What happens if you die in an Airbnb?

THE tyre swing looked inviting in the ad, but an attempt to use it was fatal. The Airbnb death has raised questions over the responsibilities of the sharing economy.

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#YourTaxis is social media fail of the year

“IT SMELLED like a wookiee’s armpit.” Stinky, abusive and unreliable taxi drivers sledged on Twitter as social media campaign descends into farce.

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Salim fights for his future in court

DEPUTY mayor Salim Mehajer allegedly voted on changes to a development that added $1million to its value without declaring his financial interests.

Source NEWS.com.au | Business http://ift.tt/1iPhWKT

What supermarkets can no longer count on

NEARLY all shoppers are willing to ditch their supermarket to save on their grocery bill, despite costly rewards programs aimed at fostering loyalty.

Source NEWS.com.au | Business http://ift.tt/1WNIREc

Maggi noodles return after ‘crisis’

AN ENTIRE country is celebrating after Nestle’s hugely popular Maggi noodles returned to shelves five months after being banned.

Source NEWS.com.au | Business http://ift.tt/1WJuqqe

In Honor of Veterans Day, Olive Garden’s Offering Free Meals to Servicemembers

“When you’re here, you’re family” — and if you’re a member of the Armed Forces, you and your family can expect a nice discount this Veterans Day.

Head to the Olive Garden For Free Food and Family Fun

Olive Garden is offering service members a free entrée off their special Veterans Day menu on Wednesday.

With options like cheese ravioli, garlic rosemary chicken and spaghetti with meat sauce, you’re sure to find something to please your palate. Plus, your family members will receive 10% off their orders, too.

Of the many Veterans Day food freebies out there, this one’s pretty filling: Your meal starts with unlimited soup or salad and breadsticks, so you can get a ton of bang for your buck if you go hungry!

Ready for Dinner?

Just flash your military ID at your local Olive Garden and get ready to save — and savor.

Keep in mind the deal does not include beverages or gratuity, and is applicable only to dine-in orders.

Your Turn: Will you and your family be dining at Olive Garden this Veteran’s Day?

Jamie Cattanach is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder and a native Floridian. She’s passionate about learning, literature, chocolate and finding ways to live the good life as cost-effectively as possible. You can wave hi to @jamiecattanach on Twitter.

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IHOP Salutes Veterans and Active-Duty Military With Free Pancakes All Day Wednesday

Hey, military members! Ready for a delicious breakfast on the house? The International House of Pancakes, that is.

In addition to all of the other Veterans Day freebies to honor the 22 million veterans and 1.3 million active duty military members this Wednesday, November 11, IHOP is offering a free short stack of pancakes.

Even better, the patriotic red, white and blue theme means pancakes come served with glazed strawberries, blueberry compote and whipped topping. That’s a pretty delicious way to say “thank you for your service!”

Hungry? Here’s How to Claim the Goods

The offer is available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at participating IHOP locations. Simply head on down to your local IHOP, present your military ID and make sure you’re hungry!

Once you’ve enjoyed your pancakes, check out this list of year-round military discounts.

Your Turn: Will you claim a free pancake breakfast from IHOP this Veterans Day?

Jamie Cattanach is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder and a native Floridian. She’s passionate about learning, literature, chocolate and finding ways to live the good life as cost-effectively as possible. You can wave hi to @jamiecattanach on Twitter.

The post IHOP Salutes Veterans and Active-Duty Military With Free Pancakes All Day Wednesday appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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The Best Deals of Veterans Day 2015

See where military members and their families can get free meals, haircuts and store discounts.

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These 22 Companies Will Give You Free Stuff on Veterans Day to Thank You for Your Service

While more than 100 companies offer year-round military discounts, this Veterans Day, servicemembers can enjoy even more savings — from free food to discounted car maintenance.

Most of these offers are good for both active-duty and retired servicemembers, but be sure to check each offer for specifics before heading out.

Free Food

From breakfast to dessert, you’ll enjoy all sorts of freebies and savings on food and drinks.

1. Denny’s

Start your day off with a free Build Your Own Grand Slam from 5 a.m. to noon on Veterans Day.

2. Bob Evans

Find more breakfast options at Bob Evans, where you can get a free Stack of hotcakes, country biscuit breakfast and more.

3. IHOP

If pancakes are your breakfast go-to, you’re in luck: IHOP is offering active service members red, white and blue pancakes from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time.

