Category: Social MediaCategory: Social Media

How do you get people from Instagram to subscribe to your Substack?

By being on Instagram, unfortunately.

Don’t worry – Nail Mason lays it out nicely here:

Connect with 3 new fans each day, and you’re building a broad and deep audience.

Imagine — 1,095 new friends who can open doors to opportunities and insights.

Create value and connect.

Start there, then rinse, and repeat.

Beth Spencer of Introvert Drawing Club connected with her fans using a sneaky kitten character on Instagram.

I posted everywhere, begging folks folks to find, capture via screenshot, and share. I rewarded each person who helped with 3 months of complimentary membership.

Getting people on Instagram to do anything is hard, so you have to get creative.

Beth went from 150 Substack subscribers in November 2022, to 3,000 almost a year later (and nearing 200 paid subscribers).

You do that by building a real connection, not by just saying, “Join my newsletter for updates.”

And remember – this took a year.

Make sure you figure out a way to connect in a sustainable and energizing way. If it’s pure pain and misery, you’ll end up quitting the quest to get your social media followers to your email list.

Three Simple Ways To Start Connecting With Your Fans

1. Reply to the people in your comments in a sincere, human way
2. DM someone who liked a recent announcement (and include a link to what you’re promoting)
3. Reply to a fellow artist’s post and celebrate their wins – their fans will see it and maybe check you out – and that artist will appreciate your support!

Comments, replies, engagement – whatever you want to call it; do things that don’t scale for a few minutes a day, and see what happens. Like Neil mentioned above – do this with just three people a day, or just start with one!

During a recent Social Media Escape Club video chat, Dan asked, “Is it okay to start posting on a new social media network?”.

At that moment, I said, “Sure – so long as you don’t four hours a day there, and you’re driving folks back to your website and email list.”

But then, while reading Rick Rubin’s ‘The Creative Act‘ I came across this:

“For any rules you accept… it would be worthwhile to try the opposite.”

Yes, an accepted “rule” would be to set up an account when there are a million people on a new social media platform.

So I’m suggesting now that it’s worthwhile to try the opposite.

Instead of trying to corral new fans in a new space, consider the people who are already following you or subscribed to your email list.

As an example, I’m always tempted to start a YouTube channel.

I started the process, but it’s a train wreck. I even uploaded my state ID to verify my identity just so I could include links in the description, but I’ve been denied.

Instead of fussing with that, I made a video for you 600+ wonderful people who subscribe to the Social Media Escape Club.

Instead of spending time making vertical clips for IG, Reels, and YouTube Shorts, I host a weekly video chat with people who read this newsletter.

Maybe you could connect with your fans via Discord or Zoom chats.

There are people right there in front of us who clicked follow, who signed up, who raised their hand and said, “I’m into what you’re doing.”

Instead of constantly chasing more, consider spending more effort and time with those who’ve already bought in.

Many of us in the creative world have a choice in how we tell people about our work.

It’s not just picking which platform to use but also how much time we devote to each. Do we make videos? Static images? Long captions or short?

And now, after years (for some of us a decade or more), we’re faced with the unique challenges of using (or even supporting) the platforms that are deemed so vital to our success.

This is why I changed the name of this newsletter to Social Media Escape Club – because people are being more intentional about how they use these platforms. Some people even consider not using them (gasp), like Robyn Hepburn Illustration said in our recent Zoom Club Meeting:

We’re not crazy for thinking there has to be a better way.

As I wrote last week, Bryan runs the As The Story Grows podcast with zero social media presence.

Softer Sounds podcast studio isn’t on social media.

I say all this as we’re barreling into the holiday season, where we’ll be drowning in marketing messages, commercials, and various media blasting in our faces.

The name of the game is interrupting everyone all the time, grabbing any bit of attention with ten thousand other bright lights and flashing messages.

BUT… in the middle of all that, it’s nice to get a call from an old friend, right?

A DM from someone you love hearing from—an email from someone you always have time for.

As artists, photographers, musicians, DJs, writers – that can be us, you know that, right?

Now, if you only show up every time you have something to sell, that’s not as endearing.

It’s hard to fall in love with mail-order catalogs.

It is far easier to have a pleasant exchange with the jovial mail-person who shows up daily with a smile and a bit of small talk.

Social media is about interruption, noise, and reaching only a fraction of your followers.

But with an easy pace of telling stories, showing up regularly, and earning the trust of your fans, you win the social media game of attention roulette by not playing.

Bryan Patton of As The Story Grows runs a successful podcast and deleted his social media accounts.

Bryan now has more time to work on his podcast – he’s doing 2-3 episodes per week now. That means 2-3 more times per week, a band or label or fan could post about the interview on their social media accounts, and someone could discover his podcast for the first time.

LESS TIME ON SOCIALS, MORE TIME FOR ACTION

I joined Twitter in 2006. I was one of the first 3,000 people to sign up for it. But I deleted my Twitter account this year, and now I have time to start hosting weekly Zoom calls with subscribers, which leads to better newsletter posts like this (I hope).

There are only so many hours in a day, so I use them in a way that gives me joy.

Here’s a few things you can do instead of spending hours a day doom-scrolling, or posting to socials for the “likes:”

Email/reply / DM a fan – delight a fan, give them a reason to talk about you with their friends

Work on your art – imagine 10+ extra hours a week honing your craft

Email key people – there are people out there who could help your project flourish (or replenish your soul) – find a mentor, a coach, or someone who’s been down this road already

IF YOU WANT A MAP, VISIT A GAS STATION

There’s no clear-cut way to get off social media and keep promoting your project, but there’s a direction you can travel.

I’d say you’re on that path if you’re reading Social Media Escape Club.

You can follow people like Cody Cook-Parrott who quit Instagram:

“I have had to completely unhook from the algorithm because I have never had lower social media engagement. I have 80K+ followers and often get 300 likes on a post.”

Listen to the Off The Grid Podcast, which is “for small business owners who want to leave social media without losing all their clients.”

Reach out to Bryan and ask him how he left social media, or email me (my email address is at the bottom of this post).

Businesses were built before social media. Bands released vital albums before hashtags. Art and photography existed before Instagram.

It’s scary stepping away from social media, I know. But it doesn’t have to be black and white – you don’t need to delete your social media accounts to be part of this club.

We’re all just trying to figure it out.

Had a great talk with Rod Yates at Audience Republic email marketing.

The first clip is based on a post I wrote in my Social Media Escape Club newsletter, ‘Find out why you should stop promoting your social media accounts in your newsletters.’

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