Have you heard of content upgrades? More importantly, are you using them?
A content upgrade is simply an extra piece of content that your readers can get in exchange for their email address. The extra content is tied to a specific post, rather than a general opt-in offer.
As a content creator or small business owner, you already know how important it is to grow your email list. Content upgrades are a fabulously effective strategy to increase those numbers, fast! If your conversion rates are flat-lining, then you absolutely need this strategy.
I’ve frequently offered content upgrades on my blog posts and without exception, they give me far higher opt-in rates than a general ‘Sign up to my newsletter’ form. I’m talking about a 10-15% conversion rate per blog post, rather than a 1% or less on general forms.
6 Easy Steps to creating content upgrades
1. Find your top 10 most popular posts
You can do this by going to your Google Analytics dashboard, clicking on behavior> site content> all pages. Ignore any pages that aren’t posts and also ignore the homepage, if it comes up in your top 10 list.
2. Narrow your list down to 5 posts
Look through your 10 most popular posts with a view to seeing which ones lend themselves to adding an extra, juicy bit of downloadable content. All may not be suitable so choose the 5 that are best suited to a content upgrade. You can of course do all 10 if you want.
3. Decide on a content upgrade for each post
Remember, the aim here is to add value, so really think hard about how you can do this. The person reading the post should feel like they just can’t leave your site without the extra bit of content. So make it good.
If you’re wondering what makes a good content upgrade, there is no one thing. Absolutely anything that adds value to the post, and the reader, will work. But it doesn’t have to be over complicated. Here are some ideas:
– checklist
– book list for further reading
– video/podcast adding more to the topic being covered in the post
– mini ebook
– casestudy
– mini e-course
– design template
Here is an example of one of my content upgrades where I simply offer a free printable.
4. Create your content upgrade
Now it’s time to create that extra bit of content. Create it and add it to your opt-in form. To do this, you will need some kind of list building software or plugin. The one I use and recommend is Thrive Leads. I like Thrive Leads as it’s a one off payment rather than a monthly subscription. Some others are sumo, optin monster and leadpages. If you’re unsure of which is best for you, just look them up and read about what you get and what pricing suits your budget.
5. Add your opt-in form to your post
There is no hard and fast rule here, but I find that giving readers two opportunities to sign-up within the post works well. I usually have a simple, no frills opt-in somewhere around halfway through the post and then a bigger one at the end of the post. It’s also a good idea to ask your reader directly to take action by suggesting in the post that they sign up to get the extra freebie. Here is an example of one of my posts with a content upgrade.
6. Promote your post
Now it’s time to share your post. You can change the publish date to today’s date so that the post appears at the top of your blog. No point doing all this work only to have your awesome post buried in the archives. And then share away on social media and send it to your list too. And watch your opt-in rate rise sky high!
It’s worth adding that content upgrades aren’t just for written blog posts. If you have a podcast, you can offer something extra in the show notes and mention this in your podcast. Similarly, with vlogs you can do the same. Here’s an example of a podcaster who very often shares a content upgrade with her podcast, in exchange for an email sign-up.
The key is to add value with your upgrade, no matter what format you share your posts in. You can be as creative as you like with your content upgrades and the more creative (but relevant) the better.
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