← The Goal Digger Podcast | Top Business and Marketing Podcast for Creatives, Entrepreneurs, and Women in Business
The Goal Digger Podcast | Top Business and Marketing Podcast for Creatives, Entrepreneurs, and Women in Business
904: Start Your Email List Here: High-Converting Opt-In Ideas That Actually Work
00:43:19
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Nothing makes me happier than doing work that energizes me and I've always been committed to that, not just for myself, but for my entire team. That's why I'm so excited about the Working Genius Model. It's a powerful tool that helps you discover your natural strengths and where you thrive in your work. When you tap into what you're naturally good at, work becomes more rewarding and you get so much more done. Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect when I took the Working Genius assessment, but it blew me away with how accurate and insightful it was. It it affirmed that I am naturally gifted at using my intuition and instincts to evaluate and assess ideas or plans. And it also confirmed my love for self starters and the fact that I can get frustrated if I have to be the main source of motivation for other people to get results. The assessment only takes 10 minutes, and it's great for solopreneurs and teams alike. Imagine with me how effortless your teamwork will be if you understand the working geniuses of those that you're working with. Working genius is different from everything else out there because it's 20% personality and 80% productivity. Simply put, if you want to transform your work life, this is it. Get 20% off the 25 Working Genius assessment, head to WorkingGenius.com and enter the promo code Gold Digger at checkout. That's Working Genius.com promo code Gold Digger this episode is brought to you by Bitdefender, a global leader in cyber security. Now let's be real. When you run a business from your laptop like I do, everything matters. Your clients, your calendar, your passwords. It's all digital. And if you're like me, you don't have an IT department waiting in the wings to fix things when they break. The truth is, small businesses are some of the biggest targets for cyber attacks, and most entrepreneurs aren't prepared. With so much riding on our digital tools, protection isn't optional. It's essential. That's where Bitdefender Ultimate Small Business Security comes in. It's it's designed for small teams of up to 25 people and gives you powerful protection without needing IT or cybersecurity skills. It helps safeguard everything from your devices and inboxes to your digital identity and customer data. It also gives you a password manager and even watches for viruses, scams, and fraud attempts. Plus, there's a VPN and scam assistant to help your team stay sharp online. The setup is simple, and there's even 247 expert support if you ever need help, keep your small business safe with Bitdefender Ultimate Small business security. Save 30% when you go to Bitdefender.com Golddigger that's Bitdefender.com Golddigker for 30% off.
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What if I told you that one simple piece of helpful content could totally change how people find you, connect with you, and eventually buy from you? In this episode, we're getting really practical about email list building and I'm sharing the exact steps to create a lead magnet that actually works.
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I'm Jenna Kutcher, your host of the Gold Digger podcast. I escaped the corporate world at the age of 23 with nothing more than a $300 camera from Craigslist and a dream.
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Now I'm running a seven figure online.
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Business that feels even better than it looks. All from my house in small town Minnesota. With my family here, we value time as our currency.
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We mix the woo and the work.
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And we are in the pursuit of building businesses that give us the freedom.
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To live lives that we love.
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I've always loved turning big goals into.
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Reality and I'm here to help you do the same.
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This isn't just a peek behind the curtain. Come along with me and my guests as we tear the whole curtain down. Every week we tackle practical, no fluff marketing strategies and host honest discussions on what works and what doesn't. Join me and my expert guests for.
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Actionable insights to help you grow your.
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Dream business with confidence. Pull up a seat and get ready to be challenged, inspired and empowered.
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This is the Goal Digger podcast. If you've been putting off starting your email list because you're not sure what to offer on the front end or it all just feels too overwhelming, well, this is the episode that is hopefully going to change that. We're talking about lead magnets, also known as freebies or opt ins AKA the simple helpful entry point that not only grows your email list, but actually attracts the right people into your business. I know email marketing can feel like a lot and maybe you've thought, well I'll just do it later or I just need to finish this other thing first or I'll get to it when life slows down. But here's the truth. Your email list is one of the most valuable assets that you can build and creating your first or your next opt in. It doesn't have to be hard. Today I'm walking you through what to consider before you create a lead magnet, the different types of opt ins that actually work, and how to start attracting the people who are most aligned with what it is that you offer. And if you're thinking, okay, Jenna, this sounds great, but how do I actually set it all up? Don't worry, I've got you covered. We are covering a lot of ground today, but if you want to go even deeper, if seeing is believing for you, I created a totally free mini course that walks you through the entire process, step by step, tutorial by tutorial. Today will get you excited about what you're going to create as your opt in. But this mini course, valued at $59 is yours free. To help you set it all up from a landing page to delivery, all with ease and confidence and knowing that you're doing it right from the beginning, jump into the free mini course right now at list buildchallenge. Com, that's list buildchallenge.com or click the link in the show notes. Now grab your coffee or throw on your walking shoes and let's make this the moment you finally stop putting your list off and start building it with intention. I want to take you back to when I first learned about email lists because it's a really pivotal time in my career. It was about a decade ago and I was a wedding photographer who was starting to get curious about the online space. So I was starting to learn about online courses. I was starting to dream up ways to take my knowledge and package it up for people. I was starting to kind of think beyond the service based industry that I found myself in because I recognized that the only way to earn more was to work more. And that wasn't necessarily the life I wanted at this time. I had been pitched an online course and I had never bought an online course before. And this pitch was compelling to me because it came with a few different coaching calls and I was at a really pivotal place where I knew that I needed someone who had gone before me to kind of show me the way. And so when I bought this online course, which was a huge investment for me at the time, I got these three coaching calls and I'll never forget getting on the phone with this coach and I'm excited to tell them about my 10,000 Instagram followers. I'm excited to tell them about my six figures figure photography business. And as we're on the call, he asked me this question. He goes, how big is your list? And genuinely, I thought he was talking about my to do list, which was so long. I mean, I was on my own. I had not a single member on my team. I was doing all the things, wearing all the Hats. And when he asked me, how big is your list? I was like, dude, you don't even know how much stuff I've got to get done. But he was actually talking about an email list. Now, at this point, I had never heard of email marketing before. I didn't understand it. I didn't get it. It didn't feel shiny or sexy to me. I didn't get why it was the thing that he was fixated on. Well, a decade later, now I do. My email list is the number one asset in my business. It's something I own and can control. It is the number one indicator of the health of my company. It's the number one way that we drive sales. My email list is where most of my business focus goes. And what I have learned over the years is that so many entrepreneurs are fixated on the things that feel sexy, that feel shiny, Right? Social media has that little number under your name that everyone else can see. And they're missing the opportunity to build out a direct line of communication to the people who actually, actually care about what it is that they're saying and what they're selling. My email list is something that is a passion of mine. Like, I love serving my email subscribers. I love writing my emails. I have so much fun with it. It's like exclusive content, but it's also hand delivered messages to the people who have already said yes. I want to learn more about this. It feels like a service, right? And so today I want to help you get started. I want to take you to a place where you feel excited about email marketing enough to take you into action. Because I know that it can feel intimidating, I know it can feel confusing, but if I can get you excited, my job today is to get you so excited about creating an opt in or a freebie that you can't help but shout it from the rooftops. That you can't help but express your excitement around it. So much so that people are excited to subscribe. So let's talk about lead magnets, also known as freebies, also known as opt ins. All of those words can be used interchangeably. I've even heard somebody use the word freemium, right? So there are many different ways to describe it, but essentially what it is, it is a free, helpful, or useful piece of content that you give in exchange for someone's email. It should solve one specific problem quickly and clearly. And it's not just about growing numbers. Like, you don't want to create something that, like, yeah, everybody wants this, but it's about Building a list of people who want what it is that you have to offer. And so a lead magnet essentially is just the entry point to your email list. Something that feels valuable enough that someone is excited to exchange their email address for. At the heart of it, email marketing is just reciprocity in action, right? You are giving someone something of value and in return they are giving you access to their inbox. And so the entry point just needs to be something that is valuable enough for someone to say, yes, please, please send it to me in my inbox and I want to stay in touch with you to hear more. And honestly, this is why I love email marketing, is because I feel like on social media you are shouting into the void, you are trying to be loud, trying to catch people's attention and hope that they care about something enough to stop their scroll, to engage and to go the next step. But with your email list, these people have already raised their hand, they've already said, yes, I want this. And so you get to speak to them differently, you get to speak to.
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Them more intimately and you don't have.
