How To Use A Free Giveaway To Launch Your Digital Agency Fast
You’ve probably heard it a thousand times: your email list is the most valuable asset in your online business.
Just check out some of these quotes:
“I have literally built a million dollar business on the strength of my email list. Ninety percent of my income comes from it. Even today, my email list is still my #1 business priority and asset.” – Michael Hyatt
“There is a massive benefit to email that not everyone realizes. Email is your own list and you control it. It is its own channel that you control without being at the mercy of other platforms.” – Gary Vaynerchuk
“The energy of your business is directly tied to the strength of your email list.” – Amy Porterfield
But you might be asking… are lead magnets important for digital agencies?
I talk to people all the time who say, “I understand why Gary Vee and Michael Hyatt need big email lists, but my business is different. My goal is to get to ten clients paying me $1,000 per month. Is it even worth it for me to create a lead magnet and build my list?”
The answer is a resounding yes.
And the best part is, I’m going to show you a strategy I’ve developed for creating high-value lead magnets lightning fast.
Now you can start growing your list without spending a lot of time doing it. Read on to learn how…
Why lead magnets are important for digital agencies
Email lists aren’t just for ecomm businesses or infoproduct entrepreneurs. Here are three reasons why they’re critical for your digital agency as well.
1. It opens the lines of communication
Getting a prospect’s attention is the most difficult part of the relationship. It’s also the most expensive.
Maybe you had to buy a booth at a trade show. Or you had to join the Chamber of Commerce. Or you had to buy donuts and do a Donut Drop.
Maybe it was just a cold email, a Facebook ad, or even a simple referral.
Whatever it was, it cost you time, money, and energy. And we don’t want that investment to go to waste.
Once we’ve done the hard work of meeting the prospect, introducing ourselves and our business, and starting the conversation, we want things to get easier.
That’s where the email list comes in. If we can get all our prospects onto an email list, the next time we want to reach out to them we don’t need to buy an ad or deliver donuts. We can just send an email.
As a digital agency owner, outreach and prospecting is one of the most valuable (and most resource-consuming) activities you do. Starting an email list allows you to make the most out of it.
2. It endears people to us
When you meet a prospect for the first time, there are countless reasons why they wouldn’t say yes to your offer right away.
Maybe they don’t have the budget right now.
Maybe they don’t realize yet that they have the problem you solve.
Maybe they just need some time to think about it.
If you don’t have an email list, you only have one chance to close the sale. “Do you want my service, yes or no?”
But if you can move them onto an email list, suddenly your opportunities to close the deal multiply.
You can send emails further explaining your service. You can share case studies of your clients who have achieved huge results. You can address objections. You can answer frequently asked questions.
Maybe you say something in your fifth email that really resonates with the prospect and the lightbulb goes off. They realize, “This service would be perfect for me!”
We do business with people we know, like, and trust. But for most digital agency owners, it’s hard to get someone to know, like, and trust you the very first time you meet!
Starting an email list gives you more time and opportunity to build that trust and likeability.
3. It lets you become a leader in your community
I mentioned above that starting an email list lets you keep conversations going.
But even more importantly, lead magnets allow you to frame the conversation.
Here’s what I mean…
Let’s take dentists for example. Every dentist has a reason they decided to become a dentist in the first place.
Maybe they had bad teeth as a child and they were picked on. They want to save other kids from that pain.
Maybe they got braces and it improved their confidence. Now they want to make other people more confident too.
Whatever it may be, there’s a deeper reason.
But like with any job, the daily routine can grind you down. It’s easy for the passion to get replaced by monotony. Especially when you have to make payroll next week and you’re trying to figure out how to get new clients in the door…
Well what if you made a lead magnet called, “3 Ways Dentists Change The World (And How To Get 5 More Clients This Month By Tapping Into Them).”
A dentist is going to see that headline and think, “You’re right! We do change the world!”
With one simple headline, you turned their profession into a higher calling. You created purpose around what they do. And anyone who opts in to download your lead magnet has suddenly become a community of people on a mission.
Even more importantly, you’ve now positioned yourself as a leader of that community.
This is the power of a great lead magnet.
The easiest way to make a valuable lead magnet incredibly fast
For most people, the idea of building an email list makes their blood pressure skyrocket as they think of everything they need to do: build landing pages, create lead magnets, drive traffic, run ads, configure your email software, write autoresponder series, and everything else.
It doesn’t have to be difficult or intimidating.
Here’s my 3 step process for creating amazing opt-ins quickly.
1. Add a premium version of whatever you already do.
A common problem I see is people look at other businesses in their space and assume they need to do the same things.
“I see Ramit Sethi gives away a 10-page ebook, so I should give away a 10-page ebook too.” But just because someone else is doing it, doesn’t mean it’s a good fit for your business.
