The money is in the list. Email list that is.
So everyone who runs a business (online or off) should be generating leads. The landscape changes constantly, new strategies are used, but here are STILL the best methods to build that list!
#1 Lead Magnets (aka freebies, opt-ins, ethical bribes)
This is the CLASSIC list building tool. A piece of bait perfect for your ideal customer. Lead Magnets come in MANY forms, and lots of people use the term LEAD MAGNET to describe any kind of list building bait. But the typical lead magnets is usually a PDF guide or e-book of some kind.
What are they best suited for?
- Homepages of websites
- The main entry point of a funnel for a Facebook Ad
Overview of How to Get IT DONE:
- Write out the content
- Design it in Google Docs, InDesign, or Canva
- Save it as a PDF
- Attach it to a welcome email in your email service provider (ESP)
- Set up a form (name, email, submit button) on a homepage or a landing page
- Connect the form to your ESP
Our favorite tools (there are LOTS more, but here’s our top picks):
- For design: Canva, Google Docs
- For Landing Pages: Clickfunnels, Instapage
- For Email Service Provider: ConvertKit
FUN EXAMPLES & RESOURCES:
#2 Content Upgrades
These are micro-freebies. As in, think Lead Magnet but smaller and SUPER specific. A content upgrade is attached to a blog post. It’s designed to get leads faster than a traditional lead magnet because the idea is…if someone is reading a blog post about eggs, they are more likely to opt-in for something specific to eggs, than a generic lead magnet.
What are they best suited for?
- Individual Blog Posts
- Free gifts at the end of webinars (to get people to stay til the end)
Overview of How to Get IT DONE:
- Write out a kick ass blog post
- Write up a helpful piece of info that RELATES to the content in some way
- Design it in Google Docs, InDesign, or Canva
- Save it as a PDF
- Attach it to a welcome email in your email service provider (ESP)
- Set up a form (name, email, submit button) and embed it RIGHT in the content (about a 1/3 of the way down)
- Connect the form to your ESP
Our favorite tools (there are LOTS more, but here’s our top picks):
- For design: Canva, Google Docs
- For Landing Pages: Clickfunnels, Instapage
- For Email Service Provider: ConvertKit
FUN EXAMPLES & RESOURCES:
- How to pull a content upgrade off using Mailchimp and LeadPages
- Bellevue Avenue’s Content Upgrade (using LeadPages and Mailchimp)
#3 Challenges
Challenges are a pre-determined time/place for a group of people to go through a series of tasks to accomplish a goal. It includes a challenge sign up page/thank you page, plus content that gets dripped out via email or social media for the duration of the challenge.
What are they best suited for?
- List building RIGHT before a big launch
Overview of How to Get IT DONE:
- Write out the challenge content
- If you need a workbook or worksheets, design it in Google Docs, InDesign, or Canva
- Save them as PDFs
- Attach it to a welcome SEQUENCE in your email service provider (ESP) and keep the sequence in draft mode until the challenge starts
- Set up a form (name, email, submit button) on a homepage or a landing page
- Connect the form to your ESP
- Turn on the sequence when the challenge starts
Our favorite tools (there are LOTS more, but here’s our top picks):
- For design: Canva, Google Docs
- For Sign up Pages: Clickfunnels, Instapage
- For Email Service Provider: ConvertKit
FUN EXAMPLES & RESOURCES:
#4 Webinars
Webinars can be live or automated and great lead magnets. To pull one off, you need a registration page, thank you page, and a way for people to watch the webinar (and chat with you and other viewers). Webinars are ALSO a great selling too — and it’s considered one of the fastest ways to turn leads into customers.
What are they best suited for?
- Before a launch
- During a launch
- Automated webinars work great for generating leads for HIGH ticket sales
Overview of How to Get IT DONE:
- Pick the topic
- Setup the Registration page and thank you page in a landing page software
- Design the watch page
- Setup a YouTube LIVE event and embed it on the watch page
- Send reminder emails
- Do the webinar!