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To fit all of the juicy information into a 5 second reel or into a caption. So before we get into the different types of opt ins, I want to share four things that I want for you to consider before you create one. Because after today's episode, I want for you to get into action and actually create a freebie. Whether it's your first one or your next one, I want for you to follow through and take action to implement what you're learning today. So four things I want for you to consider before I start sharing the different types of opt ins that you could create, I want for you to keep these four things front of mind so that you choose the right entry point for your email list. So first, you always want to start with the end in mind. What is the end goal? Meaning once somebody is on your email list, what would the direct result be tied to? Oftentimes this would be getting somebody to purchase something that you already have, an offer that you've already created, and it could be any type of an offer, it doesn't matter what type of business you run. So you want to start with the end in mind, which will help you create an aligned piece of content or an aligned freebie that will be a natural progression into the paid offer, right? The second thing I want for you to consider is how can you keep it small and specific so you do not need your freebie to solve their entire problem. You want to solve one part of their problem or you want to give them a quick win. That's what we like to call it. You want something that's doable for your audience, that gets them into action, gets them a result, gets them a quick win or solves a piece of the problem. You don't have to have a freebie that literally hands it all over. And so you want to keep it small. Small and specific. A lot of times I think we overcompensate for maybe some of our imposter syndrome and we want to throw in everything in the kitchen sink. But in the end it's like we're trying to have our dream clients drink out of a fire hose and it doesn't actually serve anyone. So today I want for you to think about how can I keep something small and specific? How can I help my dream audience get some sort of result? It doesn't have to be life changing, it just has to be a result. The third thing I want for you to consider is what format of a freebie is going to be easiest for you to create. So there are a lot of different ways you can deliver freebies and we're going to talk about a lot of the different opt ins that I've done over the years that have been the most successful ones. And so as I'm going through them, I want for you to consider what is the easiest format. For me, it might not be video if you don't have a camera or you don't have a video set, right. It could be audio if you love speaking into a microphone. It could be a digital download, it could be a loom. There are so many different ways you it can do do it and I'll walk through them. But I want for you to listen to this with a lens of what is going to be the easiest format for me to deliver and follow through on. And the last thing to consider is how can I be clear and not clever? You want your freebie or opt in to be so clear of here's what this is and here's why you need it. You want the end promise to be so specific that somebody that hears about it or lands on it, if it is built with them in mind, they are opting in and they are excited to opt in in. So again, the four things to consider as we move into this episode are what is the end goal, how can I keep it small and specific? Which format will be easiest for me to follow through on and how can I be clear in defining exactly what this is and who it's for now, I have to share that I have a lot of experience in this topic. And so as I walk through the different types of opt ins, I want to tell you a really quick story. There was a stage in my business where I was just email list obsessed. I mean, honestly, I still am email list obsessed. I now just try to go deeper and not wider. But there was a year where I had this brilliant idea of what if I create a new opt in every single week. If you're doing the math, I literally created 50 different email opt ins in one year. My goal was like, every single podcast episode is going to have an opt in and every single week I'm going to have something to serve my people, to grow my list. And I went so wide. And I don't necessarily regret it, but in hindsight, it was not the smartest business move. It was not the smartest strategy. Not only did it take up a lot of time and energy, but it made it nearly impossible to keep all of my opt ins high converting to really look at like, how are these working out for the greater good of the business? How were they actually tying into real offers? And so as I speak about all of these different types of opt ins today, I want for you to know I've done them all. And so I'm speaking from experience and I'm excited to share the things that worked, the things that didn't work, and just some of my favorite ways that you could get an opt in up and running and growing your email list today. Now we're going to get into the nitty gritty of creating your lead magnet in just a sec. But first, a quick thank you to our sponsors for making this episode possible. And while we take a short break, I want for you to think about this. What is one small problem that you could help someone solve this week? Because that tiny idea might just be the start of your list building journey. When we come back, I'm going to walk you through the different types of lead magnets that actually work. We'll be back in a moment.
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You ever get served an ad and think how the heck did this end up in my feed?
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Like the other day I got one.
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For a luxury penthouse concierge in Manhattan. Guys, I live in small town Minnesota. Our version of LA is a teen in crocs handing you your iced coffee.
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At the drive thru.
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Unless that penthouse includes mosquito spray and a tater tot hot dish, I'm out. But here's the thing. It's not just funny, it's frustrating. Not only as a consumer, but for the business, wasting ad dollars on the totally wrong audience. That's why when it comes to reaching the right professionals, the olution is clear. LinkedIn Ads with over a billion users on LinkedIn today, your message stands the best chance of reaching the people who actually matter. And that's where it stands apart from the other ad buys. LinkedIn lets you target by job title, industry, company role, seniority, skills, even company revenue. Basically, all the professionals you need to reach are right there in one place. So stop wasting your precious budget on the wrong audience and start connecting with the right people only on LinkedIn ads. LinkedIn will even give you $100 credit on your next campaign, so you can try it yourself. Just go to LinkedIn.com goal that's LinkedIn.com goal. Terms and conditions apply only on LinkedIn ads. This message is sponsored by Greenlight I grew up hauling a cooler down our Minnesota dirt road to sell lukewarm lemonade for 50 cents a cup. I didn't know it then, but that was the start of my entrepreneurial journey. Now I've got two little girls asking questions about money and I want their learning to feel fun.
