There. You finished creating an offer that you’re going to market for free in exchange for people signing up on your website. It might be a product, a webinar, or an in-person presentation.
You’ve put time and effort into creating it. You wrote it up. Or recorded it. You reviewed it. You booked time in your calendar and set up your webinar. Maybe you hired someone to do some design work to support it.
You’re finally ready to put it out into the world.
And then…
A coach friend or two signs up. An email here or there trickles in.
But it’s not what you’d hoped for.
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 is that the coaches or healers are crafting their free offer using the wrong lens.
They’re look at it at it primarily from the perspective of how it’s going to help them and their business, over and above how it might help someone else.
I mean, the marketing offer 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 them that ultimately does result in them choosing to hire or purchase something from you at some point.
However, when coaches and healers create free offers mainly from that space – from the “how is this going to lead to someone hiring me?” space - they bring a mismatched energy to the exchange; and potential clients feel it. The coaches and healers usually feel it too, though it might not be apparent to them.
What’s In It For Them?
Have you ever been invited to one of those parties? One where the host has some appetizers and drinks, and then invites in a sales person to give a product demonstration or to lead a product-based game or two? You know the kind I’m talking about, right? All those those Pampered Chef, DoTERRA Essential Oils, or Thirty-One Gifts parties…
I used to groan when I got one of those invitations. I never wanted to go because at the end of the evening,
I knew I’d end up feeling like I had to buy something that I didn’t really want.
When one of your potential clients sees your free offer, they’re need to see something valuable in it to respond positively.
If a free offer has not been crafted in service to them, people might end up feeling like it’s an invitation to one of those parties. True, they might enjoy an appetizer and have an interesting conversation with a neighbor they’d not met before, but they know they’re going to have to buy something before the nights out, something they might not need anyway…Do they really want to go?
As potential 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 anyway?
They’ll question: Do I really want that? I get too many emails anyway…
Creating Your Free Offer? Use These Three Things
There are a number of components to consider when creating a free offer. However, starting from your potential customers’ needs is paramount.
When creating a free offer, start with these three things:
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.
One Struggle
Still thinking of this ideal client’s problems, choose one pain point or issue they’re contending with.
One Release
Then, consider one small thing that could provide this ideal client 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 that doesn’t depend on further follow up sessions or more information.
Once you have a concept, you can then decide to create and deliver the offer in a way that leverages your essence and strengths, your unique soul-self as a coach or healer.
Keeping clients’ needs foremost in your mind when creating a free offer lets them see that they’ll walk away with someone 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.
Who knows where your relationship with them will go from there?
If you’re a life coach or healer struggling to get clients who wants to create unique programs and offers and get clients that align with your soul, please send me an email and let me know a little bit about you and your business. I’d love to hop on the phone, learn where you are and what you might need, and see how I could help.
There’s no pressure to buy anything or sign up for anything, I’d just love to connect and see what you’re creating.
Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash