Your freebie won’t generate leads on its own – you’ve got to actively work it to see results.
In this quick coaching sesh, Melissa talks about why staying laser-focused and sticking to your game plan is the key to turbocharging your business growth. She’s all about committing to one platform, crafting valuable content, and building meaningful connections, plus she’s got the scoop on boosting your freebie with daily engagement.
You’ll see why there’s real power in showing up and making an impact. Don’t miss it!
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Transcripts
Melissa:
Yes. Janelle says I do.
Janelle:
I gotta make sure I'm on here. Okay. And, actually, some of mine piggybacks off, I think, of what others have been talking about because that's I get this if you wanna say the squirrel effect, where, you know, I'm working on LinkedIn, but then I'm like, oh my goodness. There's so many other things I tell myself I should be doing. Like, oh, I should jump on Pinterest, which I don't necessarily wanna do, but I feel like I should do that. Or actually or I should do a podcast. That's something I'd like to do, but I don't know if I'm at that point yet. So I think for me, top of funnel is a big, definitely, a big focus of mine, and I'm trying to figure out how to best utilize or focus in on that.
Janelle:
And one thing finally I started doing was reaching out kinda locally into networking groups because I kept thinking I would oh, everything would be virtual.
Melissa:
Mhmm.
Janelle:
But I find that I get much more energy when I'm out face to face with people. Mhmm. And so I've been trying to go into some networking events and meeting with people. Whether they're my clients or not, I just wanna get out there and spread the word. Yeah. So that's one avenue I'm also taking, and I'm just trying to think of what maybe else I could be doing because I'm really struggle to build my email list via a freebie.
Melissa:
Mhmm.
Janelle:
I mean, I have one on LinkedIn, which I I've decided to start doing weekly now in in hopes that it it'll grow that. So I'm just I think part of it is that strategy of really where I should be focusing to build my top of funnel.
Melissa:
So and the freebie is only as good as this the network that you're growing. Right? So we can create a freebie, and we can put it out there, but the freebie is not gonna work for you if you're not working and growing the network. Right? And so, it's kind of like, yeah, it's the yin and the yang. Right? So for instance, I'm going to be going live next week on 16th to review the LinkedIn checklist, 30 minutes a day with LinkedIn to grow, you know, to next your lead generation. Right? That freebie stand alone doesn't really do anything for me. But when I'm on LinkedIn daily growing my LinkedIn network, and I'm daily putting content out as a LinkedIn expert, then when I invite folks to come listen to a free workshop for 30 minutes about this cool little tool that's gonna help them, and then drop the link in there for people to grab it, that's what's gonna grow my email list. Right? So it's like you have to do both. We can't just and I'm not saying you're doing this, but what I see sometimes is people will create a freebie and they'll, like, drop it in their featured section.
Melissa:
agram. So we've gotten over a:
Janelle:
That's generally what I do. I mean, with my post, like, if I do a carousel or whatever, you know, it might be the call to action is generally
Melissa:
Mhmm.
Janelle:
To with my freebie, for example.
Melissa:
Yeah. So so kind of back to the conversation we were having earlier, I think it was with Tisha, is like, what are you doing on a daily basis to strategically grow your network? Right? And the same with Stacia too. Right?
Janelle:
Yep. So I've gone if you wanna say, I've ebbed and flowed where I'll be really strong about reaching out, you know, and asking to connect with people. Mhmm. And I've been using and for me, I was using the premium, you know, to to do that. And I think once once I do get them to connect
Melissa:
Mhmm.
Janelle:
And, you know, I I finally started doing something. Do I because I don't necessarily have anything in common with them. Mhmm. Actually, and then and a lot of the corporate execs, they don't necessarily post a lot. They may do a little, but not a lot, or it's like congratulations on your anniversary. So it's hard to find their interest. Right. So I'm struck if you wanna say challenged with what do I have a conversation about? Yeah.
Janelle:
You know? Well, I think it's
Melissa:
it's gonna be very much referral based on LinkedIn too. Right? So to your point, a lot of these high level executives aren't gonna be really highly active. They're not gonna be highly engaging, and your your opportunity, your inroad to them is gonna be through referral networking on the platform and off the platform. Right? And I know Julie could probably speak to this from being an executive in HR for a long time. Right? Is that that referral piece is huge. And I heard you say you're really getting back to your roots and going live. I know you and I and Jackie and I have talked a number of times about you kind of getting into some of these facilities with the retirement communities. And, like, let's make that freebie work for you.