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So when they asked to do their.
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Own lemonade stand, I went all in. Logo check. Compostable cups? You bet.
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And that's when I realized we could.
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Use a little help making money lessons Simple. That's why we use Greenlight. Greenlight is a debit card and money app that helps kids learn how to save, spend wisely, and even invest together as a family. We love the chores feature where you can assign tasks like clean the junk drawer or pick toys to donate and reward them with an allowance. Everything is tracked so you can watch them grow their money smarts in real time. Greenlight is the easy, convenient way for parents to raise financially smart kids and for families to navigate life together. Maybe that's why millions of parents trust and kids love learning about money on Greenlight, the number one family finance and safety app. Don't wait to teach your kids real world money skills. Start your risk free Greenlight trial today@greenlight.com golddigger that's greenlight.com goaldigger to get started. Greenlight.com golddigger all right, so I'm breaking.
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Down the type of lead magnets that work and again, put this through your own filter, your own lens, your own expertise and your own end goal. So the first type of lead magnet that works really well that is so simple to make is a checklist. Checklists feel so silly and so simple oh my gosh, are they effective? Think like your meal prep checklist or your morning routine or your content calendar. A lot of times the best lead magnets or the best opt ins are things that you have created for yourself out of necessity or out of need that can transfer to other people, that can serve people that are just like you, that are a few steps behind you and simplify their life or solve a problem or help them figure out a better way to approach a process. So checklists are a very easy to create lead magnet and very easy to deliver. You could literally open up a Google Doc, type in a checklist, have those little open boxes and somebody could have a free printable of something that is super valuable. I remember when I was a wedding photographer, I had created this checklist for myself that was like for pre wedding days, like here is what I need to charge, here's what I need to prep, here's what I need to make sure I have everything from the wedding timeline printed out to, to the wedding party's names all set. I needed to know addresses, locations, I needed to have the shot list, I needed to have my batteries charged, my memory cards cleared. Like I had this whole checklist of like pre weddings. Here's everything that needs to get done before I get in my car to go. That is a great opt in, right? Other wedding photographers need that. Now again, when I'm giving these examples, you have to think in mind of like, you don't just want to have a really awesome checklist if it's not actually aligned with what you want. But when I started entering this digital space, one of my first offers was a marketing course for photographers. So it is incredibly helpful to create a lead magnet like my pre wedding checklist to attract other photographers who might then need to know how to market their business to get more weddings right. And so can you see how that is aligned? So checklists are super easy, they're a very light lift. They don't need to be beautifully designed, they don't need to be really complicated. In fact, checklists should simplify something for your audience. And if you have one that you've created for yourself, ask yourself, could this help more people that are just like me? If the answer is yes, that's an amazing lead magnet. Another lead magnet that is awesome could be a template or a script. So think of like email templates, caption templates, pitch responses, budgeting tools, like anything that you've created once to use over and over and over again. Could it be useful to other people? Just like you now, one thing that you might realize is that oftentimes businesses are created out of a need that the founder had that they decided to fill. Right. So what does this mean? Oftentimes we are serving people who are just a few steps behind us, who are just like us, who are have a similar pain point, who need a solution. So if you have created any sort of template in your business that could serve other people that you are trying to serve, consider packaging up that template into a very simple PDF or a Google Doc and using that as an awesome opt in. I remember I created an opt in that was like five email templates for wedding photographers. Again, I was trying to attract other photographers so I could teach them market marketing. And so the more wedding photographers I could get on my email list, the better I could serve them and then eventually sell to them. So if you've created any sort of templates in your business that could help other people, this can be a super easy opt in. It doesn't require a lot of brainstorming, it doesn't require a lot of design. In fact, the simpler the design, the easier it is to usually use a template. We've done all sorts of different templates. We like, we've done canva templates, we've done like a podcast episode template. Like there's so many templates inside of our business that we could easily package up and use as an opt in and there's a good chance that you have those as well. Okay. Another type of lead magnet that works amazingly well are presets. So this is kind of in alignment with templates and this is a little hyper specific for photographers. But here's a good example of one that did really well for me is I used to sell my editing presets. So as a photographer, I would use different presets to edit my images. People would always ask, where did I get them? I created them. And so I had three free presets that people could opt in for for free. And then what we would do is sell them the 15 total presets that I had as a part of a pack. Right. So can you see that direct path of like people that are opting in for free presets are likely going to be in alignment with buying paid presets. Right. That path is very clear. It makes sense, it's