Planning Your Brilliant PDF Freebie

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Freebies, Big Bananas, Pink Spoons…Got Yours?

Having a freebie, something awesome your website visitors can download or use for free, in exchange for signing up for your newsletter list, is key to growing your opt-in list and online business. If you don’t have one it’s time to get busy and get this done!

In interest of full disclosure, I’ll tell you that it took me f-o-r-e-v-e-r to finally get a downloadable freebie up on my site. Why? I’m so busy making big bananas for other lovely ladies that it is hard to find time to do my own stuff AND I was procrastinating like crazy.

Since I put my freebie up (see it over there on the right?) my list has grown 34 percent! So…do it!

Your freebie (also called a big banana or pink spoon) can take many forms: discount coupons, videos, audio lessons, courses, e-books, worksheets, downloadable PDFs, etc. Today we’ll be talking about PDF freebies.

Before you dive right in to creating your PDF freebie, stop for a few minutes and take a big picture view of the project. Doing this ground work that will set the foundation for creating a beautiful and useful PDF that will get downloaded and used (not downloaded and forgotten)!

The questions below will help you do this. They cover four key areas: audience, content, design/branding, and marketing.

Here we go. Grab a notebook and jot down your answers.

Audience

1. Who is this PDF for?
Picture someone reading your PDF and smiling and nodding and taking notes. Who is it?

2. How can you make this just for them?
What questions do they have that you can answer?

3. What step will they be able to take after reading your freebie? What will it help them do?
Why are they reading your PDF? What do they want to know, learn, or become from reading?

4. How do you want them to feel when they see/read your PDF?
Inspired, empowered, curious, entertained?

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Content

1. What is the topic of your pdf?
What are you going to write about my dear? Start with what your audience needs to know in order to hire you or buy your product.

2. What do you have to say about this topic that no one else does?
Now’s the time to differentiate yourself from everyone else. Say something new. Say something YOU.

3. What format is the content going to take?

    Tips
    Manifesto
    Checklist
    How To
    Look Book
    Product/Service Comparison
    Process Explanantion
    411 – Industry Jargon Explained
    Workbook
    E-book

4. Where is the content coming from?
Is this new content, a blog post you are expanding, old content that you are converting to a new format?

5. What ancillary info can you include to add more value to your content?
Will it include links to extra materials (videos/mp3/blog posts on your website)? Bonus resources/tips?

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Design/Branding

1. How do you want this freebie to look?

    Heavily designed or basic?
    Bold or understated?
    Fun or serious?
    Will it include photos or illustrations?
    Will it include charts?

2. How are you going to maintain your current branding in the design?
What colors, fonts, and design elements from your website and other branding can you use to keep the look consistent?

3. How does this PDF fit into your business mission/goals?
Is it helping you expand into new areas, reinforcing your expertise in your niche?

4. 
How does it fit in with the rest of your content/marketing materials.
Does this lead into a product or service you have? Is it an introductory piece for people who are new to your brand or something meatier for your loyal fans?

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Marketing

1. Why do you want to create this freebie?
Why you, why now? What makes this the right time to be creating this?

2. What results do you want?
Do you want more signups for your list, do you want to drive traffic to a sales page, etc?

3. How can you measure the results?
What’s your subscriber count now? Twitter followers, FaceBook fans? How are you going to keep track of the results this PDF brings?

4. What will success look like?
What increase/changes would make you ecstatic?

5. How can you take this up a notch and really make it a one-of-a-kind pdf that only you could create?
What skills, talents, background, unique perspective on the topic do you bring to the table?

6. How is this pdf going to be presented to your audience?
Opt-in, free, only to your list as premium content, as part of a product launch, as an add-on to an existing program/service, as a bonus for someone else program?

7. What kind of promo activities are you going to do to make sure your audience knows this resource is available to them?
Blog posts, guest posts, Tweets, status updates. Make a plan now to get this out in the world!

Woo! That’s a lot of questions!

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As you are writing, designing, producing your freebie your answers to these will help you keep the freebie focused and on track.

Come back to these answers if you get stuck while writing. Read through your first draft with these answers in mind. Use your answers as a checklist to align the intentions you have for the freebie with the final result.

You can use these planning questions to help you plan freebies in other formats, too.

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Want to learn how to write, design, produce your own PDF freebie?

Come learn how to write, design and promote an opt-in that’s perfect for your clients during Opt-in Brilliance. The next live session of the workshop starts September 23.

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Have an a-ha! moment while reading this post? Tell me about it in the comments.

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Posted in Business, Content Strategy, Organization, Resources

List Makers Anonymous

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I’m an unofficial member of List Makers Anonymous. I’ve always been a list maker and note taker. You want me to outline a term paper? Yes, please!

So, it’s no wonder in those early days of sleepless parenting, when I wondered if I was going to survive with my brain intact, that I got really, scarily good at list making.

I had a “going to spend the day at my sister’s” list, an “out to the park” list, a “what’s for supper this week” list. My brothers-in-law made fun of me for the extensive camping list I’d made. But they weren’t the ones responsible for making sure all the essentials for two babies made it to the campground.

But it had nothing to do with trying to be a super mom. I was certain I’d lost the capacity for abstract thought and that if I didn’t document my thoughts, at the moment I had them, they’d be gone forever.

Poof.

My list making skills gave me back an ounce or two of sanity when I needed it the most. If you know what I mean just nod your head.

Tracking Constantly Moving Parts

Being able to keep track of so many moving parts is one reason I’m able to juggle so many projects at a time for my clients without missing deadlines or dropping the ball.

I have a wonderful OmniOutliner file called “Christie’sBigA**ToDoList” where I keep a running list of home, marketing and client projects. (Now that I’ve typed that file name, I realize it’s not so great, but it is what it is.) For those of you familiar with David Allen’s Getting Things Done, my organization is based loosely on those principles.

While I’m not so much afraid of loosing my thoughts anymore, I needed a place to dump all my thoughts so they don’t keep circling around in my head all day long.



Keeping Track of Client Work

For my client work I have created sections for each client. But, most of my list making happens in the Work section. Here I have three categories: Current, Waiting, Done. As you can see above.

Current = client & marketing projects that I’m working on this week

Waiting = client projects that are on hold, pending feedback

Done = hallelujah, projects that are done

These three lists help me cycle through my project quickly and keep things moving. When I’ve sent an initial design off to one of my clients for review, that project moves down to waiting. When I hear back it goes back into the Current queue.

I also use OmniOutliner to create checklists for different types of projects. For instance, I created a checklist for the quarterly magazine I design. The checklist helps me keep track of specific request from my client (like their preference to use percentage symbols) that I want to remember each time I design the magazine.

Do What Works

OmniOutliner works for me now because I do most of my work at home in my office. I don’t travel much and until a few days ago didn’t even have a smart phone. I also use BusyCal, which syncs with my Google Calendar to schedule my work (but that’s a post for another day).

I’m comfortable doing what works until it doesn’t work anymore. So, we’ll see what changes come (and what apps get purchased) as I integrate the iPhone into my list making life.

What about you? Are you a list maker or do you keep it all in your head? If you’re a list maker what iPhone apps do you love?

Posted in Business, Life, Organization