Episode 102: Freebie Ideas You Might Not Hate

Summary

Podcast Summary: Episode 102 - Freebie Ideas You Might Not Hate

Podcast Information:

• Title: The Email Sound Booth with Liz Wilcox
• Host: Liz Wilcox
• Description: For online businesses looking to remix their email marketing efforts and build a profitable, enjoyable email list.
• Episode: 102: Freebie Ideas You Might Not Hate
• Release Date: February 25, 2025

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Introduction

In Episode 102 of The Email Sound Booth with Liz Wilcox, host Liz delves into innovative and less conventional freebie ideas that can effectively grow an email list without the usual pitfalls that often make freebies averse. Building on the previous episode's discussion about growing email lists without freebies, Liz emphasizes the enduring value of freebies when executed thoughtfully.

Embracing Freebies: Liz’s Perspective

Liz starts the episode by addressing the common skepticism surrounding freebies in email marketing. She shares her personal success with freebies across her businesses, highlighting that a well-designed freebie can be a powerful tool for list building.

“Maybe don't hate on the freebies, just kind of find the one that feels good for you.”
— Liz Wilcox [00:02]

She references her own freebie—a resource library—that has been instrumental since launching LWilcox.com in December 2019. This resource includes a welcome sequence template, newsletter samples, and an extensive list of subject line prompts.

“No wonder I created a membership around newsletters. I was giving them away in my freebie.”
— Liz Wilcox [00:04]

Creative Freebie Ideas

Liz presents a variety of freebie ideas designed to resonate with diverse audiences and reduce the typical aversion to freebies.

1. Transcripts of Content

Liz suggests offering transcripts of existing content, such as podcasts or blog posts, in different formats.

“Maybe you write a blog post or you have written content and you say, hey, do you want this in audio or video form? Join the list... get the video or the private Podcast.”
— Liz Wilcox [00:05]

This approach caters to different content consumption preferences, providing added value to subscribers.

2. Quiz Results

For those utilizing quizzes as part of their engagement strategy, Liz recommends offering detailed quiz results as a freebie.

“Hey, get a transcript or get, you know, a PDF download of your quiz results by joining my email list.”
— Liz Wilcox [00:10]

This method not only entices users to sign up but also enhances their experience by offering personalized insights.

3. Case Studies

Liz emphasizes the power of case studies as compelling freebies. Sharing success stories can demonstrate the effectiveness of your services or products.

“Instead of trying to just get people to sign up for my membership for $9, I just try to get them on the email list with a case study of it.”
— Liz Wilcox [00:12]

By showcasing real-life examples, you build trust and showcase tangible results.

4. Free Versions of Paid Offerings

Offering a glimpse into your premium content can attract potential customers by providing a taste of what they can expect.

“Maybe pull out a module and they get that, right? Like maybe instead of giving them a free trial, I would say like, here's my list building mini course that's available in my membership. You get it for free if you give me your email address.”
— Liz Wilcox [00:15]

This strategy allows potential clients to experience the value you offer before committing financially.

5. Playlists

One of the standout ideas Liz shares is creating and offering specialized playlists tailored to your audience's interests.

“Here's a playlist to relax you to get you into the mood to do yoga... Or here's a yoga playlist for when you're watching boring ass YouTube videos.”
— Liz Wilcox [00:18]

“I think it's a genius idea and I think you should try it out.”
— Liz Wilcox [00:20]

For example, a tailored playlist can serve as an engaging and unique incentive that aligns with your brand’s niche.

Recap of Freebie Ideas

Liz wraps up the main content by summarizing the freebie ideas discussed:

• Transcripts of Content: Offering written or audio/video versions of existing content.
• Quiz Results: Providing detailed outcomes from quizzes as downloadable PDFs.
• Case Studies: Sharing success stories to build credibility and attract subscribers.
• Free Versions of Paid Offerings: Giving access to a module or trial period of your premium services.
• Playlists: Creating specialized music or resource playlists that complement your brand.

“We just talked about the playlist. We talked about giving away like free versions of your paid stuff. Talked about a case study, quiz results, video or audio versions of written content and the inverse written version of audio or visual content.”
— Liz Wilcox [00:22]

Upcoming Event: List Building Live

Towards the end of the episode, Liz promotes an upcoming event designed to help listeners enhance their email list-building strategies.

“Something else to help you grow your email list is List Building Live. I'm so excited. March 11th through the 13th. Get signed up. Link in the show notes.”
— Liz Wilcox [00:24]

List Building Live promises three days of strategic and practical sessions focused on effective email list growth, featuring short, targeted episodes and conversations with industry experts.

Conclusion

Liz concludes the episode by encouraging listeners to experiment with the freebie ideas presented, emphasizing that embracing creative and personalized freebies can significantly enhance email marketing efforts.

“As always, I'm Liz Wilcox. You are awesome. I'll see you in the next episode, my friend.”
— Liz Wilcox [00:25]

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Key Takeaways:

• Freebies remain a valuable tool for email list building when tailored to the audience’s preferences.
• Creativity is crucial: Diverse freebie options like playlists and case studies can differentiate your strategy.
• Align freebies with your offerings to provide a seamless transition from free to paid content.
• Engage and experiment: Test different freebie ideas to see what resonates best with your audience.

