I recently hosted a free webinar to spill the beans on my website copywriting process.
As always, I packed more info into the 90-minute event than a suitcase for a summer holiday.
And a couple of days later, I received a message from a teacher who’d attended. She thanked me for the information and very generously offered a free subscription to her language membership because she felt like she owed me something.
She didn’t, of course. But it just goes to show the power of a good freebie.
If you’re looking to create a lead magnet for your language business that gets replies like these, you’re in the right place.
Here are 18 ideas for freebies so good, language learners will thank you for your generosity.
Plug and play freebies
1. Ebooks
Ebooks are probably the most common type of freebie. They’re easy to think of and easy to make… but they’re also really easy to get wrong.
We often fall victim to the idea that ‘value’ means pouring all our knowledge into a 30-page PDF that people will tear through faster than their latest beach read. But in reality, the longer an ebook is, the less likely people are to read it.
So, if you’re thinking of creating a digital guide of some sort, make sure that it’s:
- Valuable (so they finish it thinking ‘wow, was that really free!?’)
- Short and actionable (so they stay engaged and actually consume it)
- Relevant (i.e. don’t go off on a tangent — choose the most important tips)
- Incomplete (so they finish it wanting to know more)
2. Checklists
Who doesn’t love ticking items off a list!?
Checklists work well as lead magnets for language teachers who teach anything with a specific process around it.
For example:
- The ultimate IELTS exam preparation checklist
- Your French residency application checklist
- Start-to-finish business English email checklist
The short, sweet and satisfying nature of checklists means your ideal students are very likely to finish reading it. And, if your checklist is really well targeted, they may use it for years to come.
Case in point: I *still* refer to a super detailed launch checklist I downloaded years ago.
But checklists aren’t only useful for your students. They’re also great for moving subscribers through the stages of customer awareness. AKA introducing the solution to the problem they’re facing or sharing the details of your offer.
3. Resource packs
Short of ideas of what you can create? Try compiling resources from other language educators you love.
That’s not a free pass to commit plagiarism or send people to your competitors, don’t worry.
You know how difficult it can be to scour the internet in search of good language learning resources. This lead magnet idea is about saving your ideal students time and showing your authority by handing them all your favourite resources in one single file.
The catch? This resource is only effective for students who are motivated to self-study and early enough in their learning journey not to have their own go-to resources already.
4. Cheatsheet
Cheat Sheets are great lead magnet ideas for teachers looking to explain tricky language points in simple terms.
That could be:
- A Spanish verb conjugation cheat sheet for beginners who want to start speaking fast
- A Chinese idiom cheat sheet for uni students who want to add more depth to their writing
- A conversation starter cheat sheet for expat mums who want to make friends on the playground
The trick is to make it as relevant and useful to your ideal students as possible. In other words, don’t just explain the German cases for the sake of it. Make sure it’s something that speaks to your ideal students and moves them towards achieving their goal.
5. A progress tracker
This one’s for the language teachers whose students struggle to stay motivated or study the language between lessons.
A progress tracker is quick and easy to make in Google Sheets or Excel, and it’s super valuable for your students.
Not to mention a great way to promote your classes as a way to make doubly sure they stick to it. Or progress faster.
6. A script
This one might sound strange, but hear me out.
People LOVE things that make life easier — and nothing makes life easier than something that tells you word for word what to say in a specific situation. AKA a script.
Obviously, this lead magnet idea isn’t for every language teacher. There are plenty of situations where you can’t predict what someone will say.
But say you help newbie expats settle into life in Italy. You can *probably* make an educated guess as to how conversations with the bank, the doctor’s surgery, the car insurer might go. And by packaging them up into an easy-to-follow lead magnet, you can deliver so much more value than your competitors. Guaranteed.
7. Study schedules
If your students are studying towards a specific goal, like an exam, you can’t beat a ready-made schedule that tells them what to do and when.
Sounds simple, sure. But knowing WHAT to study is often one of the biggest roadblocks to sitting down and doing it (I should know… my Chinese book is staring me down as I write this).
So if you can help them overcome that block, your freebie should fly off the virtual shelves.
Interactive freebies
8. Templates
Just like people like to be told what to do, we like to be given formulas and plug-and-play templates we can use to do it.
This works especially well for teachers teaching anything writing related. For example:
- Polish email templates for freelance editors reaching out to potential clients in Poland
- CV template for people applying for jobs in a specific place
- Job interview answer templates for people preparing to interview for jobs
My copy templates are some of my most popular products simply because they take the confusion out of the equation and give you the answers you’re looking for.
9. Workbooks
Workbooks make brilliant freebies because they’re so actionable. By encouraging people to implement your advice as they read it, you can increase engagement and ensure they get value from your work.
