Marketing & Philosophy

Online Promotion: YouTube, Social Media & Your Email List

Unless you live in a city full of aspiring guitar players, you probably also need to cast a wider net and promote your lessons online. Here we'll discuss the 3 main places to do this and the things you need to know about when using each one.

Getting people's attention on your lessons is obviously vital for the survival of your business. And in the internet age, that comes largely in the form of online promotion.

As much as it might seem like the thing to do is to build up a huge following on one or more social media platforms, let's establish one thing: those aren't really your followers.

They are that platform's users, that the platform is merely SHARING limited access with you, on a profile page THEY give you (and can take away, and which will disappear if the site ever goes away). You don't always even get to see who your followers even are on some social media platforms...they're just a number.

And especially in the case of Meta (Facebook, Instagram), good luck REACHING those followers unless you cough up some money, because their algorithm is set up to actively HIDE your posts from your followers UNLESS you pay for ads.

So again, NONE of these social media followers are really YOUR audience. The ONLY audience that is genuinely YOURS is your email list: the people who opt-in and specifically say "yes, please send me what you have on this topic!"

And that's why it's PARAMOUNT that you consistently keep building your email list and nurturing your relationships with the people on it. 

People come and go from social media all the time, and change their names, change their privacy settings, deactivate their accounts, etc. But they rarely change their email addresses.

Plus, unlike social media, email is not intentionally designed to keep people in a suspended state of constant distraction, so when someone reads their email, you have a much greater chance of getting and holding their attention if the subject line is relevant enough to get them to click on it.

Now, that said, let's look at how to get people onto your email list.

As I said above, people need to OPT-IN to get on your email list. NEVER add an email subscriber to your list who didn't reach out to you asking for what you offer.

So in the simplest form, that includes the people who contact you to book a free introductory lesson. The contact form and/or booking form will require their email address anyway, so add that and their first name to your email list. 

In general, make sure you set up your email list so that these two fields (email address and first name) are in every form, because these are vital for sending emails that are personalized, and thus RELEVANT to them so they're inclined to open and read them (and hopefully act on them and buy something).

With that in place, the next thing you will need to do is create a Lead Magnet and an Opt-In Page where the user can enter their first name and email address in order to download the Lead Magnet. Once they submit the form, they can either be redirected to a page where they can download the Lead Magnet directly, or to a "Thank You" page where you (a) confirm they'll receive the file in their email in the next 5 to 10 minutes, and (b) upsell them on something related to the topic of the Lead Magnet, like a course. The idea is "since you were interested in [topic], if you're looking to take that to the next level you'll love my [same topic] mega-course."

You would also make sure that your Opt-In FORM on the Opt-In Page is correctly integrated with your email list provider. Personally, I also add a unique TAG to each opt-in form so that I can target those users with emails relevant to what they downloaded later on.

Start with just one good Lead Magnet, and name it something enticing. Set up the Opt-In funnel (Opt-In Page, Thank You Page/Download Page), and then it's a matter of getting people to see it.

Now, as much as I generally advise against having anything on your website's MAIN PAGE other than a link to schedule a free introductory lesson, there ARE other parts of your website where you can be constantly accumulating email subscribers.

The biggest 3 are:

Additionally, you can also make your Opt-In Pages SEO friendly, so that people can discover your free offerings via Google searches. This is largely a matter of using wording that matches what people are already looking for on the Opt-In page and how you word your offer, as well as the page title (within the HTML <head> tags) and the <h1> heading that the user sees on the page.

Now let's go where all the people are: social media. But remember, the tough thing about social media is that the platforms, themselves, built these sites to KEEP PEOPLE ON THEM, NOT to leave and follow whatever link you're providing. That's why links always open in those crappy "internal" browsers within the app — they don't want their users leaving and going to another platform. 

So just know this going in — they've purposely designed their platforms (and especially their mobile apps) to be working against what you're trying to do here.

Facebook

Facebook basically tricked us all into creating Facebook Pages during its first decade, then threw it into reverse gear and made us all pay to reach the followings we all worked so hard to build. But while that really sucked, there were still ways to use the platform and reach people.

First, there is the Facebook profile - you can have up to 5,000 people on your friends list, so theoretically you can still reach up to 5,000 people when you post something. (Of course not nearly that many people will actually see it.) This created a nice loophole for getting eyes on things you posted to your Facebook Pages — you post to your FB page, and then SHARE it to your profile.

Second, there are the Facebook Groups. THIS is the REAL value on Facebook, where you can potentially reach hundreds, even thousands of people who'd otherwise never know about you via your Page or your Profile. While you don't want to SPAM these groups (because they'll ban you), joining relevant groups and posting relevant content in them is a great way to get people to opt-in. And if you START a group (or take one over that needs an admin), that's a group you can always post to (again, as long as you don't come off spammy, which will just turn off the people in the group).

And if you have a good post about your opt-in page, you can even Boost the post (turn it into a targeted ad) and get even more eyes on it.

Just make sure that your Open Graph image is displaying correctly by checking the URL ahead of time (before you post it anywhere on FB) by using the Sharing Debugger tool.