By incorporating these innovative freebie ideas, online businesses can effectively grow their email lists in a way that feels authentic and engaging.

Transcript

[Liz Wilcox]

What's up, my friend? I'm Liz Wilcox. You're listening to episode 102 of the email sound booth podcast. Let me adjust my mic so I'm not like straining my neck here. Is this on? Is this thing on? Anyway, let's talk about some freebie ideas you might not hate. So in the Last episode, episode 101, we talked about one really big way to grow your email list without a freebie. But I don't know why everyone's so freebie averse. Like, if the shoe fits, wear it. You know, like, if it's ain't broke, don't fix it. Like, freebies work. I've. I've had a freebie with all my businesses. Well, except that summit business that I talk about in episode 101. Anyway, I've had the same freebie with L Wilcox.com since the inception of L Wilcox.com since December 2019. That's over five years at this point, and it's been serving me just right. So maybe don't hate on the freebies, just kind of find the one that feels good for you. Like, for example, my freebie is sort of a resource library. It's got a welcome sequence templatized for you. It's got three newsletter samples from my membership, and it's got 52 subject lines for a year, full of prompts, which, side note, the three newsletters, like, my freebie obviously came before my membership, which is weekly newsletters. No wonder I created a membership around newsletters. I was giving them away in my freebie. So what are you giving away in your freebie that maybe you could turn into weekly content for a membership? Anyway, that's not what this is about. This is about you hating freebies and maybe getting over that and trying something new. So these are just some creative sort of freebies that I don't see all the time that might resonate with you. So I'm just giving you a couple ideas, a few ideas. I don't know, six or seven, I didn't count. I just typed them out. So the first one is like a transcript of content. So maybe, you know, in this podcast I say, hey, you want the transcripts? You know, join my email list, download them here. And to download them, you got to give me your email list or your email address, right? In the inverse of that, maybe you write a blog post or you have written content and you say, hey, do you want this in audio or video form? Join the list, you know, and get the video or get the, you know, private Podcast, right? Also, you know, I guess a quiz or the quiz results is a freebie, right? So if you have a quiz, you know, you could do the results as your freebie, right? Hey, get a transcript or get, you know, a PDF download of your quiz results by joining my email list, then that might get around. You know, some people, they like quizzes, they hate when they have to give away their email address to get the result. So, so maybe it's you give them the result and then it's like, hey, do you want these forever? Join the email list, I'll give you, you know, PDF download, right? Something I, and I might try this out one day. No, I'm not going to try it out because what I'm doing is working. But if I was to try something new, I would try this next one. A case study, right? Like if I wanted people, you know, my whole thing is join my membership, right? It's nine bucks and so maybe I do a case study. Hey, this person joined email marketing membership. Within the first four months, they grew their email list by a thousand. They started making a thousand dollars a month, blah, blah, blah, right? Like, what is that case study? And so instead of trying to just get people to sign up for my membership for $9, I just try to get them on the email list with a case study of it, right? Speaking of my membership, if you've got a membership or some kind of course, you could give away like a free version, right? Like I might give away a free trial to my membership to get new leads, right? That's the freebie. A free, free 30 days, right? Now if you've got a course instead of a membership or something, maybe pull out a module and they get that, right? Like maybe instead of giving them a free trial, I would say like, here's my list building mini course that's available in my membership. You get it for free if you give me your email address. Hang on, my throat's really hurting. I've got to take a sip of water. I ate something I'm allergic to stupidly yesterday and I'm paying the consequences today. I'm actually fine. And the last thing, let's get back to the show. The last thing that you could try. And this scratch the case study, this is what I would do. And I actually might add this to my freebie is a playlist, okay? So let's say you're a yoga teacher or, you know, you teach yogis or something. What would be better than a playlist, right? You know, nobody wants more workouts. They're already not doing the yoga. How can we think smaller, right? A playlist. Hey, here's a playlist to relax you to get you into the mood to do yoga. Or here's a yoga playlist for when you're watching boring ass YouTube videos, right? Like something like that. Or even for me, email marketing. I could. Here's a playlist. You know, that's exactly 25 minutes. I dare you to download this playlist and write your newsletter by the time it's over, right? Something like that is fun. It's fresh, it's different. It's gonna attract attention. If you are not watching on YouTube, you are missing out on the head bobbing and weaving and the finger wags right now. Anyway, a playlist. I love that idea. I've always loved that idea. I don't ever see it. I think it's a genius idea and I think you should try it out. So let me recap. Here's some freebie ideas you might not hate. We just talked about the playlist. We talked about giving away like free versions of your paid stuff. Talked about a case study, quiz results, video or audio versions of written content and the inverse written version of audio or visual content. All right, those are some freebie ideas. I hope they help something else to help you grow your email list is List building live. I'm so excited. March 11th through the 13th. Get signed up. Link in the show notes. My dear. It's going to be an amazing three day, you know, simple, just like this was, you know, a seven minute podcast. It's going to be simple, like three to ten minute episodes about very strategic, very practical. This is how I grew my email list. This is why it worked. Conversations with speakers. Anyway, list building live. Link in the show notes. As always, I'm Liz Wilcox. You are awesome. I'll see you in the next episode, my friend.