An opt-in offer or freebie is the key to a successful email marketing strategy to grow your business. There are many different names for this freebie like opt-in offer, lead magnet, list builder…etc, but the idea is the same. You give your subscribers a valuable tool in exchange for their email address.
Years ago you could just put an opt-in box on your website offering a “free newsletter” and start seeing the subscribers flow in. Now, a bribe like a cheat sheet, ebook, or free ecourse is a must-have to grow your list.
When it comes to an opt-in offer or lead magnet, there are two ways to create your offer.
- Spend the time to create your own
- Buy a Done-For-You list builder (Check out these done-for-you opt-ins here.)
Today we’re going to cover the 5 Steps to Create Your Own Opt-In Freebie:
I use these exact steps to create my own opt-in offers as well as the done-for-you opt-ins and custom lead magnets I create for coaches.
Step 1: Solutions You Can Provide
As a coach, the goal of your opt-in freebie is to showcase your abilities in a way that makes new email subscribers line up to start working with you. The biggest mistake you can make when crafting your opt-in freebie is offering something totally unrelated to your services or programs that you offer.
For example, if you’re a health coach that specializes in helping clients reduce stress and offer a lead magnet that focuses on quitting sugar, there may not be an immediate connection with your services. An opt-in that discusses the benefits of meditation will provide a better connection with your audience and help you set up a sales funnel that will turn them into a future client.
The easiest way to do this is to work backwards. Start with your program and trainings, then figure out the questions your future client needs answered before they are ready to start working with you.
This is a very basic version of a sales funnel.
Step 2: What is Their #1 Goal
You want your future subscriber to see the title of your opt-in offer and instantly sign up for your offer. To do this, you’ll need to understand what is their number one goal or priority.
If you’ve designed your course or training program with your ideal customer in mind, you probably already have an idea of what they are looking to achieve.
The best way to find this out is to talk with people who fit your ideal customer avator. I know it seems scary right?! In the age of the internet, we actually still need to have a conversation with our customers! 😉
It can be very tempting to skip this step, but I promise, you’ll get ideas that never even crossed your mind by having these conversations.
How do I know? Because I have regular conversations with people in my target audience to find out what they are looking for when it comes to their graphics and templates!
Step 3: Writing Your Content
After you’ve determined your focus and the idea for your lead magnet, it’s time to write it.
Some of us can sit down and easily write out 1,000+ word blog posts and articles, and others don’t have the time or energy!
If you don’t have time to write your own opt-in offer or find yourself dealing with writer’s block every time you sit down to write your lead magnet, you may want to consider a done-for-you solution like these done-for-you opt-in offers.
All of the content is already written and laid out beautifully in a Canva Template that you can easily customize with your own branding.
Since these done-for-you opt-ins are copyright free, you can just put your name on it and use it as your own!
If you are writing your own content, you’ll want to make sure to include an About Me or Work with Me page that leads to the next step in your sales funnel to promote your program or encourage them to sign up for a free discovery call with you.
Step 4: Designing Your Opt-In
I mentioned done-for-you options above, but if you have a great idea for your next opt-in and the only thing holding you back is hiring a designer, check out these workbook templates designed in Canva.
As a coach, you may find yourself wearing dozens of hats from coach to writer to designer to marketer and more. With these templates, all you need to do is add your own content!
Step 5: Promoting Your Opt-In Offer
Once your opt-in is written and designed, it’s ready to be shared with your audience. You can use this to build your list on your website and social media.
I believe in the 80/20 rule with content – including my opt-in offers. I spend 20% of the time creating them and 80% of the time marketing them.
Where to Promote Your Opt-In Offer on Your Website:
You never know which page visitors are going to land on, so it’s important to have the option to subscribe on every page of your website.
This can easily be done by having an opt-in box on the sidebar of your blog or website.
Another often overlooked area is within your blog posts themselves. Take a look at your Google Analytics to find your past blog posts with the highest traffic and incorporate your opt-in into this post somehow or add a content upgrade specific to this post.
Using HelloBar allows you to put an announcement bar on the top of your website that can be used to promote your opt-in offer.
One more way to add an opt-in box to your website is by using a pop-up notification. I love using Leadpages for creating my landing pages and adding pop-up boxes to my site to grow my list.
Using Social Media to Promote Your Opt-in Offer:
Social media can help your email list growth explode. I recently wrote a post about how to grow your email list on Facebook.
READ: 3 Ways to Grow Your Email List on Facebook without Constantly Asking Fans to Subscribe
You can also use Pinterest. Currently this is my highest converting opt-in. I created a pin specific to my 3 free social media templates, and it has went viral!
Here’s what the pin looks like:
The link in your bio on social media is prime real estate for promoting your opt-in offer. Think Instagram and Pinterest. Write a brief description and use a URL shortener like bit.ly to create a more user-friendly link or linktr.ee to use multiple links like this:
Don’t forget about weaving in posts throughout your monthly social media schedule that promote your offers.
While it can take time to get a great lead magnet created (unless you’re using a done-for-you offer), it’s worth it! You’ll see the difference in the growth of your email list.