The difference between a viral freebie and an opt in freebie is that with a viral report, you’re hoping everyone shares it all across the web to expose your hyperlinks.
An opt in freebie, however, is a specific gift that you give people in exchange for sharing their name and email address with you and signing up to your list to be contacted in the future.
Email is a very private thing for many people. They’re letting you have access into their world and they’re trusting you not to spam them or sell or share their contact information with others. So the offer has to be one they would want – and the quality worth staying on your list.
Coming Up with an Enticing Opt In Offer
You want your visitor who lands on your blog to see your opt in offer and think, “Wow! I can’t believe they’d give that away for free!”
It needs to be a bit irresistible. Something they would risk sharing their contact details over – without even knowing whether or not you’re trustworthy. So how can you find out what that would be?
Look to topics that people pay for in that niche.
You can go to these places and see what information people are searching for and buying:
- Forums
- Bookstores
- Blogs
- ClickBank
So let’s say you’re in the muscle building niche and you want to come up with a nice opt in freebie.
First, you could research on forums to see what questions people ask. Using forums, I discover a question that might work well and turn it into a report title: “Picking the Best Workout for Your Muscle Building Goals.”
If I head to Amazon and look at the table of contents of one of the bestselling muscle building books, I see a topic that might work well: “Common Myths About Strength Training.”
A blog that has many viewers gives me an idea for a report for this niche such as: “Why Protein Isn’t the Main Nutritional Factor You Should Focus on for Building Muscle.”
And a ClickBank product gives me the idea for this opt in freebie: “A 7-Day Meal Plan for Fighting Fat and Building Muscle.”
None of these is copied verbatim from the items listed above. I simply saw a keyword and it triggered an idea for an opt in freebie that I believe the niche audience would find valuable.
What Format Should Your Opt in Freebie Come In?
Freebies for your list can come in the form of a downloadable zip file, like a PDF report. Or, they can be delivered in a series of follow-up emails that you drip out over time.
This works well in helping you keep your name and brand in front of the customer over a short period of time. You can have a 7-part series, or a 2-week series. You can also make an endless promise to deliver tips to your audience.
For example, you might create an opt in form that says something like this: “Sign Up for Your FREE Weekly Muscle Building Tip Delivered Straight to Your Inbox!”
That way you only have to have one prepared ahead of time, and create one per week as you go. Just make sure you create one and don’t leave them wondering where it’s at.
Your actual opt in freebie should be chock full of value. It should be something they’re amazed that you’re giving away for free. This builds trust with your audience and they’ll be willing to buy from you later because they know the quality of what you give to the people on your list.
