Last episode I told you that you needed to have a free opt in on your homepage and you didn’t think I was going to leave you hanging, did you? Because today I’m going to teach you how to create a free opt-in in less than an hour using, a very simple framework.
Now most people know that they need a free optin, but they get stuck. They either get stuck creating something very complicated or creating something very pretty. You probably have an idea for an optin or maybe you even already tried to start one, but you haven’t actually gotten it finished yet and if that’s you, it’s not your fault. You’re definitely not alone. That’s why I wanted to create a really simple framework for getting a free opt in out the door and on your website as soon as possible.
Now to do this in less than an hour, you’re going to need to do two things. Number one, you have to have an email marketing program with an autoresponder sequence built in. That capability needs to already be there ready for you to use it. If you don’t have an email marketing program or the one you have doesn’t have autoresponder capability. The recommendation I have for you is a company called Flodesk and if you’re interested in getting 50% off your subscription with them, you can head on over to the show notes and I’ll put the link in there for you. And the second thing that you need to have is a high impact, quick problem that you can solve for your ideal client in three steps. It needs to be simple and it needs to be specific.
And what we’re going to create surrounding that is called a three day challenge. So instead of just a freebie PDF that you send them, we’re going to frame this as a challenge for them to complete in three days. Three days is a great amount of time. It’s not a huge commitment and it gives you a reason to drop into their inbox for three consecutive days. So the big goal of an optin is to get them a result, a specific tangible, concrete result as quickly as possible. And when you do that, they’re going to want to buy from you because that’s the thing most opt-ins and freebies don’t do. They may provide information, but they usually are not focused on providing a result. That’s why I love the three day challenge framework because I think it’ll be pretty easy for you to set up and I also think it’s going to get you a good return in terms of getting people to sign up with you.
All right. So you need to pick a problem that is juicy and specific has to be something that your ideal client will immediately say, yes on my gosh, I need to fix that. Yes. Oh my gosh, I need a solution for that. And let’s do a couple of examples just to get your brain rolling. So let’s say you’re a copywriting coach and you can make a three day challenge to help people fix their email marketing headlines. That’s usually a big pain point for business owners. They don’t know how to write email headlines that get opens and clicks, and if you can give them a really simple three-day framework to fix that problem, they will be a fan for life. All right, another example, what if you were a like a toddler sleep coach, if you were to make a 3 day challenge that helps parents drop from two naps to one nap with their toddler, like three easy steps to make that go more smoothly, that would be awesome.
And here’s the thing, it doesn’t matter if you already have a product or are selling something that’s very similar to these things. What this gives people is a chance to get to know your personality and to trust you. So you should not hold back and give them something silly or cheapo or anything like that as a freebie opt in. And in fact, you should probably try and get them the best value, the best result you possibly can. That’s why creating a 3 day challenge I think is so powerful because it’s focused on a result and that’s the thing that can really convert someone from just a potential buyer to a raving fan.
Once you have your idea, you need to break it down into three actionable, snackable, easy steps. I need you to write one paragraph for each step. Don’t go writing a book, no overachiever here. And then you’re going to hop into your email marketing program and you’re going to create that autoresponder sequence. Three emails, three paragraphs, right? Get those all set up to drip correctly. So you should get that first email that gets sent immediately when they sign up. And then the next email they should get the next day. And then the next email, the next day.
Don’t waste time getting fancy on your emails. Just plain text, a little header, a little thank you at the bottom. Nothing too fancy. Just make it simple. You can always go make it fancy later, like a month from now when you know that people are getting good results from this three-day challenge. Once you’ve done that, you’re going to set up the optin form that’s hooked up to the autoresponder sequence and embedd it on your homepage or wherever else you want.
Don’t forget to test it because I have done this in the past where I’ve set something up and I’m like, gosh, why is nobody signing up? And then I go test it and it’s not working. So you should test it. Maybe have someone else test it, makes sure that everything is golden and everything is dripping the way that it should and then that’s it.
If you don’t overcomplicate this and you keep that end result simple and you keep the steps simple, you can get that done in an hour because I bet you already have the knowledge you need in your brain. The fact that all you have to do is just write a paragraph for each of the steps. You can do that. You can do that for sure. Super quickly and if you already have like a PDF or a video or an audio that goes along with those steps, like it’s done, you can link it in those emails. Just include it. That’s totally fine. And maybe doing something like this will actually spur you on to create an entire product, right? Because that would be amazing if you have this three day challenge and at the end of the challenges that “by the way, if this was awesome and you want the whole meal deal, I have this amazing product that you can buy” and the chances that they will upgrade and buy that it’s super high because you’ve already provided the value, they already know you, they trust you, they’ve gotten a result. That’s the sort of thing that increases conversions like crazy.
So here’s the deal, if you get this setup on your website, you better send it to me. I want to hear about it. I want to see it. I want to opt in. I’m so excited to see what you come up with because I think this is going to be a major great, fantastic thing for your business. And I know you can do it.
Guess what? I’m giving away free access to my search engine optimization course. All you have to do is leave a one sentence review on Apple podcasts and then head to tinygiantmarketing.com/giveaway to log your entry if you want actionable how-tos for improving your SEO, do not miss out on this opportunity.