linear. You could also do discount codes or early access. So if you are a product based business owner and you're wondering, okay, how does this work for me? I am a sucker for opting in for discount codes. It's so funny, I caught myself yesterday, I was looking for a specific, specific type of shoe that I can wear in Greece because of the cobblestone. And I was landing on these websites and the pop ups were popping up right away where it gives you that urgency, that scarcity of like save 20% as a first time buyer, right? And you're like, oh my gosh, I'm gonna give you my email address. I don't even know if I want any of your shoes yet, but I'm gonna opt in for this, right? And so discount codes are super easy and a lot of times they're very easy to integrate. If you're using a platform like Shop Shopify, where you can have those discount codes pop up and collect that email user right on the front end of the experience so that if they abandon their cart or they don't end up purchasing, or they do end up purchasing, you can follow up with them, right? If they are on your site and they're opting in, there's a really good chance that they're in alignment with what it is that you offer and can either become a customer today by using that discount code or become a customer in the future by getting your emails and knowing what's happening, happening in your shop. So discount codes and early access are awesome. I know a lot of people who will do different exclusive offers and if you're on their email list, you'll get access first. So for example, a few photographers I follow, they do mini sessions, right? So they're just these quick shoots and they have a limited amount of spaces. And the best way to book your dream time and make sure that you get a mini shoot is to be on an email list. That's genius, right? Or massage therapists, if they're doing some sort of special or they have openings in their calendar, you want to be on their email list so that you get that notice first. So discount codes and early access. So to review the first four types of lead magnets that work amazingly well, Checklists, templates and scripts, presets, discount codes, or early access. All of these are amazing lead magnets to start with. And, and again, they don't require a heavy lift on your end. There's a good chance that all these could be set up by the end of today. Now don't worry, I've got a lot more ground to cover. But let's pause for a quick second to thank our sponsors. They make it possible for me to keep creating this free, helpful content for you. And hey, if you're loving this episode. Would you mind sharing it with someone who's been stuck in the I'll start my email list later mode? Up next, I'm going to break down even more types of lead magnets that work right now, from quizzes to AI prompt packs. You might even have something already created that would make a perfect freebie to start and grow your email list. Stay tuned. There's more coming.
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This episode of the Gold Digger podcast is brought to you by Mercury Modern Business Banking designed for entrepreneurs who want less stress behind the scenes.
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You know that moment when your kids.
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I wear a lot of.
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Hats in my day to day life. Mom, wife, entrepreneur, friend, sister. The list goes on. So I'm always looking for ways to make things simpler and more efficient. And I bet you are too. If you've ever breezed through checkout with just a click, you've likely used that little purple shop pay button. It's fast, it's secure, and it's super convenient. But here's what you might not know. That button means the store is powered by Shopify. And Shopify doesn't just make shopping easier, it makes starting and running a business easier too. Shopify is the commerce platform behind 10% of all e commerce in the US from household names like Mattel and Gymshark to brands just getting started you get stunning ready to go templates to express your brand style and built in marketing and email tools to spread your brand's word plus, with Shopify, you can manage your business in one place. And yes, that iconic purple shop pay button. It's used by millions. And it's why Shopify has the best converting checkout on the planet. Your customers already love it. If you want to see less carts being abandoned, it's time for you to head over to Shopify. Sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com golddigger go to shopify.com golddigger shopify.com gold.
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Digger.
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One of Quinn's favorite games is asking me to be an airplane and.
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Fly her around the house.
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And every time she picks a new destination, places like Arizona, Nashville, even Florida, I started to notice that the places she chooses, they're all spots we've traveled to as a family.
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Travel is something we absolutely, absolutely love.
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And whenever we travel, we opt to book an Airbnb. It gives us space to be a family. Like when we stayed in Arizona and had a pool, a putting green, and separate bedrooms for the girls. Hello, better sleep. It was the perfect place to make.
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Memories that have stuck with all of us.
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That trip reminds me how thoughtful hosting can be and how much it can shape someone's experience. But I also know how much work goes into creating that kind of state. That's why I love that Airbnb now has a co host network.
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You can team up with someone local.
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Who takes care of all the details, guest communication, check ins, even setup, so that your space still shines even when you're not the one managing it. If you've been dreaming about hosting but wondering how you'd actually pull it off, this is your sign. Find a co host@airbnb.com host all right.
