How MailerLite helped this creator turn his social audience into a number 1 app
Scott Baptie, the founder of recipe app Food For Fitness and a two-time Sunday Times bestselling author, faced the same challenge as many top creators: Converting his social audience into paying customers.
But Scott found success by turning followers into email subscribers first, then using email to send people to his app. With this strategy in place, he consistently generates downloads, and Food For Fitness is the number 1 high-protein recipes app in the U.K.
Email is my best source for selling. Even when new trends come along, email is the most consistent source of sales.
Scott’s platform of choice for this strategy is MailerLite. We sat down with him to uncover how he makes it work.
Food For Fitness: The UK's number 1 high-protein recipe app
Scott built Food For Fitness for people who want to eat healthily without going on fad diets and need high-protein meals that the whole family will enjoy.
The brand started in 2010 as a blog to document Scott’s fitness journey. It’s now grown into a media business with a website, social media accounts with 500,000+ subscribers and the UK’s number 1 high protein recipes app.
Scott’s central goal through his email marketing is to direct his social followers to the Food For Fitness app. Here’s a look at the core MailerLite features he uses.
We use MailerLite to direct everyone to that main product.
Scott uses the Drag & drop editor to effortlessly build his newsletter and landing pages.
He builds professional landing pages for lead magnets easily, which previously required hiring someone.
Scott created welcome, nurture, and win-back sequences with MailerLite’s automation workflows.
He uses MailerLite's AI-powered smart sending feature to send emails at a time when people are most likely to open them.
Trusting the power of email marketing and MailerLite
Scott trusts email marketing because, unlike social media, where his business is vulnerable to algorithm changes, his email list is a direct, owned channel that provides his most consistent source of income.
Email lets you have meaningful conversations with people; you can tell more stories. Readers are willing to spend more time reading your emails as opposed to the quicker dopamine hit that scrolling through social media gives them.
After testing several providers like MailChimp, AWeber, and ActiveCampaign, Scott found the solution he needed in MailerLite due to its better pricing, ease-of-use and support.
MailerLite is easier, cheaper, and provides better support. I’ve been with MailerLite for the longest time and I can’t see myself moving.
He also praises the responsive customer support. He likes that he can always get help when he needs it.
I really like the chat support. It’s good for quick things I need help with when I don’t want to wait for someone to wake up in the U.S. and reply to me the next day.
Converting social followers into email subscribers with lead magnets
Scott’s strategy for converting his social media following into email subscribers and then customers starts with promoting lead magnets on social media that people can access by joining his list.
A method that currently works is asking people to comment with a specific keyword under a post to receive the resource.
He then directs commenters to a landing page created on MailerLite, where they can receive a free e-book in exchange for their email address. See an example of this strategy in action below.
MailerLite’s landing page builder is central to this strategy. Scott can easily create pages and replicate them without having to hire a pro. This saves a ton of time and money.
I’ve been using MailerLite landing pages recently. We used to do this on our website and I’d have to pay someone to design and build it. But now I have the template in MailerLite and it’s really easy to replicate. We send traffic from Facebook straight to these pages for various lead magnets.
Here’s a lead magnet landing page Scott created on MailerLite:
The moment a follower signs up, they are automatically entered into a nurture sequence of 5 to 6 initial emails designed to build trust and then direct them to the app.
The sequence explains the brand’s philosophy around food and shares content on platforms like YouTube or Instagram. Towards the end of the sequence, it encourages the subscriber to download the app.
Generating app downloads with campaigns
After the nurture sequence, Scott promotes the app with regular newsletter campaigns. Since Scott can track attribution, he knows these emails effectively lead to downloads.
We track app attribution as much as we can. We compare downloads of the app on different platforms like social media, organic, and our website, and email performs really well.
He also uses email campaigns for other promotions, including a book launch that reached the Sunday Times Bestseller list.
Email marketing is the best tool. Every time there’s something big coming up, I always promote it with email.
Whatever Scott’s promoting, he always uses the same strategy: Generating excitement before the release, sending launch campaigns, and then following up in the weeks after the release.
We always do a prelaunch campaign, a launch campaign and then a follow-up. You see a surge in sales when an email goes out.
How Scott creates high-performing emails
Scott has over 100,000 subscribers and boasts an impressive 41% open rate and 2.11% click-through rate (CTR).
Scott uses several MailerLite features to ensure his campaigns make an impact. For example, smart sending ensures his global audience receives his emails at the optimal time, whether they are in the UK or in Australia.
After the U.K. my next largest group of subscribers is from Australia. Using smart sending means they’re getting the email when they are awake rather than at 4 in the morning.
He also uses A/B testing to measure how subject lines and email content impact engagement. This is possible since the tools are so easy to use, meaning he can quickly set up a test when creating an email.
The easy options to do split testing on subject lines and email content has also been helpful. The ease of use is what I like about it.
Scott also shared 3 tips for creating more impactful email marketing campaigns.
1. Use curiosity-based subject lines
Scott uses curiosity-driven subject lines so people want to open his emails to find out what's inside. He does this by hinting at the topic in the email without giving everything away.
An example are the subject lines “Slow cooker chicken tikka masala” vs. “This recipe was an absolute hit.”
People will only open the first example if they want to see a slow cooker recipe for chicken tikka masala. But anyone who wants to see a hit recipe will open the second.
2. Only include one call-to-action (CTA)
Scott includes just one clear CTA within the email body: Usually asking people to download the app. He may include a second, less prominent CTA in the P.S. section when the primary CTA is a recipe link.
By minimizing links and visual distractions, Scott ensures his readers are more likely to take the one action he wants them to take.
3. Keep the email design simple
Scott keeps his email design simple and typically includes just text and images. This type of email is more like one you’d get from a friend than a brand, making his messages feel personal.
He can easily create these emails with MailerLite’s rich text editor: A super fast way to create simple emails with text, images and other basic features.
See an example of an email that follows the above best practices below.
Subject line: 5 High-Protein Soups For Cosy Autumn Nights
Maximizing list value with a re-engagement campaign
When you have as many subscribers as Scott, some will become unengaged. Sending to too many unengaged subscribers will lead to lower open rates and can cause problems with deliverability. It’s best to remove these people from your list.
Before removing subscribers, Scott uses an automated win-back campaign to try to re-engage them. If people start opening his emails again, he gets another chance to ask them to download his app and turn them into customers.
His automated re-engagement series of 5 emails specifically targets subscribers who haven’t opened any emails in 6 months. If a subscriber still doesn't open after the 5 emails, he removes them from his list.
Winback campaigns work really well when we send 5 emails, one every 2 days, to people who have been on the list for over 6 months but haven’t opened an email in 6 months. We save a reasonable amount of subscribers.
Lessons from Scott’s successful journey
Scott's journey proves a decisive truth for content creators: a strong, owned email list is the unshakeable foundation for a thriving business model.
Email works throughout his funnel, from converting social followers into email subscribers with landing pages to generating app downloads, growing sales, and running win-back campaigns.
MailerLite is the key partner he uses to build this enduring, revenue-generating empire. In fact, he’s such a strong advocate for its simplicity and power that he says:
I recommend MailerLite to all my friends.
Build a loyal audience and make more sales
Sign up for MailerLite to access all the tools you need to build relationships that lead to sales with email. Send beautiful newsletters, automate welcome sequences, sell digital products and more. Start with a free trial today.