My favorite way to create freebies is to simply create a premium version of what you’re already doing.
If you wrote an article about how to get started with keto, your lead magnet could be recipes or shopping lists.
If you filmed a video about how to close sales, your lead magnet could be sales scripts people can follow.
I like to imagine that my free content is like someone walked into my office and is having a conversation with me in my lobby. Or they called me on the phone and had a few questions.
My lead magnet then is like they scheduled an appointment and we went back into the exam room. What would we talk about? What value would I provide that would make their time investment worthwhile?
Rather than getting stuck thinking you need to create a mind-blowing lead magnet from scratch, just think about taking the value you’re already providing and dialing up the intensity.
Provide the premium version and suddenly coming up with great lead magnet ideas will be easy.
2. Make it easy on yourself
A lot of people fall into the trap of thinking that their lead magnet needs to be a big production. It needs to be a massive ebook or a professional video course.
As a result, they keep putting it off and it never gets done.
My advice is to make it easy on yourself: whatever content you’re already producing, make it the same format.
So if you write an article, make your lead magnet a downloadable .pdf. Or if it’s a video, film a premium video.
It’ll make it easy for you to do. Your camera is already set up. You’re already in the writing zone.
And more importantly- we all have different learning modalities. Some people are visual learners. Others are audio learners.
So if someone really resonates with one of your articles, there’s a good chance that means they learn well by reading. Making the lead magnet a written product will take advantage of this.
Here’s one of my favorite ways of doing this. I’ll set up my cameras and film a YouTube video. I have an outline I follow and I know exactly what I want to say.
As soon as I’m done filming, I keep the cameras rolling and I’ll say something like, “Hey guys, I just got done filming a video about XYZ. I didn’t have time to talk about another idea because it’s a little more advanced, but I want to teach you about it now.”
You’re creating more of the same kind of content, but you’re presenting it in a way that feels extra valuable.
You can even shoot this with your phone. Making it more impromptu will create the feeling that they’re getting to peek behind the curtains. They’ll feel like they’re getting exclusive access to you.
3. Focus on the Headline
Here’s one of the most important lessons for you to learn…
When it comes to writing- whether it be blog posts, ebooks, emails, or anything else- most people spend 95% of their time writing their content, and then in the remaining 5% they slap a quick headline on it and call it good.
After all, the content is the most important part, right? That’s where the actual teaching and value is.
But no one will ever get to your content if the headline hasn’t first enticed them to click and to keep reading.
When you’re writing as a digital agency owner, you have to think like a writer but also as a marketer. So it might seem odd, but you actually have to put the most energy into writing a killer headline.
Here are some quick ideas:
- Let people know who it’s for. “The Ultimate _____’s Guide…”
- Focus on the result the person is going to get by consuming the lead magnet
- Address objections. “Will this work for me even if _____?”
- Use curiosity. “3 Surprising Methods For _____ You Won’t Believe Really Work.”
Obviously writing headlines is more of an art than a science. It’s impossible to say, “Follow these 3 tips and I promise your headlines will convert 62% better.”
A great tool though is Headline Analyzer by CoSchedule. Just type in your headline and it will give you ideas about keywords, emotions, length, and more.
Spend more time crafting strong titles and you’ll be able to skyrocket the perceived value of your lead magnets.
Whatever you do, DON’T forget this step
Once you get their email address, keep the conversation going!
So many people get the address and then never send any followup. The result is a cold list full of names that don’t remember who you are.
Jot down a few ideas for the next 5-10 emails you’re going to send. You can even write a few in advance and schedule them to get dripped out after the person opts in.
This way you’ll start to build the relationship and people will begin to know, like, and trust you.
Another method I love is sharing successes. Often when I get a big result with one of my clients, I’ll email my list and say, “I just wanted to share this unique strategy that worked wonders for us, and here’s how you can use it too.”
There are people on my list that haven’t signed on as clients yet, maybe because none of my offers have resonated with them. But they read this email and think, “Wow, I bet that will work for my business too!”
They hit the reply button, and now months or even years after I made initial contact with them, we’re finally doing business together.
Letting lists go cold is one of the most common problems I see, but with just a little bit of planning and work upfront, your list can become an amazing asset.
Taking action
Hopefully you have a lot of ideas now about simple yet valuable lead magnets you can create quickly.
The next step is obviously getting it in front of prospects and letting them opt in!
I want to make this as easy as possible, so I’ve compiled some of my most successful landing pages. Use this as a swipe file. Use my headlines as inspiration, lay out your pages in the same way, and you’ll be creating effective pages in minutes.
Click here to download the swipe file.
Now I’d love to keep the conversation going and help each other. In the comments below, give us a quick description for your lead magnet and write the headline. Let’s give each other feedback and help make our free giveaways as strong as possible.
I’ll see you below!