[Psst, before we start, have you followed 10 new people yet?]

Today will be a little bit of a break. While our email capture conversation continues, today on Day 11 we focus on the mailing list incentive. But relax, all we’re doing is brainstorming lead magnet ideas and confirming choices. Tomorrow we’ll work on creating it/them.

Today we are coming up ideas on a freebie—your lead magnet— as an incentive to get people to sign up for your newsletter’s mailing list.

What will it take your perfect reader/follower to enter their email in that pop-up you just created? It has to be not only good, but enough…enough for them to hand over their precious addy and agree to stomach yet another barrage of emails.

But in order to do that, we have to think back on WHY we are creating the mailing list and WHO the newsletter is for.

Flip back to those pages in your notebook and peruse.

You might want to create a few different giveaways and rotate them throughout the year. Maybe different freebies for different seasons. Or, you can offer different little gifts to different audiences. For example, if you’re a picture book writer, moms and teachers would probably love coloring pages–but different kinds. [Note on coloring pages: You can work with your illustrator to create them based on your book art, and you both can promote ’em. Bam! You just doubled your reach!]

Grab that notebook and start writing down no fewer than 10 possible giveaways you can create, ones that are “enough.”

Here are some lead magnet ideas for different audiences…

Moms (the ones that might buy your book)

• custom coloring pages only available by signing up
• activity pages like word search or mazes not found elsewhere
• X# new ideas for family outdoor activities related to your book or book theme
• X# indoor/rainy day activities related to your book theme
• list of unique craft projects with everyday household objects related to your brand or theme
• list of freebies given by other authors or publishers
• recipes for quick after-school snacks as long as it relates to your book or, say, a main character’s favorite food

Teachers (ones that might buy your book or use it in class–at the right target age range)

• custom coloring pages only available by signing up
• unique classroom activity pages like word search or mazes
• new outdoor classroom activities related to your book or book theme
• unique indoor/rainy day classroom activities related to your book theme
• fun field trip ideas they may not have thought of
• take-home art or craft projects related to holidays, seasons, curriculum
• read-aloud tips for keeping the attention of large groups
• list of resources related to your topic for further study

Fellow writers (FWIW right now most of my social media followers are writers, and I’m trying to branch out into moms for my newest book)

• summary of picture book trends [need to have new facts, not opinions]
• school visit tips [based on your and other authors’ experience, not conjecture]
• “how to avoid” xxx or yyy [share your journey]
• steps on crafting something unique for classroom visits
• advanced editing techniques [these kinds of things only if you’re published]
• how to get started on something relevant to their growth as a writer

Now it’s your turn! I’d love to see what you’ve come up with! Send me an email or comment below.

TL;DR: Come up with a list of 10 possible giveaways you can create or make, that you’ll use as your lead magnet to grow your mailing list

CHECKING IN:

Since we’re nearing the halfway point, I wanted to check in. If all this work has been too overwhelming and you want it slow down, let me know. I’m trying to find the right balance of background work, with creating posts. If you’re like me you might feel like, say, brainstorming newsletter ideas isn’t “action” per se and you’re itching to post. I hope you are still posting away as you normally would and aren’t waiting for permission from me!

FWIW, The only time I personally think you can overpost is when you are saying the same thing or giving the same link over and over. We are getting smarter and know we’d never do that, right? (Except for when I was organizing this third round of the Challenge and I kept randomly hitting “Publish” instead of “Schedule” and it went out to all subscribers, stop reminding me! Ugh. Physician heal thyself lol).