Our favorite tools (there are LOTS more, but here’s our top picks):
- For design of the presentation: Canva, Google Docs
- For Registration Pages/Watch Pages: Clickfunnels, Instapage
- For Email Service Provider: ConvertKit
- For Webinars: YouTube Live
- Other webinar software we like: GoTo Webinar
FUN EXAMPLES & RESOURCES:
- Our Automated Webinar (Using Clickfunnels and YouTube Live)
#5 Masterclasses
Masterclasses are the hip new term for — well — webinars. Unlike a one hour webinar, masterclasses often come in series. Maybe a three part workshop over the course of a day, or a couple of weeks. These are typically live and you need a registration and thank you page for the series.
What are they best suited for?
- Before a launch
- To sell a high end mastermind
Overview of How to Get IT DONE:
- Pick the topic
- Setup the Registration page and thank you page in a landing page software
- Design the watch page/s (since masterclasses are often done in series, you might want to make ONE page that has thumbnail image placeholders where the videos will go)
- Setup the YouTube LIVE events and embed them on the watch page ON the day that series of the masterclass releases
- Send reminder emails
- Do the Masterclass!
Our favorite tools (there are LOTS more, but here’s our top picks):
- For design: Canva, Google Docs
- For Landing Pages: Clickfunnels, Instapage
- For Email Service Provider: ConvertKit
- For Livestreaming: YouTube Live
FUN EXAMPLES & RESOURCES:
Watch ANY time sensitive launch, and you’ll notice a video page with videos that UNLOCK. These are time sensitive so they are hard to find!
#6 Groups
Facebook groups are powerhouse hotbeds for networking, work, and skills training (lots of groups have their leaders do FB lives right in the group). Because of this, entrance INTO the group can be used as a list builder as well!
What are they best suited for?
- Before a launch
- To sell a high end mastermind or coaching program
- Attached to blog posts
Overview of How to Get IT DONE:
- Setup a Facebook Group
- Make sure it’s set to closed
- Create a graphic that represents your group
- Place the graphic in a sidebar or IN a blog post
- Make a Click to Pop up form using your ESP and a plugin (opt-in monster for example)
- After they fill out their name and email, have it redirect to the Facebook Group
- Another way to do it is to have a welcome email fire after opting in, and placing the permalink of the group in the email
Our favorite tools (there are LOTS more, but here’s our top picks):
- For Landing Pages: Clickfunnels, Instapage (they have a Click to Pop Opt-in)
- For Email Service Provider: ConvertKit (they have the Click to Pop!)
- For Livestreaming: YouTube Live
FUN EXAMPLES & RESOURCES: (none of these require an opt-in, but you can!)
- Check out our sidebar!
- Check out Jordana Jaffe
- Check out Healthy Habits Happy Moms
#7 Giveaways
Free stuff. It’s as old as time. Free coupons, free gifts, free discovery sessions, free this, that, and the other thing. Giveaways draw in big crowds. Some giveaways are a 1 for 1. Optin and get the free gift. Others are more traditional: You optin and one winner is drawn.
What are they best suited for?
- General list building prior to launching a business
- Before a launch
Overview of How to Get IT DONE:
- Pick a prize
- Write a blog post
- Use a plugin like King Sumo Giveaways or Rafflecopter
- Require people to opt-in in order to enter to win
- Announce the winner via email
Our favorite tools (there are LOTS more, but here’s our top picks):
- For giveaway: King Sumo Plugin for WordPress
- For Email Service Provider: ConvertKit
FUN EXAMPLES & RESOURCES:
- Viral Giveaways (Femtrepreneur breaks down using KingSumo, and her content upgrade is done with LeadPages and Squarespace)
#8 Quizzes
Gaining QUICKLY in popularity, quizzes are hot right now and for good reason. Not only are they addicting, but they allow you to segment your list based on answers. You can create perfectly customized downloads and email sequences specific to the answer they received.
What are they best suited for?
- For segmenting your list for sales funnels
- Attached to blog posts
Overview of How to Get IT DONE:
- Write out the quiz answers
- Write out the content for the quiz answers (the explanations, PDF download etc.)
