How to Grow Your Email List with an Instagram Giveaway

Jack Paxton
Jack Paxton

Last updated on

June 26, 2024

Instagram is insanely popular right now. The platform is made up of all kinds of people that are interested in almost every niche possible.

Chances are, you can find an audience for your brand on Instagram. An audience that is interested in your brand and your products.

Now, imagine if you had the email addresses of those Instagram users?

You can do some serious numbers on your next email campaign.

But how do you acquire email addresses from users on Instagram?

With an Instagram giveaway, of course!

What Are Instagram Giveaways

A giveaway is a marketing campaign that companies use to promote their brand and generate hype.

They are straightforward. Ask people to enter to stand a chance of winning a prize.

instagram giveaway caption
Source: Instagram

There are no entry fees. However, in most cases, people are required to submit their email address to enter.

Brands host giveaways all the time at their stores or online on their websites. If you are a startup and wanna build brand recognition with giveaways, you can get ethically build Instagram accounts from services like Socialtradia.

Recently, brands have been using Instagram as their platform of choice for hosting giveaways.

How Can an Instagram Giveaway Build Your Email List

Instagram is a popular social network with tons of active users. It's the ideal platform for you to build your email list.

Hosting a giveaway on Instagram will allow you to collect tons of new email addresses within a short space of time.

Instagram users that discover your giveaway can simply submit their email address to enter.

coconut bowls instagram giveaway

Coconut bowls, an e-commerce store, were able to generate more than 41k new email leads from a single Instagram giveaway.

Most brands usually ask users to follow them on Instagram to gain entry, allowing them to increase their instagram likes. This entry method is a sure way to boost your Instagram followers. Also, Consistently publishing content will help brands to gain more Instagram followers and better engagement.

However, if you are looking to grow your email list, then you can request users to submit their email address as an entry method.

How to Host an Instagram Giveaway

The actual concept of a giveaway is simple. You sponsor a prize, get people to enter, then pick out a winner at random.

That being said, all too often something has gone wrong.

Or, a brand hosted a giveaway that brought in poor results.

As with any marketing campaign, you will have to plan and optimize your campaigns for the best results.

If you want to achieve the best results, then you must consider the following:

Choose a Goal

Because Instagram giveaways generate tons of hype and excitement on the platform, you can use it to achieve multiple goals.

Instagram giveaways are excellent for:

  • Generating hype and attention before a product launch
  • Publicity, exposure, and brand building
  • Getting people to discover your brand
  • Boosting engagement on your posts (likes, comments, and shares)
  • Social Proof

If your company is relatively new and you want to get your name out there fast, then the above goals are great.

In regards to generating leads, Instagram giveaways can be used to:

  • Grow Instagram followers
  • Boost website traffic
  • Increase app and free trial software downloads
  • Increase plays on a video
  • And of course, grow email lists

If your goal is to grow your email list, then you can create an entry method that requires Instagram users to submit their email address.

This way, a user can enter their email address to enter. To achieve multiple goals, you can implement ‘bonus actions.’

When a user completes their entry by submitting their email address, they will have the option to complete various bonus actions.

Bonus actions can be anything from visiting your website to following you on Instagram.

Choose a Prize

Choosing a relevant prize is the most crucial aspect of an Instagram giveaway.

The prize is meant to get people excited for your giveaway and interested in your brand.

Place your price so that Instagram users instantly jump to the opportunity to enter after stumbling upon your post.

Prizes like an iPhone or a TV are great and will undoubtedly draw tons of entrants. This can translate into tons of new email leads.

However, iPhones and TVs will attract a broad audience. Most of them may not be interested in your brand and its products. Instead, they are just entering for a new iPhone.

This can lead to too many poor quality leads. If you are looking to attract a targeted audience, you must select a prize that is relevant to your brand and its audience.

If your audience is photographers, then prizes like cameras, tripods, photo editing software, and camera bags are perfect.

ecommerce instagram give away

E-commerce brands can offer vouchers and products from their stores.

SaaS companies can offer winners free usage of their service for a specific duration. Eg. The first prize winner gets 6 months free access to our software.

Such prizes will attract people that are interested in your products or other products in your niche. Just imagine collecting all these high-quality emails from a single Instagram giveaway.

Promote Your Campaign

You can promote your Instagram giveaway on the same marketing channels that you currently use.

Just dropping a post on Instagram won't be enough to build hype around your giveaway.

Treat your giveaway like you would treat any massive marketing campaign (like a product launch or summer sale).

Recommended ways to promote your Instagram giveaway:

  • Social media - Create posts and stories on all your social networks.
  • Blog posts - Create a blog post on your website or a guest post for another website.
  • Influencer marketing - Partner up with a relevant Instagram influencer who will help you promote your giveaway, gain instagram followers and grow your accont.
  • Email - Send out emails to your current subscribers.
  • Install chatbots to let your website’s visitors know about it automatically when they come to your page.
  • Instagram Automation - engage with your followers and grow the reach of your posts.

Email Marketing

Sending out emails during your giveaway is a great way to engage with your current subscribers (and any new subscribers obtained from your giveaway).

Giveaway emails have high email open rates, which make them an excellent opportunity to promote your brand and its products.

You can insert links to your website or product page to boost website traffic during your giveaway series of emails.

Your giveaway email can include the following:

  • Details on the giveaway that include the method of entry, closing date, and when the prize will be shipped.
  • More information on your brand.
  • Information on the prize
  • A request for the user to spread the word by asking their friends and family to enter.

What's great about a giveaway is that it can be an excuse to send more than one email out to subscribers.

You can send out an email to announce your giveaway early on. Then send more emails during the campaign to inform people on how much time they have left to enter ("only 10 days left to enter").

Emails sent in the middle of your campaign is a great way to engage with new subscribers while directing them to your website.

At the end of your campaign, you can send out an email to announce the winner of the giveaway.

Be cautious when drafting out this email. Some people might be upset about not winning.

Because of this, it's advised that you offer all participants a discount on their next purchase from your store.

TL;DR

Giveaways are fun and engaging for Instagram users and especially you.

You can have plenty of fun generating buzz around your brand while growing your email list and Instagram followers.

Because of this, you should try not to get too obsessed with the numbers, especially if this is your first campaign.

Join in on the excitement of a new lead that just discovered your brand for the first time.

So, tell us, have you ever hosted an Instagram giveaway before? Let us know in the comments below.

Author Bio

Jack Paxton

Jack Paxton is the co-founder of VYPER, a marketing tool that helps brands build email lists, social followings, and revenue using viral giveaways, referral, and reward programs. After millions of dollars spent testing different marketing strategies at his marketing agency. He then also co-founded Hyax a fast, conversion & design-focused course and funnel builder for creators.

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