How to use Flodesk email service to send subscribers your freebie / opt-in
This tutorial will guide you from start to finish on using Flodesk to send a freebie or opt-in (they’re the same thing) to people who sign-up to your email list. You’ve probably heard it numerous times that you need to get people on “your list”. But HOW? A common technique used these days is to give folks something free in exchange for signing up for your email list. But how exactly do you do that? What are the exact steps to get people to sign up and then to actually deliver that freebie/opt-in? This is what I am going to show you today. You can watch the video tutorial and/or follow along using the written steps below.
You have a few decisions to make before we get started. Do you want to get people to sign-up to receive your freebie on your website or using a Flodesk page? And do you want them to receive the freebie in an email or immediately after signing up? It’s really up to you and I walk you through each way, so no worries on which way you choose.
Let’s get started.
Create your opt-in/freebie - not sure what to create? Check out one of my fave online business pals Vanessa’s opt-in quiz where you can discover your perfect opt-in. If you know what you want to create, but need design help she sells canva & InDesign templates too (her freebie/opt-in is a free Canva template if you sign up). You can also use Word, Pages, or Adobe XD which are all FREE platforms where you can put your amazing ideas down on “paper” to share with the world.
Your opt-in is designed now how to get it into the hands of those whole need it? Use Flodesk!
You have two options to do this. You can use a page on your website and put the sign-up form there or you can create your own landing page on Flodesk and just use that page for people to sign up to receive your freebie.
OPTION 1 - your own site:
Choose the type of form you want to have on your site: select inline and then pick a design that you want to have on your page
Decide what segment you want the people who sign up for this freebie to be in
Design the form
Choose colors, images (if you have a form with images), edit the text
Decide if you want them to have to double opt-in to get your freebie. If you decide “yes” then you can customize your double opt-in message in this step
Decide if you want to be notified when new people subscribe and select yes or no
Decide what should happen after the form is submitted. Here is where you’ll need to have determined if you want to deliver your freebie via a workflow or instantly after they sign up.
Select “Display success message” if you want to deliver via workflow
Select “redirect subscribers to URL” if you want them to be able to download it instantly.
If you’re going this route then I recommend uploading your opt-in/freebie to google drive, dropbox, or your website, get the code to share the file and then paste that code into the redirect subscribers URL. Ensure the privacy settings of the file will allow anyone with the link to download.
The final step of this option is to paste the code onto your website so the sign-up form will appear on the page of your choice.
OPTION 2 - use a Flodesk Page
When you click on forms select “Full Page”. There is only one option so select that one and edit everything exactly as I did with the inline form (steps 1-6 above)
Instead of an embed code, the final step will just be a URL. This is where you will direct people to sign-up. You may notice that the link from Flodesk isn’t very pretty. You can easily create a shorter link by using URL re-directs or a link shortener like TinyURL or bit.ly
You can use this link as a button on your site, on your FB page, or on your instagram bio.
If you decided not to deliver the freebie right after they signed-up you’ll need to create a workflow to deliver it. The workflow is handy because you can send follow-up emails to check in on folks that got your freebie or direct them to another workflow after they receive the freebie.
Click on workflows at the top of the Flodesk page. And create a new workflow.
You can select a template of pre-designed oned (you’ll be able to tweak/customize the design in a bit) I usually select the Leadmagnet Delivery template and just adjust it a little to fit my brand aesthetic. Then click “customize”
On top of the workflow, you’ll have to add a trigger. Click on that and then in the second drop-down box you’ll select the tag you created when you created your form in the steps above.
Click on the email on the left of the screen in the workflow and then you’ll see on the right that you’ll be able to edit what the email will say & look like
Before you start editing the inside of the email, be sure to scroll down on that right side of the screen so you can edit the email subject and preview text.
Now scroll back up and when you hover over the email image you’ll see the edit button - click that and start editing.
Edit the email by clicking on the sections you want to change.
Click on the button in the email (it says “click to download”) and you’ll see a tab on the right in the edit box that says LINK. click there.
You have 2 options here. You can upload your freebie PDF here or you can include a link to the freebie in google drive, dropbox or your site
Pro-tip: you can send yourself a test email by clicking on the little airplane on the top left of your screen
Click “Finish” and your freebie is now ready to be delivered. You can be finished here and hit “Publish” on the top right…. or you can edit your workflow some more to send a little extra love to your subscribers. Why not check in with them after a week to see how they’re enjoying the download or if they have questions. You can do this by clicking on the + and you’ll see a few options. For the scenario I mentioned you’ll select “time delay”
Select how long you want to wait
Hit the + and then select email.
Design a new email with your customized message - you’ll be given the option to select a template and customize the email just like with the lead magnet delivery.
All done? Hit publish and your workflow is now up and running delivering goodness to all of your subscribers.
It seems like a lot of steps, but if you take it slow you’ll be finished in no time. Let me know in the comments below if you have questions.
Also.. the Flodesk links are affiliate links. That means I earn a commission when you sign up and you can take advantage of special pricing they are offering while still in beta.
