Social media platforms can be great for getting in front of your ideal customers or clients, but getting in front of them is only the first step.

While it is possible to take someone from cold to sold in a single social post, it’s not as common as we might like. What’s more common is that people follow us for a while before they even consider buying.

The problem with social media is you can’t guarantee your ideal clients will see all the content you put out. You are at the mercy of the algorithms, and that means some of your connections won’t see the posts about your shiny new product or limited-time offer.

So ideally, what you want to do is use social media to attract new connections and then develop the relationship away from your main feed.

You could message every connection and follower every time you want to promote something, but that’s not practical (and could get a little annoying).

What’s more practical is getting people who interact with you on social media to subscribe to your emails so you can stay in touch.

People sign up to your email list because they want to hear from you. And even if they don’t open every email you send, they will see your name in their inbox every time you write to them, keeping you front of mind.

So how can you get social media users to subscribe?

I’ve covered lead magnets before, and they are a good way of getting people on your list. Whether it’s a download, a book, a webinar, a course or something else, you can use these to attract your ideal audience.

Once you’ve created your lead magnet, share it on socials. But don’t just share a link - let people know what they’re getting. Give them a reason to sign up.

If you have the budget, you can also use paid ads to get your lead magnet in front of more people.

Use blog posts or articles to attract subscribers. Make sure you have subscribe buttons or forms in your blog posts to encourage sign-up. You can even gate part of your content, meaning people can only read the rest if they subscribe.

Share your blog posts on your social media pages. And again, make sure you give people a reason to click through.

Sometimes the direct approach is as good as any. Tell people why they should sign up for your emails.

Tell people what your next email is going to contain to get them on your list before it goes live. You can also mention any exclusive subscriber offers or discounts you’re going to be giving away.

I don’t do this myself, but I’m sure you’ve seen various companies (retailers in particular) offering discount codes to anyone who subscribes to their emails. They are usually along the lines of “Get 10% off your first order when you subscribe to our newsletter.”

Create a post promoting your newsletter or lead magnet and pin it to the top of your profile. You can do this on your Facebook page or on LinkedIn company pages.

Link to your newsletters from your social media profile pages. On LinkedIn, you can do it in your bio:

Or you can add your newsletters to your featured section:

On Facebook, you can add links to your bio/about section:

If someone has connected with you on social media, start a conversation. If they sound like they’d be a good fit, let them know about your newsletter. No need to be pushy - you can decide whether it feels natural by the way the conversation goes.

Building a subscriber list takes time, so don’t give up if you’re not seeing fast results. Promote your lead magnets and newsletter regularly. Test different copy and images. Post at different times. Change your pinned post every couple of weeks. Reuse any posts that performed well.

Not everyone will sign up the first time they see you promoting your emails, so post consistently. And once you start to get traction, ask your subscribers to recommend your emails too.

And on that note, if you enjoy my content or find it useful, please do give me a shout-out on socials or recommend my emails to your followers. Your help is very much appreciated!

Less than two weeks to go until registration closes and my 12-week challenge gets underway. I’ve been working on the content and can’t wait to launch. If you’d like to get a solid marketing plan in place for 2026, make sure you get yourself signed up.

If you’d like to receive my weekly email updates and monthly results, hit subscribe, and I’ll be in your inbox every Friday.

P.S. I also have a free 14-day email course to help you improve your sales copy and marketing content. You can find out more and sign up here.