Should You Give Away Your Best Stuff For Free?
" But if I give away all my good stuff for free, how can it help me make a living?"
You're doing something much greater, than making a bit of change from the freebies you give away.
[ short answer ]
Should you give away your best content for free?
Yes. Free content good enough to charge for builds your authority and attracts the clients worth keeping. You can share your whole process and most people still can't copy your results, because they need help applying it to their own situation. That hands-on help, accountability and tailored advice is what clients pay for.
Do you remember your first date?
(Don't worry I'll get to answering my first question, shortly)
The one who remembered your name and brought you purple-colored roses (when they don't sell purple colored roses --anywhere).
And before they picked you up...
You adorned yourself with the best pieces of jewelry, dabbed on the sweetest vanity perfume (the one that lingers), slipped into the extra sexy --little black dress and those high red pumps that pinch your baby toe but make you look HOT!
Why did you do so much for one occasion??
Easy.
You wanted to look & feel your best. And secretly, we want others to notice how stylish and well put together we are.
You should take the same approach with your free content.
Always dress for the grand ball and wear your fanciest set of jewels because you never know, when you'll make your 1st impression with a dream client.
You hear it all the time.
Give value.
More value.
And when you're not sure, dump on the value.
Then you're left thinking...
" But if I give away all my good stuff for free, how can it help me make a living?"
You're doing something much greater, than making a bit of change from the freebies you give away.
Stay with me...
You're establishing your authority.
Here are some of the things I've given away FOR FREE, that I could have easily charged between $49 - $297
- Land The Guest Post 8-Part Audio Course
- 35 Buzzwords Swapped For Smoking Hot Copy
- Video Class of How to Sell Your Message
But I didn't.
I want you to see how in-depth my free stuff are, hopefully, create a connection and maybe, just maybe, we'll vibe and you return for more.
I'm not interested in fly by night clients, the ones that buy once and you hope they weren't kidnapped. I'm interested in building and growing with those I connect with because those relationships are rare, and are the ones, that give back more in return.
I'm sure you're still not convinced...
"How. Do. I. Make. Money. Off. Free. Content?"
You can give up 100% of what you know.
Write out step by step of your process. Spell out the details. Layout the blueprint of how you built your business AND MOST, still can't replicate results.
Do you want to know why?
People need help with implementing their big ideas.
How to apply the systems, tools or case studies you just gave away for free.
Because everyone is not the same.
And there is no-one-size-fits-all solution. No matter how many formulas, or instructions in a detailed blog post and cheatsheets you create.
They still need YOU to help them take ACTION.
To walk them through the process.
To hold their hand and accountable to their goals.
People. Pay. Pretty. Pennies. For It.
You didn’t give them YOUR IDEAS, as it relates to their SPECIFIC SITUATION and to their BUSINESS. And FYI, that's how you are remembered for your purple-colored rose approach.
So, here's how you make free content, so good, it should've had a price tag:
17 Lead Magnet’s That Prove You Don’t Need Tricks to Grow Your Email List + a Swipe File
"I wear every single chain, even when I'm in the house." - Drake
17 Lead Magnets That Prove You Don't Need Tricks to Grow Your Email List + a Swipe File
[ short answer ]
What are good lead magnet ideas to grow an email list?
Valuable content beats tricks like pop-ups. Seventeen lead magnets that work: a course, infographic, calendar, resource list, checklist or cheat sheet, ebook, email challenge, free consultation, discount, free membership area, private group, quiz, webinar or workshop, swipe file, report or guide, case study, and branded swag. Bonus idea: ask readers to take a pledge.
There is always some new magic trick on the scene that is supposed to help explode your list building growth and skyrocket your sales, right?
(They even use those exact words too.)
From exit pop up's to a bar that follows you as you scroll the page and the on-going debate of a one click button over forms to fill.
But there is one cold hard truth that still remains.
It doesn't matter how sexy you dress up your stuff or nip, tuck, and stunt, you pull to grab eyeballs.
Valuable content trumps anything fancy you could ever slip on.
Don't get me wrong. These tactics work...but only when combined with painkiller solutions.
If it doesn't give up the goods & help your ideal client get through their rut --you're better off learning as many hat tricks you can (just don't over exhaust yourself trying to keep up).
