Let’s bring simple back! People are thinking they have to create these hundred page ebooks and elaborate workbooks to get the attention of their readers. In reality, no one has time for that unless they make the time. Then the question is, “Is your opt-in so freakin’ irresistible that people can’t wait to type in their email address?” Hmm… Did I get you thinking?
I realized this myself when I was working on worksheets for my course and found myself getting completely hung up on the style. I almost forgot KISS (Keep It Simple Silly).
Seriously, have you ever done that? Where you have a massive plan on how to do a project and someone makes a point to tell you that it may not be the best plan? That’s when I thought about the lead generation magnets or opt-in freebies, as some people call it. We forget that simplicity is what people need in their lives. Workbooks and ebooks can be a bit daunting for some people. I know so many people who have several ebooks on the back burner to read some time in the future… You don’t want that to happen!
I wanted to elaborate a little more about a post I had regarding free ebook downloads in Canva, where I give examples on how you can create free ebooks and PDF worksheets. I’ll show you step by step on how to create a simple checklist in Canva for your freebie opt-in.
My checklist will be called, “6 Steps In Creating An Irresistible Freebie Opt-In Using Canva”.
Well that’s convenient, right?
Here are the 6 Steps in creating an irresistible freebie opt-in using Canva:
Step 1 – Research your topic
Google your topic and see what comes up. If you find that there are a lot of results talking about your subject then you may be on to something spectacular. Study the results a bit and see if there are any similarities. For example, if you are searching for lead generation magnets or opt-in freebies for email list building. I’m going to get a ton of results.
Step 2 – Brainstorm the similarities of topics
What do they all have in common? What stands out from the bunch? You’ll notice a trend of pain points that people are constantly looking up in Google. This is good to know!
Lots of my results came up with a lot of How-to posts and numbered idea posts. Which are all really great posts with an amazing amount of information. People want easy, attractive, and ideas to work with for their free offer.
Step 3 – Use a Headline Generator to help with ideas
Use Portent Content Idea Generator or HubSpot’s generator. Plug in the topic or subject and they will provide different headlines that you can try. You may not use one exactly as they have it but these tools are great to spark ideas.
Step 4 – Create a Checklist/Worksheet in Canva
Remember to keep it SIMPLE. You don’t want it too fancy where if someone wants to print it out it wastes all of the printer ink.
- Choose your style
(portrait layout – choose the US Letter layout OR landscape layout – choose the Presentation design) - You can make a cover for your checklist or worksheet in Canva. You can also create a back cover with your copyright and company information.
- Give it an awesome headline
- Provide a numbered list, such as a Top Ten list
- Give them any links to resources, link it in Canva
- Keep your branding in perspective (colors and fonts)
- Call to Action (let them know what to do next)
- Download it as a High Quality PDF
You can actually get this worksheet! I made it just for you. Keep reading…
Step 5 – Get ready for your reader to download
Now you have to choose where to place your precious PDF for the reader to download. Any of these choices would be fine:
- MailChimp or any email marketing’s storage
- AmazonS3
- Dropbox
- Google Drive
There are quite a few places that you can choose from. They all start off free until you’ve reached a certain size limit. Once you have chosen where the PDF file will be placed then you can use that link for your Download. Create a landing page on your website where they can download right after they submit their email. You can create the landing page with a plugin on your site such as: Thrive Content Editor, Leadpages, OptimizePress, etc. If you don’t use a plugin, you can certainly create it on a blank page on your site, it just takes more time.
Step 6 – Make it enticing and attractive
Use the cover image of your free gift to entice your reader to sign up to your list. You can use that image on your sidebar. If you want to create a 3D cover you can use My eCover Maker and you can use that image for download. You can also make a sleek mockup with Placeit, showing someone using your checklist/worksheet.
Finishing up
There you have it! How to create an irresistible freebie opt-in using Canva with 6 EASY Steps. The reader will receive answers to their pain points and they have a checklist or worksheet that they can either print out or keep it on their computer to go back to.
It doesn’t have to be difficult or a long tedious process when all the reader wants is simplicity. You can give it to them!
Have you created freebie opt-ins such as this?
Are you ready to create? If you want some help creating your own checklist or worksheet in Canva, grab your FREE worksheet HERE.
For a step-by-step process for creating an ebook, worksheet, checklist, or guide in Canva take a look at this post.
Take care,
Lillian De Jesus
Tigerlily 
Wonderful ideas here, Lillian,, for creating fast, effective and valuable lead magnets.
In fact, you can create lots of them, on the fly, to build multiple segments to your email list.
You mentioned using Leadpages for a landing page. If you do, you can actually download the pdf to Leadpages, and they’ll deliver it instantly for you via email. This is really nice so that if you have, for instance, 6 different lead magnets pointed at a specific list segment, you don’t have to have 6 different email campaigns to give people a thank you and link for each specific lead magnet. Leadpages handles it for you, and then your subscriber ends up on your main list for that segment.
Also, you can upload the pdf right onto a private (password protected) page of your WordPress blog via the image import feature in your text editor. It’s as simple as importing an image.
It all starts by creating a compelling graphic and checklist or resource guide of some sort. Canva has you covered on that, and you have demonstrated exactly how all that works.
I know people who have waited months and more to create one single lead magnet offer. You’ve shown them an easy way to create several every single month. Thanks for such a valuable post, Lillian.
