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List building: Email Course vs E-Book

by niceguy36
21 replies
Hey guys

I'm working on an IM project where I have a nice give-away (40~ page ebook) in exchange for their email to get my list growing. Well, I just don't know if I should actually give it away as ebook or as email course.

The ebook probably gives a more "professional" impression to my customers, while the email course makes them more likely to open up my emails continually.
Well, thats all just an assumption and I have nothing to prove it.

Maybe someone already tested what works better in the long run?

I hope you can help me

best regards,
Mike
#building #ebook #email #list
  • Profile picture of the author coffeecashnow
    I would strongly recommend you to give the ebook.

    It's frustrating not to have it all at once from the customer's point of view.

    If your ebook is good, and if you keep sending good stuff, they'll open your emails...

    What you should do though is add a OTO. Then when you see how your free traffic converts on your OTO, you can buy traffic and build your list much faster without spending a dime...

    Cheers,
    O.
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  • Profile picture of the author TheArticlePros
    I've signed up for a few drip-fed courses (the email option), and I only found that 1 of them was worth it. The rest of them I completely lost interest in within a few days and unsubscribed.

    Here's a thought you might be able to try: Offer to have it emailed to the subscribers for free, or offer a $0.97 upgrade and then they can get it all at once in an e-book form. I have no idea if it would work, but you could go both ways with it and then build a list of freebie seekers AND people who are interested because they're paying you for something.

    -- j
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  • Profile picture of the author Muhsin Aziz
    You should definitely go for the ebook!
    Drip feeding content can sometimes take too slow
    and your prospect might have lose interest in
    you by the time you are done with your email course.
    Hope that helps.
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  • Profile picture of the author peewhy
    Giving away any item that has a perceived high value will often pay dividends because if the quality of something you are giving away is very high, what must it be for a paid for item?
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    • Profile picture of the author yesacpow
      In my opinion, I think giving away the ebook is the better option. Thinking from the subscriber point of view - you don't want them to wait because over time the will lose interest and go search for the info they need elsewhere.

      And by giving them the ebook, provided that it is of great quality, you will be over-delivering and that will prime them up to open your future emails to get even more info from you.

      Hope that helps.
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  • Profile picture of the author Simmeon
    If you are going to drip feed content then you might as well create a membership site, with some initial content available for them to consume.

    Ebook option, will hold their interest. People are inpatient and get bored easy.
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  • Profile picture of the author denologis
    As everyone did the suggestion, I suggest you too to give your list the eBook.

    Good luck for your campaign.
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    Just Scammed by Bob Stephan / Leonardo Cattani aka KickAss Marketing LOL!
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  • Profile picture of the author ElaineHenderson
    I also believe that you should give the e-book, it looks more professional and your customers will feel that they got something for registering. An e-mail could be lost on tons of other e-mails, your e-book will be stored on the computer of your customers and will be there if it is needed.
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    • Profile picture of the author Shaun OReilly
      If it were me, I'd SELL the ebook to build a list of
      BUYERS.

      I'd look at extracting some of the material from the
      ebook and create a shorter PDF to give away as a
      download immediately.

      Plus, I'd develop a follow-up sequence to convert
      the some more of the subscribers into buyers of
      the full ebook.

      Dedicated to mutual success,

      Shaun
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      .

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  • Profile picture of the author PassiveIncomeTeacher
    If done correctly, a drip feed email course can be very successful in building your authority among your audience. The keys are to make sure each email over delivers on the readers expectations and leave them with a cliff hanger so they are waiting for the next email to come.
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  • Profile picture of the author curtisrk34
    Just a thought of something different. What about turning the email course into a video course. That way, you can drip on them and still have a higher value.
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  • Profile picture of the author Viramara
    Use the ebook as a teaser to your email courses so your list will stay longer. The ebook here is not just to give information, but also as warming up. Too much cases where people just sign up to get the ebook then unsubscribed.
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  • Profile picture of the author HFlame7
    Definitely go with the eBook. From my own experience, most have preferred to have the information all at once if it's something that I'm "giving away" for free.
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  • Profile picture of the author xxxJamesxxx
    I do both. Give away a ebook (or video, audio or whatever) then mail your subs additional stuff.

    Your ebook is pretty big for a free ebook. You could break it down into smaller bite size email courses and drip-feet it over a few days to a week etc.

    James Scholes
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  • Profile picture of the author sarlat
    The book - people like getting their content up front!
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  • Profile picture of the author BlackIrish
    Go for the eBook.

    Make sure to add a nice box product cover
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  • Profile picture of the author AndrewStark
    I think that Shaun has made the best point here.

    At 40 pages I would say that you've put too much information in a free product. Test out what people think by giving it away in the war room, and get some feedback on what you've created.
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    • Profile picture of the author dannn1
      I actually have both on my site. I have a 22 page eBook and a 6-Part Mini-Course that is sent out over a 6 day period. I couldn't decide which one I thought would work better so I created both for good measure. Good points about being drip fed content - people get bored easily.

      Whether or not people actually follow the 6-Part Mini-Course is not important to me - I sleep soundly knowing I worked hard to deliver the best value I could.

      Whatever you do, provide value to your visitors above all else and they will reward you for it. If you have a 40 page eBook completed I would just stick with that honestly; you seem like you are confident in its content so I don't think it would matter if you split it up into a course or left it as is.
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      • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
        Mike,

        I'm going to add a warning: Be careful taking advice from people who openly state that they have no attention span. Are those the readers you want?

        I'm working on an e-course of sorts at the moment, and I'm mixing things up. An initial report that's been well-received, then examples as PDFs or web pages, followed by "lessons" in the next day's emails.

        The process is designed around the notion that I am looking for a specific readership, and what I think will help them the most. I suggest you build your process around the same criteria. Not the same process, necessarily, as that's not the best one for every purpose. But look at your goals and the benefits to your desired audience.

        Another thing to consider: If you deliver the book all at once, will the subscriber feel the experience is over? If so, what's to keep them reading your follow-up emails? If you can build anticipation with the first section(s), they'll keep coming back for more. Make it a one-shot system, and they may tune you out.

        If the content is set up in a way that delivers the goods and then promises to extend the experience, you're going to have loyal readers for as long as you can keep that up.

        Andrew,
        At 40 pages I would say that you've put too much information in a free product.
        Based on... what? For one of my lists, the subscription freemium is over 100 pages. Hasn't hurt me to give that away.

        Mike's report may be too much, too little, or just right. Keep in mind that Goldilocks was big on testing...

        Dann,
        Good points about being drip fed content - people get bored easily.
        If the content is boring, sure. Sweeping generalizations like that don't help if you have nothing to base them on.


        Paul
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  • Profile picture of the author SarahJane
    wow, everyone had to mentioned an e-book give away
    as for me, i have many subscribers from my site who want to get email course (not always IM niche)
    and my suggestion is, try and mix with your own style
    which is you prefer
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