4. Friendly’s

Friendly’s has a couple options for you: Get a free Big-Two-Do® breakfast and complimentary cup of coffee, or enjoy a free All American Burger for lunch or dinner.

5. Applebee’s

The national restaurant chain is offering a special Veterans Day menu with seven entrees you can enjoy for free with proof of service.

6. T.G.I. Friday’s

Get a free lunch from a list of menu items that includes burgers, salads, pairings and more from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

7. Chili’s

Get a free entree from Chili’s special Veterans Day menu, which includes lunch combos, dinner choices and more.

8. Starbucks

Vets, active-duty members and their spouses can get a free tall coffee on Nov. 11.

9. Krispy Kreme

Get some more caffeination (and a sugar jolt) later in the day courtesy of Krispy Kreme, where you can get a free small coffee and donut.

10. Red Robin

Sink your teeth into a free red’s Tavern Double™ burger and Bottomless Steak Fries® all day long.

11. Golden Corral

Attend this chain’s Military Appreciation Night from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on the 11 and receive a free “thank you” dinner.

12. Texas Roadhouse

Get a free lunch and beverage from Texas Roadhouse’s Veterans Day lunch menu.

13. Outback Steakhouse

Love Outback’s famous Bloomin’ Onion®? Enjoy one for free along with a complimentary non-alcoholic drink.

If you’re currently deployed (or know someone who is), you can claim a rain check voucher here.

14. Longhorn Steakhouse

Chase one onion appetizer with another by hitting up Longhorn Steakhouse for a free Texas Tonion® and non-alcoholic beverage for eligible servicemembers.

15. Olive Garden

Enjoy a free entree from Olive Garden’s Veterans Day menu, as well as 10% off the meals of any family members dining with you.

16. Carrabba’s

Participating locations are offering servicemembers a free appetizer of their choice.

17. Red Lobster

Extend the Veterans Day freebies by choosing a complementary appetizer or dessert from a special menu at this seafood chain, an offer that’s good from Monday, Nov. 9 through Thursday, Nov. 12.

18. Little Caesar’s

From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Nov. 11, get a free $5 HOT-N-READY® Lunch Combo.

Other Deals

Once you’ve eaten your fill, enjoy one of these other great freebies.

19. National Parks

Enjoy America the Beautiful with free admission to 100+ National Park Service sites on Veterans Day.

20. Great Clips

If you’re a servicemember, visit a Great Clips location to get a free haircut on Nov. 11, or give a free haircut to a servicemember you know.

Non-servicemembers who stop in for a haircut on Veterans Day can receive a “Thank a Veteran Free Haircut Card” to give to a military member, which is redeemable until Dec. 31, 2015.

21. Firestone Complete Auto Care

From Nov. 8 through Nov. 15, servicemembers qualify for an additional 10% off the lowest advertised price for any automotive service.

22. Red Roof Inn

Get 15% off your stay at any Red Roof Inn for the whole month of November by calling 1-800-RED-ROOF (1-800-733-7663) or booking online using the coupon code “618669.”

Your Turn: Which of these Veterans Day deals will you be enjoying? Do you know of any others? (If so, please share them in the comments!)

Kelly Gurnett is a freelance blogger, writer and editor who runs the blog Cordelia Calls It Quits, where she documents her attempts to rid her life of the things that don’t matter and focus more on the things that do. Follow her on Twitter @CordeliaCallsIt.

The post These 22 Companies Will Give You Free Stuff on Veterans Day to Thank You for Your Service appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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Want to Sell Crafts on Handmade at Amazon? Read This First

The world’s largest retailer — the one that works their employees to the bone and wants to deliver your purchases by drone — recently launched a new section of their site.

And it’s about as far from high-tech as you can get: Handmade at Amazon is an online platform for artisans to sell their handcrafted goods.

“We are focused on genuinely handmade products. … The handmade experience we’ve created is unique with the Amazon feel customers know and love,” says Amazon spokesperson Erik Farleigh.

If you’re an artisan who wants to reach the masses, you’re probably wondering if Handmade at Amazon is worth your time. Who’s eligible? How is it different than Etsy? What’s the application process like?

We talked to three Handmade vendors to get the scoop on the new platform:

Can You Sell on Handmade at Amazon?

