Summary

Elna Cain grew her email list to 23k subscribers primarily through a free six-day email course on freelance writing, which proved more effective than other lead magnets.

Abstract

Elna Cain, a digital marketing expert and freelance writer, has amassed nearly 23,000 subscribers on her email list for her freelance writing business. Initially, her efforts with a printable lead magnet yielded few sign-ups, as her audience was more interested in hiring her than learning about freelance writing. After moving her blog to a new URL and creating a free email course titled "Get Paid to Write," her subscriber count soared. This course was more successful than other lead magnets, such as eBooks or printables, and it complemented her comprehensive paid course, "Write Your Way to Your First $1k." The email course's effectiveness is attributed to its ability to engage subscribers over time, address their primary concern of getting paid as writers, and establish Cain's credibility in the field.

Opinions

The author believes that an email course is a superior lead magnet compared to eBooks or printables because it keeps subscribers engaged over a longer period.
Cain opines that aligning the free email course with the audience's most pressing problem—getting paid as freelance writers—is crucial for success.
She suggests that a free course can effectively lead into a sales funnel, providing a natural transition to her paid comprehensive course.
The author values the nurturing aspect of the email course, as it allows her to build trust and rapport with potential students.
Cain

My Email List Grew to 23k (and Most Came from One Way)

Right now I have almost 23,000 email subscribers on ONE of my lists. Yes, I have two main email lists for two of my businesses — freelance writing over on elnacain.com and blogging and making money on twinsmommy.com.

When I first started my blog for freelance writers I learned about email marketing since my writing niche is digital marketing. My first “lead magnet” was a printable on mistakes you’re making with your pitches.

This didn’t result in many subscribers. The reason why this didn’t result in a lot of subscribers is because the people that did come to my site wanted to hire me for writing, and they weren’t wanting to learn about finding clients as a writer.

I was new and didn’t realize this since I had a blog and was blogging about freelance writing.

A New Site

It wasn’t until I moved my blog about a year after I started my freelance writing business that I got subscribers. I felt since my blog was all about freelance writing and finding gigs and the people coming to my site just wanted to hire me, I felt the blog would do better on a new URL.

And with this new change, I created a new incentive — a free email course. See, at this time I was learning a lot about digital marketing and found that many influencers were using free courses as a way to grow their list quickly.

A free mini course is also a great way to introduce your audience to an upcoming product that’s based on this mini course. For me, I was working on a course for freelance writers and felt that this mini course delivered via email would help new writers learn about this business and want to enroll in my upcoming course.

I was also starting a coaching hustle for freelance writers. In all, I wanted to focus on writers so my new blog — Elna Cain — would supply this information.

A New Incentive

My new lead magnet would be a six-day email course called, Get Paid to Write.

I wrote a blog post telling my readers this

This helped me grow my list quickly.

Over time I tried new lead magnets but they didn’t do as well as this free course. In fact, I only have three lead magnets on my site and my course doubles and sometimes triples the subscriber rate of my other lead magnets.

The One Way That Grew My List to 20k

For me, having an email course rather than an eBook or a printable as my lead magnet proved to be highly successful.

I even used this method for my Twins Mommy site. So, why is having an email course more effective as a lead magnet than other methods?

1. Subscribers Have to Wait

My free course was over six days and this meant that subscribers couldn’t just sign up, grab the freebie, and unsubscribe.

In fact, over the years I’ve expanded this free course to lead into a sales funnel and the entire process spans over 30 days. By providing helpful tips, video tutorials and more in my free course, subscribers wanted to stay on my list to see what was next.

2. It Answered Their Most Pressing Problem

No matter what your freebie incentive will be, it has to solve the problem of your readers.

For me, I knew the number one problem for new freelance writers was getting paid! They didn’t know how to turn their love of writing into a legit money-making business.

3. It Complemented My Comprehensive Course

What was great about this free course was that it lead nicely into my paid course, Write Your Way to Your First $1k.

While the free course helped you find your first client, my comprehensive course helped you start a freelance writing business so you can write for a living.

4. It Allowed Nurturing

One thing the free course did was allow for nurturing. Many subscribers reply to my email and ask questions.

I always try to answer everyone’s questions and over the years know that this connection has helped me gain more students in my courses.

5. It Easily Supported a Funnel

Having multiple lessons come via email can easily work with your funnel. While I have a bottom funnel for people after they take my free course Get Paid to Write, I created a trip wire or top funnel for people who subscribe to my list.

Having touch points throughout your email funnel is a great method to help you make money from your list.

6. It Showed My Knowledge and Credibility

Finally, having a free course showed how knowledgable I was with knowing how to find clients and land writing gigs.

Not only did my blog help with this credibility, but the lessons I taught in the course, really did help show people I could be trusted.

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