What Opt-in Do You Need to Grow Your Business?

Every business needs an email list. Every. Single. One. Some (those who are trying to sell a lower-priced offer or a group program or a membership) need a larger list than others (those who are selling a higher-ticket offer to just a few 1:1 clients), but everyone truly does need a list.

There are a lot of ways to get people on your list; one of those ways is a quality opt-in. But a checklist isn’t actually a quality opt-in. Sorry not sorry.

Once upon a time, a checklist was an effective opt-in but not anymore. Your audience is looking for something more.

What’s a business owner to do? What will you use to encourage ideal clients to opt into your list?

Listen in and I’ll share some questions to ask yourself before developing anything and formats you can use to deliver exactly what your audience needs.

Mentioned in This Episode

Transcription

Abby Herman 0:09

Hey there, and welcome to Episode 150 of The Content Experiment podcast, a podcast that supports the idea that content and marketing are ever moving targets in any business. And it’s okay if you don’t feel like you’re doing it. All right all of the time, you have permission to experiment with little tweaks and changes in your content, to find what works for you, what increases value for your audience, and what grows your business, and most importantly, what feels good for you.

Abby Herman 0:39

I’m Abby Herman, content strategist and coach for online business owners who are ready to make a bigger impact online. I firmly believe that success isn’t about what big marketing brands and so called gurus think is the right thing. It’s about you in your business, your lifestyle, and frankly, your values and belief systems, you get to do business in a way that works for you.

Abby Herman 1:02

So you probably have an opt in, something that requires someone to enter an email address for a free goodie. You maybe have multiple opt ins that you rotate through, or maybe you’re thinking you need something new, something that will get more traction than what you’re getting right now. On this episode, I am going to share with you how to decide what your next opt in will be for your business. Because checklists and downloadables just don’t work anymore. So when you’re creating that brand awareness content that we talked about back in Episode 148, you will have something to send to your people, you will have something to mention, so that they can get to know you a little bit better, and maybe potentially, eventually buy from you.

Abby Herman 1:52

So to start, I want you to think about these four things. And you might want to pull out a notebook or your laptop, so you can take some notes on this, because you’re gonna want to do some brainstorming around these ideas. So your opt in should be either something that your audience is asking for, or something that your audience needs. Alright, so those are the two first two big things something your audience is asking for. So what questions have they been asking you, and if you’ve been following me for a while, you can go back to your zones of genius, and find, you know, find some of the things that they’ve been asking you there. And, and or I guess I should say, something that your audience needs. What do they need to know or be able to do before working with you? Or like, think about what is the biggest reason that they’re not ready to work with you.

Abby Herman 2:49

All right, so I said that there were four things your opt in should either be something that your audience is asking for, or something that your audience needs. And then there are two other important factors to pay attention to, as you start brainstorming ideas of what that opt in will be. It’s something that your audience needs or that your audience is asking you about. And now you need to make sure that it is something that aligns with your zones of genius, and something that will give them a win. All right, so it needs to align with your zones of genius. Those are the big ideas that you talk about in your business that you can talk about over and over and over again without ever running out of things to say. And the reason it needs to align with your zones of genius is because you’re going to be offering an opt in form on the content that you’re creating on that pillar content that you’re creating.

Abby Herman 3:42

So whether it’s an actual form on your website, or you’re sending people to a landing page, it needs to naturally align. So it makes sense for someone to consume a piece of content from you, and then turn around and say, Oh, I need to know more and then give you their email address. And it also should be something that gives them a win, because people are not opting into things that require them to just read or consume content. A checklist is also not a win, it needs to be something that solves a problem for them. And it does so quickly. If you want more information about zones of genius, I talk about the zones of genius in episodes 63 and 138. And I will link to both of those in the show notes.

Abby Herman 4:35

Alright, so now that you know something that your audience is asking for, or something that your audience needs, so you’ve narrowed that down. You have decided you know that this is aligned with your zones of genius and you know that the idea the opt in that you want to supply them is something that will give them a win. And we also know that a checklist is not a win. Checklist is not going to work. So let me give you some ideas of opt ins that are working right now, opt ins that can help attract people to you, and encourage them to give you their email address.

Abby Herman 5:12

So an evergreen or live challenge is a really great option. I do this in the Ask Your Audience challenge that I ran live recently and also offer evergreen, you can go to thecontentexperiment.com/ask for more information. And if you want to learn how to ask your audience so you can figure out what it is they actually need. Another idea is a workbook or training that walks them through how to do something that’s usually an excuse for not working with you. So what are what’s something that you can teach them so that they know in advance, they have that first step, I guess in advance of working with you. Again, this is a workbook or training, this is not a downloadable ebook, this is something that they can actually do, and get a win from.

Abby Herman 6:06

You could also have an opt in, that’s a tool that they can use to test out something that you offer, like a dashboard, or a free trial, or free sample of a product or maybe like a chapter of your book that you that you sell. So you know, supplying a chapter of your book is not like downloading an ebook. Because there’s so much more to it, you’re going to give them the first chapter that is going to set them up for wanting more. Another option for an opt in would be templates or swipe files that will save them time because they’re going to like take the information and repurpose and personalize what you’ve already started for them. You could offer a quiz that gives them guidance on where they actually need the help most or need the most help. So that they can decide that working with you is a good idea.

Abby Herman 6:58

You could also offer a resource library that gives them access to a handful of different free resources. Or you could have a Facebook group that gives them more direct access to you, and a community of like minded people. And Bonus points if you deliver original content here. I will say, however, that I know that growing a Facebook group, and growing engagement in a Facebook group, is a long term project. It’s not something that happens right away, you really have to work at that. And you really have to be dedicated to have a free Facebook group.

Abby Herman 7:34

So once you have your opt in idea, and you’ve developed it, don’t forget to promote it. Because just having these opt ins sitting around is not going to serve a great purpose for you. It’s not going to give you a good ROI on the time and potentially money that you’ve spent on developing this opt in. But that’s a topic for another episode. I’m gonna leave that right there as a teaser for you. The goal is to not have your amazing new opt in just sit around; you want people to gain access to it to use it. So tune into Episode 152 where I am going to talk about exactly how to promote it and what to do after people have opted into your thing. Whatever it ends up being, you’re welcome for the tease.

Abby Herman 8:30

So what do you think? Are you ready to create your new opt in for your business? When it’s ready, let me know. And then make sure you tune into Episode 152 when I tell you what exactly to do with an opt in, how to promote it, how to get people to opt into it. If you found value in what you learned here today, be sure to share it on social media. Take a screenshot of the episode on your phone and share it over on Instagram stories and tag me at the content experiment so I know that you are listening. The more you share the more we can get the podcast into the hands and earbuds of more business owners just like you who need to hear the message that they are not alone. Until next time, take care.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai