Simple Process To Planning and Brainstorming Your Opt-In Freebie

After a few years in the life coaching business and honing in on your niche, you've realized that your old opt-in isn't working. While it still gets a lot of downloads, it's no longer attracting the right people.

The dwindling number of subscribers converting to paid offers screams this to you. It's disappointing, right? Despite all the effort you put into your business, that essential tool for growing your email list—the lead magnet—has been quietly falling short, leading to lower-than-desired conversion rates.

We've all been there, putting off the creation of a new, more aligned opt-in because, honestly, the whole process feels daunting.

Where do you start? The first place I would begin is planning and brainstorming your opt-in. However, I'll give you the whole process.

How is that?

When the Problem You Solve Changes

As business owners grow, it is natural to focus on one specific problem; when that happens, it requires updating several marketing pieces. If your current opt-in is not producing the conversion rates you've had in the past, it's a clear sign that something needs to change. Likely, your free offer to grow your email list is no longer in alignment with your paid offer. This is a common sign of the bigger problem: mismatched opt-in content.

Focusing on the Solution

To fix the bigger problem, planning and brainstorming your opt-in is crucial. The longer you put it off, the bigger the effect it will have on your business. That's a stressful problem to have. Despite being overwhelming, it is necessary to come up with a strategy that engages and converts your audience. I'm guessing you already have a good understanding of the problem your audience is trying to solve. Now, it is time to plan an opt-in that leaves your paid offer irresistible.

Step One: Begin With The End In Mind

What most people do not realize is that the simplest way to plan is to start with the end in mind. What paid offer will your updated opt-in and email series lead them to? Your opt-in should solve one quick-fix problem. Then, your email sequence takes them down the path of getting to know you. Understanding what it is like to work with you.

As a result, we begin at the end, which is your paid offer. What free offer can you create that is easy to do and gives them a quick fix to the problem they are actively trying to solve?

Remember, it only needs to be one piece. Actually, it is better this way. Each email in your sequence should bring them one step closer to saying ‘yes' to your offer.

Step Three: Decide On Your Email Opt-In and Create the Outlines

Map out an email journey that leads your subscribers to your paid offer. You're not for everyone, and it is the job of the email series to help them decide if you're the right one.

I understand this is easy to say, but it takes longer to do. You have a list of all your ideas. Which one is the right one? What is most in line with your paid offer? Does one feel easier to create?

Be mindful of the copy you use in your emails. You want it to generate a true connection with your ideal client. It is not all about selling; it is about connecting with the right person. I always think the right people will find you. Personally, the people I gravitate to work with get me. They are the ones who speak my language. You see, this is why marketers talk about interviewing ideal clients when just getting started.

Step three in planning and brainstorming your opt-in is about outlining and gathering. It is the time when you make all the hard decisions. Again, you want all the content to focus on delivering quality and easy action steps. Think about what one thing they can do to get a quick win.

Here is a quick checklist for copy and images:

• Sales Page
  – Take a look at the current sales page for your paid offer.
  – Does this need any updating?
  – Or is everything still good. 

• Email Automation Sequence
  – How many emails
  – Don't forget about adding in testimonial
  – Final email is the ask or your sales pitch

• Landing Page

• Sign Up Thank You Page
  – After signing up for your lists
  – After signing up for your services

• Freebie

Step Four: Creating the Content

Now, it's all about creating the content. You've made all the decisions have an outline, and now is the time to develop your new freebie.

If you've decided to create a workbook, it doesn't need to be very long. If you have downloaded my quarterly planning guide, you know I did not follow this rule because it is around 50 pages. Here is the link if you’re curious: https://misstask.com/free-planning-workbook 

If you're creating a workbook, up to five pages will do.

During the create phrase, you will create it all. You will write your copy, find your images, and follow your outlines to create it all!

Step Five: Setting Up the Automation

For some who are not as techie, this may be the hardest part of the whole process. Before you set up the automation, have all the leg work done ahead of time. You do not want to write your emails while you are setting up the automation. That will be too much task switching, without a doubt, make you exhausted and overwhelmed.

When you task switching, you’ll be doing tasks that are not anything alike. The switching is what makes you feel exhausted and overwhelmed.  

You have your whole plan. It's already laid out for you. Now, you just need to plug that into the automation and you configure your email marketing platform for that automatic delivery. To initiate that follow-up sequence that happens automatically to nurture your  subscribers towards your desired action, which is to sign up for your paid service.

Step Six: Launching and Promoting Your Freebie

Now, step six is actually launching and promoting your new freebie to attract the right people. 

You announce your new freebie and begin talking about it everywhere. You start putting it out so that it can be discovered. You add it to your website. You're doing all the things to leverage your existing list. 

You can handle it as if it were a re-engagement campaign. Your new target list is whoever clicks on the link to download the new freebie, and everyone else gets pruned away.

You're putting the problem of your new opt-in freebie out there to find your people. 

Put it out on your social media channels and create reels. What are all the different things that you can do to promote your new freebie and attract signups? My guess is you have a pretty good handle on promoting your services.

Step Seven: Tracking and Analyzing Metrics

Don't skip step seven. This is when you know what you need to tweak and change so you can identify those key metrics and track the performance of your new opt-in over time. 

When you review metrics, you're able to refine your strategy based on that data and feedback, which gives you a really good look into how it's performing. 

I'm guessing you've already been tracking your metrics because you're looking to change your opt-in because it's not converting. Right? So you have to have some idea of your numbers, at least I'm assuming you do.

Time To Wrap This Up

Those are the seven different steps for planning and brainstorming your new opt-in. I hope that this has given you a really good step-by-step approach. I get that it doesn't include every single step-that would be way to much information for one post—it's more like big buckets of steps. But these are the buckets of steps that make up the are part of an opt-in building process inside a content system. My goal was to help you with the steps needed to create an opt-in that can help boost your conversion rates. 

Focusing on what your audience needs, leveraging those effective strategies, and guiding your subscribers towards your ultimate goal with a carefully planned email series, you're setting the stage for the freebie that's going to connect deeply with your ideal audience.

Thank you so much for your time. I appreciate you. And I hope you have a wonderful week.