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So the next one is one of my favorite ones, which are masterclasses. So this is essentially a free training. This is a huge way that we grow our email list and it's an amazing way to deliver value, to get somebody quick wins, to help them really understand the what and the why of the thing that you're selling or the thing that you're teaching on. And so masterclasses are awesome. And this could come in the form of an automated masterclass, meaning it's on demand. They can sign up anytime, Live masterclasses, live live zoom calls, et cetera. This is a real value add and an amazing way to get people that are aligned or desiring what it is that you're doing so that then you can eventually sell to them. Right? So if somebody opts in for a Pinterest masterclass there's a really good chance that they would be in alignment with our Pinterest course. Makes sense, right? Again, you're not shouting to the void. You're opening up this direct line of communication for people who are already saying, I am aligned with what you're doing. I want to learn more. So masterclasses or free trainings are amazing. I think it's one of the best ways, especially if you sell a digital course or a digital product, you want to help people really understand the what and the why, and then your offer is the how. And so that is one of the best ways to grow your list. When we do our launches, we grow our list by thousands of new email subscribers. And there's so much value in an email subscriber that even if they don't purchase during the launch, then we get to keep showing up and serving them in their inbox until they're ready. Right. They have an awareness around our offer. It might not be the right time or the right offer, but they're staying on the list so that we can keep showing up and keep serving them, which is amazing. Another thing that you could offer as an opt in that is a more recent one that I've been seeing are like AI prompt packs or swipe files. Meaning like, these five ChatGPT prompts will change your marketing, or these five ChatGPT prompts will help you get your workouts in. I mean, it could be literally anything. You can use ChatGPT for just about anything. But if you have developed an amazing ChatGPT prompt that could help other people, this is one of the main opt ins that I feel like I'm seeing a ton of. It's probably the algorithm serving me this type of content content. But I am seeing a ton of creators taking their custom prompts and giving them away as a freebie, as a way for people to opt in. And again, if you do this, you want to make sure that those prompts are aligned with the type of person who would be the right fit for your offer. Right. So you don't want to just do random chat GPT prompts. Like, I wouldn't want to do one of like, here's how to get your colors done on ChatGPT. I don't have any offer on aligned with that. I would want to make sure that the prompts that I'm giving away on the front end are in alignment with someone who would need what I have on the back end. So AI prompt packs, whether it's like a prompt for writing an email or creating content or something aligned with what you do or offer is a really trendy type of opt in right now. But it's also super useful as people are starting to learn how to use AI and how to leverage it. I've gotten some really amazing prompts that I'm like, oh, I don't know that I would have ever thought to ask it like this or to do it like this. So it's a really, really sticky one right now in a good way. Another type of opt in that we do a lot of our different printable planners or like, almost like workbooks, right? So it's a free download and we had one that was like our control planner. And it was essentially like when life feels out of control, this is the. The one sheet planner that just helps you get back on track and really see your priorities. That one did really well. We have a goal digger planner that is in alignment with what we teach on the podcast. That one did really well. It's just a one sheet planner. You can make it really cute if you want to in canva, but helping someone who has a problem that you can solve figure out how to kind of distill things down or get clarity around what they actually need the most help with is a really great way to have them self qualify themselves for the next step. Right. To kind of simplify the process for them. So printable planners are amazing. The next style of opt in that is probably my personal favorite is digital downloads. And this is to me, the easiest and most approachable way to position a freebie. It's really easy to create it. It. It's really awesome for somebody to consume it. This is probably the number one way I recommend creating something again. You could create a super simple checklist and make it a download. You could create a planner and make it a download. They're all very similar, but for us, we almost like to create these guides. So the most used type of freebie in my business would be masterclasses and then second to that would be digital downloads. We have different digital downloads that are in alignment with all of our offers. Right. So again, starting with the end in mind, and essentially we have things like the ultimate pinterest guide or 8 Ways to Grow and serve your email list or our ultimate podcast equipment guide. And these are just digital downloads that are designed in canva that are beautiful to look at but very informative that help somebody get a quick win or solve a problem. Problem. Right. I love this type of download just because it's something that you can create. Once and it can serve people for months, even years to come. And to me, it's just the best way for me personally to create again. I want for you to listen to all of these through the lens of like what is going to be the easiest approach for me to handle in terms of creating an opt in. But free downloads are kind of the most take typical way people grow their email list. And again, you probably already have the knowledge or the content to create a download today. And it doesn't have to be perfect, doesn't have to be super pretty. It just has to get somebody the result that they desire. One of the last ones that I love are quizzes. And I have done a few different podcast episodes about quizzes. I think quizzes are a genius and entry