Your freebie: What format do you use & why?
This topic contains 23 replies, has 8 voices, and was last updated by 
Bruce Hoag 6 years, 4 months ago.
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If you’re trying to build a list, then it’s likely that you’re offering a freebie in exchange for the subscriber’s email address.
So let’s examine the obvious.
The obvious is the default format for your freebie.
Why do you use it?
Have you ever tried anything else? Why or why not?
(I’m going to ask Sean to wait to reply on this until this discussion has matured. That’s because I already know what he’ll say.) 😉
Bruce Hoag PhD
The Internet Marketing Psychologist
The Mindful Writer - for deep and persuasive copy2 users thanked author for this post.
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Sorry Bruce,
I am struggling with what you mean by default format. Do you mean something like a PDF, as opposed to an eBook, report, checklist or cheat sheet etc etc. (i.e. the format of the freebie)?
Or is your question deeper and more philosophical than that… referring, perhaps, to the whole idea of why we offer any type or format of freebie as a hook and/or lead magnet at all?
If it is the former, then as I don’t yet have a product to offer, I think I might go down the route of the video presentation format with a transcription, for those less visual in nature.
If it is a more philosophical question you are asking, then I would have to get my thinking cap on before I gave you my opinion:)
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Apologies for the confusion, Les. It’s embarrassing when a writer can’t make himself/herself understood. LOL
What I call the “default” format is the one that you naturally do; the one that you gravitate to.
Even though you don’t yet have a free product, you can still think about this. In fact it will benefit you to do so.
You’ve said that you’re thinking about doing a video presentation.
Why?
Why video and not a PDF, or an audio recording?
What makes you choose one format over another?
Bruce Hoag PhD
The Internet Marketing Psychologist
The Mindful Writer - for deep and persuasive copy1 user thanked author for this post.
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It’s okay Bruce,
The confusion probably lies as much with me as it does with you, because I tend to seek out the difficult question within a simple one.
This “failing” of mine may be good for philosophical thinking and the deepest levels of research, but is damn right awkward when I overlook the obvious and start delving into questions and/or problems that are not the issue:)
As for your questions: Whether or not we like it the online world is becoming more and more visually orientated. But I believe that videos can connect on a deeper level with the audience. They can see your face, or at least hear your voice. You become more real to them. They can see you are just a normal, imperfect, human being like themselves, and therefore they begin to trust you and relate better to your message.
I believe a PDF can’t gain those same levels of trust as quickly as video. But.. as I realize people have different learning styles, I think adding a transcription of a talking head video is handy for gathering more subscribers, who prefer written material. This transcription can easily be converted into a handier PDF format.
All of that being said. I am still rather nervous about the talking head form of video, and may use video with on screen text initially. I can then narrate, and explain in greater depth, over sliding text. As my confidence increases I intend to move onto a mixture of both of those forms of video. I choose to use my own voice as I have been told I have a strong and interesting vocal style. I find it very surreal when listening to my own recorded voice, but if others seem to embrace it then who am I to argue:)
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If you tend to see connections – questions – that others don’t, then it could be that, like me, you prefer to receive information in what we call a “random” manner.
It would require a separate post to explain that, and I’m not sure that it would necessarily benefit people in the forum; but what you’ve described suggests that that may be the reason.
Assuming that it is, I can tell you from personal experience that learning the IM road will be harder than for those who naturally think in a linear fashion.
(You can PM me on this if you like in the Members section.)
The thing that you’ll have to really discipline yourself to do is to put blinkers on, and focus only on what Sean tells you to do.
You’ll have to force yourself to suspend all the other questions floating around in your mind. If you don’t, then like me, it will take you a lot longer to get everything up and running.
If what I’ve described doesn’t sound like you, then you can ignore most of what I’ve said. 😉
Bruce Hoag PhD
The Internet Marketing Psychologist
The Mindful Writer - for deep and persuasive copy1 user thanked author for this post.
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Hi Bruce,
You are pretty accurate in your second guessing, of my approach, to learning how to succeed in the online business world. That is me alright. Not enough focus and too easily blown of course.
I have plenty of theory of what to do, to maintain my focus for the long haul, of course, but nevertheless, I still struggle a lot with it.
Yes I know I should follow Sean’s lead, but knowing and doing are two very different things in my madcap brain.
I may take you up on your offer and PM you to ask you what has helped you to focus. You never know, it may work for me too.