First, it’s worth figuring out whether you’re even eligible to sell on Handmade.

Your products must be “made entirely by hand, hand-altered, or hand assembled (not from a kit)” and “handmade by you (the artisan), by one of your employees (if your company has 20 or fewer employees), or a member of your collective with less than 100 people,” according to Amazon.

Wondering why this is spelled out so clearly? Perhaps so Handmade can differentiate itself from reigning handicraft empire Etsy, which recently came under fire for letting vendors outsource their manufacturing.

In addition to being completely handmade, your products also must fall under one of the following categories: jewelry, home products, party supplies or stationery.

Tim Strayer owns Locust & Plum, which specializes in industrial decor. He opened his Etsy story in February 2015 and was invited via mass email to join Handmade this summer. In his opinion, the odds of your application being accepted are good.

“I believe, as long as you are selling something that fits within their current handmade categories, they will green light you,” he says. “I’ve heard of several shops not getting in and each time it was because their category was not available yet.”

Amazon’s Farleigh declined to say when Handmade would add new categories, but you can fill out this form to get an alert when your category opens.

What’s the Handmade at Amazon Application Process Like?

The application is fairly straightforward: Besides basic information and multiple choice questions about your production practices, you must answer three essay-type questions in 500 characters or less (about five sentences).

These longer questions are: “What makes your product unique?,” “Describe your production process in detail” and “How did you get started?”

Once you submit your responses, “Each application is reviewed by a member of our team to ensure that the artisan and their items meet our definition of handmade,” Farleigh says.

All the vendors said the application took less than 30 minutes to complete, but they emphasized the importance of professionalism and quality.

“Take your time on the application; make sure you submit really great product photos,” suggests Courtenay Madsen, a creator of hand-stamped jewelry. “Do it right the first time.”

It took four to six weeks for the vendors to hear back from Handmade after submitting their applications, but that timeframe may be different now that the platform is up and running.

Should You Apply for Handmade at Amazon?

If you already have your own website or Etsy store, is it worth applying for Amazon Handmade?

After all, Handmade’s fees are higher than Etsy’s: It charges a 12% commission, while Etsy charges a 20-cent item listing fee and 3.5% commission. Starting in August 2016, Handmade will also charge vendors $39.99 per month just to remain on the platform.

Other issues include the inability to see analytics for your store.

“There’s no way to see how many people are actually viewing [your] item,” Strayer says. That’s been frustrating for him, since he’s used to Etsy, which “gives you all kinds of information” so you can “tailor your listings.”

He also wishes Handmade products would show up in Amazon’s main search engine.

“You have to specifically select Handmade to even look for [our] stuff,” he says. “If somebody doesn’t know anything about Handmade at Amazon, then they’re not going to even bother looking for [it].”

At this point, though, Strayer is willing to “play it by ear.” He says you might as well get on “as many platforms as possible, just so you can get as many views as you can.” And other vendors seem to agree.

Madsen sold her jewelry on Etsy for three years. A year and a half ago, she closed shop because she was tired of spending nearly $1,000 per month to rank in Etsy’s searches.

She’s had luck focusing on her own site since then, but she joined Handmade because she “thought it would be nice to be back on a larger platform.”

She’s happy to be an early adopter. “You’re the first to get people’s feedback ratings, their sales, that kind of thing,” she says. “Eventually there’ll be more competition, but I feel like by [that time] …  I’m hoping to be more established.”

Tiffany Bobb, who designs jewelry made with semi-precious healing gemstones, says she joined Handmade “to reach a wider base of customers” and to take advantage of Fulfillment by Amazon, which handles her product distribution.

In the few weeks since the marketplace opened, Bobb has already sold 10 pieces ranging from $35 to $95.

“I’m definitely not making huge money yet,” she says. But with Amazon’s reach, who knows what the future holds?

Click here to visit Handmade at Amazon and fill out an application.

Your Turn: Are you interested in applying for Handmade at Amazon? Why or why not?

Disclosure: We have a serious Taco Bell addiction around here. The affiliate links in this post help us order off the dollar menu. Thanks for your support!

Susan Shain, senior writer for The Penny Hoarder, is always seeking adventure on a budget. Visit her blog at susanshain.com, or say hi on Twitter @susan_shain.

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Fmr Comptroller: US Debt Far Higher Than Thought

The government's debt is actually far higher than officials say it is, according to a warning from former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker.

