Social List Building Case Study: How I got over 2,000 new subscribers in ONE day (with a kiss)

The last day or so has been very interesting. Insightful, even.

It all started day before yesterday (June 30th). I woke up yesterday (July 1st) with 1400 new email subscribers on my list, and by the time I went to bed last night... there were over 2,000 new subscribers.

At last count (this morning, July 2nd) I had 2,272 new subscribers on my niche email list. Not bad at all for just over 36 hours! And this is not one of those cases where there was a 6 month build-up. It all pretty much happened on a whim... a damn good one, as it turns out.

In this case study I am going to detail out exactly what I did, how I did it, and more importantly: WHY it worked. My hope is that this sparks a creative idea for you to use in your own niche, with the same (or better!) results.

 

Not only did I see a huge spike in list growth, but my social reach saw a sweet spike as well!

I'm referring to the low carb niche, which is where I actively work online - actually using "Internet Marketing". 🙂 I have a blog of course, your typical social channels, an email list, and even a Facebook Group - which is ON FIRE this week!

On my Niche Facebook Page this morning...

• Post reach is up 94.7%
• Engagement is up 52.6%
• New Page Likes is up 86.4%

Those numbers are up from last week.

To give you the back story, I've been running the Facebook Group for awhile now (almost 4 years). It's a 90 Day Challenge that I run in the group several times a year, and it's pretty popular - and has been from the beginning.

This week, on a whim, I decided to do a "break out" Mini Challenge instead, before starting the next big 90 day challenge. Here's a screenshot of the blog post at TravelingLowCarb.com:

I said I did it on a whim - I literally decided to do it that day (the day before it started). So there wasn't much time for a big promotion. And honestly, I just wanted to test it out. It's also on a topic I thought would make a great report or book, so I thought I'd do it live and document things as I went this first time around - to see if I wanted to package it as a help guide and/or regular event. Again, all on a whim.

It turns out they LOVE the "2 week mini challenge" concept... vs my usual 90 Day Challenge.

 

I learned something valuable about my market this week.

All along I've been trying to encourage my market to stick to a low carb diet for 90 full days, to experience the full benefits (and results) of eating a healthy ketogenic low carb diet. I've struggled with a couple of things through past challenges. 1) Getting them to stick it out. And 2) confusion over how the diet works - even though it's really super simple. Or I thought it was, at least.

Doing the 2-week challenge instead, I learned how quickly my market responds to "a quick fix". Or maybe just something short-term enough that they feel they can easily commit to, where two weeks seems EASY compared to three full months.

I get that.

 

Tip: Always be testing!

I am constantly testing and trying new things in this space. I learn what "sticks", what they respond to, and what doesn't. The rule then being: Do more of what works, and less of what doesn't. This is how you feel your way around in a niche market. You don't just guess what people want. You don't try to force people to want something they don't. You actively work in the trenches and test/tweak/improve - constantly.

Test different approaches, different products, different time frames, different revenue sources, etc. Test EVERYTHING.

 

What I Did, And How I Did It...

Let's get to the good stuff: the how-to.

Do you remember my list building notes from the webinar we did with LeadPages awhile back? The one thing that really got my attention in that training session, which I documented in my notes (with a lot of exclamation points, lol) was the concept of "social list building" using their LeadBox feature.

I've been using that feature with GREAT success. My list(s) have been growing steadily over the last few months, which is awesome. But the spike... the spike is REALLY cool. 🙂

First, here's a live example of what a Leadbox is, and how it works:

 

Click Here To Download

 

You've seen that before, right? It's a LeadPages feature, which is an awesome must-have program for any serious online marketer.

 

Cool. But How Are You Using This On Social Media?

First, I'm using the LeadBox in my blog posts just like you see above. You can see a live example here - in my challenge post on my low carb blog. You'll also notice that I have the LeadBox in the sidebar of that blog, below the challenge button.

Side Note: I created the graphic for the challenge, which you see in that post, at Canva - totally free. Read This for more cool graphic tips.

When I first started creating these cool little LeadBox thingies, and noticing how well they worked (!!), I took a good look at the code. Mostly because I'm a code geek, but also because I'm BIG on fast easy social marketing strategies... and I wanted to know if I could use the LeadBox in social media updates.

It turns out you can. 🙂

All I did was strip the actual hyperlink for the LeadBox out of the code, and use that link in social updates. Here's an example hyperlink

 

Just go into your LeadPages account, click on a LeadBox you created (or create one) and then look at the code. It looks like this:

Copy all of that code and paste it into Notepad (or any text editor) first - then you can strip the actual LeadBox link out of the code. You just have to hunt for it in the code:

See it? Good...

I copy the actual hyperlink and save it in Evernote so I can use it anytime I need to include it in a social media update. Here are a couple of examples:

 

The actual LeadBox is on my challenge page and in my blog posts, but I'm using it directly in my Facebook & social updates as well. And of course you can even use the link in an email - if you're emailing subscribers of one list an option to join another list for some reason. You can basically use it anywhere you would use any type of link.

The LeadBox feature is BRILLIANT.

That feature alone is worth my entire subscription to LeadPages.

🙂

The obvious lesson I'm learning in this "test" is about the mindset of my audience. They need (no, WANT) short term quick fixes, and respond to those more readily. Because you can do anything for 2 weeks, right? Which has me thinking that I may move away from the "90 Day" challenges I've been doing, or at least incorporate more "fast results" challenges & marketing angles.

There are two BIG take-aways from this post...

First, always be testing. Figure out what works, and do more of that - and less of what doesn't. Second, get LeadPages and use it strategically! Or at the very least, read my list building notes and get to work on those no matter what platform you use.

Email is STILL my #1 TOP converting and most responsive communication tool.

Yes, still.

Best,

p.s. Want more creative list building ideas? READ THIS 🙂