Create A Free Irresistible Offer in Just One Hour

Online marketers know that it’s critical to build an email list in order to build a business.
 
There are many strategies for building an email list.
 
But they all revolve around one key piece in the puzzle.
 
That’s your free irresistible offer.
 
Do you want people to join your email list?
 
Sure.
 
So you create a nice squeeze page for them to put in their email address right?
 
But nobody is going to sign up unless there’s something in it for them.
 
They want to get something in return for their email address.
 
This is just the way online marketing works these days.
 
As many tips and tricks as you hear about building your email list… it always gets down to people wanting to get something for free.
 
I know many people don’t like giving “free” because they think they get a useless list of “tire kickers” that way.
 
It’s a valid point, but for now, I want you to see some things you can do quickly to start building a list.
 
You can always put your subscribers to the test by offering low-cost trip wire products to create an “A-list” of buyers only.
 
But for now, let’s stay focused on how to build a list with a free, lead magnet offer.
 
Now, I have students and clients who have tried to create email lists by throwing something out for free that was basically junk.
 
They figured, well, it’s free… so why do I have to make it good?
 
Here’s the reason.
 
You want to have a high quality free offer because if people see you giving them junk after they sign up for your email list,
you’re not going to open your emails again, and they’ll probably never follow or trust you again.
 
Being trusted is the most important asset that you have online.
 
So don’t blow it with your free offer.
 
It puts your whole brand on Cheap Street.
 
It’s just not worth it.
 
“But isn’t it hard to create a high-quality free offer?”
 
Well, okay… here’s the problem I see over and over again.
 
Students will usually turn immediately to doing an ebook.
 
But, my first question to them is…
 
“How easy is it for you to write an e-book?”
 
I’ve actually written several articles about how you can put together ebooks rather quickly and effectively.
 
However, that doesn’t work for everyone.
 
I understand that.
 
So, right now I want to focus on building an irresistible lead magnet offer other than an ebook.
 
Here’s the solution to this problem.
 
You can give people something that they’ll truly value, and, that you can create in just an hour or two.
 
Now that probably sounds pretty funny because so many people spend months trying to create a lead magnet.
 
And believe me, many of them get so overwhelmed with the process that they just never create one at all.
 
Or, they’ll just grab some cheap PLR product, put their name on it, and use that as their lead magnet.
 
But like I said before, that’s not going to do anything to build the trust asset that your entire business is based on.
 
So let me cut to the chase and give you a few quick ideas for totally irresistible offers that are also high quality (ie., helpful), and will be well received by your audience.
 
Cheat Sheets
Checklists
Templates
Tools & Resources
Swipe Files
Recipes
Planners
1-Page Reports
 
This is not an exhaustive list.
 
But it’s a pretty good start, isn’t it?
 
Now, I’m not going to go into each of these things and I think you probably pretty much know what each of them are.
 
But here’s the important thing about these content pieces.
 
Each of them are shortcuts rather than detailed trainings or what I call “heavy info” pieces.
 
They might look something like this…
 
Lose Weight Checklist (Week by Week)
99 Hot Blogging Niches
7 Copy-and-Paste Squeeze Page Templates
My “Top 3” Video Publishing Tools
Blog Promotion Cheat Sheet
The “First Things First” Productivity Plan
My Private Rolodex That I Use to Run my Top Pro Blog
 
These are all very quick things that you can put together to help everyone in your target audience solve a common problem in their life or business.
 
And believe me when I tell you that they will actually prefer to get things like cheat sheets and checklists because they perceive them to be fast solutions to their problems.
 
They don’t have to labor under the weight of a 68 page ebook or a 5 video, 2-hour training module.
 
Once they grab that little cheat sheet or checklist they’re ready to go.
 
And that’s what an irresistible lead offer should really look like.
 
It should be something easy and yet something that people really want.
 
The reason this is so effective is that humans don’t really want to work.
 
No surprise there, ritht?
 
People don’t want the “how to” and “let me follow your system” kind of thing.
 
They’d much rather just have a one-page cheat sheet that they believe can put them on the right course.
 
The simpler you make these items the more people will like them.
 
One of the big mistakes I’ve had with my clients is that they think that the more detailed and well thought-out and exhaustive information they can give people is what will work.
 
Just the opposite.
 
The more brain-dead simple you can make it, the more subscribers you will get.
 
Just give easy, simple solutions to their problems.
 
They don’t want detail.
 
Not yet, anyway.
 
They’re just trying to figure out how to get on the right path, and testing you out to see what you’ve got to offer them in terms of quality and sincerity.
 
If you want to give them more detailed help or info, then turn your freebie into a full product or course.
 
