So, last week we talked about how to create your email list in MailChimp, but after you create that list and get it set up how the heck do you get people to sign up on your list? Well, obviously there are a ton of really amazing ways you can grow your email list, but none of them are as simple as creating a great opt-in incentive for your current and new subscribers. An opt-in incentive, aka the ethical bribe, is something you offer (think: resource list, workbook, short ebook, or even a brief email course) in exchange for someone signing up for your email list. Believe it or not – they’re not a new thing; in fact, incentives have basically been around for as long as email lists have been.
They’re so popular because they’re simple to create and unlike most other list building methods don’t actually require a ton of marketing. Creating an opt-in incentive is the perfect place to start whether you’ve just started blogging or have only recently created your own email list.
The trouble, though, is that while incentives don’t require a lot of marketing, there’s more that goes into creating one than most people thing. It’s not as simple as putting a free workbook up for download and expecting it to generate a ton of buzz and a ton of sign ups. To help you create an opt-in incentive that makes all of your blog visitors want to join your email list, I have 5 key elements that go into making your incentive truly irresistible!
The topic fits your niche to a t.
Surprise! You can’t (and shouldn’t) create an incentive that covers a totally random topic. First, your audience is going to look at it and likely not even care that it’s there. Second, it’s totally going to distract from the overall goals you’ve set for your brand. So instead of creating a recipe ebook if you’re a designer or giving away stock photos if you’re a chef. Instead of just creating something that you think will be popular on the internet, make sure you’re creating something that helps boost your brand in the niche you’ve been building your name up in.
Bonus: If you’ve been blogging under the “lifestyle” category and could be known for several different things, pick a topic that is by far your most popular. If there are a few things that are all equally popular with your audience, sit down and see if you can combine them into one super valuable incentive! You can also consider creating a few different incentives for the different categories you write under, but I will tell you setting up multiple incentives for one list requires a little extra tech set up!
[clickToTweet tweet=”Working on a new opt-in incentive for your list? Here are 5 ways to make it irresistible!” quote=”Working on a new opt-in incentive for your list? Here are 5 ways to make it irresistible!”]
It matches what your audience wants and helps with their needs.
Once you’ve figured out what your overall topic for your incentive is going to be, you absolutely have to make sure that the content you create under that topic is actually helpful for your audience. For example, I could obviously create an incentive about blogging for my audience (aka you), but if I made that something like starting a blog – it certainly wouldn’t be nearly as helpful as say an incentive with ways to grow your blog and monetize your brand. This element really comes down to truly knowing your audience and what they’re coming to you for help from. If you’ve been blogging for a while, you should already know this!
Bonus: If you haven’t been blogging that long or maybe don’t know your audience that well, don’t be afraid to send out a short reader survey to get to know your community better. I wasted a lot of time with my blog sharing random posts that didn’t really benefit my audience because I didn’t have a good grasp on who I was writing for. The second I did a reader survey I not only knew who was in my audience, I also learned what sort of topics I could help them with based on my expertise!
It’s designed to match your brand.
As a designer, I just couldn’t leave this element out. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen promo graphics or downloaded some sort of freebie from someone, and what I’m seeing looks like it came from a totally different brand. Look, I get it. There are a lot of really beautiful design styles around the internet. It’s hard to stay true and consistent with your own brand when you want to have a sleeker, more minimal look or maybe want to play around with different colors for your brand. While there’s a certain amount of playing around you can do (not too much!), it can end up being more harmful than anything else for your brand and your aim to grow your list. Make sure that not just the cover, but the inside of your incentive is design to match your brand!
Bonus: If you’re not sure what your fonts or colors are and you paid a designer to develop your brand, reach back out to them and ask if they can create a brand board (also known as a style guide) for you. Most people would be happy to create a style guide for you so the integrity of their work is intact as you move forward. If you designed your brand yourself, go back to the drawing board and look at what fonts and colors you’re using around your site and in your post graphics! You can create a basic list of your font names, sizes, and weights as well as the color hex codes you’re using so you can always reference that when you’re creating something new!
[clickToTweet tweet=”Make your opt-in incentive irresistible so you can grow your email list with serious intention!” quote=”Make your opt-in incentive irresistible so you can grow your email list with serious intention!”]
The end features a call to action to keep your subscriber engaged.
If you’re not sure what I mean here, think about it this way: what do you want your new subscriber to do once they’ve finished reading, working through, or watching your incentive? Do you want them to read a certain list of blog posts? Should they be creating something based on the work they just did? Maybe you’re keeping it simple and you just want them to tweet you their takeaways from your incentive? Whatever it is, don’t leave them hanging. Most people will work through what they’ve just downloaded, move on with their day, and maybe even forget about your brand until they receive an email from you (we don’t want that!!). If you’re creating a PDF of any kind, include a final page that holds a few sentences about you and then mentions what you want them to do next. If you’re using a workshop or video series as your incentive, make sure you end your video with a call to action of what you want them to do next!
Bonus: If you have paid products or services that your incentive complements, your call to action at the end could be a mention about this paid item and maybe even a discount to further encourage them to buy what you’re selling. You don’t have to be overly sales-y here, but this is a great way to passively market your signature offerings!
You have stellar, eye-catching graphics to promote it on social media.
Last, but not least, a great incentive is made even more irresistible when there are eye-catching graphics to promote it around the web. There’s nothing better than getting an email from someone saying they found your incentive (or brand in general) on Pinterest because your awesome graphic is floating around and catching on like wildfire. The key here is to make sure that your graphics are on brand and also do a great job of explaining exactly what your incentive is and how it can help people. I’m quick to scroll by most things if I don’t think they can help me (or don’t understand how they can), but if you clearly state that what you’re creating will help (bloggers, creatives, business owners – pick the word that explains your audience) do X, Y, Z easier / better / faster, you’re more likely to get more people clicking through with interest in what you’re offering.
Bonus: If you’re super savvy in Photoshop, you might check out places like Graphic Burger or Creative Market to get templates like an iPad or iPhone that you can stick the cover or a screenshot of your incentive on. This is a fun way to level up your graphics and make them seem even more pro! I only recommend doing this if you really know what you’re doing or if the template comes with some great instructions because it is possible to totally ruin a graphic if you don’t know what you’re doing.
As I mentioned before, creating an opt-in incentive is by far the easiest way thing to start with and it’s the simplest way to start growing your email list. If you use these five key elements that I’ve mentioned above, I’m certain that you’ll have an incentive so irresistible, everyone who visits your site will be jumping on your list in no time just to grab it!
Looking for more help with creating an irresistible incentive?
I’ve spent the last couple of weeks developing some really great content to help you create a truly irresistible incentive for your email list so that you can make every single person who visits your site want to join your list. It’s not just about randomly creating something and hoping it gets everyone’s attention. This Thursday, Create Irresistible Incentives, a 3-day challenge kicks off to help you create and set up delivery for an amazing opt-in incentive. The bonus for this challenge? Well, everyone who signs up for it gets super early access to purchase my brand new, 6-week course – Kickstart Your List.
If you’re interested in signing up, you can hop right on over here (or click the image above) and get your name on the list!