We all want more qualified leads with less effort… right? Of course we do.

More qualified leads means we can charge premium prices for our services and help more people. And less effort means we get back more time to deliver a top-notch product or service. (Plus more time to relax with our families, go on holidays, and do fun stuff on the weekend.)

In my experience, the perfect way to get more qualified leads without working longer hours is with a high value opt-in.

An opt-in or a lead magnet is free, exclusive content designed to address and solve a pain point for your ideal clients. Usually to access the content, users put their email address into a form on your website. But it’s more than just an email newsletter sign up.

Your opt-in should be high quality and generous – something your clients might normally expect to pay for. It should demonstrate your expertise and knowledge in your field and provide a small taste of the kind of products/services you sell.

And it should help them get to know, like, and trust you… because then they’ll buy from you when they’re ready to invest in your paid products or services.

WHY SO MANY BUSINESSES DON’T USE THIS STRATEGY

So, if high value lead magnets or opt-ins are so incredible, why aren’t more businesses using them? When I tell my clients about the power of an opt-in, I often come up against three major roadblocks:

• Knowledge: They don’t know what to create
• Overwhelm: They can’t narrow down the options and pick one
• Technology: They’re not sure how to make the technology work and integrate it with their existing systems

Don’t let tech frustrations, a lack of knowledge, or overwhelm get in the way. After all, it’s really worth it when you implement this tool for your business. Remember what you stand to gain… more leads and more sales, with less effort!

So, let me walk you through some useful examples of high value opt-ins. Then once you’ve decided on what you’ll create, I’ll give you 5 simple steps to help you set it up and get it live on your website.

So, let’s get started…

11 EXAMPLES OF HIGH-VALUE OPT-INS

The best way to understand what a high value opt in might look like is to talk through some examples. That way, you can start to imagine what you might create for your business. If any ideas/inspiration come up as you read through this list, make a note of them for later (it’ll come in handy!).

1. A Cheat Sheet

Cheat sheets are popular because they give your audience a quick win. They’ll get to where they want to, faster, without having to figure it all out for themselves.

2. A Guide

Guides are usually longer form and more in-depth. Often, they walk you through step-by-step with what you need to do. These are popular for topics that require a lot of technical knowledge or skill.

3. A Discovery Call

A free discovery call or strategy session are great options, depending on the type of business you have. It allows your potential clients to get to know you a little bit before they commit to anything. And it can position you as a trusted expert – the perfect answer to their problems.

4. A Workbook

A workbook is an interactive, fillable document that takes people through a specific exercise and helps them arrive at a result.

5. Templates

Templates are a great way to provide your audience with value, save them heaps of time, and position yourself as extremely helpful.

6. A Checklist

Checklists are great because they’re often quick to put together, but they’re also really practical and easy for your audience to follow.

7. A List of Resources

Your audience will love a resource list. They’ll appreciate knowing the tools you use – after all, it’s probably taken you years of trial and error to figure out what works best. So, it can really save them a lot of time.

8. A Printable

Free printables are a really popular high value opt-in, especially if you can make it practical, on-brand, and really attractive. Encouraging your audience to turn your digital product into a physical one (one that they’ll touch and potentially look at each day) can be a really powerful way to connect with your brand.

9. An eBook

Long-form free eBooks aren’t quite as popular as they used to be (I suspect we all got a little bit of information overwhelm!), but they’re still a really effective high-value opt in. Especially if people would normally pay you for the kind of information in your eBook.

10. Links to exclusive audio/video content

This might be an audio series, webinar, video training, or something else. Having a multimedia opt in can be extremely popular, especially if this is your audience members’ preferred way to consume content. Plus – hearing your voice in audio or seeing your face on video helps them get to know you on a more personal level.

11. An eCourse

eCourses are a HUGE trend at the moment, and it’s no wonder – people love learning things online. A free mini eCourse can set you apart as a trusted expert and industry leader… perhaps even more powerfully than if you wrote a book.

Don’t get TOO hung up on creating “the perfect” opt-in. Just think, this is one of many opt-ins that you can create in the future. Progress over perfection!

Just to recap… a high value opt-in is essential for nearly all businesses these days. Here’s why:

• Email address – It gives your audience an incentive to hand over their email address
• Nurturing – Once you have someone’s email address, you can start sending them your automated email nurture sequence

In other words, after they sign up, you can set your system to automatically send them helpful and interesting emails at set intervals over a period of time.

