Creating Downloads That Set You Apart
Why should you be creating downloads for your followers? To make them fans…
What is interactive media?
Interactive media is, simply, media that your readers feel like they can interact with. They can watch it, listen to it, download it and take it with them wherever they go. They can “own” it, in a sense. Think about it! When you go onto a website like audible or Amazon to order an e-book, don’t you feel like you OWN it later?
I think it’s NO secret, that people love free shit. It doesn’t matter WHAT it is!! A free ice cream sample or a book they’ll never read…PEOPLE WANT ALL THE THINGS!! (I blame Costco and their “samples”.)
So what is stopping you from creating something YOUR followers desperately want? Nothing! Not even that nagging little message replaying your head saying “It’s been done before.”
6 Things your lead magnet should BE:
RESULT ORIENTED - First and foremost, your download should be created to give your readers results. Assess the primary problem your current audience is having and determine what EXACTLY you can give them to solve this problem. Remember, this can be in the form of ANY type of media! Video, podcasts, quizzes, pdf’s, infographs and webinars are all VERY popular right now! Your goal is to solve a problem that relates both to your brand AND to their problem.
UNIQUE - Out of each of these six points, this is probably the most difficult. There are so many “free downloads” these days, that it’s difficult to think up something unique. My recommendation? DON’T initially do research on other downloads available. Assess your customer’s problem, and ask yourself how you would solve their problem if they were standing in front of you. Your next step is to get as CLOSE to that as you possibly can. Make them lean back on their couches and say “THAT was great info!” Make them excited to solve their issue! Once you have an idea of what you would like to do…see how other’s in your industry have tackled the issue.
Memorable to Your Brand - Make sure you have not only branded your download to be recognizable but make sure that it represents the basis of what your business does! If you help small businesses with their finances, don’t create a freebie that talks about small business branding. Even if it gets you traffic, it’s going to get you the WRONG kind of traffic. The whole point of creating these free downloads is to attract your PERFECT customer; the customer that wants to read your articles and buy your product.
YOUR BEST CONTENT - This MIGHT sound counter-intuitive, but your goal for EVERY download, video, and piece of media should be to release ONLY your best content. Think about it this way…you put great content on your blog for everyone to read freely. You put your REALLY great content, behind a request for an email address, in small chunks to download throughout your website. THEN, you can take this content and use it in larger, paid content like courses, ebooks, and webinars. Your downloadable content should get your customer saying “I would have paid for this…what else does she/he have??”
ACTIONABLE - “Actionable” means that your reader can easily take your solution and/or advice and immediately start to correct the problem that they are trying to solve. The solution, no matter HOW complicated, should appear to be an easy fix. They should be able to understand what you are laying down. As Albert Einstein once said, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”
EASY TO CREATE/ RE-USABLE - Your epic download should be both easy to create and be re-usable. For example, this download has taken me about an hour to create, and I’m going to use it in the Download library on the blog, in a 5-day video course all about traffic building AND as a freebie in the SEO Course! An easy to create freebie is something that you should be able to put together in about an hour or less. It’ll take a little longer than a blog post…but shouldn’t take up an entire day. Think intense checklists, mini-courses, 20 - 30 minutes of video, an e-book, or even a workbook style pdf!
Thanks for stopping by the blog today…I’ve loved having you!! Next time I’ll make scones. 0_0
If you loved this post as much as I loved writing it for, be sure to do me a solid, and pin, tweet or FB this bad boy!!! And don’t forget to leave your questions and comments below! I’d love to hear from you!
I’m working on a printable of some sort to offer with my subscribe signup. I’m having such a hard time deciding what to put though!!! How did you come up with your idea?
I actually came up with my full product idea first! 🙂 I have a lot of different free downloads which tie directly into a product for sale later on down the road. The free download here will lead to a paid course I am putting together in the next few weeks ALL about creating a unique writing and branding voice for your blog!
So, to answer your question, analyze what the final outcome is…figure out which content you’ve put on your blog that will tie in really well your paid product…then figure out how to turn that already written content into a free download your readers will love! Checklists, PDF’s, videos, etc…work really well!
I at first started thinking about freebies I could make and offer my subscribers. But then I realized that my freebies should be part of my sales funnel. That it should be some awesome sauce piece of a bigger project that is paid. That way, like you said, they are sitting there thinking, “Wow! I’m getting this for free?!” and then they want more and are more likely to pay for the next level 🙂 BTW, I am a huge Whovian and LOVE your logo!!!
DOCTOR FOR THE WIN!!! Man, I love that man(s). 😉
And you nailed it!! Give your BEST content to your customers, but have that best content be an EVEN larger part of a awesome-sauce PAID content!! 😀 That’s why I’ve found it’s easier to start from the end of the process. What will your paid product be…and work backwards from there! 😀
This is a great article! I’m a new blogger and am struggling to bring in new readers although I feel like I have good content! I’ll have to try creating some kind of printable. Thanks for sharing.
Nineteen Windsor
Wooho!!! I’m so glad you liked the article Ashley!! 😀 Good luck creating your download/printable!! If you have any questions for me, don’t hesitate to swing back by!
[…] Alright…so I haven’t TOTALLY fixed the problem for you, but your inbox will look a TAD better tomorrow! Originally, the way I had my emails set up, was a separate email trail for each opt-in I have on the blog. (If you don’t know what an opt-in is, or my process for creating one…check out this post!) […]
I’m looking forward to reading the download, because “easy to create” is the part that kicks my butt. I have plenty of ideas, but lack the skills to make aesthetically-pleasing printables without spending forever on them. That makes them not a very good time investment, so I need some skills!