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4 Keys to a Free Product That Grows Your Mailing List
Copyright (c) 2009-2021 Judy Murdoch
If you are selling products and services on the Internet you are probably very aware of how valuable a list of subscribers is.
Periodic, relevant information is the main way to build the trust and credibility needed for customers and prospects to take action:
to click the Buy Now button
to pick up the phone to schedule an appointment
to complete an application
etc.
I cannot over-emphasize the importance of creating trust-based relationships in business. This is what periodic emails to your list allow you to do.
If your business is relatively new to online marketing, building a subscription list can feel pretty daunting. I've had many conversations with small business owners who are love the idea of email marketing and inevitably the question, "How do you get all these subscribers anyway?"
And that is the question I'm going to answer in this article.
=============================================
Why Building Your List Can Be a Struggle
=============================================
I know when I began my ezine, after the initial signups by folks in my immediate circle, adding new subscribers was a painfully slow process.
I received some glowing complements from subscribers and a couple marketing experts whose opinion I valued. And everything I read insisted that content is the most important component to succeeding in the online marketing game.
So I had good content; where was the rush of subscribers?
Simple: I was competing with thousands of other requests to subscribe.
People need a good reason to subscribe to your ezine. Why they should choose your ezine rather than the hundred other on the same topic.
One way to make your ezine the best choice is to give your subscribers something they can immediately use and get value from.
This is why a free product you give people when they subscribe to your ezine is so important.
=============================================
Providing Some Relief
=============================================
A lesson I learned from my coach, Mark Silver, is the importance of providing prospects some relief from a problem they're struggling with.
After all that's why most people are at your website to begin with yes? They have some sort of question or problem and they're looking for help. Whether they found your website doing a Google search or through a link on someone's blog, they're wanting help and they're hoping you'll provide it.
Free products that they can quickly download from your website are ideal for meeting this need.
In addition, when they use your free product and get some relief there is no better way to build your credibility! People are far more likely to purchase from you when they've already gotten a demonstration of the difference you make.
=============================================
What's the Best Free Product to Offer?
=============================================
The one question that comes up more than any other around the free give-away is "what should my give-away be?"
=============================================
4 Keys to Choosing a Free Product (with Subscription)
=============================================
Key #1 Easy to Get Online
Remember whatever it is you offer, you want to make it very easy for your prospect to get online.
Fortunately, it's cheap and simple to create a product that is easy to download. I recommend:
An article, report, or how-to guide people can download as an Adobe Acrobat file (.pdf)
An audio recording they can listen to on the Internet (mp3 is currently the most popular format)
A video they can watch from your website (many computers now have a built-in camera making it easy to create short videos)
Key #2 Solves a Problem Most of Your Ideal Customers Struggle With
When I was trying to decide what free product would be best to offer with my ezine, I initially chose a report on getting more referrals from customers.
How to get referrals is a hugely popular topic among small business owners for very good reasons. But there were a couple drawbacks to this product:
(1.) You need a few satisfied customers who will refer you to others. This can be difficult for many new businesses.
(2.) Referrals are largely an in-person phenomenon. Referral programs work best when you offer local, in-person services. This isn't to say that an online business can't leverage referrals but it takes a lot longer because you don't have the non-verbal cues that naturally come from live contact.
Instead I decided to offer a how-to workbook showing business owners how to create an "audio-logo"--a simple, conversational introduction they could use in situations in which they might be meeting prospective customers.
Most business owners I know struggle with introducing themselves in a way that tells the other person "this is who I help" without sounding like they're reading their "elevator" script.
Voilla, this is how my free workbook came about.
Key #3. Is a first Step (Not the Entire Solution)
It's important to offer a solution that is appropriate to the level of trust and commitment your intended user has with your business. It's meant to be an appetizer; not a meal
One of my clients offers money management services for people working in the arts many of whom find the topic of money boring, painful, and distasteful.
