You’ve put time and effort into creating a free offer you’re going to give away when people sign up to your mailing list.

You wrote it up or recorded it. You reviewed it. You’re finally ready to put it put into the world.

So you do, and then…

A coach friend or two signs up. An email, here or there, trickles in, but to be honest, the sign ups are not happening like you’d hoped.  Not at all.

Using the Right Perspective

There could be several reasons why a creative free offer doesn’t hit the mark. However, one reason I see frequently is when coaches, healers or creatives craft their offer using the wrong lens.

They look at it primarily, and sometimes exclusively, from the perspective of how it’s going to help them and their business instead of how it might help an ideal client.

The Opt-in is a Trade

You’re giving something away, and, in exchange, you want to receive an email address. And by receiving someone’s email address, you hope to start a relationship with that person that ultimately does, at some point, result in them choosing to hire or purchase something from you.

However, when you create a free offer mainly from that space – from the “how is this going to lead to someone hiring me?” space – several things can happen. First, the decisions you make about the product tend to be about what’s best for you – cheapest, fastest, easiest, etc. While these are things you have to consider (I don’t want you investing thousands to create a free give away) they aren’t the only things to factor in. You can also bring a mismatched energy to the exchange; and potential clients feel it.

Is Free Worth It?

When my husband turned 55, we started to receive all those offers in the mail from local financial advisors offering an informative retirement strategy presentation over a steak and shrimp dinner. At the time, we were looking to change investment companies, so, on a lark, we decided to sign up. We thought we’d learn a bit about this new company, perhaps meet a few other people in the community, and enjoy a dinner.

It didn’t exactly go to plan.

First, the woman who ‘personally’ invited us to the event never greeted us, or many others, as they arrived or sat waiting for dinner. The presentation was over the top with scary scenarios about what would happen if the market plunged and we hadn’t taken their newest strategy with our funds.

And do you want to know the worst part?

Two days after the dinner, the calls started. The advisor started calling to speak to us. She left voice mail message after voice mail message. She called at all hours during the day - dinner time, bedtime, weekends. Despite me telling her we weren’t going to make a move at this time, she continued calling. It was relentless.

I’d see her number on the caller ID and feel under siege.

Finally, when I realized she wasn’t going to stop any time soon, I told her, politely but clearly, to stop calling. Don’t call us we’ll call you.

I joke with my husband that that’s the most expensive steak dinner I’ve ever had.

What’s In It For Who?

While asking a potential client for an email address isn’t likely to cause as much disruption as this person did by calling our home phone (unsubscribe is only a click away, after all), you’re still asking your potential clients to trust you.

Trust that they’re going to get something valuable from you (in the form of the free offer) and that they’re going to continue to get value from you when you email them in the future.

Like most people, your potential clients are not only juggling too many incoming emails, they’ve also probably been spammed by email marketing in the past.

If a free offer has not been crafted in service to them, they might end up feeling like it’s an invitation to one of those free steak dinners. True, they think, I might enjoy an appetizer or learn a fact or two, but will it be worth it what I have to endure what will inevitably ensue? 

When your ideal clients see a free offer, they ask: Is this going to really help me or am I just giving away my email address (or my time and my email address) for something I don’t really need all that much anyway?

start here to create a valuable free offer

Considering the all the components when creating a free offer is a part of what I help my clients with all the time. You’ll want to consider your own gifts, and talents, and which medium you shine in. You’ll also want to consider convenience, capacity and delivery mechanisms, channels, etc.

But, before you get to any of that, you need to start with  the most important element of all – meeting your potential clients’ needs.

Here’s a quick, three-step process to get you started doing just that: 

1.  Focus on One Ideal Client

Call to mind an ideal client. This can be either someone you worked with in the past, or someone you’d love to work with but haven’t yet. Spend a few minutes immersing yourself in the difficulties they are facing that you can help them with.

2. Identify One Struggle

Still thinking of this ideal client’s problems, choose one pain point or issue they’re contending with. Spend a little time considering how this shows up in their daily lives, how it makes them feel, what they encounter when this happens.

3.  Choose One Release

Then, consider one small thing that could provide this person with some relief. This could be some reassurance, a reframing, a release. It could be a set of tips, additional information, anything.

Remember, you aren’t looking for transformational healing or big shifts here. You’re looking to provide a bit of help, something unique, that will provide relief right then and there in the context of the offer.

Once you have a concept, you can then create and deliver your offer in a way that leverages your own essence and unique strengths. This will help keep you offer fresh AND fun for you to produce.

Keeping clients’ needs foremost in your mind when creating a free offer lets them see they’ll walk away with something of value, something tangible. And that means they’re much more likely to sign up, giving you their email address, and come into your world and start engaging with you and your material.

That’s something I’d sign up for right away.

Photo by Anastasiya Romanova on Unsplash