The purpose of your marketing is to nurture relationships with your audience – from first discovering you, right through to buying from you.
You know your marketing is working when people come into your world and follow your intended customer journey – they find you, connect with you, begin to trust you, and then buy from you.
One of the best ways to get these dream clients to this point is to create different pathways for them.
Because, as you know, everyone follows their own unique customer journey – so it’s up to you to meet them where they’re at, and give them the information they need to make their decision.
You want your dream clients to move towards this decision, and that’s why your free stuff is so important. Your email list, your lead magnets, and your free masterclasses and workshops – all key players in your customer journey.
So how can you get people to move and sign up for your free stuff?
Good news, wizard – that’s exactly what I tell you in this episode of the How I Do Content Podcast.
The best bit is that this is actually a process you can go through every time you create any new free stuff in your business so you can make sure people sign up and are moving through your customer journey as intended!
What’s the objective of your free stuff?
Because there’s no point spending a whole lotta time creating something if it’s not helping you get what you really want.
Of course, the ultimate goal is to nurture people to the point of buying from you – but other objectives could be to grow your email list, build brand awareness, position you as a Dumbledore-level expert, or move potential clients one step closer to a purchase.
If you’re an exceptionally bright and brilliant wizard and you’re strategic with your creations – you can do all of this in one.
…but you gotta think it through, and not just throw something together because it’s trending or that 7-figure business owner did something similar.
So let’s dive straight in!
1. Create an irresistible and desirable free offer
I mean it kinda goes without saying right? This is the most important and most obvious step.
If you create something that your ideal clients actually want – OBVIOUSLY they will sign up for it.
I see it so often – business owners spend their time creating free masterclasses or lead magnets they THINK their audience wants, or they try to replicate what another business owner created…and then no one signs up.
They forget the most important part of creating anything in your business – WHO you’re creating it for.
You can have the most epic lead magnet or value-packed free masterclass but if it’s not desirable to your ideal client (meaning it’s not something they actively want or need help with) – they won’t sign up.
So before you go creating anything, take a moment to think about your ideal client – what’s ONE challenge your ideal client is currently navigating that you could help them with?
The other thing to remember here is that your free stuff is a stepping stone towards the ultimate goal of buying from you – so simple is always best.
Give them a quick win that moves them in the direction you want them to take. Don’t overwhelm them with information so they stay stuck.
Again, this is why I always say knowing your ideal client like they’re your bestie is the ultimate cheat code you can possess. It means you always know what to create to get your people to move.
2. Nail your micro-messaging
Having an irresistible and desirable free offer on its own isn’t enough. You need to make it crystal fucking clear why people need this free offer in their life.
And NO – no one signs up simply because it’s free, so that can’t be your main message.
Some key messaging pieces you need to think about include:
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- The name and tagline of your offer
This needs to immediately communicate the value of the offer – who it’s for and the benefit of them signing up. You want it to be clear to your ideal client why they need to sign up right now. Don’t overcomplicate it or make it vague – specific and simple for the win! - Specific outcomes of your free offer
Yes, even though it’s free your ideal client wants to know what’s in it for them. What’s the end result of signing up for your free stuff? I’d recommend having no more than 3 outcomes that you communicate throughout your marketing. - Why you’re the wizard to teach them / support them / guide them
If you want to increase the credibility and desirability of your free offers, sharing your unique blend of magic is essential. You can’t avoid talking about yourself, even for your free stuff.
- The name and tagline of your offer
Often it’s your micro-messaging that stops people from signing up for your free stuff.
If people can’t see the value and relevance of your free stuff – they’re not signing up.
I can’t say this enough – some simple tweaks to your micro-messaging can be the difference between crickets or sign-ups, so it pays to get it right.
3. Actively promote it
This is definitely a huge mistake so many business owners make.
You spend all this time creating a free lead magnet or masterclass, and then you don’t promote it nearly enough.
Putting it on your website or in your link in bio isn’t enough.
Posting about it once isn’t enough.
Expecting people to sign up for something (even if it’s free) without having to do any work is just not it.
If you want people to sign up for your free stuff – give them a reason to (and do it more than once).
Two things you want to avoid when promoting your offer:
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- Calling it a no-brainer. That’s just a lazy way of talking about your offer #sorrynotsorry
- Simply repeating the features of your offer again and again. No one cares #sorrynotsorry
When I share my free stuff there are 3 pieces of content I always share. They are:
1. An introduction to your offer. This is a high-level overview of the offer including:
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- Context about the one challenge your ideal client is facing and that your offer solves
- Introduce the offer – share the name, tagline, and outcomes
- Highlight how this offer helps solve that problem, and the benefit to your ideal client
- Clear call to action
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2. A story related to the key outcome of your free offer. Give your ideal client a really good reason to sign up for your offer. SHOW THEM what’s possible and the benefit of solving this problem. People love stories, so if you can link it to a time when you or even a current client felt the same way as them and then what you did to navigate through it – you form a pretty powerful connection with your ideal client.
3. Shine a light on your unique blend of magic. Why are you the wizard to share your spells with them? What knowledge and experience do you bring to the table? A great way to reinforce this is to share success stories – using testimonials or case studies of people who’ve seen results from working with you. Make sure these results are linked to the key outcome of your free offer to enhance the credibility and desirability even further.
Of course, you need to share more than 3 pieces of content if you want a consistent flow of dream humans signing up for your free stuff – but this is a start!
The most important thing here is variety in your content – it’s saying the same thing but in different ways, so your ideal client is 100% certain your offer is exactly what they need in their life. And they sign up!
Now, if you go back and re-read the 2. Nail your micro-messaging section again, you’ll notice the link between your messaging and the content you use to promote your free stuff.
The effectiveness of your messaging and marketing will always come back to how well you create desire, demand, and differentiation within them.
You shouldn’t be jumping on trends or creating content for the sake of it – if you want people to take the intended action (aka signing up for your free offer), you need to put a little thought and strategy behind it.
4. The next steps after sign-up
I’m always thinking about the big-picture vision, so we need to talk about the next steps. Because after you’ve got someone to sign up for your free stuff… then what?
If you’re creating something free with the objective of getting your ideal client to move closer to buying from you – what about the next step closer, and the next?
You don’t want to be so short-sighted that you miss a really great opportunity to convert these people into clients faster.
Otherwise, you’ll find yourself spending a lot of time creating new stuff that gets people to take one step in your customer journey and then stop.
This free offer is often the first step potential clients take on your customer journey. So, based on this knowledge – what’s the next step you want them to take after signing up for this free offer?
It could be to book a call with you, or sign up for a lower ticket offer – but ultimately the goal is to create different pathways for you to nurture relationships with your audience to the point of them buying from you.
As always, make sure the next steps are clear and easy for your ideal client to take. For example – tell them about their next steps:
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- On the last page of your lead magnet
- In the automated email they receive after signing up for your free stuff
- At the end of your free masterclass
- On the thank you or success page after signing up for your free stuff
Get them to take that next step as quickly as possible so you can nurture them through your customer journey faster.
So there you have it – how to get people to sign up for your free stuff. This is the exact process I follow whenever I’m creating a new lead magnet or masterclass – and I always have people sign up.
It’s nothing groundbreaking, but this shit works. Never underestimate the power of strategy and simplicity!
And this is exactly what I support my clients with. Creating simple and strategic customer journeys that help them become seen, heard, and paid by Beyonce-level clients on repeat.
Together we can map out your funnel to nurture relationships with your audience – from first discovering you, right through to buying from you.
We do this together in my Biz Wizard Intensive.
It’s 6 weeks of 1:1 DONE WITH YOU mentoring to map out your strategy, mico-messaging, and marketing for your customer journey, your signature offer, or an upcoming launch.
You can find out more here, but if you have any questions then slide on into my DM’s over on Instagram @thesocialbolt and ask away.
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