point into your email list for a few different reasons. So first off, people love taking quizzes, especially if you can position it in a way that someone feels like they're gaining insight into who they are, what they need, et cetera. So we've had a few different quizzes. One of them was called what's your secret sauce? I love that quiz. It's so fun. We've had over a hundred thousand people take that quiz and what I love about it is it asks a lot of fun questions, but it also asks a lot of specific targeted questions so that we can gain insight into who this person is, where they're at in their journey, what they need the most help with. And then the results pages connect them to different free resources, different podcast episodes. It tells them about themselves. It literally feels like we're looking into a crystal ball and people are like, this is so freakishly accurate. I love it. Quizzes are a really great way to collect data on who is an entering your ecosystem. And again, where are they at in their journey, what do they need help with, what are they identifying as their pain point? And there's a specific way you can set the quizzes up where let's say Your quiz is 10 questions long. You want to have just a few fun questions in there. You want to have a few targeted questions that give you insight and you want to make sure that there's a specific path that gives somebody unique results based on their answers. And so I love quizzes as an entry point. We have a few different quizzes that are working in our business and again, they're set up really intentionally and specifically, but they're also really fun to take. So here's what I want for you to know. There are many different ways that you can create different Opt ins. And I want to tell you a story about why I think you should consider starting with two opt ins. Okay. I know one is going to be amazing and you're going to do one after this episode, but here's an argument of why I would challenge you to start with two. So before we had our children, my husband had expressed that his deep desire was to be a stay at home dad. And before we had our first daughter, I went through two miscarriages. So I had two years of back to back pregnancy losses. It was just a devastating, just a really hard time in our lives. And so it was this time of waiting where my husband wanted to be a stay at home dad. But we had no children and we were really in the depths of figuring it out and just really working through, well, what is this going to look like, right? You can't really be a stay at home dad without kids. And so in that in between season, my husband, who is super passionate about health and nutrition and fitness, decided that he was going to start a health coaching company. And so at the very beginning of his company, before he even had a name or a website for it, I told him, you have to start a new email list. Like this is the number one priority of your business, right? Like, I had learned through my own mistakes that I'd waited too long. And so I said, I don't care what you're going to call it, I don't care what it's going to look like. Let's start growing your list. And so at the very beginning, his first idea was that he was going to help people like me who work from home, who struggle with getting movement in. At the time I really struggled with exercising. I didn't like love it. I couldn't find anything I loved. I wanted to be at home. I needed fast and easy and effective workouts. And so his initial idea was like, I am going to serve at home entrepreneurs with like quick effective workouts. And so he created a free guide and it was five 20 minute at home workouts, no equipment required. And so that was his first freebie. He launched it out to his following, which wasn't super big at the time. And he got a bunch of opt ins, which, which was awesome, right? There's proof of concept there. This is an amazing way to experiment and see what does my audience actually find valuable. And so it would have been easy to be like awesome, okay, there's proof of concept. People want this, let's move ahead. But I had the idea and I said, let's just Test one other thing before we move too far in conceptualizing what this business is going to be. And I said we had created this checklist for our own house and home of here is our grocery shopping checklist and our meal prep menu. And so we already had created it for ourselves out of necessity. And all I did was go into Canva or go into Word. And all I did was take this resource that we already had for ourselves and package it up as a little PDF. And so essentially it was our grocery guide and our meal prep menu. And he put that out into the world and it got like five times as many opt ins as the at home workouts. It was clear as day that the people that he wanted to serve needed more help with nutrition than movement. And it changed the way that we set up his business. It changed the copy on his website, it changed his offers, it changed everything. And what was awesome is that just by having those two simple opt ins we were able to see, oh my gosh, we need to take this in a different way than we anticipated. But it also helped him to create offers that sold out before he ever even went to the general public. He never once had to post online about offerings or being available to help people with nutrition coaching because he had an email list of people who had already signed up needing help with meal planning and nutrition. It was amazing. And so one thing that I want for you to consider as you're starting to think through here's what I want to do for my opt in is are there two different ideas or two different ways to test out different things to get data? Because there is so much insightful data. You could go on to Instagram and do a quick poll and be like, hey, does anybody want this thing? They have no skin in the game, right? There is no real reciprocity there because they haven't put anything down. If you've ever done that and then you've created an offer and then nobody will give you their credit card. You know exactly what I'm talking about. Talking about. And so with an email list, again, the reciprocity is showing you this value exchange that is so informative that can guide your path forward so that you create the right offer that people actually want. And so after today's episode, yes, I