If you’re looking to grow your email list, then a freebie is the way to go. Think about it like this, you create something of value for your dream student and the give you their email address as payment.
A note about this episode is that this is a sneak-peek inside my brand new course: 5 Weeks to Confident Yoga Marketing.
I’m sharing this so you can get a feel for how I teach and if I’m the best teacher and coach for you when it comes to learning about marketing your yoga business. If you like this then you will love the course so learn more on THIS PAGE!
Why Email is so important to growing your yoga business
Email is the only channel that we own. While we don’t own the email platform (such as MailChimp, ConvertKit or Active Campaign), we do own the email addresses because when someone signs up for your email list, they are giving you permission to communicate with them.
Imagine this - Facebook and Instagram went away all the sudden. How would you communicate with your audience? How could you share your yoga class schedule with your students? Or what if you needed to cancel yoga class for some reason?
The answer is email. You need to be growing an email list so that you are in control of how and when your message is delivered.
And if you’re rolling your eyes thinking that Facebook and Instagram aren’t going anywhere, there’s still reason to build an email list. When you post to social media, not every person that follows you actually sees your content. There’s an algorithm behind these platforms that chooses which content to show.
But with email, you decide when you want to send something and it goes to everyone on your email list.
What is an email freebie / lead magnet / opt-in?
Once you’ve decided that an email list is something you want to work on growing, it’s time to invite people to be a part of your list. And a freebie is a great way to do that. The other terms you may have heard are lead magnet or opt-in. All these terms mean the same thing: you provide something to the person who gives you their email address.
Some examples of freebies include:
Discount codes (this is mainly for products or yoga studios)
Downloadable PDF such as a yoga posture guide or a step-by-step guide for a specific asana pose
Audio files such as a meditation or audio of a yoga flow with cues
Free challenges such as a 5 day meditation challenge
Quizzes such as what yoga class is right for you?
There are many options when it comes to a providing something in exchange for an email address but the key is that there is an exchange that happens. You can have a simple “sign up for my email newsletter” form on your website but it’s much more valuable to your student if you provide them something immediately in exchange for their email address.
How to choose the freebie that will help you grow your email list?
Keep in mind that you will likely have to create several freebies before you find one that works well. But don’t let that stop you. Create one today, test it out and then if it’s not working and growing your email list, then you can try something else.
The most important thing to know before you create a freebie of any kind is who your dream student is. Maybe you have a niche already for your yoga business and you know exactly who that is. FANTASTIC! But if you don’t know who your dream student is, then think about a current offering you have right now that you want to grow. Do you have a workshop that’s coming up that you need to invite students to? Start there. Who is the dream student for that specific workshop?
Yes, yoga is for everyone. But not every class or workshop is for every person. Knowing who the dream student is for one specific offering is critical to marketing that offering. - Amanda
There are two things I would suggest you think about to guide you on creating your freebie.
What is the pain point your dream student is experiencing? How can you help that person address that pain point in just 15 minutes?
What questions do you get asked by your dream student about what they can do at home? How could you guide them through something in 15 minutes that they could do at home in between classes or after your workshop?
Another way you can decide on a topic for your freebie is if you are creating content on your website currently. If you have a blog or a podcast or a video channel then you have information that can guide you. Go back to your Google Analytics or YouTube Analytics and see what topic is getting the most traction. What are people clicking on and reading or watching the most? Based on that content, create a freebie related to that topic.
How to name your freebie so it’s desirable to your dream student
Just like creating a freebie, keep in mind that you might have to try a few different titles too.
The most important thing to remember is that you want to be clear. The title needs to be descriptive so the person knows what they are downloading or signing up for.
The temptation will be to be clever with the title but clear is better than clever.
Here are some examples of clear freebie titles:
Dad destress in 15 minutes a home
After drop-off meditation for mom’s on the go
De-stress before the test
Guided breath exercise for teens
How to deliver your email freebie
Obviously, you will be delivering this using your email service (MailChimp, ConvertKit, Active Campaign, etc.) but you will want to do a little more than just deliver the file.
When you deliver the valuable freebie to your dream student, you also want to infuse your personality into the email too.
And I suggest a 3-email sequence to help you do that. Not only do you want to deliver the actual file that they have requested but you want to follow up with them too. Here is the go-to sequence to keep it simple:
Email 1: Delivery of the freebie. Keep this email short and sweet, they want what you promised them so don’t add to
Email 2: Follow up the next day to see how your student is using the freebie. This will also remind them in case they haven’t opened the freebie or used it.
Email 3: Follow up again within a week and ask them to take an action. This can be a paid or unpaid action: Follow me on Facebook for more tips, Schedule a call, Reply to this email, etc. The point is that you ask them to take an action after reading your email.
Don’t forget to test the technology with your email
When you’re delivering a freebie, it’s critical to test the technology, meaning the sign up form. In your email service provider, such as MailChimp, you will need to set up a form for people to input their first name and email address in order to receive the freebie.
Once you have the form set up, please don’t forget to test the email that will automatically send. There are two things you should do:
Send a test/preview email to yourself. You will do this inside of your email service provider and it will deliver to your email.
Test the form. You will do this by signing up for the freebie using the form. I would suggest that you sign up and you have a friend sign up to test it too.
When someone signs up for a freebie of some kind, they expect to receive the email so make sure to test this process.
Promote your freebie to build your email list
Once you’ve decided, created and tested your email freebie, it’s time to tell people about it. Please don’t do all the work and not promote the freebie. Here’s a simple marketing plan to help you promote your freebie:
Post about it on social media at least 1 time per week for at least a month.
Don’t give up on the freebie if you don’t see people signing up right away. You have to keep going. If you aren’t seeing any sign ups after a month, try tweaking the title of the freebie or how you’re sharing about it on social media. Don’t give up yet. Change some things and keep trying.
Your next step
Create your freebie. Go through the steps and questions outlined to identify what type of freebie your dream student would benefit from, then create it. Then it’s time to promote it and welcome people onto your email list.
Until next time, give yourself permission to create a freebie and grace along the way. Talk to you soon!
I'm hosting a FREE 5 Minute Marketing Challenge!
This 5-day challenge will help you market your yoga business in just 5 minutes a day. Use the link to sign up today. The live challenge will happen January 27 - January 31, 2020. But don't worry, if you find this later, the replay will be available too!
