All about freebies
What is a freebie?
If you’ve ever signed up to someone’s email community, in exchange for a THING, you’ve seen the power of a freebie first-hand.
A freebie, also referred to as a lead magnet, or an opt in, is a piece of value that a business shares, in exchange for a few details, usually an email address, sometimes a first name, sometimes also a mobile number.
For product or ecom based brands a freebie could be a free shipping code, or a % discount off a first order, but for us service business folk, this kind of opt-in incentive doesn’t quite work. AmIright?
We have to do something a bit different. And this might sound familiar.
You’re listening to a podcast, or reading an interesting blog post. The author is talking about a really useful checklist that you might want to check out. In the show notes there’s a link or in a blog, there might be a selection of buttons, inviting you to grab the free, amazing thing.
Why would you want to create a freebie?
Freebies are great for a few reasons:
They incentivise sign-ups to your email list, from your existing online and offline audiences
Allow you to show your brilliance with zero financial commitment
Help you create a group of people who you know are interested in a specific offer
Leads a new subscriber to get to know you and start their journey to become a paid client.
Examples of freebies
As mentioned, you can use a discount code as a freebie, but for service businesses, this doesn’t usually sit well. We need to think a bit differently and share insight into working with us.
This could mean:
A PDF worksheet or Google Doc: A super common, easy-to-produce handout. This could be:
Checklist
A guide
A planner
A template
A script
A Private podcast: A number of prerecorded audio episodes, full of value and personality, that you only share with your email subscribers.
A challenge: A chain of prompts to guide your new friend through a fun, interesting, value-driven challenge.
A Quiz: You’ve seen these before, whats your skin type, what’s your organisational personality. Think 1990’s magazine quiz vibe, that leads to an offer.
A video masterclass: An expert-led, how-to masterclass.
Also, be mindful that if your newsletter is chocked full of valuable info, tips, and insider insight, it may well already be your pre-built freebie. Share replies from your current subscribers saying how helpful they have found it.
Remind your audience often that you have an email list and the benefit of joining it.
How to use a freebie
The key to any freebie is that it gives a taster of working with you, free of charge, whilst leading into a paid offer. It’s a great idea to help your new subscriber solve a small piece of their bigger problem, so that your paid offer is the obvious next step.
The key to this is understanding your ideal client, and the problem your business can help them solve.
How to share your freebie
Once you have your freebie crafted you can create a specific landing page relating to that campaign within your email marketing system. A simple welcome automation added to the landing page will trigger the send, so that anyone who wants the free thing, gets it direct to their inbox, no further input needed from you.
It also means that you have a list of subscribers who you know have a particular need, so you can tailor your comms to them.
I have seen how powerful freebies can be for building an email community and would absolutely encourage you to get started on your list building journey.
If you would like support, I’ve created a masterclass, taking you through the steps to craft a freebie that connects to your dream client.