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Hi Bruce
I think the best freebie is the one that resonates with your audience and gives them answers they are looking for. Yes it is wishy washy, but I feel that you need to create what is needed.For example a checklist or report may give enough material or maybe you need to go deeper with an ebook. Sometime a audio or video will give the information better that the written word and it can also be a webinar.
How I decided the best freebie!
This is the process I go through
1. I work out what problem I am going to solve and write it as a question
2. I then do an online of answer
3. Then looking at the answer I decide what is the best way to answer it for my audience
4. I then create it!
that’s it 🙂All things Digital
For Training https://www.onlinenowtraining.com/
For Services https://digitalmia.com/1 user thanked author for this post.
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That’s a good start, Tina.
Now think about it from your perspective.
If the customer didn’t care, what would you do?
Bruce Hoag PhD
The Internet Marketing Psychologist
The Mindful Writer - for deep and persuasive copy -
I get that you do the quickest, but I would still do best one to give them the best value 🙂
All things Digital
For Training https://www.onlinenowtraining.com/
For Services https://digitalmia.com/ -
Remember that “best” is relative. What’s best for one won’t be the best for another.
If you have perfectionist tendencies, the striving for best will become an obstacle; not a solution.
Sean taught me that the “best” medium to use is the one that you can do the fastest and easiest. That’s because whatever you start doing you’ll have to keep on doing; and the reason for that is because each medium will attract its own audience. If you start out with video, for example, then you’ll attract people who want video. If you then switch to audio because video turns out to be too much of hassle, the people who expected video from you will lose interest.
So it’s really important that you choose a medium that’s easy for you, because you’re going to have to stick with it in the long term.
Bruce Hoag PhD
The Internet Marketing Psychologist
The Mindful Writer - for deep and persuasive copy2 users thanked author for this post.
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Bruce, how true that is. Maybe the trick is to find one thing that is easy to repurpose in many different formats without a lot of extra work.
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As you say, Jan, choose what is easy to create and repurpose.
Bruce, how true that is. Maybe the trick is to find one thing that is easy to repurpose in many different formats without a lot of extra work.
Not every repurposing method will be appropriate for everyone, and not all content will lend itself to all the repurposing that you do.
For example, some blog posts might do well as videos, while others will work better as infographics.
Just bear in mind that each platform has its own audience, and that each audience has different expectations for how they want to see the information that you present.
Bruce Hoag PhD
The Internet Marketing Psychologist
The Mindful Writer - for deep and persuasive copy
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Hi Bruce,
first of all, I actually posted an Article on this site about “Lead Magnets” detailing different types to use, but it seems to have evaporated, so I don’t really know what happened with the Articles in general, nor mine in particular.
Anyway…
While i prefer video over text (ebook), it must be short (5 to 10 minutes) or nobody’s going to consume the info.
Better yet, a checklist or list of resources or tools is really best IMHO.People like the brevity, the direct solve ONE problem approach and they’re easier (faster) for you to produce.
PDF is the way to go, but you can even make it a live page (private) on your blog or website and simply direct people to it (password protect if you wanna get crazy with it).
To make an impressive checklist or resource list, etc., go to free Canva and create it there. Looks cool & professional.
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Donna, the articles section is now at the bottom right of the Pal Core Access page, though it is still being developed.
But you have, what I believe (and what Sean has taught) is the right answer.
The format should be the one that’s the fastest/easiest for you to produce.
That means that any format is up for grabs.
If you type fast and can do stream-of-consciousness thinking, or can write quickly from a brief outline, then that’s the way to go.
If you’re like Sean and create an outline in a few minutes and then talk for an hour, then audio is perfect.
I’m sure that there’s a fast way to do video, though I could do with some enlightenment in that area.
Thanks again for your comments.
Bruce Hoag PhD
The Internet Marketing Psychologist
The Mindful Writer - for deep and persuasive copy -
Hi Donna,
I am so glad you brought up resources and tools that can easily be referred to and that benefit our subscribers. These are often overlooked and are a great service we can provide to our customers. It saves them a lot of time searching aimlessly around the web. Providing a centralized resources for our customers is another great way of earning their gratitude, respect and trust.
Recommending great tools, both paid for and FREE is equally as helpful and can provide a boost to the progress made by our clients/subscribers.
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Always PDF. I get frustrated consuming video or webinars because I find them too slow.
But it is great to offer a variety of things to attract those who have different learning styles.
I respect that some people prefer video, and that audio is great because you can consume it while washing dishes, etc.
Norma Esler
Sign up for a daily dose of Inspiration at normaesler.com.