Melissa:
Well, the way the freebie works for you is getting in there live, doing a workshop for free, and then pitching them on how they can work with you and or here's this little freebie thing for you to use. This is how I grew my business. In the beginning, I went back to Darla's question about were you charging to to speak. Absolutely not. Like, every crumb was a meal, and whoever I could get in front of and I could bring value, I had a freebie in my back pocket to share when I was done. That was my lead generator top of funnels. Like, here's this here's this now that we've I've given you this, information, and now you might want more. Like, here's the take this little thing because I heard you say I'm not really growing my my, email list right now.
Melissa:
Well, the way you can grow it is by getting in front of an audience that that wants it. And if you're feeling like you're kinda hitting a roadblock with LinkedIn and you're feeling like you really wanna get in front of people, you know, I wanna revisit the conversation Jackie and I had with you, over the past couple of coaching calls of, like, well, then let's get into those facilities. Like, find the gatekeepers who have Right. Opened the doors to tons of people that you could work with, And you could probably leverage LinkedIn to network with those gatekeepers who run these retirement communities on LinkedIn. Right?
Janelle:
Mhmm.
Melissa:
And you could potentially work your way through some executives through the back door of that by working in these retirement communities and networking with the executives that run the communities, and then getting referrals from those executives to other executives. Right? But it's just getting that foot in the door, get your face in front of people, bring relentless value, and have the freebie available when we're done. Yeah. Add one thing? Yeah.
Strategic Advisor:
Yeah. For anyone who's pitching or you wanting a freebie, like an executive to take a freebie, any of those, 2 things I would say, they have to be so good right now that these people would pay for it. Mhmm. Because they get inundated. They have thousands of emails a week. Right? And so you're you're just gonna get lost. So one thing that I've been working on with my clients that's really powerful right now are ebooks. And they're not big.
Strategic Advisor:
They're graphically like, they're like we're making them, like, 10, 11 pages. But, seriously, it's content you can read in 5 minutes because it's all graphically branded. But there's really high level stats that are because executives need data that you could what they want from us is data that they can take. So, for example, in HR, I give them data points that they go then and and sell to the senior executives on getting their budgets approved for big corporate wellness programs or, you know, having you come in and deliver a whole program on Alzheimer's or whatever. Right? Whatever we're all doing. Like, having Carrie come in as a as a coach and how she could help. If you can give them data that they can go take and sell because think about it. They everything we do, they that's just one piece of their world, and they have to know so much.
Strategic Advisor:
So if you can give them something that's gonna really help them in their jobs, they'll take your freebie. So Janelle and their is, like, in the benefit space, right, in the health and wellness state for that. But, honestly, they will not give you their email anymore unless it's something that it's so valuable for them. Checklists don't do it anymore. Not in not corporate. Yeah. That's just my 2¢.
Janelle:
No. No. I appreciate that. Because at one time, I heard that that ebooks were no longer kind of a thing. So I'm interested.
Strategic Advisor:
I think if they're big, long reads, there's no way. No. Yeah. So they have to be graphically beautiful. Right. Just like bullet points and stats where they they read it. If, yes, it's 10 pages, but it took them 5 minutes to read it, and they got some good data.
Melissa:
I bought a $49 ebook off of Instagram last year on calculating macros, and then I ended up hiring that personal trainer. And I've been working with her for the past year. And she
Strategic Advisor:
paid for it. So imagine if you gave if that person gave that away free. Right. It has to be the value of it has to be like Melissa would have paid for it.
Melissa:
Yeah. And then I've like, she's made 1,000 of dollars off me since then because now I'm working with it. Right? Yeah.
Strategic Advisor:
And I would say to that point, Janelle, every strategy works.
Melissa:
Mhmm.
Strategic Advisor:
Every single strategy works. When we hear, oh, these aren't working anymore, I think that's BS. I think it's it's it's how we work them.
Melissa:
Yep. Okay. Okay. So are do we do we have some commitment on, getting in the doors and and making some relationships and getting in there alive.
Janelle:
It's just I think initially I was thinking of no. Yeah. I think I need to I guess I'm reevaluating to go in and do all of these for free, at least initially, just to it's probably easier that way. And next week, I'm meeting with the woman that I happen to meet through somebody else who runs a corporate runs a business that provides corporate wellness programs for companies, large companies here. So I'm hoping to get some inroads that way too.
Melissa:
Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. Yeah. So it's it to me, it sounds like getting on live, having the conversation. Right? And humble beginnings of, like, being willing to just show up and give relentless value at no charge just to get get the momentum and the experience going and look for the back end sale. Think about Colin. Colin showed up and delivered totally for free, and then he ended up on the back end.
Melissa:
A lot of people opted into his his coaching. Right? And so, don't be afraid to to show up and relentlessly give value at no charge. Okay. As long as you have a back end strategy. Right. Right.
