Create an Irresistible Free Offer

What makes a free offer irresistible? And how do you create one in just a few hours?

In this article, you’ll get my proven, 5-step system for creating free offers that people love. When your ideal client sees it, they’ll think: “That’s exactly what I’ve been looking for!” or “I have got to have that!”

What is a Free Offer?

First, let’s define what a “free offer” is and why you want to have one.

Typically, it is a digital gift people can access online from your website: a PDF report, an MP3 audio, a video, or a newsletter delivered to their inbox.

The purpose of the free irresistible offer is to collect names and email addresses of your website visitors so you can continue to market to them in the future. It is a very important tool in your lead generation strategy.

What Makes an Offer Irresistible?

My definition of an irresistible free offer is one that is too good to pass up. It should be something that is so good it’s worth selling, but you’ll be giving it away in exchange for their name and email address.

There was a time in the early days of Internet when people thought email newsletter subscriptions were irresistible, but no more. Today, if you want to get people’s name and email address, your irresistible free offer will most likely need to be a kit that includes a combination of two or more gifts, such as a combination of a newsletter and PDF report.

You have a lot of flexibility on what to include in your kit. Other options include recipes, checklists, videos, assessments, templates, etc. So if you don’t like to write, then create an audio. If you like to be on camera, create a video. If you don’t like any of those options, try a template, recipe, or checklist. Be creative.

Now, let’s look at the 5 steps for creating your next irresistible free offer.

1. Choose a Title that Grabs Their Attention

The title and topic of your free offer needs to be something that you know will immediately grab the attention of your ideal client. How do you do that?

Start with a clear understanding of who your ideal client is and what they want most. You can’t create an irresistible offer unless you first understand what they really want.

Next, make a list of all the topics and phrases that you know will capture their interest. One way to do this is to think about the most common questions they ask you. This will be a topic that is a very high priority for them.

One of the biggest mistakes I see with free offers is that they do not address a top concern, high priority topic. While the free offers might be relevant to the ideal client, they are by no means irresistible.

Here’s an example: If your ideal client is a woman who wants to lose 10-30 pounds and keep it off, then titles like “Lose 10 Pounds in 2 weeks” or “5 Foods that Keep You Fat” will grab their attention. A title like “5 Healthy Meals to Keep Slim” is relevant, but not irresistible.

2. Bridge the Gap Between Their Problem and Your Paid Program

You want your free offer to give people a taste of what it is like to work with you. Think of it as a bridge between 2 sides: on one side is an ideal client with a big problem, and on the other side is your program that solves their problem.

The free offer bridges the gap between the problem they are desperate to have solved and your paid program that gives them the solution. It gives them an easy way move toward your paid services because it builds credibility and helps them to know, like, and trust you.

One of the best ways to do this is by offering them a mini-transformation right in the free offer. Help them to achieve a small, but significant, breakthrough or transformation to get them started on the road to achieving their ultimate goal. This not only builds your credibility with them, it helps to attract your ideal client and filter out the people you don’t want to work with.

Think about your program and the problems you solve for your ideal client. Now what can you offer them that will lead them to the conclusion that you are the expert they need to work with?

For example: One of my clients specializes in helping women cure their thyroid issues. Her irresistible free offer explained the secrets on how to do that and gave her instant credibility as an expert. Her six-month program takes them step-by-step through the process.

3. Make it Easy

Your content needs to be easy to understand and easy to implement. This is critical. If they don’t understand it, they won’t use it. And if you give them steps to take that seem too hard or complicated, they’ll never get the great results you promised.

I recommend that you write content that could be understood by a 7 year old: easy and step-by-step. When people read your report or hear your audio, you want them to think, “I can do that!” and take action.

Another way to make it easy is to keep it short. Typically, a great free offer can be read (PDF), listened to (audio), or watched (video) in one sitting. Aim for 15-30 minutes in length. That means no 50-page e-books or two-hour videos.

The faster they can get the information, the more likely it is that they will read it and use it. Shorter means that it will be easier for you to create the content, and they’ll appreciate that you respect their time.

4. Give Valuable Results

If you want to attract ideal clients, don’t write fluff. Give them information that they aren’t likely to get anywhere else.

Write content that is good enough to sell. You can use the “what,” “why,” “how” formula. Tell people “what” they need to know and “why” they need to know it. Then explain a little bit of the how. Maybe you’ll give them the first step in a four step process. Or maybe you’ll cover all four steps generally but not go into a lot of details. They get all the details and steps when they invest in your program.

You can give really valuable content without giving away the farm. And when you do, you’ll stand out from the competition.

5. Offer Fast Results

We all want results now. No one wants to wait. But when it comes to free offers, people won’t invest a lot of time to get results.

If you ask them to do something, don’t stretch out the results longer than 2 weeks. And it’s best if you can help them get at least some results in under 2 days. For example: “Lower Your Blood Pressure Overnight” or “Kick Anxiety to the Curb in 5 Minutes Flat.”

What if your free offer teaches them something or shares new information, and doesn’t ask them to actually do anything? In that case, they get fast results when they learn the breakthrough information you just shared with them.

For example, in 30 minutes they can read a report that explains why they are depressed, the root causes, and how to eliminate it holistically and permanently. They learned a lot in a very short amount of time.

Summary

Here’s a few more tips to help you create your irresistible free offer fast so you can start attracting more clients right away.

If you follow the steps above, you can create an outline for your irresistible free offer in under two hours. Once the outline is done, you’ll find it much easier to write the content, and your first draft will only take a few additional hours. My clients typically get it done in within a week.

If you decide to do an audio or video, you may only need an outline for a guide on what to say. In that case, you’ll save time on writing and editing and get the free offer finished even faster.

Keep the content valuable and the length short to get it done faster and easier. This will help keep you motivated throughout the project.

Best wishes on creating your first – or next – irresistible free offer.

Let us know in the comments below what free offer you decided to create. I’d love to hear from you.