Should your freebie really be a freebie?

“Magan, what the heck?!”

I know, I know. I preach about opt-ins and building your email list, and many people tell us the way to build an email list is to provide something free.

That is one way to get more subscribers on your list, but there are other ways too!

Chances are you may have heard of self-liquidating offers as well. 

What is a self-liquidating offer?

A self-liquidating offer is a low-cost product that is seemingly irresistible.

If you have followed me for a little while you have recently heard me teach about self liquidating offers, but you may have heard of these called Tiny Offers, Pocket Products, or micro products.

These often are priced at $27, $37, or $47. And yes, there is a bit of science behind those prices ending in seven.
I’ve personally invested in several of this micro-products over the last few months. Some were amazing and worth much more than the $27 I spent, and others were…meh. (This is your tip to make sure yours is value packed and actually worth money, not just a 1-page checklist that probably should be free)

What’s the point of a self-liquidating offer?

The idea of using a self-liquidating offer, also known as a SLO, is to attract higher quality leads, and not just freebie seekers. They are a low-risk investment for your audience that is going to get them a quick, solid win – all while building your list and creating profit for you!

When someone is first coming to your email list, they may not be as familiar with you or your brand, and this is why we typically offer free opt-ins so there is no risk for them to sign up as a subscriber.

But the SLO attracts those that think your product is quality enough to get up off the couch and walk to get their wallet and input their credit card info.

And that is a game changer because these are people that are coming into your list as someone who has already invested in your content and materials and are warmed up and ready to potentially spend even more. Which is perfect if you have higher ticket products or services such as VIP days or a digital course.

Let’s not forget that if you are running ads to a freebie there isn’t an instant return on the investment into ads. However, if you are running ads to a self liquidating offer, you have a much higher chance of seeing an instant return on your ad spend. It feels like a no-brainer, right?

I’m not saying you have to have a SLO over a freebie, or vice versa, but I do believe that there can be a good balance of both and it is worth exploring what is the best fit for you and your business right now.

Questions to ask yourself if a free opt-in should actually be a SLO are:

Do you have an arsenal of free opt-ins that are similar, or all build upon one another? If yes, then that sounds like a product suite if you ask me. Consider bundling those together and put a low-ticket price tag on them.

Or do you want to stop spending ad money on a free product that isn’t turning your subscribers into paying clients or customers?

Depending on how you just answered these questions, you might be ready to start looking into creating a self-liquidating offer.

Another thing to consider if you aren’t ready to give up on free opt-ins is a tripwire and you can read all about tripwires in this post!