What Should Your Instagram Link In Bio Be?

Your Instagram link in bio should be a single-destination link that takes people onto your email opt-in landing page as this yields the best sales conversions.

Stacey Storino Tweet

Before you dismiss me out of hand, do me a favor?

Be patient and hear me out. The Instagram link in bio must be a single-destination link that takes people onto your email opt-in landing page, which has one job and one job only, to get someone to opt onto that list because as you grow your email list, you’ll likely grow your bank account. Hold on!

Allow me to explain why this is the case (even supply you with some proof) so that you understand how it might be that other entrepreneurs are just flat-out making the link-in-bio call wrong. How do they mess up? By getting so flipping fancy that visitors to the link in bio get confused and float away causing your sales to suffer because, quite frankly, the confused just don’t buy…and if you don’t capture the lead up front, the odds go down tremendously that you’ll have a second bite at the apple with that lead later.

And if you just send them to your website thanks to that Instagram link in bio/website field in your bio, no matter what page or post it may be that you’re sending them to, you still run the risk of being unable to capture that lead, regardless of how well-optimized that site of yours may be.

So at this point you’re like: What? I don’t believe you. Well…

This Is Very Controversial Advice, I Get That

So, I don’t blame you if you’re feeling resistant to it, but trust me, I’ve been an entrepreneur for 25 years, a content marketing for conversions-based coach for 10 years and therefore I’ve seen a thing or two when it comes to growing your email list and growing your bottom line.

If you want a video to flesh things out for you faster now that I’ve spilled the beans, here you go. ⬇️ Otherwise, I’ll unpack my advice at length in the remainder of this blog post. Dealer’s choice on how you want to proceed from there, my friend.

Now, look, admittedly, Instagram is a powerful marketing tool that can help businesses and individuals promote their products, services, or personal brand. I still think, in 2023, that you can grow your audience, email list and yes, your sales, thanks to that platform.

But let’s get real…

With over one billion active users, Instagram can be stupid crazy competitive, making it challenging to stand out and reach your target audience there if you have no clue what you’re doing. I’ve been teaching students to grow on Insta for most of the ten years that I’ve been a coach (as of 2023), so I know it’s do-able.

And I know that you don’t have to spew out Instagram Reels every single day to grow all the things any good business owner needs to grow in order to keep their bottom line profitably healthy. (Although, of course, Reels can definitely help you in terms of gaining more discoverability on behalf of your brand if you are open to creating them).

But back to the whole “your link in bio on Instagram should be driving people your email opt-in page” thing. The best way to grow an extremely engaged audience that’s a passionately connected and dialed in brand-based community on Instagram and off of it?

Get them on an email list. Why?

Because no matter how much, now or in the future, Instagram throttles your account’s reach on the platform (for whatever the reason, even if you’re never shadow banned), while your reach might decline there…

You’ll always be able to overcome this challenge because people check their emails up to nineteen times a day, still currently more than for any social media platform out there. (Surprise!)

For that reason alone you need to be using your Instagram “link in bio” to direct people to an email opt-in page…and nowhere else. That link has just one job…capture the lead for you. That’s it!

But Stacey, I Could Do So Much More With That Link!

Sure you could…but just because you could do it, doesn’t mean you should! Meaning, sorry Milkshake (and all its freaking progeny), no way, no how, should you use a “link-expander” to create a “mini-website” for your content consumers to cruise.

I know…heresy, right? I must be out of my mind.

Or…

I’m absolutely serious about my students collecting leads onto an email list over trying to solely focus on getting sales more directly from social media posts. WTH, right?

It’s because you’re three times more likely to get sales from that email list than from social media posts directly. True story.

Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to build a relationship with your audience and promote your products or services. It has a whopping 4,200% ROI or Return On Investment!

Yes, this data is good for 2023, not from 10 years ago. Therefore…

Nothing Is More Effective For Sales Than Having Your Instagram Link In Bio Be To Your Email Opt-In Page

Quite frankly, I don’t care who you are, what your business model is, what you’re selling and who you’re selling it to.

Do NOT have the link in bio for Instagram (or any other social media platform) be anything other than a one-destination-type link to your email opt-in page. Get that lead captured so that, until such time as they choose to unsubscribe from your list, they are otherwise with you forever.

When you include a link to your email opt-in page in your Instagram bio, sure, you’re not taking them directly to your website where you might be selling your offerings. So I can see how you might be eye-rolling at me right now.

