Ten freebie ideas and how they benefit both you and your audience

Tips

Feb 28

This has become one of my favourite areas to explore for so many reasons, but mainly because freebies are so mutually beneficial to you and your audience. If you don’t know what a freebie is, I’m going to explain the concept first, then break down how it can be helpful for you and your audience, and then provide 10 ideas that you could use for your business.

What’s a freebie?

Also known as a lead magnet or opt-in gift, a freebie is a free resource that a business offers to potential customers in exchange for signing up for their email newsletter (or another form of contact). Technically speaking, the goal of a freebie is to attract potential customers to fill out the sign-up form, build a relationship with them through valuable or entertaining email newsletters, and ultimately lead to a sale or conversion of your product or service down the road.

How does it benefit you and your audience?

If you’re anything like me, you don’t like to think of building your email list as just a means to sell something. The way I approach freebies is by thinking about the people who would be interested in my services and offering them a valuable piece of free information that will help them in the short term. Then I can start building the relationship to see if they would be the right fit to invest in my services in the longer term. You lead with value and then in return, you can see who is finding & interested in your services and which freebies are in high demand (hello, target market research!).

How do you come up with your freebie content?

It can be hard to think of a unique freebie idea when it feels like there is already so much free information out there. What has or hasn’t been done? What information is actually useful? What does your audience already know? The truth is - pretty much everything has already been done… but it hasn’t been done from your perspective. So provide information that would better prepare your leads to work together, think about all of the details you provide in your onboarding process. Can you give some of these out earlier through a freebie? And don’t forget to infuse your brand personality so that they get a taste of working with you.

Try switching seats with your potential client, and think about a time when you were looking for a service provider. This happened to me when I was planning my wedding, I had already booked my hair and makeup artist but a few weeks before the wedding she posted a bunch of tips on Instagram on how to make your wedding morning go smoothly. I NEEDED these tips and immediately wrote them all down. I had never been in a wedding party before and had no idea what to expect, and while she could have assumed that this is all just basic information, she chose to share it. And if she had a freebie on her website that had those tips, I 100% would have provided my email to get them. So try to put yourself in your clients’ shoes and think about what would help them in their research / planning phase, and even how you can prepare them to work with you.

Here are 10 freebie ideas that will help you decide on the best format for your business:

Free Guide
Create a valuable PDF guide that contains information based on your expertise. This could be a how-to guide or an explanation of a particular topic that your potential clients would find helpful.
Free Webinar
Offer a free live or pre-recorded webinar that provides valuable insights to your potential clients. Webinars are a great way to showcase your expertise and build trust with your audience.
Free Mini-Course
Create a free mini-course that teaches a specific skill or provides valuable information related to your business. This is a great way to help potential clients get to know you and picture working with you, and instills confidence that you have immense value.
Free Checklist
Create a free checklist that provides valuable information related to your potential clients struggles or problems that you solve.
Free Templates
Offer free templates that are useful for your potential clients, like a budget, a social media post, or a project plan.
Free Trial
Offer a free trial of your product or service to showcase the value you offer and build trust with your leads.
Free Consultation
Offer a free consultation to potential clients. This is a great way to provide personalized advice and to get to know your warm leads, before they have to invest anything.
Free Quiz
Create a free quiz around a topic that relates to your business. This method is a fun and interactive way to engage with your potential customers.
Discount Code
This isn’t so much of a free resource, but a discount code is a quick and valuable offering that can help get potential clients off the fence and ready to work with you.
Access to your Pricing Guide
This is my most popular opt-in source. Having this email signup flow allows you to see who is interested in your services and gives you the chance to elevate the user experience and make you stand out to your potential clients before even having a call.