” emails, and casual emails asking for feedback
- Transactional emails (order confirmation, order updates, delivery updates, and so on)
- Regular email broadcasts and announcements (new live stream session announcements, for instance)
- Automated email marketing messages — workflows, email sequences, and more
As long as you practice good email marketing, optimize emails for mobile devices, and write engaging copies (without being too “salesy”), you are good.
How To Use Email Marketing For Live Streaming
Put most of your live content out “un-gated” (make it freely accessible, without people having to opt-in).
Select specific pre-recorded live streams and “gate” these videos — available on signing up for free.
Prepare processed versions (convert live streams to bite-sized videos) and sell access to these as individual videos, video bundles, and so on.
6 Tips On How To Grow Your Email List As A Live Streamer
Growing your email list as a live streamer is almost always the first step to helping you reach your goals.
Here are some tips to help you grow your email list at the same time that you are streaming.
1. Bridge That Gap: Use QR Codes To Grow Your Email List
Live streams are predominantly “videos.” Your audience is watching you in real time. They are observing you, learning from you — live.
As such, it's hard to plug in a call-to-action while you are passionately “on the topic” of discussion.
That's where you can use QR codes in creative ways to bridge the gap. You are a QR code away from turning passive listeners or semi-engaged audiences into a thriving community of “fans.”
- Create a QR code that links to your landing page or opt-in page (where your audience can sign up to be a part of your email list)
- Display the QR code — as a logo — on the screen (before, during, and after your live streams)
- Use QR codes in emails (reminder emails, “thank you” emails for attending live streams, etc.)
- Use graphic overlays while your live stream is “on” to show your QR code with a relevant copy to describe the call-to-action (For example, sign up and get access to all the live stream archives, PDF checklists, etc.)
Viewers can then scan your QR code and be taken to your sign-up page to join your email list.
If you want to dive deeper into the world of QR codes, you can learn more about using them for live streaming here.
2. Promote Future Live Streams With Existing Live Streams
Create a specific link on your website (or a sub-domain) such as yourdomain.com/live, and have your live stream viewers (in addition to replay audiences) sign up to receive notifications when you go live next on that page.
This might sound obvious, but it's shocking how many live streamers don't do this. During your broadcasts, take advantage of visual elements such as lower-thirds and overlays to promote your landing page designed to handle email opt-ins.
3. Engage & Grow Audiences On Social Media
Your live streams are usually on specific topics. And you may go live to make an impact, create thought leadership, and grow your audience by delivering pure value.
Social media can be a useful way to grow your audience (and your email list).
While you can stream to multiple social platforms simultaneously, note that audiences on each social platform react differently and engage in specific ways.
Here are some simple steps:
- Add the email signup links in social media posts or bios to garner clicks
- On platforms like Instagram, where you can have only “one” link, use “Link in bio” pages to let your audience know, click and sign up
- Repurpose your live streams into clips, parts, or sections, or use the entire live stream sessions on social media
4. Blogging + Live Stream Strategy
Blog posts (just like this one) are perennial favorites of search engines. So, writing blogs regularly (+ embedding your previous live streams) within blog posts is a natural (and a winning) way to grow your audience. The kind of audience that'll start with a “Google, Baidu, Bing” search first.
Consider Google alone: The search engine giant visited more than 91.1 billion times in January 2022.
With an 85% market share for search engines, Google dominates.
Single-handedly, Google can be your best discovery tool — allowing several million people to find your live streams.
Writing blog posts at a set frequency per week or month ensures that you are found on Google.
Plus, you have an advantage: your search results improve if you add videos to your blog posts. And, you have plenty of videos already — your live stream recordings, parts of live streams, VODs, etc. So, use the power of search to your advantage.
While blogging (and adding relevant live streams or videos within blog posts) do this:
- Use opt-in forms on your blog, on the footer section of your website, on the headers, on your blog's sidebar, and more. It's your real estate.
- Use smart bars, exit-intent pop-ups, and slide-ins to add to your email list-building efforts. For example, check out OptinMonster to help you create this.
- Add calls to action in the middle and at the end of your blog posts for enhanced visibility and more opportunities for email list building.
5. Collaborate To Grow Your Email List
This approach takes a bit of a hustle. It's admittedly hard work, but it pays off well. Reach out to fellow live streamers who do live streams on related topics (but not your direct competition) and collaborate with them.
This pays off in multiple ways for your live stream marketing, promotion, and audience-building efforts. Here's how:
- Appear on others' live streams as a guest. Be sure to ask for the signups and have them opt-in to your email list on those guest live streams.
- Have yourself featured in others' live streams (if you can't physically be there for the broadcast) — including verbal mentions within other's broadcasts, links to your landing page (or website), and more.
- Get featured in their email list, reaching out to an entirely new subscriber list (but with an overlapping audience).
- Have your new collaborators or partners mention you in their blog posts if they have one. This also helps you get precious backlinks which are great for your search engine marketing efforts.
6. Pre-Recorded Videos As Lead Magnets
Lead magnets (content assets that your audience can download/stream/watch in exchange for their email address) are among the fastest and most effective ways to build your email list as a live streamer.
With StreamYard, you can use pre-recorded videos if you're not available to speak or be live.
In fact, pre-recorded videos could be the best assets that you can use as lead magnets. Have people sign up or opt-in to receive your pre-recorded live streams — available to them as soon as they sign up.
? Try StreamYard for free! https://streamyard.com/pal/4859907029073920
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