Why Relying on Social Media Alone for Policy Outreach Is a Mistake—And How EECs Provide a Strategic, Long-Term Solution

In today’s digital world, policy institutes heavily rely on social media (SM) to distribute their research, communicate policy implications, and, analyses on significant developments in their domain—all coming from experts in their domain and not just any blogger. At the same time, SM is an ever-active channel of communication and engagement with the audience.

SM is indeed great for visibility. However, it presents major limitations:

• Algorithm Dependency: Content is only shown to a fraction of followers, meaning critical messages might not reach the right people.

• Regional Restrictions: Some areas restrict or limit SM access, narrowing your potential audience.

• Metrics Don't Reflect Real Engagement: Even if a post gets a high number of views, there’s no guarantee of true understanding or impact. This is further limited if you are trying to reach audiences across different time zones.

The other parallel operation is that of maintaining an always up-to-date website over which the institutes exercise a greater degree of control. Some of the well-established think tanks have huge monthly traffic on their websites. It speaks volumes of their high-quality work, domain expertise, and trustworthiness. They are much better informed of their audience through the different analytics, about what brought traffic to their website, which content is popular, what content people return for, and which regions they belong to, etc., than an average think tank that has greater SM following but lesser website traffic.

However, even high-traffic websites face a hidden issue. Let’s say a policy institute attracts 100,000 visitors per month. The question remains: Who are these people? Are they potential donors, collaborators or policymakers? Are they interested in more than a quick glance?

Without a system to keep these visitors engaged, they remain anonymous—there’s no way to continue the conversation or build long-term relationships.

The "Subscribe" Button Fallacy

Many policy institutes hope their visitors will click on a small and inconspicuous "subscribe" button tucked away on their websites. But this passive approach rarely works. Even if visitors notice it, they don’t feel compelled to act. Why? Because there’s little incentive. A vague promise of future updates or newsletters isn’t enough to engage them. It feels like permitting you to spam their inbox!

For-profit organizations struggle to get subscribers even after offering discounts. These buttons have a poor opt-in rate even after offering tangible returns in the form of saving money. Even if the discounts work in some cases better than others, policy institutes cannot use the same strategy. Without offering immediate, valuable content, that subscribe button is often ignored, leaving organizations disconnected from their audience on direct communication channels.

I have been conservative with the numbers. Without being specific, two of the institutes that I respect and follow the most, have phenomenal web traffic! Have a look at the real numbers yourself:

Now have a look at how they ask visitors to get on their email list:

I don’t have access to their opt-in rates but I am certain that it has to be less than 10%. Since I have subscribed to both, I appreciate the highest quality newsletters that I receive. Their well-researched and authoritative content helped me thrive in my career. However, if I were not a nuclear nerd, and not in the business that I was in; I would have never had the incentive to subscribe even If I was actively looking to contribute to their cause either financially or otherwise.

So these institutes are practically leaking hundreds of thousands of potential subscribers, collaborators, and even donors!

How EECs Solve This Problem

This is where Educational Email Courses (EECs) come into play. Instead of relying on a passive "subscribe" button, EECs offer a proactive approach to capture and engage your audience. By providing a tangible learning experience right from the start, they give visitors a reason to subscribe—and stay subscribed.

What Are EECs?

An Educational Email Course (EEC) is a structured, sequential series of emails that teaches subscribers about a specific topic. Each email builds on the previous one, offering progressive learning over a few days or weeks. EECs aren’t just information dumps; they are value-driven courses designed to provide insights and actionable takeaways.

Benefits of EECs

1. Higher Engagement Rates: By offering valuable content upfront, you create a reason for visitors to opt-in. This isn’t a vague newsletter; it’s a structured course that they can see has immediate value.

2. Personalized Communication: Unlike SM, which is impersonal and algorithm-driven, EECs allow you to speak directly to your audience, creating a more personal connection.

3. Ongoing Engagement: Instead of just a single interaction, EECs foster continuous engagement, keeping your audience involved with regular content over time.

4. Deepen Understanding: EECs allow you to break down complex policy topics into digestible lessons, helping your audience grasp the nuances of the subject matter.

5. Know Your Audience: Through EECs, you can gather data like open rates, click-throughs, and subscriber preferences. This provides you with actionable insights into what topics resonate most, allowing you to adapt your content and outreach strategies.

Leveraging your Followers

This, by no means, suggests that SM followers are an unworthy audience to have. Through my own experience, I received over a 20% subscription rate at policyinfluence.com from my SM connections despite having a minimal following. Unlike me, policy institutes have a very focused following that is keen to learn more.

By directing their significant number of followers to free —but still valuable— educational content, policy institutes can leverage their expertise and authority to steer them toward their direct channel of communication—email.

Conclusion:

EECs provide a powerful solution for policy institutes facing the challenges of relying on social media and passive subscription methods to build their email lists.

By offering structured, value-driven educational content, they not only attract more subscribers but also keep them engaged long-term—transforming anonymous website visitors into informed, engaged participants in policy discussions.

Sameer Ali Khan is the author of the Educational Email Course “Policy Institute Leader’s Roadmap to Online Credibility!” He learned this after 12+ years in the policy circle and experiencing various approaches tried by different policy institutes across different regions and areas of expertise.