We can probably all agree that the days when you could just ask a website visitor to enter his/her name and email address are long gone.  Website visitors now receive so much email marketing that they only “give up” this info for something of value.

Now if you have a restaurant, for example, the something of value could be a coupon for a free second dinner.  Or if you have an online DVD store, you could offer a coupon for a half-price DVD.

Yet if your business, like mine, is about providing information to your target market, then you should be demonstrating with free information that your knowledge is valuable.

One cautionary note: Yes, you can ask people to sign up for an online newsletter.  But most of us get so many online newsletters that we don’t read them – too many and too much info.  (Only a couple of free online newsletters do I read regularly, and I do not wish to add to that number.)

Thus a free report is the ideal in my opinion.  But this can’t just be any report.  Here are some guidelines for your free report:

•    On the topic of your business.

This may seem obvious but isn’t always carried out.  For example, your business may be online marriage counseling and you offer a free report on the best places to buy used furniture because that’s your hobby.  If the free report is to convince people of the value of your marriage counseling advice, then the report has to be on that topic.

•    Written in good English with (hopefully) no spellcheck errors, typos, etc.

I just read a book on social media that had several errors in it, including such mistakes as reign when the word meant was rein, possessive when the plural was meant, etc.  Obviously if this book had been about good writing habits, I would have not trusted the advice very much.  FYI – If you’re not a good proofreader, give your free report to someone who is to check it for you.

•    Info that is worthwhile.

This needs some explanation.  I do not mean info that can’t be found anywhere else on the web because that’s probably an impossible feat.  But I do mean the actual info rather than a tease.  In other words, give the info you promise instead of talking about giving the info.

For example, I’ve just written a new free report “How to Monetize Your Site/Blog Without Ads.”  In this report I give very specific steps with links for further info so that people may actually act on the information.

In other words, I did NOT just write that sites/blogs can be monetized and that it is a good idea to find a way to do this.  That info is not worthwhile.  That info is the question; your site visitors want the answer.

•    Choose a good title that conveys the promise of the information without promising more than you can reasonably deliver.

The title of your report should attract your target market, be a realistic representation of the actual information, and not promise the sky (such as “How to Legally Make a Million Dollars in Two Weeks”).

•    Write new reports.

If you’ve had your free report on offer for some time, write a new report.  You can keep the optin box for the old report on your site for first-time visitors who haven’t seen that offer.  But you need to have new free reports for two reasons:

1) Some of your website visitors want to know what else you have – they may still need more convincing that you know what you are talking about.

2) Different people have different questions they want answered.

My new report “How to Monetize Your Site/Blog Without Ads” is an addition to free reports I already offer about Twitter and other Internet marketing elements.  When I first started writing new reports, I swapped out the old report for the new one.  Then I stopped doing this when I realized that the old one still had value for some people.  Now I simply add new optin boxes to my company site.

In conclusion, whenever I write a free report, I put myself in the perspective of the reader and write for that one person.  I use easily accessible language – no need to demonstrate that I know “big” words – and I use at least 12 point in the report so people don’t have to squint to read what I’ve written.

If you follow the above advice and share information that your target market wants to know, you should be writing free reports that attract people to join your list.

About the author

Phyllis Zimbler Miller has an M.B.A. from The Wharton School and blogs at her company website – www.millermosaicllc.com/blog .  If you are interested in integrating Twitter, Facebook and your website, grab her FREE report “Twitter, Facebook and Your Website: A Beginning Blueprint for Harnessing the Power of 3 for Your Business” now from www.millermosaicpowerof3.com