The Right Way to Grow Your Email List with an Opt-In

We see you, babe.

You’re advertising the shit out of your products or services, talking them up on every social media platform that you can be found on, going live on Facebook and Instagram, spreading your business through word of mouth, and every other thing you can think of.

Still, you just aren’t getting the results you’d like to be, and you’re tired of repeatedly seeing the straight line creeping across your sales chart or– God forbid– a slow decline.

The last thing you need to do is give up. You may think you’re showing up everywhere you possibly can be. You may think you’re directly targeting your audience.

But are you utilizing your email list? Do you even have one?

Email subscriber lists can be a HUGE way to get in front of the right people. They’re at least one platform that you can bet your top dollar you’ll reach your audience through. (Emphasis on your audience, the people that want to be hearing from you regularly.)

You don’t have to add the 30-limit Instagram amount of hashtags on your emails to be sure that you’re being seen by interested viewers; you don’t even have to use ad spend.

All you need to really make sure you’re talking to the people you want to be talking to is an opt-in, also known as a lead magnet or, infamously, a freebie.

Ah, opt-ins.

Everyone loves free stuff, right?

Some love them, some don’t, but the fact of the matter is, they’re such an amazing tool for gaining email subscribers and then, ultimately, sales. 

The thing is, you have to do them right. 

What the Heck Is an Opt-In?

The simple answer: a way for people to get on your email list in exchange for something.

Opt-ins can be many different things, but they all serve that same purpose.

Whether it was a discount, a free checklist, a workbook, a video workshop, an e-book, or anything else, you’ve seen an opt-in on probably every website you’ve ever been to. (New challenge– take a shot for every time we use the word “opt-in”.)

Usually, they’ll pop up in a little box for you to enter your name and email, and in return, you get something for free.

They’re such a great way to get people on your email list, and even better, people who are actually interested in what you have to say. What you have to make sure of, though, is that you’re providing them with something that will actually help them. They’re doing you a big favor by willingly giving you their email address to receive your opt-in, so the least you can do is give them something valuable, right?

Say It with Us, “V-A-L-U-E”.

The thing to remember is that in order for people to help you, you usually have to help them first.

Often times, opt-ins get a bad connotation because many people aren’t focused on adding value and actually helping their audience– they just want the subscribers– which is the absolute wrong way to go about it. The last thing you want to do is leave a bad taste in their mouth.

We know it can be difficult finding the line between giving free value without giving away too much.

You want to create an opt-in that will still help your audience, but you don’t want it to cost you in the long run.

For example, a Social Media Manager may have an opt-in that’s a list of 30 content ideas. Although these ideas can help someone that is finding it difficult to create content for their social media accounts, it isn’t personally tailored to their business, which is where investing in the expert would come into play.

A Virtual Assistant could have an opt-in of 20 tasks you never knew you could outsource– usually focused on tasks that they offer themself. It’s helping business owners who may be unaware of what they can delegate, or even unaware that Virtual Assistants exist, while also planting the seed into their heads that they could hire this person to do those things for them.

Someone who sells physical or digital products will usually have an opt-in for a certain percentage off of their first purchase. It’s helping the consumer, while at the same time, encouraging them to make a bigger purchase and getting them on the list to be in the loop of what’s happening with their shop.

As a more personal example, we at Boss Project have an opt-in for a free Trello board dedicated to helping you map out your quarterly and yearly goals, as well as planning out the actionable steps to get you there. This board is a part of our Master Trello for Business course, which includes 11 more boards, plus teaching you how to, well, master Trello for your business. We give away the board for free in hopes that people love it and will then want to purchase the course.

Ok, we’ve given you enough examples to be able to see where we’re going with this, don’t you think?

Your opt-in should have a goal of either solving a problem your audience may be having, or just straight-up helping them in general. Whichever it is, it should be related to your business (obviously), as this will help to establish your position as an expert, and that if your audience needs extra help, they should come to you first.

Standing Out In a Sea of Opt-Ins

For some opt-ins, having them pop up in a little box when someone visits your website makes sense. Grabbing that free discount code is simple and straight to the point. It’s not really something that you would need to make a huge commotion for. If anything, it’s a no-brainer to the people coming to your site.

But what if you’re offering something a little bigger than just a discount code, like a workbook?

Sure, you could have a pop-up that says “Download this free workbook that’s all about ____”. It may seem pretty self-explanatory. However, for an opt-in like that, you’ll likely find better results by creating a simple sales page for it.

Treat it as something you’re selling. What kind of information would you include in a sales page for one of your products that costs cash money?

Dive deeper into what is included in the workbook (or other opt-in). Tell your audience what they’ll get out of it. What will it solve for them? Getting a few of your friends or biz besties to try out your workbook would even give you a few testimonials to add to your sales page.

You want to show that this is the real deal, that you’re not just going to drop a big turd in their inbox for the sake of getting them on your list. By treating it just like something you’d sell, you’re confirming the idea that this is everything you’re making it out to be. 

Your audience will then be more confident in their decision to give you their sacred email address because now they know exactly what they can expect.

How Do You Create Your Opt-In?

So, the wheels in your brain have been turning, and you think you’ve got an idea for the perfect opt-in for your business. Now what?

Please, do not make this more complicated than it has to be. There are tons of free or very low-cost options for creating your actual opt-in. Like, seriously, maybe even too many.

If you’re wanting to offer a video workshop or anything else pertaining to video or audio, Quicktime and OBS are two free options that you can use. Both allow you to record your screen, your face, or just audio. Quicktime will even let you record your phone screen by connecting your phone to your computer. (Perfect for if you use an iPhone and that red flashing oval in the corner when screen recording just irks your nerves).

The only downside to Quicktime is that it doesn’t allow you to seamlessly switch between different recording modes, whereas OBS does. If you wanted to switch from screen sharing back to your face, for example, it would have to be done in separate recordings and then stitched together. That may not be a big deal to some of you, but we’re all about things being quick and easy.

If your opt-in is a PDF of any kind, we would have to recommend Canva. It’s super user-friendly, so even if graphic design isn’t your forte, you’ll still be able to navigate it pretty easily. The free version of Canva is perfect for getting the job done without needing all the extras that the paid version, Canva Pro, includes. However, if you do decide that Canva Pro is better for you, it’s only $12.95 per month or $9.95 when paid annually. You can click here to try Canva Pro for free for 30 days .

STILL DREADING CREATING YOUR OPT-IN?

Maybe you want to go with a free workbook or checklist, but you’re still completely lost on how it should look, what pages to include, or how to format it correctly.

We completely understand. We’ve been there before ourselves, and it can be so stressful.

Because of that, we set out to make sure that no creative business owner has to experience the overwhelm that can come with trying to put together an opt-in, or any graphics in general, and making sure that it’s beautiful, readable, and totally work through-able.

Thus, The Shop was born and, with it, our Opt-In Workbook templates.

You could say we’ve pretty much done all of the hard stuff for you.

The only thing left for you to do is plug in your branding colors and fonts (or if you already love the ones we used, you can leave it as is), replace the wording with what you want to your workbook to be about, insert your own images, and voila! 

The hour or two that you probably would have spent on just the first couple of pages has now been cut short to maybe 30 or 45 minutes for all ten pages. And that’s only if you’re really taking your time.

It’s uploaded to Canva, and the best part is that every single part of it is available in the free version, so you really don’t even have to upgrade if you wanted to keep the fonts how they come.

OK, A TEMPLATE IS GREAT, BUT WHAT ABOUT ALL THE TECHNICAL STUFF?

Having a template is all fine and dandy if you already know all of the logistics behind getting it up and running. Of course, there’s more to it than just designing this pretty thing is Canva and boom, you’ve got an opt-in.

You still need to know the best way to get it out into the world, setting up your landing page or just the little pop-up box, and what to do after you’ve sent your opt-in and now have new subscribers.

Don’t worry, we aren’t just going to leave you hanging. Along with our opt-in templates, we also offer the option to grab our bundle, which includes the template + course, Opt-In Like a Boss. In this mini-course, we walk you through all the things that have to do with choosing your opt-in, creating it, building your landing page, the best ways to share it, and what to send your subscribers after they’ve received your opt-in and gotten on your list.

Of course, you can always purchase just the template for $34 or the bundle for $197, but can we tell you a little secret trick?

For $150 less, you can become a member of The Shop and have unlimited downloads of ALL current templates and course bundles, plus the four new collections we’re releasing every month. It’s a no-brainer, right?

You can head on over to The Shop here to find our Opt-In Workbook templates, and if the obvious choice for you is to purchase the course bundle, feel free to join our membership and save $150.

Remember: You’ve got this, and we’re here for you every step of the way!