I won’t go too deep into automated email nurture sequences here, because I’ve written another blog that covers >>how to set up your automated email nurture sequence. But to sum it up… a high value opt-in goes hand in hand with your nurture sequence. They’re both part of the same strategy: to attract and nurture qualified leads for your business (on autopilot) and convert them into sales.

Hopefully by this point, you’ll agree that it’s essential to get your opt-in up and running ASAP. But I don’t want you to get put off by the steps involved in creating it or setting up the tech. So, I’ve written out each step for you, along with some practical tips to consider along the way…

Before you can get your opt-in live, you’ll have to write the content. It is a MUST that you approach it from your ideal clients perspective. Think about what would be most useful to them. They’re not experts in your industry like you are, so keep it simple and don’t get too technical. And don’t forget to include a short introductory paragraph to tell them how to use the content, and a friendly conclusion that lets them know how they can contact you for further help.

Now that you’ve got your content written, it’s time to make it pretty!

You don’t necessarily need to hire a designer or have experience in design tools like Photoshop. I recommend >>Canva. It’s simple, easy, and free. Simply import your written content, and start playing around with it. Canva includes plenty of free images (and some $1 stock images) built into its system, but you can also upload your own. If you’re looking for some gorgeous (free!) images to use in your opt-in, I’ve compiled a resource of >>free image sources online that should give you some inspo!

The free version of Canva gives you plenty of custom options and once you’re happy with the design, it’s as simple as exporting as a PDF… and there’s your eBook/checklist/guide! If it’s a super large file size when you’re finished, go to >>Small Pdf and it’ll help you compress it in a jiffy.

You’ll need to sort out an email marketing platform to automatically deliver your free download (and then your nurture sequence). Apart from price, the most important thing to consider when choosing your email system is to make sure it includes automation.

Another important point to consider is growth as your business scales. For example, Mailchimp is a fantastic free tool for getting you up and running. But if you plan to add more opt-ins and email sequences down the track, I’d generally recommend a system that’s a bit slicker so it can grow with you (>>ActiveCampaign is my jam for this reason!)

Now here’s the sticky bit. Not all websites and email systems play nicely together. It’s always worth a quick Google search to check if your type of website (e.g. WordPress, Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, etc.) lets you link an email sign-up box to your chosen email system (e.g. Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, Ontraport, etc.). And of course… how to do it!

For example, my website, is built on WordPress and my automated email sequences are in ActiveCampaign. And I use the ThriveLeads plugin to create the email sign-up box on my site. This ensures that people who download my opt-in on my site are ‘tagged’ correctly in ActiveCampaign and land in the right spot.

If your website and platforms don’t fit into these examples, that’s okay too. You might just need to do a little more research up-front. This will save you ending up in a hot tech mess trying to link it all together further down the line… trust me!

Last but not least, don’t just let your awesome opt-in sit there on your website, crossing your fingers that your ideal clients stumble across it. Nope! You’ve gotta promote it!

Create some promo posts for your social media channels, and invite people to come check out your offer. Share your opt-in on your Facebook page, in Facebook groups (as long as it’s not against the rules), on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest… and wherever you (and your ideal audience) likes to hang out.

Don’t assume that your current prospects and leads will stumble across your opt-in either. Any time you get a new enquiry, check if they’ve opted into your offer, and if they haven’t, send them a link. It’s the perfect opportunity to give them something for free up front that’ll help build trust and give them a taste of what it’ll be like to work with you.

And while you’re technically good to go, I’d recommend taking things one step further. Set up a unique landing page specifically for your opt-in where your ideal client can pop in their email address. This will mean that you can link directly from your social media posts to this page. It’s a lot easier for your audience to find what they’re looking for instead of getting them to head to homepage, scrolling down halfway, look for the box, etc. This will make a big difference to your conversion rate.

By the way, you don’t necessarily need a fancy new sales page designed or a special add-on system. With most website builders, all you have to do is add a new page to your website and remove the menu navigation from that page. This’ll look like a super slick landing page but it’s hosted on your own site for free!

I’ve given you all the info and steps you need to get started… so go do it! Keep it simple and get it launched. And then sit back and watch your new leads roll in!

If you give it a go and you’re struggling with a few things, I can help. Maybe you’re finding it hard to come up with a strategic opt-in that really solves your clients frustrations. Or perhaps your email nurture sequence is feeling a little flat. Or maybe the tech side of it is making you go a bit cross-eyed.

You don’t have to do it all yourself if you don’t want to! I can help you right this way >>

So, whether you DIY or get some help, go and launch that high value opt-in. It’s one of the BEST things you’ll do for your business.

– Claire