Are you trying to decide if Instagram or Facebook ads are right for your business? The only way to know for sure is to test it. The very best way to test out Facebook ads for your business is to run a list-building campaign. A list building campaign really is the best beginner Facebook ad.
1. What is a list-building campaign?
A list building campaign is when you run a Facebook ad (or Instagram ad or Pinterest ad) and the sole purpose of the ad is to grow your email list. It usually includes 4 parts:
- Some sort of freebie or “lead magnet” offered on your website.
- A form on your website that allows your customers and clients to sign up for your freebie and to join your email list.
- An email that delivers the freebie and welcomes the new subscriber to your list.
- A Facebook/Instagram/Pinterest ad that promotes the freebie.
2. Why do I want to build my email list?
Growing your email list is one of the most important things you can do for your online business. Having an active and engaged email list allows you consistently communicate with your customers so that you stay top of mind. It allows you to build a relationship with them so that they trust you and want to buy your products and services, over an over again. So even if you find out Facebook ads aren’t right for your business, you still haven’t “lost” because even after what might be considered an unsuccessful ad campaign your list is still larger than it was before you ran the campaign. Also, many people find that they make many of their sales from the newsletter emails they send out each week. If you are seeing sales from your email list, a larger list means more sales.
3. Does a list building campaign do more than just get me more email subscribers?
Not only does a list building campaign get you new subscribers, it also gets you a lot of information about your customers. When you run a list building campaign, or really, any kind of ad campaign, you learn:
- How to find your ideal customer on Facebook (or whether your customers are even on Facebook.)
- How much it costs to serve ads to your customer.
- What kind of content your customers respond best to.
- How much it costs to get new leads (potential customers) from Facebook.
All of this information is helpful to most online business owners, but it’s especially helpful if you plan to launch a bigger product or want to know if Facebook is a good place to promote your existing products.
4. What else can I learn from a list building Facebook ad?
I always, always tell my clients that the main return on investment they should expect from a beginner Facebook ad like a list building campaign is information. The information above is pretty standard, but some of my clients have learned even more. Some of my customers have learned:
- Their “people” (customers) are on Instagram, not Facebook. (Or vice versa!)
- Their people respond best to happy ads, coupled with straight talk rather than angry ads.
- Leads from certain audiences groups are 90% less expensive than leads from other audience groups.
- All of their potential customers are very expensive to target.
- All of their potential customers are very inexpensive to target.
- Their customers like pictures of faces and people instead of products.
- Their customers like pictures of products rather than people.
- Their selling platform doesn’t play nice with Facebook ads.*
*Some of my clients are Teachers Pay Teachers store owners, and unfortunately, the Teachers Pay Teachers platform does not play well with Facebook ads. While you can now place your Facebook pixel on your TpT website, it’s not really a fully functional pixel. It has limitations which make it difficult to run a strong campaign. That’s why a list-building campaign can be the perfect alternative for TpT business owners: all of the list building happens off of the TpT platform and we can take advantage of a fully funcitoning Facebook pixel.
4. Can I make money from a Facebook list building campaign?
Sometimes! Some of my clients have a fifth component to their list-building campaign. They have what’s called an “upsell” offer or a “tripwire” offer after people sign up for their list. If you’ve spent any time at all online, you’ve probably seen this kind of set up. After you sign up for someone’s email list, they offer you a chance to buy one of their products at a greatly reduced cost for a limited time. For example:
“You signed up for my amazing freebie. For the next 4 hours, I’ll give you the chance to buy my $50 product for $20.”
When people add this tripwire offer to their list building campaigns, they can sometimes see a profit on their list building campaign, or at the very least, the profit from promoting the tripwire covers the cost of the ad spend.
The other way many of my clients make money from a list building campaign is because they turn their new email subscribers into buying customers. When you add people to your email list, you should also then be emailing that list often about your product and services. When those new subscribers become customers, that’s another way you can see profit on a list building campaign.
5. What do I need in order to run a list building campaign?
- A freebie.
- A landing page where you promote the freebie. (This could be as simple as a page on your website or a specialized landing page built on Leadpages or ClickFunnels.)
- The Facebook pixel placed on your website or landing page (I help my clients with this part.)
- An email service provider to collect the email addresses. (My favorite is ActiveCampaign.)
- A Facebook ad, which includes an image that complies with Facebook’s strict image guidelines and ad copy.
- Money to pay Facebook to promote the ad.
Ready to try Instagram or Facebook ads, Instagram ads or Pinterest ads and think a list-building campaign is right for you? Set up a free call. I’d love to talk it over with you.