Rather than immediately ask them to get into the numbers, she created a fun, easy to do Money Beliefs Assessment. The assessment is light-hearted and empathetic AND anyone who takes the assessment will learn something important about how their money beliefs may be getting in the way of their success.
Key #4. Easy to Use So People Get Results
The reason you want to offer a first step to solving a common problem is you want to give your client an easy win.
Remember, the purpose of your product is to provide relief. If it doesn't help the person get some relief you hurt your credibility.
A product that gets used and produces results is more valuable than any claim you could make in your advertising.
When they get results what happens? They come back for more. They begin to trust you to help with their more complex problems. They feel safe to invest more time, effort, and money to work with you.
=============================================
Bottom Line
=============================================
If you are trying to build your email list, offering a free product with the subscription will help you attract subscribers faster than if you were offering the subscription alone.
The best product to give away with your subscription is one that:
is easy to get online
solves a problem that is common to most of your clients
addresses the first step to solving that problem
and is likely to produce a positive result
Judy Murdoch helps small business owners create low-cost, effective marketing campaigns using word-of-mouth referrals, guerrilla marketing activities, and selected strategic alliances. To download a free copy of the workbook, "Where Does it Hurt? Marketing Solutions to the problems that Drive Your Customers Crazy!" go to http://www.judymurdoch.com/workbook.htm
You can contact Judy at 303-475-2015 or judy@judymurdoch.com
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Top-Level Category: Business Online Articles
10 Most Recent Articles Written by Judy Murdoch
Blog Posts Versus Email - Which is Better for Marketing?
Written by: Judy Murdoch |
Distributed: 2010-11-04 |
Word Count: 932 |
Page Views: 4025
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 0.60
Up until fairly recently, when you wanted to keep in touch
with customers and prospects, you used email to send
periodic messages to people who opted-in to receive your
mailings. People are suggesting that with the rise of
blogging, that the death knell of email is upon us. This
article will consider the demise of opt-in email as the best
way to communicate with your customers.
Is This Such A Thing As An Info Product in a Day?
Written by: Judy Murdoch |
Distributed: 2010-11-02 |
Word Count: 1028 |
Page Views: 4391
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 0.40
There are lots of books and programs promising you that you
can "create a product in a day." You can create a product
that you can sell to customers in the time it takes to, say,
get your car washed, go to the post office, get through your
email, and fix dinner. How totally cool would that be?
Why Ker-chunk Needs to Proceed Ker-ching
Written by: Judy Murdoch |
Distributed: 2010-08-03 |
Word Count: 1010 |
Page Views: 3585
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 0.40
This morning I was working with a client who was feeling
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wanted to know.
Guerrilla Marketing: About Love Not War
Written by: Judy Murdoch |
Distributed: 2010-07-29 |
Word Count: 1061 |
Page Views: 4475
| Votes: 7 |
Rating: 1.14
"Guerrilla Marketing" is a term coined by Jay Conrad
Levinson in his 1984 book: Guerrilla Marketing: Secrets for
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spin on "Guerrilla Warfare," war tactics used by small,
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Dealing with Uncertainty in Marketing
Written by: Judy Murdoch |
Distributed: 2010-07-27 |
Word Count: 929 |
Page Views: 3793
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 0.20
So often a business owner will say to me that they "hate"
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Written by: Judy Murdoch |
Distributed: 2010-04-22 |
Word Count: 1224 |
Page Views: 3756
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 0.60
Many small business owners I talk to always seem to be
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I mean who the heck laid down these requirements that a
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Written by: Judy Murdoch |
Distributed: 2010-04-20 |
Word Count: 908 |
Page Views: 3965
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 0.20
The most potent marketing strategy for any small business
owner is not a great website, or lots of Facebook friends,
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will get you faster and farther than anything else put
together is developing strategic alliances with other
businesses so you can promote each others products and
services.
How to Persuade Without Really Trying
Written by: Judy Murdoch |
Distributed: 2010-01-19 |
Word Count: 1170 |
Page Views: 3569
| Votes: 3 |
Rating: 0.67
Recently, the owner of a consulting practice contacted me.
