Want to quickly boost your list size? Try this.

As you likely know, the formula for list building is to ask people for their email address, in exchange for giving them something free.

Your freebie can be an ebook, PDF, e-course with a series of emails, or a video series.

If you have a free opt-in gift, you’re likely promoting it on your website. And, hopefully you’ve been gradually building your list.

But what if you want to get a QUICK boost to the size of your list?

You can certainly run Facebook ads, but what if you don’t have the money to invest in advertising?

Today, I want to share a strategy that you can use with little to no investment.

I’ll also share a real-life example of this strategy so you can see how someone else has put this into action.

 
Motivate visitors to take action right away.

One way to quickly boost the number of people who opt-in for your free gift is to make it time sensitive.

You can do this by having your opt-in gift be an EXPERIENCE that starts on a specific date.

To explain what this looks like, I’m going to share an example from my friends (Jenny Prince and Liz Brazier) at Whole Health Gardening.

Their business helps people (especially beginner gardeners, like me :) grow healthier greens. Their opt-in gift is a free course with how-to videos called Kale A Rama.

They’ve had this free opt-in gift on their site for a year, but they decided to turn this course into a challenge that starts today, September 1st, and ends on National Kale Day on October 7th.

I love how they’ve tied this in with the holiday.

 
Create a movement.

By turning Kale A Rama into a month-long challenge that has a specific start date, Liz and Jenny have created a movement. There’s a sense of community and excitement surrounding the course.

As someone who’s certainly in their target market (a beginning gardener who’s short on time), I felt compelled to opt-in because I liked the idea that I’d be working toward the goal of growing kale in time for National Kale Day.

I’ve never celebrated National Kale Day, but who doesn’t love a holiday?

I wanted to participate in Kale A Rama because I knew they were going to provide support along the way, and that I’d be going through this process with other like-minded people. I’ll bet your audience is also looking for support and community.

 
Prizes Give an Incentive to Sign-up

If you want to further motivate your website visitors to sign-up, you can offer prizes.

As an example, the first 100 people who register for Kale A Rama will receive a 6-pack sample kit of leafy green seeds (including Kale) ABSOLUTELY FREE. This is a minimal expense, but certainly offers a fun incentive.

Recruit Your Marketing Team

One of the key pieces to getting a quick boost to your list size from a challenge like this is to get as many people as possible to your opt-in page.

Make a list of colleagues you know (and don’t know), who have the same target market as you and offer a complimentary service. Reach out to them and discuss how you can support each other.

In my experience, colleagues will be more motivated to promote a challenge (or course) that has a specific start date. If you simply ask them to promote your free opt-in gift (at any time), it’s much less likely to happen. Deadlines work!

When you line up colleagues to promote your opt-in gift, make it easy for them to promote. Give them pre-written copy for social media posts and emails, and give them graphics they can use.

You don’t have to start from scratch.

If you like the idea of offering a time-sensitive course or challenge, you don’t have to start from scratch. You can likely take your current opt-in gift and turn it into an experience that lasts anywhere from 7-30 days.

 
Now I’d love to hear from you.
What ideas do you for offering a time-sensitive opt-in gift? How can you revamp what you already have? Share your ideas and questions below.