SML #002: Our 517,213 email list: learn how we got it!

Read time: 4 minutes

Don’t put all your marketing eggs in one platform.

Take our case. We have the largest Tiktok channel(s) in immigration law with more than 5.5 million followers.

Everything seemed peachy. We’re smooth sailing, growing, and getting followers.

Then one day in May 2021, Tiktok wrote to us and gave us a warning for a violation of an obscure policy they have. They suspended our lives for 2 days.

We still don’t know what we did wrong, but we tried to comply.

Fast-forward to early 2023, we opened the newspaper (ok, ok, we read the news online), and Congress was looking to investigate Tiktok because it’s a potential national security liability.

We were worried. We thought we’d always have those followers, that they "belonged" to us.

So much work, effort, and poof, in a second, they can block your channel, you can get hacked, or the government can shut it down.

We had the same experience with Facebook, another platform that changes all the time.

Recently it changed for the good, we went from 30,000 to 1.7 million in a few months when Facebook changed its algorithm.

We still laugh about remembering the moment when Gianfranco told Julio just to stop posting on Facebook because it wasn't working. But Julio insisted, and he was right. 

Then Facebook started flagging us for alleged violations. We're still unclear about what. Stopped our monetization and we suspect it shadow-banned us.

Thankfully, we had bought insurance all along.

We’ve made many mistakes along the way, but since the beginning of our social media days, we’ve collected emails from our followers.

We haven’t always been great at nurturing them—but that’s a story for another day.

But we understood since the outset that social media platforms are only tools, not the end-be-all.

So today, we want to share why social media followers’ contact information is gold: 

1. Algorithm-Proof Connection: Social media platforms rely on algorithms to decide who sees your posts and when. Relying solely on them can result in missed engagement opportunities. Direct contact bypasses this uncertainty.
2. Deeper Personalization: Knowing your clients more intimately allows you to tailor offers, content, and communications based on their specific needs, leading to stronger and more meaningful connections.
3. Reliability: While social media trends ebb and flow, emails, and direct communications remain steady and dependable. You control the when, what, and how.
4. Increased Conversion Rates: Direct communication, especially when well-segmented and personalized, often results in higher conversion rates compared to broad social media campaigns.
5. Diversification: Just as with financial investments, diversifying your communication channels reduces risks. If one channel suffers, others can maintain stability.

Today we have more than 517,000 emails, and the great majority of them with one simple, valuable tool. A downloadable pdf guide about a topic they showed interest in our short videos. 

Since January 1, 2022, those three guides got us about 80% of our contacts.

We have then been able to sell online courses, provide consultations, and legal services to these contacts 🚀

And guess what? We're not special, you can do it to!

ACTION STEPS

• Get an email marketing provider: This will allow you to collect emails, segment, organize and plan your marketing campaigns, and analyze data effectively.
• Offer Value: From e-books to webinars, provide your clients with something of worth in exchange for their information. No click-bait! Ever!

While the allure of social media is undeniable, it's crucial not to place all your marketing eggs in one basket. By combining the broad reach of social platforms with the depth and directness of email communication, you position your brand for unmatched engagement and lasting relationships.