So, you’ve created a bomb-dot-com freebie that answers a question or responds to a need of your audience. It’s valuable. It’s compelling. It’s what your people have been asking for. You’re ready to go pour yourself a spicy marg and call it a day. But wait… what happens when you actually have to deliver said freebie to said ideal audience? That’s where my veeeery favorite email platform comes in! Let’s talk about how to create a Flodesk workflow in order to deliver your freebie automatically. And fast.
What is a Flodesk workflow, anyway?!
First, though, if you’re like, “Umm, wait, what’s a Flodesk workflow?” Don’t worry. It’s one of those “tech-y” terms that can make new-to-email-listers a little cringe-sweaty. But all a workflow is, is a way to send automated emails when someone subscribes to your email list. In this case, we want someone to download your freebie and receive an email right away that delivers that freebie right to their inbox.
It automates the delivery of your freebie so you can start growing your email list, even while you sleep. Plus, it’s the easiest thing to set up ever, and you only have to do it once!
3 steps to create a Flodesk workflow for your freebie
Once you have your freebie ready (which can be a PDF, a link to a piece of content, or you can even put the content directly into a Flodesk email template), follow the steps below.
Step 1: Set up a form and choose a segment.
You can use any of the forms, but in this example let’s create a full-page opt-in form. It’s the simplest way to build a quick landing page to house your freebie—even if you don’t have a website. From your Flodesk account, click on Forms >+ New form and choose Full page under the Browse all dropdown.
Now, click Customize it to modify and make it your own.
Next, time to Choose a segment. This step is CRUCIAL. Segments impact your workflow and later can be used to run analytics to glean insights on your opt-in form’s effectiveness. Segments are how you keep your subscribers organized. We highly encourage you to select one segment per form. For example, you could name your segment “Top 10 Tips for Writing Email” to describe your freebie and remember where subscribers came from.
After you’ve selected a segment, click in the form to start editing.
Remember to customize your success message—this is what’s shown to new subscribers after they opt in to your form. If you don’t see the Message tab in the settings bar, click outside the form background to bring up all form settings.
Click Next on the top right-hand corner to continue customizing. You can choose to enable double opt-in, when the form is displayed, who receives it, and if you want a notification for every new subscriber.
After that, you’re finished setting up your opt-in form! Copy the URL and share it via social media or Linktree!
You can also navigate back to my forms by clicking the Flodesk logo at the top left-hand corner of your screen, and then select Forms at the top. Hover over the form you’ve created, click the three dots, and select Share page link… or make any additional edits down the road.
Have peace of mind knowing your full page opt-in form is hosted on Flodesk, so there’s no need for a website or knowledge of how to code.
Step 2: Create an email delivering your freebie.
Once your new and ideal subscribers fill out your opt-in form, they get added to your “Top 10 Tips for Writing Email” segment (or whatever you decided to name it) on your Flodesk account. Then it’s time to create the email that contains your freebie.
If you’re using a template, you can fill in text and images as you want. Since we’re delivering a freebie, we want to ensure that the link or freebie content is included in the email. Click within an element (like a button that says “Download the Freebie”) on the template, then click ‘Link’ and be sure it is linked to your PDF file or external URL. Design the rest as you would with a regular email, and then click ‘Finish.’
Important note: Don’t forget to change the subject line! Make it captivating and also to-the-point to encourage people to open it, and fill in the preview text as well.
Step 3: Create a Workflow.
In your dashboard under ‘Workflows’ at the top, click “New workflow.” Flodesk does provide some templates to use, or you’re welcome to click “or start from scratch.” Name your workflow something clear for you to remember what it is (your subscribers can’t see this).
Then, you’ll add a trigger. A trigger kicks off a workflow, signaling for the automation to begin. The trigger you’ll likely want to use is to add a subscriber to a segment. Then, ‘Choose segment(s)’ that you want to be added into the workflow and add that as a trigger. With the little ‘+’ button, we can add the next steps that happen once the trigger begins kicking off.
The first step you’ll want is to send out the email with the freebie inside. Just duplicate the existing email you created in the previous step, and you’re ready to send by clicking Publish > in the upper right-hand corner.
After you’ve delivered your freebie email, you can send out more emails (we like to do a couple days’ delay in between each one). Or you can add these subscribers to a new segment like “Welcome.” This can trigger an entire welcome email workflow to help your new subscribers get to know you better (more on this in our next post!).
Final step: Share your opt-in form with your audience!
Then sit back and watch your list grow. To share your freebie, grab your form link and share it everywhere! Add it to your social media profiles, bios, and captions. Link it in your email signature. Add it to your website or a pop-up. The options are endless for how to build an email list and get your freebie out into the hands of your audience.
Those who opt into your freebie are now subscribers on your email list, so you can start emailing them regularly or create another workflow with additional content to do this for you on auto-pilot!
Still working on setting up an email list?
Meet me at my FREE class with Flodesk’s founder to learn how to set up & serve your list!