Inspiration for Your Best Year Ever!3 users thanked author for this post.
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I’m with you, Norma.
It seems like many who make videos and audios struggle to get to the point.
A PDF lets you read through it quickly.
That said, Sean has pointed out that people tend to place a higher value on audio and video, which is why it’s good for products.
Bruce Hoag PhD
The Internet Marketing Psychologist
The Mindful Writer - for deep and persuasive copy2 users thanked author for this post.
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Norma, I agree. Right now I am beta testing a 5-day challenge here on the forum, because I think it will get people to results, and they will be more likely to take the next step. We’ll see what the testers think. The information is already in a mind map blueprint, so I could also offer that as a lead magnet too, or even create a checklist to go with it.
I have a pdf lead magnet, fast and easy, for people who prefer that format.
To capture as many people as possible, I think you have to look at multiple formats.
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I gotta say I agree with Norma, video tends to move too slowly (gr??) for me, and I get bored easily.
Sean
Do you want to learn how to start a coaching program that stabilizes your income and changes lives? If so, visit http://www.AnyoneCanCoach.com
Sean
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My default format through the early years was two-fold.
1. On my home page I had a link that said something like “First phone call FREE.” When they clicked, they were sent to a page that had my phone number and just a little bit more encouragement to call. When they called, I got their name, phone number, email address. I sometimes also got things like height and weight, age, and what they had already tried in their quest for health. I always got health history (to a degree) and pain points, because that’s why they dared call in the first place.
In the earliest years, I wasn’t smart enough to get their email address and put them into my official list. I missed so many! However, many of those FREE callers became clients. That first call became $80 up front for analyzing the questionnaire that I was about to send them, and at least a few hundred dollars over the next few months for pay-as-you-go hormone testing, consultations, and supplements.
I tried to keep the phone call short, but often it would last a looonnggg time. When the woman on the other end tells me that she’s been sick for years, I’m the first doctor that ever really listened to her, and she’s crying.
2. I also had an in-text link that just said the word “newsletter” in a sentence. When they clicked on that, up popped their default mail client in compose a new message mode. The pre-filled subject line simply said “Please Sign Me Up.” When they hit send, I would get an email and manually add them to my list. I would write back a personal note, usually within 24 hours. People thought that was so refreshing compared to a canned autoresponse.
A couple of iterations later, I used no freebie at all. In the upper area of the right sidebar, it just said “SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER.” I copied Dr. Mercola’s wording. No content at all on the site. But I got a few subscribers even so. Perhaps because I had engaged on forums in the past. I’ll never know.
The next iteration, I used the login/register code for bbPress and BuddyPress on most pages and posts. That worked fairly well but also was an open invitation to spambots.
This time around, I’ll stick with the FREE short phone call. I’ll give away (for $1) a full course on “Principles of Weight Loss.” It’s a recording of an interview, nine audio files. It’s somewhat hormone-centric, and ends by sending them to my site and directing them to make that FREE phone call. Likewise, the bbPress and BuddyPress code will be visible throughout the site.
Mark
All About Health And Healing
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Sounds like you’ve tried a bit of everything, Mark.
What’s the URL of your site?
You also need to go to your profile page in Members and create a signature that includes it so that people who read your posts can click to it.
Bruce Hoag PhD
The Internet Marketing Psychologist
The Mindful Writer - for deep and persuasive copy1 user thanked author for this post.
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I tore it all down after the hacking hurt one of my friends (and possibly more). And I’m having trouble getting it all going on a new host. (Me, the techie.)
I’ll put it in my signature when I want people to see it. 🙂
Mark
All About Health And Healing
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Look forward to seeing it when it’s all ready, Mark.
Thing is that unless you’re selling your technical skill, you find that which is the easiest and the quickest and get on with it.
I see this a lot, and in this forum, too. The techies love to tweak everything, not realizing that they’re losing money because they’re not spending their time on getting in front of the people they can help the most.
Bruce Hoag PhD
The Internet Marketing Psychologist
The Mindful Writer - for deep and persuasive copy1 user thanked author for this post.
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I’m posting my quick dissent from all the video naysayers.
They CAN be too slow, monotonous, boring.
But if done right, they can be excellent.
PLUS, “done right” includes doing a series of short 3-4 minute topical clips vs. one big long run-on event.
That way, people can go straight to the topic they want (think keywords).
Also, video gives you an easy way to jump around from spot to spot.
So take that, all you text and audio fans… haha
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