Acquisition channel opportunities: video, newsletters, ad copy
Will video replace social images on social media in 2022? How do you grow a newsletter from 1k to 17k subscribers? What ad copy text converts? I'll share insights on all these topics in this week's acquisition channel opportunities. Let's get started.
1. Instagram: Bye, bye, static images! Hello, video
The news: It's official; Instagram has announced that they will "double down" on video and focus on Reels in 2022.
Why they're doing this: TikTok has been the most downloaded mobile app in 2022, according to a recent report. Shorts has driven some really good results for YouTube. The world is embracing video, and this trend is likely to accelerate even more in 2022. Instagram simply doesn't want to be left behind.
The opportunity: If you're using social media to promote your product (SaaS, mobile app, e-commerce, etc.), ask yourself: How can I add short videos to my mix? Can you use a short video to get people to your product's "aha" moment faster? Can you show a particular feature?
For bonus points, can you make viral short videos in your niche? There has never been a better time in social media history to get organic reach than now, thanks to short videos. A good TikTok/Reels/Shorts video can get you 1000s of views in a matter of days.
2. What worked in growing a newsletter from 1,000 to 17,000 subscribers
The analysis: Aleyda Solis published a blog post on how she grew her #SEOFOMO newsletter from 1k to 17k subscribers within 2 years.
Why we care: There isn't a lot of good information out there about growing newsletters, and many indie hackers here have newsletters and would appreciate a tip or two on how to grow them.
The channels used to grow the newsletter: Here's where it gets tricky. It's not about the channels per se; you can place your newsletter landing page URL everywhere: on a website, on your Twitter profile, etc.
The main challenge with promoting newsletters is giving people a reason to subscribe in the first place.
Here are some angles that Aleyda used for promoting her newsletter:
- She highlighted the most attractive topics she'll cover, inviting the audience to subscribe to see more.
- After sending, she tagged the people mentioned. Some of them will probably like or share your post, amplifying her reach.
Referrals and giveaways: Aleyda has successfully used a referral program and giveawys to increase the number of subscribers for #SEOFOMO.
The opportunity: Many people overlook repurposing when it comes to promoting a newsletter. Can you use excerpts from the newsletter as "teasers" for the full issue? Can you provide audio or video versions of some of the information in your newsletter?
The more formats you can "split" your newsletter into, the more acquisition channels open up for you.
Another thing that most people miss with newsletter promotion is the main offer; for #SEOFOMO this was helping people "stay up to date" with the SEO industry. "Offering my thoughts on SEO" is not a compelling offer (unless you're a big name in the SEO industry); yet most people have offers similar to this one.
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3. Here are some ad copy examples that work
Let's face it; most of us suck at writing ad copy.
Fortunately, Kristen from WordStream collected several great ad copy examples that can inspire us for the next Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn ad we do.
Here are some examples:
- Bragging ad copy (but in a smart way):
- Addressing objections in the title
- Copy != boring. Use conversational language
The opportunity: Next time, before writing a Facebook/Google/LinkedIn/Twitter ad copy, take a look at this blog post. Can you take some of these angles and apply them to your own copy?
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Interesting observation about the channels; content is very malleable; and a newsletter is a set of A LOT of content. You can re-shape that content in many different ways and promote it pretty much everywhere.
Yep. Same could be said about software, although it's much more difficult to "mold" software for different channels.
Really interesting ad copies. Also interesting that different principles apply to social vs. search copy.
They're fundamentally different traffic sources in terms of 'intention': When you search on Google, you're looking for something. When you're on Facebook, you're not looking for a specific product.
This is one of the best nuggets in this article!
"Another thing that most people miss with newsletter promotion is the main offer; for #SEOFOMO this was helping people "stay up to date" with the SEO industry. "Offering my thoughts on SEO" is not a compelling offer (unless you're a big name in the SEO industry); yet most people have offers similar to this one."
After reading it, I was thinking about many of the newsletters I personally subscribe to and the ones I chose not to. Many of the ones I did not, fell into the group of "my thoughts". Often thinking: "what does this person have to offer? Are their thoughts the ones I need/want right now? Do they have the real experience I am looking to learn from?"
Yeah, most newsletter lack a compelling offer.
I wonder if there's any difference between subscribers who sign up based on a reshaped piece of newsletter content and the original. If you repackage something as video or audio, are they expecting more of that? You could work video and audio content directly into the newsletter in that case I suppose.
Good point. There probably is. Maybe giving a 'free sample' preview before subscribing can help lower the discrepancy.
Can someone suggest a good and easy tool to create compelling shorts?
If I'd ever apply this marketing strategy, the main challenge for me will be finding the time to create those videos.
One method I've noticed with YouTube shorts creators in particular is that the videos are clearly batched. If you're recording something that's ~45 seconds or less, it's very easy to plan those individual shorts ahead of time and then crank out a bunch in one session, over a few minutes. All you need is a phone with a camera and you can edit nicely with TikTok, Instagram, or a free editor app like Text on Video.
Nice, will give it a shot for sure, thanks!
Nice observation!
thanks! sorry to snipe this comment haha
Anyone has any tips for creating videos fast? I know videos are the future but it's so damn hard to create them.
Templates. Same applies for audio/content I think. Take what someone did and modify it vs. starting it from scratch. There are plenty of sites providing AfterEffects/(insert your favorite video editor) templates.