Hi David,
Glad you liked this post! You can definitely create a free gift for each blog post for extra value and it wouldn’t take much more time. I use Thrive and it is similar to Leadpages. Love that about technology! So many ways to get things done.
Take care,
Lillian
Hi Lillian,
I’m alway thrilled to see what you come up with. Love this… and all of these great ideas for freebies. Canva has become a great way to do so many things for your online business. I’m truly thankful to have been introduced to this site. Thanks so much.
Hi BG,
I’m so glad you liked this post! I love showing the many ways Canva can help with a business. It’s really amazing!
Take care,
Lillian
Great article.
Canva is a great tool and produces great results. Thanks for posting such a great article.
Andy
Hey Andy,
I completely agree about Canva and how it produces great results!
Take care,
Lillian
Hi Lillian,
This is a great post and comes just at the right time for me. I am focusing more on building my list and this will be a great incentive to work and use Canva for more things we didn’t know about but we are learning, thanks to your hard work.
Hi Monna,
I’m happy you found this post! Lots of useful and fun to create.
Take care,
Lillian
I’ve posted about various online image generators in the past but Canva really is a one stop shop for creating anything although I enjoy using Photoshop. (took me ages to learn it though!)
I was only looking at Thrive;s content and landing page builders last week. They looked good so I’m pleased to read a recommendation too.
Hi Sue,
I’m glad you feel the same way about Canva. It definitely is a one stop shop for creation. That’s exactly the issue with Photoshop, there’s a HUGE learning curve and it takes a lot of time to learn it.
Thanks for stopping by,
Lillian
Love this article! so many great tips and links Lily. Thanks so much!
Hi Kathy,
SO happy you liked this article and that the tips are useful to you!
Take care,
Lillian
I really been to pay attention to canvas I’m reading about it every where
I really need to look at Canva. I keep hearing so any good things! I hear it’s very easy to use too.
William
Hi Lillian,
I had never thought of using Canva in this way, thanks. Time to dust off my account and re-visit it!
I’m very much in favor of a return to simple. My hard drive is full of freebies so complicated and long that I don’t have time to even read them let along implement them!
Enjoy the rest of your week, Joy
Hello Joy,
Yes, definitely give Canva a try again!
Glad to hear you like simple! Sometimes I think we overthink the way free gifts should be. You can have a simple gift but of great value.
Enjoy your week as well!
Lillian
Hi Lillian ,
you have always amazing useful ideas ,
This is something I need to do
I like to create withs Canva ,thanks to you
and the community where all this creative
people are .
Thank you for the valuable post
Erika
Hi Lillian,
Finally, I’m here. This is a very informative post and I like the three steps you’ve outlined. Canva is a great resource. I use it regularly to create images for my blog but I haven’t used it for creating freebie opt-in images. Perhaps I should try it out and see what I get.
Thank you!
Hey Enock!
I’m so glad you came to visit my blog! As you’ve probably noticed with my blog posts, I’m a bit obsessed with Canva. LOL
Definitely give it a try for your freebie opt-in! It’s incredible how you can create gorgeous images that stand out in Canva.
Take care,
Lillian
Thanks Lillian, some really useful things in here like the headline generators that I had never heard of.
Hi Caroline,
Glad to be of help!
Take care,
Lillian
It’s always a treat to me to visit your site Lillian.
I do so love working with design and using Canva.
It’s funny when things show up and you have been looking for them. Making a freebie was on my to do list. Thanks so much for making it easy for me to do that. Saved this for reference.
Hi Kathryn,
I’m so glad you feel that way when you visit my site!
Let me know if you need any help with your freebie.
Take care,
Lillian
Great article. Is it possible to create a Canva ebook and post it directly onto FB? Or does it require a hosting source for upload to FB?
Thanks!
Hi Susan,
You sure can! I’ve done a little ebook on how to do it – here it is: https://www.facebook.com/tigerlilyva/posts/1663433117228847 It will be located on Canva. Once you share your ebook from Canva to Facebook, then whoever clicks on it will be sent to your Canva profile directly to the pages of your ebook. Take a look at the FB link I provided.
Hope you like it!
Lillian
I wanted to download your info, and put my emil in but it never downloaded.
Hi Katie,
Sorry about that! I fixed the page you can try it now. I also emailed you with the link.
Thank you!
Lillian
Hi! Looking for your PDF you created but don’t see it! Opt me in!
Hi Alison,
You should be able to grab the PDF at the link on the bottom of the post. Sorry, you’re having trouble. Right before I say Take Care, click on HERE. You’ll get direct access.
Thanks!
Do you have steps on what to do in Canva? That is what I thought this was going to be about.
Hi Renee,
Sorry for any confusion. This post is strictly on creating the freebie opt-in for a blog with a quick breakdown on what to do using Canva. For creation steps of an ebook or PDF worksheet in Canva, you can take a look at this post: https://tigerlilyva.com/how-to-create-free-ebook-downloads-pdf-worksheets-using-canva/. I’ll be sure to add the link to the creation process in this post for others. Thanks so much for letting me know.
Take care,
Lillian
This was really helpful, thank you for sharing. I was wondering where I can host my PDF but your suggestions have provided me some options. I’m off to make my “irresistible” opt-in 🙂