Audience-building giveaways
Most pubishers think of special sections and guides as a way to sell more advertising.
However, they can also be sued to build audience – as well as be sponsored by an advertisers. Everybody wins.
Research shows that audience building giveaways, such as an e-book, increase conversions by an average of 4.5%. Here are some examples of how other niche publishers have solved the problem of creating something of value to use as a giveaway.
GrandRapidsBrides – The Wedding planner checklist
As seen in the top image, this is a truly utilitarian guide for couples planning a wedding. We are big fans of checklists , and have a few of our own, such as the Checklist for updating the advertise page, and the Day-of-Event checklist for publishers planning events, which is one of our most downloaded items.
New Orleans Magazine: Food Cubes newsletter
Some niche media can “give away” a portion of the magazine, rather then the whole thing. Food Cubes is a useful restaurant update for visitors to the many festivals.
T-Nation – Enter to win a $400 backpack
This magazine is focused on providing a predominantly male audience with “The Best Strength Training and Bodybuilding Articles, Workouts, and Supplements.” They tempt them with high-end brand gear.
Safety+Health – Webinars
Another useful strategy is partnering with a sponsor on a webinar. The media sells the sponsorship, and the double opt-in on the landing pages allows both the media and the sponsor to collect the opt-in. Don’t just take our word for it, check out the “Library” on every Industry Dive magazine, one of the most successful B2B publishers, with $100 million in sales from their 26 magazine, prior to an exit last year. They use “double opt-ins” for webinars, playbooks, and trend lines as a core way to build email lists.
Grassroots Motorsports – Trackside Companion
This “comprehensive digital booklet” which promises “decades of professional mechanical tuning and racing expertise” for the motor cross, delivers consistent results, and is in its 5th edition.
Small Business Journal – Win a Free full-page ad
SBJ has great promotions, and this one, to Win a Free Full-page Ad appeals to the B2B market, gathering leads for advertisers, as well as subscribers.
Dallas Fort-Worth Child – Child Model Search
DFWChild partnered with a local talent agency to create the 25th Annual DFW Child Model Search. What a great contest to attract and involve parents, that is not the typical “best of” or “photo contest,” which are also great email collectors. This contest, however, requires more work, fortunately, supplied by a partner, and has additional flash and possibilities for local news coverage and viral social sharing. Modeling agencies also charge, so sharing this list with the sponsor provides an additional revenue opportunity and a win/win.
Active NorCal – Enter to win free Schwab
ActiveNorcal has a full online store with all of its swag, with a weekly drawing for new registrations. This is part of their a plan that loaded up 75,000 emails.
Vegnews – Best Vegan Restaurant Contest
Another remake of the tried and true “best of” or “readers choice” contests, these are easy to set up on platforms such as SecondStreetMedia and can generate hundreds of votes, and thus, opt-in emails. Some local media use a two staged approach: In the first phase they ask readers to send in nominations, and in the second they ask for the vote. Not only can readers choice contests draw in potential advertisers for your niche, but for free media its a one of the most powerful way to capture email opt-ins.
Group Travel Leader – Games and puzzles
How better for a group travel magazine to appeal to travelers than offering them group games and puzzles they can share on the road.
Bonus ideas:
Sign up for a free magazine
One we’ve run into in the past is an offer to send one or two magazines for free. This is a great way to obtain all the contact information and introduce interested audiences to the product.
Instructional courses
While these are often reserved for paying members, some niche media have build a library of instructional videos. If this is on the roadmap, which not use one to capture a registration, as well.