You could try:
- An interview answer workbook
- A Chinese character workbook
- An email writing workbook
10. An email course
I’ve experimented with tons of different lead magnets for my business, and this is hands down my favourite yet.
Instead of delivering a one-time freebie in the form of a PDF or workbook, I’ve split the info I want to share across a 6-month long email sequence that I use to share valuable lessons, build trust and authority and make some sales.
Before you scroll off in a panic — I’m not suggesting you find time to write 24 marketing emails. But you could run a 5-day mini series that covers a certain topic.
This is a great alternative to an ebook if the topic you’re writing about involves lots of smaller sub-topics.
Oh, and of course, it makes your open + engagement rates go crazy high.
11. Quizzes
Some marketers say quizzes don’t convert as well as other freebies. Others say they do. I’ve never actually tried running one, so I can’t say either way. But what’s the harm in trying, eh?
Quizzes can be a great attention-grabbing lead magnet for cold audiences who have little to no awareness of the problem they have.
A Spanish teacher who teaches British expats Spanish could try:
What kind of Brit abroad are you?
And the quiz could introduce the idea that HEY you should probably try and learn Spanish while you’re here. (I would totally take that quiz, for the record).
If you’re targeting a more solution aware audience, you could try something like:
What kind of Spanish learner are you?
A client of mine ran a similar quiz before, and she found it useful for filtering out not-so-ideal students and presenting her courses to the ideal ones.
Video/audio freebies
12. Live webinars
Think of a live webinar like a massive group trial class. Instead of teaching 1:1 in the hope people will decide to learn with you, you can reach a bigger audience in a fraction of the time. The webinar I recently ran attracted over 80 sign ups, and I’ve since signed a couple of new clients and received tons of lovely feedback.
If you’re looking for a way to connect with your ideal students, showcase your expertise and build trust while selling yourself as the perfect teacher, a webinar is a great option.
Just make sure to choose a topic that offers a tangible solution to a problem your audience is facing.
Related post: How to Do Market Research for Your Business
13. Live challenges
Challenges zap a LOT of energy and require a lot of prep — especially if you’re offering any kind of feedback during the event.
But if you choose the right topic and attract enough people, they can pay off massively as your live launch event. They help you boost engagement, give you an excuse to strike up conversations (that may lead to sales) and get people warmed up and ready for your offer.
Here are some ideas:
- An essay writing challenge for high-school students
- A holiday vocab booster challenge for sunseekers
- A reading challenge for bookworms who want to read their first Italian book
14. A video lesson
Pre-recorded video lessons work especially well for people who know who you are but haven’t yet bought anything from you. They can be great for bringing people into your sales funnel and giving them a taste of your teaching style before triggering a series of emails selling your course.
This approach is great if you’ve sold several spaces on live rounds of your course and you’re now looking to make it evergreen. AKA selling it via a funnel of ads, emails and this freebie.
15. A podcast episode
Private podcast episodes can work super well as freebies as they give people a chance to hear from you directly, which builds trust that bit faster.
If you choose to go down this route, I’d suggest recording a short episode of no more than 15 minutes. Any longer, and you risk losing listeners, especially if they don’t already know who you are and what you do.
As for the topic, it could be anything from a handful of your favourite study tips to trends you’re noticing in your niche.
No-effort freebies
16. Waitlists
Okay so this one isn’t a freebie as such, but it works well for building anticipation ahead of a launch. As you’re posting your pre-launch content, you can switch your calls to action to join the waitlist — maybe for a one-time bonus or a discount.
17. Giveaways
Giveaways can be an engaging way to attract attention and generate interest in your courses or services. And they’re usually pretty effective, too.
I ran a giveaway when I first launched my Power Hour and my launch templates, and it was great for boosting engagement, getting more exposure and attracting new clients.
How you run your giveaway is totally up to you. I suggest using the opportunity to build your email list by getting people to sign up for something to apply.
Or, at the very least, use it to get in front of more of your ideal clients by requiring people to share your post to their stories (if on IG) to enter. Tell them what to do, give them a deadline, and once you close the doors use an automatic name generator to choose the winner.
And once you’ve notified the winner? Reach out to everyone else who entered to say they didn’t get it this time, but you’d love to offer them a discount or a sneaky bonus if they want to sign up.
18. Free trial
Although free trial classes can convert well, they’re also time consuming and a sure fire way to devalue your work. Plus, trial hoppers will take advantage of it if they can.
That’s why I don’t recommend offering free trial classes. But if you offer a membership or an app or a course, a free trial (or limited time access to a module) can be a great way to hook people into your offer by showing the crazy value they get.
Which lead magnet are you making next?
Let me know in the comments!
March 14, 2024
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