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This Woman Took a Hard Look at Her Expenses and Figured Out How to Save $175 a Month

I love to save money. Who doesn’t, right?

It was tough to get started, though. I already felt like I was living on a tight budget and barely making ends meet. What was I going to cut?

But when I took a hard look at where my money was going and prioritized my financial goals, I ended up saving more $175 a month.

It’s freeing to live within your means and know where your money is going. These decisions aren’t easy, but it helps to distinguish between what you need and what you want.

Needs vs. Wants

Before you start making cuts to your spending, you have to determine what’s a need, and what’s a want.

• Needs are your essentials, like food and housing
• Wants are nonessentials that make your life easier or make you happier

While I’m not going to suggest you cut all your wants, I am going to ask you to see if there’s a cheaper way to get what you want.

The Easiest Ways to Save Money

These are the easy pickings. Each one requires a single action that takes, at most, a few minutes of your time or a quick search on Google — and they can pay off, big-time.

Cable

Cable, once considered a household staple, is quickly becoming an easy “no.” It’s expensive, and there are so many cheaper options.  

Whether you use Sling, Netflix, Hulu or a digital antenna, you just don’t need cable. You can get everything you want for $20 a month or less.

(If you choose Netflix, here’s a cool way to get it for free!)

Eating Out

Most people know it’s cheaper to cook at home than to go out. However, if you absolutely cannot imagine a life where you don’t go out to eat, find ways to make it cost less.

Sites like Groupon or LivingSocial are great for finding deals — just make sure you’re going to use them.

Alternatively, make sure your chosen restaurant has a happy hour and stick to that special menu.

Entertainment

Going to a movie costs about $10 per person, while a rental from Redbox costs $2. Better yet, watch a movie on Netflix or Hulu!

Now, you don’t have to become a homebody to cut back on expenses. Your community likely offers lot of free activities — go explore them!

Here are four free or low-cost events and activities in your community:

1. A movie in the park
2. Nearby hiking or walking trails
3. Festivals and fairs
4. Farmers markets

Easy Ways to Save Money

Ready to take the next step? You’ll have to work a little harder for these savings, but they’re still pretty close to effortless.

You’ll need to repeat a simple action on a regular basis, whether that’s daily, monthly or every six months. The goal is to cut back on day-to-day expenses.

Utilities

When and how you use your appliances and gadgets can have a big impact on your bill at the end of the month.

To save money, hold off doing laundry or running the dishwasher until you have a full load. If possible, skip the drying options and air dry your dishes and clothes.

Turn off the lights when you leave a room and, if you aren’t already, use energy-efficient light bulbs.

Lastly, unplug items such as chargers and laptops once they’re fully charged. To make this easy, just use a power strip and turn it off when it’s not being used.

I live alone, and I save around $10 to $25 each month compared to last year’s bills, depending on the season. I can only imagine how much you’d save as a couple or family.

Car Insurance

A kind rep at my auto insurance company informed me you can ask to have a ticket or accident on your record removed if it’s been more than three years — and that can help you save money on your rate.

How long an accident stays on your record for purposes of insurance can vary by state, and it may not automatically come off for up to five years. However, after three years — and if you’ve had no other incidents — they might just do it. (I’m eligible next March!)

Interest Rates

If you have credit card debt, talk to your creditor and see if they will lower your interest rate. It’s amazing the things you can get if you just ask!

You’ll likely be more successful doing this if you ask nicely and have a good payment record.

More Challenging Ways to Save Money

If you want to get serious about saving money, you’re going to need to make changes in your lifestyle. Big changes mean big rewards!

Just make sure you’re smart about how you approach these options.

Downsize

Your living space and transportation costs are likely two of your biggest monthly bills, and so they offer the potential for the greatest savings.

If you move to a smaller space, you’ll not only save money on living expenses, but also make a few bucks selling some of the furniture you no longer need.

Downsizing transportation costs doesn’t mean you have to go car-free.

But could you cut how much you use your, thereby saving on gas and maintenance? Or if your family has more than one vehicle, could you downsize to just one?

Can you walk to the grocery store? Bike to work? Take public transportation?

Or get creative. For example, I do a lot of traveling in my customer training and support role, and my company pays for a rental or mileage, depending on how far I go.