In the email, she said that she needed an easier, more
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tried a lot of different things but nothing worked. So we
set up a meeting so I could learn more about her situation
and whether I could help. In this article, I will share with
you what "I" learned...
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Written by: Judy Murdoch |
Distributed: 2010-01-14 |
Word Count: 1388 |
Page Views: 2710
| Votes: 4 |
Rating: 1.50
I typically write a lot more about the "human side of
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discussions. And no matter how clever your copy and fail
safe your system, neglect trust building and you will have
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side of marketing. In this article I talk about why numbers
are important and how to make them work in your marketing.
Why Marketing for Services Stinks (and How to Make Sure Yours Doesn't)
Written by: Judy Murdoch |
Distributed: 2010-01-12 |
Word Count: 1386 |
Page Views: 2922
| Votes: 3 |
Rating: 0.33
One of the greatest challenges of doing business in a
"knowledge economy" is selling what is intangible. If you
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you...
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Written by: Bill Platt |
Distributed: 2013-08-27 |
Word Count: 1669 |
Page Views: 6408
| Votes: 11 |
Rating: 2.27
In article marketing, there are many factors that will
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Written by: Bill Platt |
Distributed: 2013-08-24 |
Word Count: 1149 |
Page Views: 7155
| Votes: 8 |
Rating: 1.38
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Distributed: 2013-08-21 |
Word Count: 439 |
Page Views: 8378
| Votes: 11 |
Rating: 3.00
I was in the Warrior Forum, and someone asked what kinds of
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Written by: Bill Platt |
Distributed: 2013-08-01 |
Word Count: 1399 |
Page Views: 5074
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 1.00
Visit several marketing blogs or marketing forums, and you
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Top 10 Reasons Why Online Marketers Fail With Article Marketing
Written by: Bill Platt |
Distributed: 2013-07-31 |
Word Count: 1025 |
Page Views: 6181
| Votes: 8 |
Rating: 2.00
If you've been marketing products online for any length of
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Article Marketing Tip: Stop Trying To Sell From Within Your Articles
Written by: Bill Platt |
Distributed: 2013-07-30 |
Word Count: 1229 |
Page Views: 4390
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 0.60
The basic premise of article marketing is to present people
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The Six Degrees of Internet Marketing
Written by: Bill Platt |
Distributed: 2013-07-30 |
Word Count: 991 |
Page Views: 6832
| Votes: 9 |
Rating: 2.11
The theory behind the Six Degrees of Separation is that all
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How To Win More Eyeballs for Your Offers and Websites
Written by: Bruce Lansing |
Distributed: 2013-07-29 |
Word Count: 1373 |
Page Views: 4449
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 0.20
Most people using search engines on the Internet are looking
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Written by: Bill Platt |
Distributed: 2013-07-29 |
Word Count: 1191 |
Page Views: 4444
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 0.40
Freelance writers fill a very important role in today's
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Distributed: 2013-07-25 |
Word Count: 677 |
Page Views: 4172
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 1.40
Many people suggest that you should write articles on the
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Word Count: 708 |
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Word Count: 816 |
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| Votes: 28 |
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Amid recent news reports that there continues to be an ongoing
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raw data. However, I am immediately reminded of a quote offered
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Word Count: 445 |
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| Votes: 21 |
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With the rapid expansion of the digital economy, the web site is
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Find out what a web site can do for you.
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Word Count: 699 |
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Distributed: 2008-04-15 |
Word Count: 981 |
Page Views: 5131
| Votes: 15 |
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Word Count: 354 |
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Written by: Jim Corkern |
Distributed: 2006-10-25 |
Word Count: 646 |
Page Views: 2977
| Votes: 16 |
Rating: 3.38
I know you hear all of the squabble about links being the number
1 factor in getting your website top search engine positions. I
have had many clients come to me and say, I have hundreds more
links than the top 10 sites for the keywords I am targeting, and
all of my links are from related sites, Why is my site not in the
top 10?
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