absolutely want for you to get up one opt in, but I want for you to consider what could be a second opt in that would give me insightful data. I don't want just like interesting data. I want for you to collect something that helps guide your path forward. With confidence. The final thing that I want to talk about before I round up this episode is this. So the year that I created 52 opt ins was amazing, right? I still have a spreadsheet of all of the different freebies that I created, but that is not what I would recommend doing. Again, I learned a lot in the process. I don't necessarily have regrets, but it is not the way that we do things today. Today, today what we do is I look at every offer that I have and I ask myself, what are two different opt ins that I could have running at all times, right? What are two different offers that will help people pre qualify themselves for my paid product? And what we've come up with is essentially we have about 8 to 10 opt ins that I am constantly looking at right now. Today we are updating landing pages, I'm updating email sequences, I am constantly tweaking and looking at them. We're updating ad graphics, we have ads running 24,7 to grow our email list. It allows us to really focus on optimizing and really aiming for quality over quantity when it comes to our email subscribers. But again, as I said, this is the number one thing we're focused on in my business. So less can be more and you want to go deeper, not wider when you do this. And so having a limited number of opt ins, which is still a bigger number. But keep in mind, I have a team. I've been doing this for a decade. It allows us to really look at what is working. How is this page converting? What happens after somebody opts into our email list? What is their next step? Do they become a buyer? How long is that buying cycle? What does that look like? And all of that information. Information helps us fuel our business in the right way. And so the goal here would be for each of your paid products, have at least one aligned opt in and I'd argue, if possible, have two. They don't have to be complicated. You're often so close to your own genius that you think that what you know or what you do or what you've created is just common sense and surely everybody knows it. But that's not the case. Your opt in is not supposed to transform somebody's life with just one free PDF. But it's supposed to get them one step closer. It's supposed to get them one quick result. It's supposed to solve one micro problem, right? It's supposed to just help them see that you can be the guide on their journey, that you can lead them to their next best Step. So I hope that today's episode leaves you excited to consider growing your email list. I hope that you have some idea of an opt in that you can create today. It can be a simple PDF. You could even deliver the result in an email itself, right? You could literally say, I'm going to teach you three things I've learned lately about X, Y or Z. And literally the delivery email delivers it. It doesn't have to be beautiful to be effective. And so do not let your perfectionism or your desire to have everything be perfectly on brand hold you back from getting something out into the world that allows you to offer value, to get value in exchange, and to show up in people's inboxes and serve them and then eventually sell to them. Here's what I want for you to hear loud and clear. You do not need to have a full funnel figured out. You don't need to have a huge following to start growing your email list. You do not need it to be the perfect timing or the perfect offer or the perfect opt in. You just need one small, helpful thing to get someone started on the path to purchasing. Now, if this episode got you thinking, all right, I'm pumped. I'm going to do this, Jenna. But once I have that opt in, how do I set it all up? Don't worry, I've got you. It's too much to cover in one podcast episode, but I put together a free email list. Building mini course. It literally walks you through the entire process. So again, it helps you anchor in how to choose your lead magnet, how to create your own opt in form, how to deliver your freebie, how to write the confirmation email, how to automate the entire process and so much more. It is absolutely free. No credit card required. You can literally walk through step by step because seeing is believing and for a lot of you, you're afraid of the tech. And so I have tech tutorials that literally show you. Here's what you click to create your signup form, et cetera. So go to list buildchallenge.com this is a free mini course. It gives you the clear step by step instructions that will get your first lead magnet up and running, literally today. Again, go to list build challenge.com Sign up for the free mini course. I will walk you through all of the steps to get your lead magnet out and into the world and serving the people that you're creating it for. You can also find the link in the show notes. I hope today's episode is the starting point for you. I hope it has finally convinced you that you are capable of of creating an opt in that people find valuable, that you are worthy of growing an email list, an asset that you own that you can have a direct line of communication to the people who actually care about what you say, and that you don't have to shout into the void. You can leverage this asset you own to communicate clearly, to help people get the results that you desire to get them, and to connect on a deeper level. I love today's episode. I hope you love it too. Until next time, Gold Diggers, keep on digging your biggest goals. And thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Gold Digger Podcast.
- [48:07]
A
Thanks for pulling up a seat for another episode of the Gold Digger Podcast. I hope today's episode fueled you with inspiration, gave you information that you can turn into action, and realigned you with your true north in life and business.
- [48:20]
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If you've enjoyed today's episode, head on.
- [48:22]
A
Over to gold diggerpodcast.com for today's show notes, discount codes for our sponsors, freebies to fuel your results, and so much more. And if you haven't yet, make sure you're subscribed so that you never miss a future show. We'll see you next time, Gold Diggers.