The Wedding Planner’s Guide to Flodesk: Turn Free Guides into Sales

We’ve all seen it, or done it: “Click the link to snag my free guide!” 

We hit the link, we’re taken to a new page that reminds us the free guide is all about and how to get it.

If the person sharing this “free guide” is sharing it effectively and leveraging this opportunity, they are not just immediately sharing the resource. They are 1st asking the reader to “sign up to get it sent straight to their inbox!” So the reader, you and I, promptly add our name, email address, and sometimes IG Handle then… we IN! We get the guide. Simple. 

What this person is doing by collecting this information is building their email list. Building a database of readers who have willingly “opted in” to being in communication with this person in order to gain access to a golden nugget of information being shared for free. 

This person, or better yet this ENTREPRENEUR is smartly and efficiently taking control of their audience by building an email list that allows them to market to them regularly. 

👉 If you have a free guide or resource of some sort and don’t do this on the backend… this article is for YOU.

👉 If you have always wanted to offer a free guide or resource but feel stuck on how to start… this article is for YOU. 

👉 If you are doing this on the backend, and actively building your email list subscribers, but you know it could be done better with a proper communication sequence after that actually SELLS your services to those who are subscribing… this article is for YOU. 

I’m here to tell you that without a doubt, owning your audience through this way and leveraging a powerful email marketing tool like Flodesk (*affiliate link as we are proud users of and partners with Flodesk!) will ABSOLUTELY increase your success rate of booking solid couples that started off as curious on-lookers. 

Here are the EXACT steps I coach my Wedding Planner Roadmap students through when they are ready to hit this part of their business...

1️⃣ STEP ONE: get Flodesk. Seriously. In our wedding industry world aesthetics and simplicity are EVERYTHING. Not only are the options gorgeous, but its email platform usability for beginners is straightforward and EFFECTIVE. In fact, Flodesk emails get seen/opened 17% more than industry average. 

⭐️Why does this matter? Because once you set up your workflow (the process of getting people to opt into your email list, like I mentioned above), you know it will CONVERT. Aka make you MONEY. 

2️⃣ STEP TWO: Build your Free Guide or resource. Now, this is another blog article/training for another day. So I’ll just leave this here for now.

⭐️ PROTIP: the point of this freebie is to leave them wanting MORE. Your goal is to give them this free thing to trigger a thought process that brings them full circle to needing to hire you and your services. It doesn’t end at getting the free guide, you’re going to sell to them afterwards.

3️⃣ STEP THREE: Create a “form” inside Flodesk this is where people are directed when they “click the link” to take them to sign up for the thing you’re sharing for free. The point of the form is to convert website visitors and social media followers into an audience you own forever. You can choose from Flodesk's collection of popup, inline, full page, link in bio, spin-the-wheel, video, and countdown forms. 

4️⃣ STEP FOUR: Assign a “segment” to the people who opt in on that form. Meaning, if the reader clicks the link, fills out the requested info on the form, their info will be marked with the segment associated with the form, EX: “Free Guide Opt In”.  THIS is what will push them into the workflow that will allow you to sell to them through email marketing! 

5️⃣ STEP FIVE: Build out your “workflow” that will be triggered by someone signing up! The first email should ALWAYS include the free guide you promised them and IMO not hard sell them just yet. You want to warm them up first.

Email 2 or 3 is a great place to offer a bonus or a slight discount for snagging the freebie towards your services! Flodesk’s powerful workflow builder comes in an intuitive package. You can automate every moment of the subscriber journey in just moments, while still maintaining a personal touch and making it your own. Which we know is ESSENTIAL to making the sale!! 

6️⃣ STEP SIX: NURTURE YOUR AUDIENCE regularly with Flodesk email newsletters. Now all of these new subscribers are part of your general email list. Serve them with helpful information that makes their lives BETTER with a weekly, biweekly or monthly email that’s there just to build TRUST. 

Then, when you’re ready to sell, they are nice and WARM, ready to say YES! 
 
BIGGEST TAKE AWAY: You need to be using an email marketing platform to that allows you to design emails people love to get. For that we use Flodesk.

This is a simplified breakdown of why it’s SO important to leverage free guides as a TRUE lead magnet, building your audience in exchange for the freebie. We would be 100000% lost if we didn’t automate all of this with Flodesk in order to turn curiosity into booked couples.

Want more business tips for wedding planners? As a wedding planner coach, my Instagram. @beccakristinetuttle, is FULL of them. Follow along HERE and shoot me a DM to say hi, I’ll be so glad to see you!