Opt-In Freebies that are Working Right Now to Grow Your Brand

Opt-in freebies are one of the most effective ways to grow your email list, blog, and brand.

You just need to ensure that you’re selecting the right freebies for the right subscriber persona. Most people fail at this because they don’t take that into consideration. This guide was created to help you make the right choices.

Opt-In Freebies 1: One-Page Cheat Sheets & Checklists

One-page cheat sheets and checklists are effective because they offer a quick win and are extremely device-friendly.

These freebies are great for your funnel. They work at the top of the funnel and in the middle of the funnel. They’ll help you acquire subscribers and increase engagement within your funnel.

A great example would be me offering a “Blog Post SEO Checklist” or a “Trail Running Gear List.”

These are super easy to build. Create an outline on Google Docs. Fill in the blanks, edit, and export to PDF to complete your freebie.

Place this opt-in freebie at the end of posts that the freebie relates to as your CTA. You could also put it in your inline content upgrade. Finally, it could be an exit intent strategy to keep a subscriber from opting out of your list or funnel.

Measure these types of opt-in freebies through conversion rate percentages, scroll depth, and opt-in rates to learn what works, what doesn’t, and what needs to be improved.

There are a few pitfalls. This freebie may be perceived as a generic resource and overlooked by some potential and current subscribers. There is also no real visual hierarchy with this freebie.

Opt-In Freebies 2: Notion/Google Sheet Templates

Notion and Google Sheet templates make perfect opt-in freebies because they help people save time, and the freebies are reusable, which adds significant value to this freebie.

You can create a content calendar template, sponsorship tracker, and an affiliate ROI sheet, just to name a few examples.

These are simple to build and offer. Create the template and duplicate the link for others to use. You might also include a quick Loom video to explain how to use the freebie.

These freebies are great for gated content, downloads, and onboarding emails, as far as distribution goes.

You can measure the usefulness of these freebies by tracking activation rates, including how often the sheet is opened and duplicated, as well as usage rates.

There are pitfalls. The process for duplicating the sheet requires instructions, which may cause some confusion. Alternatively, you could use a PDF, but that would still be quite unfriendly to the user experience.

Opt-In Freebies 3: Email Mini Course

An email mini-course will make a great freebie because it allows your subscribers to build a habit and develop more trust and loyalty in your brand, as you’re teaching them something valuable.

These opt-in freebies are not hard to structure. Day 1 includes a welcome email and instructions. Days 2-5 comprise the core lessons, and Day 6 features the case study. Make sure you put in a soft pitch at the end of the course.

Use automation in your email marketing service to resend the mini course email to those who don’t open it, but in plain-text style to make it simpler.

You can measure this opt-in through completion rate. You should also pay attention to reply to rates since the freebie will be email-based. Conversions from day 6 CTA (soft pitch) should also be measured.

The biggest pitfall is that courses can be too long, causing people to stop participating and thereby missing your CTA. Try to keep lessons short and sweet, with one action each.

Opt-In Freebies 4: Swipe Files & Copy Prompts

These types of opt-in freebies work because they alleviate the anxiety of blank pages and provide the creator with plenty of examples, which helps with inspiration.

Some good examples would include 50 headline formulas, 25 of the best copywriting strategies, and outreach scripts for ad sales.

The format creation process is pretty straightforward. PDF + copy-paste doc + a bonus how-to customize page.

Measure this freebie by following the saves/time claimed in replies, as well as link clicks to related tools.

The pitfall is low uniqueness, but you can make these very niche-specific to help get around that.

Opt-In Freebies 5: Resource Libraries & Tool Stacks

These freebies work because they’re curated, up-to-date, and usually require just one link to access them, which is really helpful for the subscriber.

Use something like Airtable or Notion to build the gallery. Use categories and tags. Be sure to add notes.

This also allows you to monetize ethically. You can mark affiliate links. You can also add notes specific to what you have tested to build trust and loyalty.

Measure click-through to resources and recurring engagement to get a snapshot of whether the freebie is working or not.

The pitfall is that these resources will require your time and attention. Try to consistently update it at least every quarter. Add a ‘last updated’ date to communicate with the subscriber.

Opt-In Freebies 6: Calculators & ROI Estimators

These types of opt-in freebies can be quite effective due to the personalized outcomes and high intent of the tools.

You could create blog revenue potential, newsletter sponsorship rates, or even training plan time cost calculators.

These are pretty easy to create, too. Create a Google Sheet with protected cells. You could also create web forms that will email the results to the potential subscriber.

Measure through completion and subscription rates, as well as lead quality.

The pitfall is that you can overcomplicate it with too many or too complex inputs. Keep it simple. Keep it under 7 fields.

Opt-In Freebies 7: Content Upgrades Tied to Specific Posts

These types of freebies work because people want this kind of exclusive and extra information that you provide in the conversion, based on the search intent that you include within the content.

I would use this to create a printed trail map from my trail guides that I provide on my hiking blog. You could also create a long-form checklist PDF from a how-to article on your blog.

Building this opt-in isn’t as much as you might realize. Identify your top 10 posts by traffic. Create one awesome upgrade for each of them and put it in the CTA.

Place these opt-in freebies on content articles at about 25% and 75% of the scroll. You can also make them native CTA sections at the conclusion of your articles.

Measure the per-post opt-in rate instead of the site-wide average to see how these freebies do on your blog.

The only pitfall I can see is that you might mismatch titles with this freebie. You can mirror the post headline in the upgrade to try to mitigate this.

How to Choose the Best Opt-In Freebies for Your Audience

First, map your freebies to the search intent of your target audience or avatar.

Prioritize speed to value. It should take less than 10 minutes to gain a benefit through the conversion. If it takes too much time, you’ll lose the conversion.

Try to minimize as much friction as possible in the delivery of your benefit. Try to make it as quickly as possible. If there are instructions, make them simple and clear.

Add a reasonable onboarding sequence. This is your welcome, quick win, and case study. Make sure you include a soft offer at the end of the onboarding process.

Promotion Plan for Your Opt-In Freebies

Feature your freebie on your website. Put it on the homepage and above the fold. Add a sticky sidebar with the freebie. Put it above your top posts to catch the attention of your readers.

Interlink it into your relevant posts and pages. Add a “P.S.” CTA to older articles with the freebie.

Pin your offer on social media. You can do this on X, Threads, and Facebook. You can also use Reels and Shorts to promote this sort of freebie.

Utilize partnerships such as newsletter cross-promotion swaps and guest posts with upgrades listed within them.

Try to use this with exit intents. Get someone leaving or unsubscribing with this potentially awesome freebie. The goal is also to get them to stay.

Final Thoughts

If any of these opt-in freebies have inspired you today, comment on this post and tell me which ones you plan on using. I’d love to know.

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About the Author

Shawn Gossman has created content, blogged, ran online communities, and shared a passion for digital marketing for over twenty years. Shawn believes the best way to help content creators, businesses, brands, and marketers is to give away more than you sell. The same advice is recommended for the readers who follow this blog. Shawn also offers various services for extra help in content creation and blogging.