How would you like to grow your email list 10X faster?
Content upgrades are one of the biggest breakthroughs that marketers all across the world are raving about, and they result in huge subscriber increases.
What is a Content Upgrade?
A content upgrade is a lead magnet (or opt-in bribe) created specifically for a particular blog post or page. It only works if only if it’s something your audience really wants and it’s directly related to the email/blog post.
Creating a content upgrade usually takes less than an hour but coming up with the right idea can be a pain.
If you don’t want to waste hours trying to come up with the perfect idea, you are in the right place. In this article, we’ll share with you 23 easy content upgrade ideas to help you get past the “idea generation” phase.
Here we go…
23 Content Upgrade Ideas
1. PDF Blog Post
Without a doubt, this is the easiest upgrade to offer. All you have to do is save your final draft as a PDF and provide it as an upgrade.
It really is as simple as that. Because if your content is truly valuable, your readers will want to go back to it time and time again.
2. Infographic
Here’s a great content upgrade idea: transform your blog post into an infographic for your readers to use and share!
Why? Because infographics are “eye candy”: they’re attractive and easy to understand. Plus, if your subscribers share it on their blog or on social media, you’ve got the added bonus of valuable backlinks and shares.
Infographics are a lot easier to create than you might think. Check out Visage, Snappa, Piktochart, Easel, and Canva to quickly and efficiently build your own.
3. Mini eBook
Are you writing a series of posts about one overarching topic? You can string together the series into PDF format, and offer this mini eBook as a content upgrade on each of the blog posts in the series.
The focus here is on the word mini. Don’t get too carried away by adding a lot of extra content… lengthy eBooks can be overwhelming for the user to consume.
4. Printable
You want to provide something that your reader can print out and either stick up, keep in their diary or pin to a noticeboard. Something inspiring that will remind them to stay “in the zone.”
This could be anything related to your blog post, from diagrams, inspiring images, desktop backgrounds or motivational quotes.
5. Cheat Sheet
A cheat sheet is another super simple content upgrade to offer. Used in the right context, it can also be a seriously effective one. It puts together all the most important information related to a post in one handy package.
There are some great tools to create checklists. We love Forgett, SweetProcess, and Checkli.
6. Templates
People love templates. They make their lives so much easier! And templates can come in so many different forms… email templates, budget templates, business card templates etc.
7. Scripts
Similar to templates, scripts are great because they help your visitor when they’re stumped for what to say.
8. Formulas
Formulas are awesome as they allow readers to adapt your information for their own needs. Think of it as a recipe for success, rather than a “fill-in-the-blank”.
9. Checklist
Checklists are ideal for “how-to” or longer (4,000+ words) posts that can be cut down into easier chunks.
This could be a step-by-step printable list, a set of materials needed for a project, or even some top tips taken from a large guide.
10. List of Resources
If your post has a heavy focus on tools and resources, creating a master list linking directly to each of them means that readers don’t have to search out each tool on their own.
11. Tool Kit
Does your blog post cover a list of tools and resources? You could package that list of tools and resources into a PDF tool kit, and give it away as a content upgrade.
12. Transcripts
When featuring interviews, podcasts or videos in your content, offer a transcription of the recording as an upgrade.
It takes next to no time to do, and you can even hire a transcriber if you don’t fancy doing it yourself. Rev and Fiverr are two great resources.
13. Bonus Content
Looking for an easy way to make a content upgrade? If your post includes a list, just slice the list in half and provide the other half as bonus content. Simple!
14. Spreadsheets
These are an excellent content upgrade if you want to give your readers something more manageable to work through.
15. Video or Audio Recording
If you host webinars, informative videos or interviews, it’s useful to offer a recording as a bonus.
People digest information in different ways. Providing a recording of you talking through the content with additional bits of information could be seriously appealing to those that learn better through audio.
Try out Audacity as an audio editing tool and iMovie or Camtasia for video editing.
16. Case Study
Finding out other people’s success stories is always appealing.
So why not write a case study on an influential person in your field, telling your readers how they go to where they are now?
You could even share your own success story!
17. Quick Start Guide
When you’re teaching something complicated, it’s worth simplifying it. People just want to get started quickly and easily when trying something new.
18. Full Guide
If you want to offer something more than just a starter guide, then build a comprehensive one that takes the reader through every single step.
It’s perfect for the more complicated posts.
19. Report
If you are an expert in a subject and have carried out extensive research into it, your content upgrade could be a report that’ll educate readers.
20. Free Trial
When selling a product or a service, a free trial, sample or consultation service can be an excellent upgrade to a piece of content.
Although it isn’t necessarily content itself, it’s a seriously valuable bonus for your reader who is already interested in what it is you have to offer.
21. Free Course
Or, maybe you want to give a full course away for free? This one is perfect if you want to be considered as an expert in your field.
Your free course could be a number of things: a series of videos, or an e-book for starters. One really effective format is an email course.
22. Email Series
Rather than an actual email course, you could also set up an email series in line with your content designed to inspire, entertain or educate over a few days.
23. Challenge
A challenge could be a mini project for the reader to take on. It could be a little reminder, or an ongoing task for them to invest time into.
The brilliant thing about this upgrade is it also offers the opportunity for community engagement: you could create a hashtag for them to share their progress on Twitter. Also, deliver reminders on each day (Email Autoresponder) of the challenge.
This list is meant to inspire you.
If you have never created a content upgrade for your blog, stop wasting time trying to find the perfect idea. There is no one perfect idea.
To find the perfect content upgrade for your content, you will need to create a lot of different variations and keep testing them until you find the ones your audience likes.
It is hard work but it pays off very well. Now, before you leave this page, we want you to pick a content upgrade idea and get to making your first content upgrade right now.
We are here to help. If you want any help, just Messenger us (Private Message Us) at our Facebook Messenger link – m.me/EasyOnlineBizSolutions
Talk Soon,
Nicky and Dave
P.S. Combine these content upgrade ideas with great copywriting!
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