You’re likely thinking: But Stacey, shouldn’t I just send people directly to my Home Page, or a product listing page, and get the sale more directly that way?

To which I say: Nah. Because only 2% of all first-time visitors to your website will buy.

Put another way, 98% of all first-time visitors will NOT buy from you.

Soooooo….I don’t love your odds, my friend.

Experienced Marketers Know Why Email Brings Sales

You’re not likely an experienced marketer if you’re still rejecting my message. How do I know?

You’re likely not checking in with your website’s analytics to see what there is to be seen. People will come to your website, float around for a bit and leave. That’s what most of them do, especially during the first visit. That’s what you’re going to see. No matter who you are, how cool your website is, or even how big your platform becomes.

It’s nothing personal, just the institution. Meaning? It’s just probability, statistics and math.

Look, I don’t have to bust out the AIDA Funnel do I?

OK, maybe I do. Fine! Here it is…

Believe It Or Not, The AIDA Funnel Proves My Point

Do you see that classic marketing and sales funnel? I didn’t make this thing up. You’ve likely seen it before, anyway. My point?

When you’re engaging in content marketing, let’s say in this case, on Instagram, one piece of content at a time you’re increasing the likelihood that your ideal customer is going to discover you/your brand and that’s represented by the Awareness level of the AIDA Funnel. More people are always going to become aware of your business, statistically speaking, than will ever take action of any kind, especially after that first digital encounter.

Brutal, but true.

Sure, some people might be enthralled after encountering that first piece of content from you/your brand. Those folks might become Interested enough to follow you on Instagram. Great. It’s free for them to do so, so why not, right?

Just don’t fantasize that you’re capturing a very large portion of those who first became Aware of at the time of that first exposure. You’re not. Statistically speaking, you’ll never do it. That’s OK because…

Out of the people who are Interested enough to follow you on Insta, an even smaller portion of those people will Decide to click on your link in bio, again, especially just after becoming Aware of your business with that first piece of content they’ve found.

Take another gander at that AIDA Funnel graphic. Very few people entering the funnel for that first (or even tenth) trip will fall down the first two levels of the funnel (statistically speaking) to reach the point where they’re getting to clicking that link in your bio.

So once they’re there, you absolutely need to capture those leads, because only a whopping two percent of them will take Action to buy from you, so for the 98% that don’t at least have a way to reach out to them to remind them that you exist, provide more value to them via email without always selling, selling, selling to them and guess what?

Since 60% of all people who opt into an email list expect to be sold to by that particular business and don’t mind it, once those captured leads feel like they know, like and trust you/your brand and its offerings and they’re ready, willing and able to buy, then they’ll buy.

Make it easy for people to sign up for your email list; shoveling them to your website (by having your Instagram link in bio simply be to your website) will just have those people floating around, likely being overwhelmed by all the goodness on that site of yours, and then getting distracted by something shiny and before you know it…

They close out of the tab and may very well be gone, baby, gone, perhaps never to be heard from again.

Which would you rather have? An ever-growing email list of warm leads that you can win over to the point where you get a sale? You can reach them anytime you’d like, one email at a time! Or would you rather just have people floating all over Instagram and your website…but not being able to track where they’re at or be able to reach out to them again once they’re gone?

I know what my vote is!

Here's Why You Can't Prove Me Wrong

Look, the software that provides your email opt-in page also allows you to track the effectiveness of your Instagram marketing efforts. There’s additional software that you can use (free/freemium/paid) that will allow you to “candy coat” the same link with different digital “flavors” so that you can track the same email opt-in link’s effectiveness on different platforms (so that you can tell where your email opt-ins are coming from–one “digital flavor” for Instagram, another for your website, another for YouTube, etc.). Anyway…

Therefore, by using a unique link for your Instagram bio, you can track how many people click on the link and sign up for your email list. This can help you to understand which Instagram posts or strategies are most effective at driving traffic to your email opt-in page.

Just please promise me that you’re not going to ask your Instagram content consumers to “Sign Up For Our Newsletter.” Because it’s not 1993 so that isn’t a novel and intriguing call to action. Ain’t nobody got time for reading your weekly newsletter. That sounds like busywork today. (You can send a weekly email, sure, and you should email your list at least once a week or you’ll actually have more unsubscribes…but I digress. That’s a story for another time).

What to do instead? Offer them a coupon, a freebie OR…if it makes sense for your business model…hey, both.