Here are 17 Lead Magnet's that have proven the best strategies don't include Hocus Pocus.
1) A Course
What have you learned, that you can teach? You have 3 clever options to choose from:
Video
Audio
Email
They can either be delivered via autoresponder or accessed all at once. Psst. Word on the street is busy entrepreneurs like it all at once and when it's a threesome.
2) An Infographic
Pictures make it easier for the brain to absorb information. You see these infographics on Pinterest and you can visually walk your reader through step by step with a graphic guide.
lead magnet ideas
These eyegasm's are usually filled with nuggets of wisdom that you can print out and tape up on your office wall (or admire it on your refrigerator). Canva can help you make a mean Infographic & HubSpot explains "The Science Behind Why Our Brains Crave Infographics (In an Infographic)."
3) A Calendar
Content creators + business coaches like to help their clients out with Editorial Calendar's or behind the scene's of how they juggle their busy schedule. And health coaches can create a happy hybrid of an eating accountability chart on a calendar.
4) A Resource's List or Tool Kit
Kinda like this list or with links to different tools you use in your business to get ahead. Help your community thrive. They'll thank you for it later.
5) A Checklist or Cheatsheet
One of the easiest Lead Magnet's to create but you have to make it worthwhile for them to give up the email address.
What aspect of your business do you always need to break down to clients? Or what do you explain so often, you could write the manuscript?
Maybe if you had a checklist, it would save them the overwhelm & you the time of having to repeat yourself.
*Can't get through the list? Just download the swipe file + checklist
6) An Ebook
Eek! A book!? It's not as out of reach as it seems.
You may already have a book in your arsenal. From your last 10 blog posts or a recent email challenge you hosted?
You got the content, it's a matter of putting it together in an easier & digestible form.
SIDENOTE: The picture above is from my client who took #7 of the list and made a ebook.
7) Email Challenges
Speaking of challenges...people love a good challenge. What can you teach that is actionable in 3, 5 or 7 day's tops?
8) A Half Hour Consultation
Coaches use this frequently to schedule between 15 - 30min free consult calls. Not to give free advice but to get an opportunity to talk with a live person and see if it's a match made in online heaven.
9) A Discount
Coupons can be instant winners for 10% off your product offer or for free shipping…you get the idea.
10) Access to a Free Membership Site
Have you created a space to house all your free content or built a paid wall for your gold nuggets? In exchange for their email, give them a peek behind the great OZ curtain.
11) Or to a Private Facebook Group
Daily interactions and a vibrant community are what some crave. A group where they can tap into you and your expertise.
12) A Quiz
These are fun. As a kid, I was OBSESSED with getting to know more about me.Who isn't a little narcissistic?? Only give access to the answers/results when they give you their email address. Here's the quiz builder I used.
13) Live Webinar or Workshop or a Recorded One
Answer your audience's most pressing question and create a webinar.
Then don't waste the content! You can use your recently recorded webinar by breaking it down into a 10min video series.
*So close, Can't make it to the end? Just download the swipe file + checklist
14) Swipe File
Well...this is kinda awkward. I'm totally going to ask you for your email at the end of this list. And in exchange, you'll get access to my swipe file of live examples to borrow from.15) A Report or Guide
15) A Report or Guide
Do you have deep intel on your industry that would change the way your client does business? They may need to sit down to read this because a report is usually in-depth and jam-packed with gems.
16) Or a Case Study
Interviewed a few industry vets or clients with a similar pain? People like to hear what others are doing and their results. We like to feel connected, that we're not alone in the world and there is an easier way to tackle our to-do list.
17) Branded Free Swag
This I stumbled on by pure happenstance. On Buffer's weekly Twitter chat they tweeted a chance to get free swag from them and their way of saying, Thank You. I gladly obliged and 3 weeks later I got a handwritten note and branded stickers in the mail. Who does snail mail anymore? Nobody.
Now, that's how you cut through the noise.
*Bonus* A Pledge
This is totally left field and I love it! Get your readers involved and have them take a pledge.
Ash Ambirge of the Middle Finger Project
Steal my Swipe File and get live examples you can do & the checklist of all 17 things listed above (as a creative copywriter I screenshot these things for fun).