Instagram

While Meta also owns this platform, Instagram (IG) has a vibe and culture of its own, distinct from that of Facebook. It's much more visually-oriented, especially since TikTok came along and every single platform jumped at the chance to compete with their own Shorts/Reels vertical video format.

So if you're sharing interesting visuals and/or videos, then getting the word out about what you're offering can work great on Instagram. Even more so if you choose the right hashtags.

YouTube

Unlike Meta (FB and IG), YouTube actually supports external links. While they DO also want to keep people on YouTube, watching videos for as long as possible, they don't have quite the same restrictive attitude about providing links within your video description, comments, pinned comments, cards, channel description, and once you reach 500 subscribers, your Community posts.

Additionally, specifically BECAUSE YouTube wants people to stay on YouTube binging on video content, they don't HIDE your content from your subscribers the way Facebook does — they actively show their users content suggestions that they think they'll want to watch. So the "algorithm game" is much more intuitive, even though it does have its own set of principles you need to learn, study, and practice applying in order to get people to see your videos.

Once you do pass 500 subscribers, though, and unlock the Community feature, one great thing is that your Community Posts are NOT limited to your subscribers. YouTube actually shows them to whoever they think will find them interesting, so you may even get new subscribers that way.

But ultimately, whether you're making traditional 16:9 (horizontal) YouTube videos or Shorts (vertical format), be sure to give the viewer an easy way to click on your related Opt-In Page URL with visual on-screen prompts and verbally TELL them to click on it to get whatever free thing you're offering.

Once you have some email subscribers, you'll also need to make sure you're getting the best use out of your email list by using the built-in features optimally.

Segments: These are little groups within your overall email list. Sure, sometimes you'll have an email you'll send to your entire list, but generally this is a poor use of your list and leads to more unsubscribes than you want, more quickly. So by defining a segment based on certain criteria (by interest, location, opt-in date, etc), you can send your subscribers the kind of content they really asked for when they opted in. AND you can EXCLUDE segments, too, so that certain people (like your current students) don't get certain emails (like emails selling lessons, which your current students are already paying for).

Tags: There are several ways you can add additional information to specific users to designate what their interests are, but by far the best and easiest to use are tags. 

Automations: You can actually set up a whole series of emails to go out on a specific schedule when someone opts in. You can even create a whole "course" (video, or just text) and have each "lesson" be sent to them, one day after the next. I did exactly this with a free 9-video course I created to supplement The Book of Sequences when I first released it, and got about 250 subscribers just from doing that. The "one-and-done" nature of this is also good because you can plan out a whole strategy of what content you want them to see, in what order, craft the exact wording and delivery you want one time, and then move on and that automation will be running on its own. And you can market that "course" on its own - without the need for an additional Lead Magnet - the email course IS the incentive!

Merge Tags & Personalization: Use *|FNAME|*, *|LNAME|*, or custom merge fields (“Instrument”, “Skill Level”) in subject lines and greetings. Personalization boosts open rates and engagement.

Short Subject Lines: Keeping your subject lines 9 words or less (including the Merge Tag) ensures that your full subject line stays visible, and also forces you to think carefully about what will get them to want to open and read your email.

A/B (Split) Testing: Test subject lines, “From” names, or even send times on a small subset (e.g. 10% of your list), then have Mailchimp automatically pick the winner and send it to the rest.

Send-Time Optimization: Mailchimp can analyze past opens and clicks per contact and deliver your campaign at the hour they’re most likely to engage.

Dynamic Content Blocks: Rather than sending separate emails, you can build a single template with conditional content: show Offer A to tags “Prospect” and Offer B to tags “Student.”

Re-Engagement Campaigns: Create a segment of “contacts who haven’t opened in 90 days,” then send a special “We miss you” campaign. If they still don’t engage, move them to an “unengaged” tag or archive them to protect deliverability.

Signup Form Customization & Embedded Forms: Use Mailchimp’s embedded forms with custom fields and pre-built landing pages. Add a “How did you hear about us?” dropdown to feed automatically into tags.

Preference Center: Let subscribers choose what they want (e.g. “Guitar Tips,” “Business Advice,” “New Course Announcements”). That can drive your segments and reduce unsubscribes.

RSS-to-Email Campaigns: If you post regularly to a blog or YouTube RSS feed, have Mailchimp auto-generate a “weekly roundup” email so you don’t have to build each one by hand.

Reports & Analytics: Beyond opens/clicks, track link-by-link performance, geolocation reports, and compare campaign benchmarks (industry, list size) to spot what’s under- or over-performing.

Compliance & Deliverability: Enable double-opt-in for higher quality leads. Use Mailchimp’s built-in GDPR fields if you email EU contacts. Keep your “From” address consistent and authenticated (SPF/DKIM) to avoid spam folders.

Integrations & E-Commerce: If you ever sell merch or courses directly, integrate WooCommerce or Shopify with Mailchimp to trigger abandoned-cart emails, purchase follow-ups, or “You might also like…” cross-sells.

Pop-Ups & Exit-Intent Modals: Mailchimp’s Website Builder can add timed or scroll-triggered pop-ups on your site, capturing subscribers right at the moment they’re most engaged.

Audience Tag Hygiene: Periodically audit tags and segments—archive unused/obsolete tags so your automations stay tidy and performant.

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