One of the hardest things to create when beginning to build a new email list is coming up with a lead magnet. When I start a new email list, I work backward in that I have the product already in mind to pitch and what each email will consist of.
And I used to struggle with the lead magnet to get those juicy opt-ins.
I don’t know if I read it somewhere or watched a video or thought about how other websites were doing their opt-ins, but one day the solution came to me: just create an aggregate of content already created and pitch it.
So what do I mean by that?
I mean, assuming you already have content out there in the world (or even if you don’t), you can compile links into a PDF and use that as your opt-in.
For example, with my job board website, I have resume templates for sale. I also have articles about resumes that get decent organic traffic every month. So, I want people to
- opt-in to my list
- get added to my email sequence/flow
- get pitched the resume templates/proofreading service
Again, the product is there and the sequence is created, so how about that opt-in?
It’s a compilation of articles I already have on my website, formatted in a way that makes it easy to follow for the user.
That it’s. I went on Canva to create a 7 or so page PDF that links back to my website. It’s a win for me, the marketer, and the user who gets access to articles and information they otherwise wouldn’t have found. And I didn’t have to go through and create a whole new piece of content, simply spent an hour making a PDF that looked good and linked back to the website.
Now, I don’t have the opt-in showing up on every page on my website because it’s a very small portion of my audience that would be interested. But it is showing up for the audience that’s looking for resume information.
What about pure affiliate sites?
If you’re running a 100% affiliate based website in that every article is meant to sell a product, you can do this as well. Generally speaking, affiliate websites are based around one core industry or niche. If you’re going super-deep with your niche selection like only talking about shower heads, you may struggle with this. But if you are a bit broader and have something like bathroom products, this could work.
Say your website is all about bathrooms products from shower heads to toilets to toilet paper holders to those little seashell-shaped soaps that you’re not allowed to actually use. Well, you make a PDF with links to your affiliate articles and name it something along the lines of “The Ultimate Guide to Outfitting Your Bathroom”. Now you’re building your list so you can email them when you come out with a new article as well as guiding people back to your website so they make a purchase through your link.
Next thing you know you’re not so reliant on SEO for traffic so when an algorithm smacks your rankings to the second page, you’re not too worried about it. Plus, if you actually have a list that’s engaged, your website’s value is increased.
Now that’s a win.