- Write out the questions
- Get a software like Interact
- Make images that represent the possible answers
- Set up the quiz
- Set up a landing page to host the quiz
- Hook up your quiz to your ESP
Our favorite tools (there are LOTS more, but here’s our top picks):
- For the quiz itself: Interact
- For design of the answers: Canva, Google Docs
- For Email Service Provider: ConvertKit
- For Landing Pages: Clickfunnels, Instapage
FUN EXAMPLES & RESOURCES:
- Our Freelancer Prototype Assessment! (using Interact and Clickfunnels)
- Sarah Hart’s Brand Quiz (using Playbuzz and LeadPages)
#9 Mini-courses
Mini courses are popular list builders because they feel more “comprehensive” than just a simple PDF. And many course creators, like to syphon off one section of their course, to give a taste of what’s to come when you buy the whole thing.
What are they best suited for?
- Attached to a homepage
- Attached to blog posts
- In a sales funnel that sells a larger course
Overview of How to Get IT DONE:
- Write out your mini-course
- Set it up in a program like Teachable, or deliver it via an email sequence
- Set up an opt-in landing page to advertise the course
- Attach the page to your ESP
- Attach the sequence to the form on your landing page
Our favorite tools (there are LOTS more, but here’s our top picks):
- For the course itself: Teachable, ConvertKit (for an ecourse)
- For design of the course content: Canva, Google Docs
- For Email Service Provider: ConvertKit
- For Landing Pages: Clickfunnels, Instapage (only needed if you DON’T use Teachable)
FUN EXAMPLES & RESOURCES:
- Proofread Anywhere
- Free Course on the homepage of Femtrepreneur
#10 Free trials
Free trials are super common with online software. They can nab your email address and SHOW YOU the power of their app, program, etc. so you can make a more informed decision about the software before you subscribe.
What are they best suited for?
- Discovery calls to test out a “coaching relationship”
- Software trials
- Web app trials
- Membership subscriptions
Overview of How to Get IT DONE:
- For Free offers: Deliver a coupon code in the welcome email that fires after they opt-in, or alternatively, you can put the coupon right on the thank you page
- For Free Discovery Calls: After they opt-in, take them to a private calendar to schedule
- For Membership Subscriptions: Setup a recurring subscription in stripe that has a trial offer number of days before it charges the account. Hook that up to a special checkout area that can only be accessed after opting in
Our favorite tools (there are LOTS more, but here’s our top picks):
- For discovery calls: Acuity
- For Landing Pages: Clickfunnels, Instapage (only needed if you DON’T use Teachable)
FUN EXAMPLES & RESOURCES:
- Clickfunnels has a free two week trial!
#11 Kindle Books
Amazon is the second largest search engine in the world. People write books and put them up for FREE (or super low price) to simply encourage people to opt-in on a special book bonus page. This of course requires an email address and then BAM, lead caught!
What are they best suited for?
- To lead into an evergreen sales funnel
- To sell high end masterminds
- To promote in-person seminars, conferences, and retreats
Overview of How to Get IT DONE:
- Write a book
- Publish it on Kindle
- Sprinkle links throughout the book sending them to a bonus book area
- Create the bonus book area landing page
- Make the landing page advertise the bonus and the opt-in area
- On the thank you page, put the book bonuses
Our favorite tools (there are LOTS more, but here’s our top picks):
- For Landing Pages: Clickfunnels, Instapage (only needed if you DON’T use Teachable)
- For Book Publishing: Kindle Direct
FUN EXAMPLES & RESOURCES:
- Read Pat Flynn’s Will It Fly
- Read Secrets of a Millionaire Mind
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MARIE WATSON says
What an awesome list. Great tips and resources. Thank you both for all you are doing.
David says
That was great! Sparked so many ideas. I think I finally figured out my consulting funnel thanks to #10!
Never thought of it as a free trial, but a discovery call is essentially that.
Keep up the great work!