For instance, if I wanted to use this article for a  lead magnet then I would then be able to create an upsell pretty easily.
 
It would look something like this.
 
“Get my free 1 page report on how to create a simple irresistible offer in one hour.”
 
I would be able to get some email subscribers with that offer.
 
Then, when they get on my email list I can say sell them a $7 course that will show them in more detail how to actually create each of the lead magnets.
 
For $97, I can show them in even greater detail with videos and throw in a live Q&A.
 
For $197 I can give them templates to create each of these things without having to do it from scratch… or create my own PLR for them to resell.
 
Or, if I want to get into the services end of the business, I can actually create the lead magnets for whatever price I want.
 
So that’s it.
 
You can create any of these free irresistible offers and start building your email list today.
 
The key takeaway here is… the simpler the better.
 
As they say on all the cop shows, and as I tell all my students… “we can do this the easy way, or we can do this the Hard Way.”
 
Which would you prefer?
 
-Donna Merrill
 
PS:
 
I wrote this quick report in about an hour.  
 
Don’t you think I could use if for my own free, irresistible offer that people would find valuable?
 
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5 users thanked author for this post.

Steve Allen, Norma Allen, Jennifer Eick-Jakiela, Malik Ahmad, Tina Fletcher

Topic

[Malik AhmadParticipant]

I am one of those people who was not a fan of the free give away. But if I am being honest, I am also one of those people who did not offer a good give away.

Here lately, I have been giving away a better give away and one other and I am seeing better results.

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[Donna MerrillParticipant]

I think, Malik, one of the problems with free giveaways is that people give away cheap, useless stuff. Maybe PLR ebooks or whatever. If you give away something valuable and truly helpful, it will build trust with your subscribers and they’re far more likely to start paying attention to your emails.

Just “tricking” people onto your email list with some substandard lead magnet won’t get you the real loyal following you seek.

But that doesn’t mean you need to create something elaborate. Like I point out in this article, some of the best lead magnets you can think of can be created in just an hour or 2. If they really do help people, then they will convert well and build far more than just a list of “freebie seekers.”

Malik Ahmad wrote:

I am one of those people who was not a fan of the free give away. But if I am being honest, I am also one of those people who did not offer a good give away.

Here lately, I have been giving away a better give away and one other and I am seeing better results.

[Jennifer Eick-JakielaParticipant]

Thanks Donna,
It’s taken me a while to learn this concept.

I was sweating away at creating an ebook to give away for free, til I realized it was high enough value to sell! It became my $7 “front-end” product. Yes, it’s short (40 pgs). But if I am learning anything, especially in my niche, getting the solution quick and easy is the key. Length of the ebook is not. in fact, short and to the point is probably better.

My current lead magnet is simple: “5 Things You Tell Yourself That Could Be Creating Your Chronic Insomnia.”
It says what they are, so the readers might recognize that they do say those things to themselves.
But to read more about WHY the statements are so harmful, or WHAT to do to change thinking that way, they have to subscribe.

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[Donna MerrillParticipant]

So just to take that one example of a paid ebook… the one you did on Insomnia… think of a quick lead magnet you could do.

Maybe a 5-point checklist (1 page, a few sentences) of the “5 things you tell yourself”

or

maybe a quick video of “1 thing you tell yourself” with a prompt to buy the ebook for the other 4

or

etc etc

These are things you can do in an hour, I’m sure.

Then, when somebody fails to convert on your sales page, redirect them to a pop-up or another page that says (Wait… don’t go away empty handed… get my 5 point checklist for free right now)… then at least you get a subscriber even if not a sale.

Congrats on your hard work at putting a product together.

I know it’s a job, but after you do your first, they get easier all the time 🙂

[Steve AllenParticipant]

Donna, You’re so right. 15 years ago a free ebook would fly but people today want it quick, simple, easy and cheap. Most people (in the IM niche at least) have tons of things on their hard drives that could easily be boiled down into a great cheatsheet or checklist. Then, as you find the one that really goes for it, turn it into a full course.
I agree completely. We make things WAAAAYYYY to hard and complicated MOST of the time.
Great reminder. Thanks.
Steve

If you're looking for a someone to bounce things off of in the IM world, I'm your guy and I really would love to help you out. Helping others is just who I am!

To Change Your Life Forever check out me out at http://IM-Specialist.com

[Bruce HoagParticipant]

I see the freebie as an introduction to what people can expect from me.

If they like it, then they’ll stay on the list. If they don’t, then they’ll leave; but they shouldn’t be surprised by the emails if they’ve read the free PDF. And I hope that it will make them hungry for more.

Bruce Hoag PhD
The Internet Marketing Psychologist
The Mindful Writer - for deep and persuasive copy

[Author]

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