Recently, I realized I’ve used a variety of incentives to get new subscribers.
In fact, my email list has grown from 6,000 to 24,000 in three years.
I believe it’s because of the many freebies I’ve used.
Here are the Top 5 Freebies that worked for me:
1. Free EBook
On our home page, I offer a free eBook: Everything You Wanted to Know About Homeschooling. In order to get that eBook, readers must give me their email. I think that’s a pretty good deal – an email in exchange for an eBook.
Be sure to include a nice graphic on this page…to grab your readers’ attention.
2. Free Activity Guides
On my blog, I offer fun and creative activities. At the end of the blog post, my readers can sign up for a free activity guide that relates to the topic.
One of our popular posts is the Bean Plant Experiment for Kids activity. Readers can also grab my Spring Math & Science Activity Guide if they provide their email. If you look at this page, I am very specific about what is included in the activity guide.
A Secret about Activity Guides & Other Freebies:
I use a good pinnable picture for each blog post activity. Pinterest has been driving more traffic to these posts than any other method of traffic. Each of these posts has an incentive (activity guide) that adds homeschoolers to my list.
3. Free Workshops or Webinars
These are some of my favorite. I offer a content-rich workshop for my readers. In order to attend, you must register with your email. Thus, another email subscriber. Last spring, I offered a free workshop series, Approaches to Christian Homeschooling. Each week, my readers could attend a free workshop with no pitch.
At the end of the workshop series, I sold the recordings & ebook. Be sure to have a strategy on how you will monetize the free workshop.
4. Free Expert Interviews
Once a year, I host Homeschool Super Heroes in August. We interview homeschoolers in a certain specialty. In order to listen to the free interviews, you must register. I like this incentive because the experts let their readers know about their interview. So, I have new people coming to my website.
5. Guest Posting
When I send a guest post to another blogger, I include an incentive in my bio. The link takes readers directly to the page where they can grab that incentive. When they land on that page, they must enter their email to get the freebie.
As you might have noticed, I rarely put a download link on my blog. I send those download links in an email. This is my secret to getting email subscribers.
Do some unsubscribe after getting their freebie?
Sure they do. But my subscriber list has increased by 18,000 subscribers over 3 years. I’m not worried about those that unsubscribe. I’m more interested in giving good content to those that stay with me. As they stay with me, I can offer good resources and monetize my subscriber list.
Remember your list is gold.
It can make or break a business. With a good list, you can run your blog as a business – growing relationships and making money at the same time.