Since my territory covers three states, I rent a car at least twice a month. I don’t have to use my own car as often, saving me at least $30 a month in gas.

DIY

There are a lot of different ways you can DIY to save money. A great one for warmer areas is a DIY dehumidifier.

Just put rock salt in a colander over a bowl. The salt will pull the water from the air, and the bowl below will catch it.

I only had one portable air conditioner to cool my apartment last summer. This DIY dehumidifier helped tremendously, and kept me from buying another portable AC.

Make More Money

If you can’t find more ways to cut back on your spending, you need to start making more money. Try starting a side business or increasing your salary.

One friend reached out to me when her boss was looking for some temporary help drafting briefs for clients. I ended up making more than $4,000 in three months, which played a huge part in paying off my credit card debt.

Your Turn: Have you tracked your “wants” versus your “needs” in your budget? How much money did you save?

Liz Stapleton blogs over at Friday Night Shenanigans, where she writes about paying off her debt while creating a beautiful life for herself through DIY. By implementing these strategies, she has saved over $175 a month. To help you, she put together a FREE checklist you can use when looking to save on expenses.

The post This Woman Took a Hard Look at Her Expenses and Figured Out How to Save $175 a Month appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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9 Retirement Planning Deadlines You Shouldn’t Overlook

Pay attention to these important dates when making retirement decisions.

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Kids’ Activities: The End of Frugality?

It’s easy to say no when your child asks for a toy they don’t need. But what about piano lessons? Photo: Ed Garcia

If you ask my kids what they want above all else, you’ll hear all about their newest obsession: Shopkins. The tiny, plastic figurines have practically taken over their imaginations and our family dinner conversations – much to the dismay of my husband and I.

But it’s not that big of a deal. My kids do love Shopkins, but no one is forcing us to buy them. When they ask, I am perfectly fine with saying “no.” And to be honest, I have said “no” to their requests for Shopkins more times than I can count this year. Yes, they’re cute and of course they’re fun, but my kids just don’t need any more. So, with that in mind, I tell them to play with the Shopkins they already have.

Unfortunately, not everything my kids ask for is so easy to say “no” to. And I’m finding that, while it’s easy to turn down requests for toys, it’s much, much harder to say no to activities that could actually help them.

Navigating the Expensive World of Children’s Sports

It all started with gymnastics. Based on advice from our peers, my husband and I have shied away from some of the sports and activities that require a huge commitment of time and money. According to a friend whose kids are deeply invested in karate, trying a new sport often means making a lifelong commitment to it – whether you intended that or not.

With that in mind, we put our young daughters in a weekly gymnastics class for now. It does cost around $140 per month, but since there are no “games” or “meets,” there’s very little additional investment required.

And so far, we’ve been happy with the whole experience. My kids love going, we’re not losing too much family time sitting at the gym, and I have made my peace with the money we’re spending.

The problem? My kids are built like tiny tanks and way ahead of the curve in their sport of choice. My six-year-old is currently in a class with 8- and 9-year-olds who have serious gymnastics skills, and my four-year-old is extremely focused, absolutely fierce, and not the least bit afraid of falling on her head.

Recently, they both qualified to join the tiny tot team, which is a primer for more advanced, competitive gymnastics. That’s great and all, but that would mean meeting three times per week! Not only is that a huge time commitment for our family, but it also means paying 300% more for their classes. Because that’s more than we feel comfortable spending at such an early age, we ultimately said “no.”

• Related: How to Deal with the High Cost of Children’s Sports

The Piano Problem

Fortunately, both of our daughters understood why we didn’t want them to join the team. In fact, our oldest seemed slightly relieved she wouldn’t have to give up so much time with her friends. She’s only six years old, after all, and would rather spend most evenings riding her bike in the cul-de-sac.

However, she quickly turned her sights on something else – piano lessons – after receiving a flyer in music class. I was shocked at first, but piano really does make sense. We actually have a piano in our home, and I myself started taking piano lessons when I was around her age.

Unfortunately, piano lessons cost $25 per week, per child. And while that isn’t exorbitant, it does mean paying $200 more monthly on top of their gymnastics classes.

But, to me, this dilemma is different. Unlike Shopkins or an excessive gymnastics schedule, piano lessons could benefit both our children in a number of ways. As a child, piano lessons helped me improve my hand-eye coordination, learn a skill that lasts a lifetime, and explore my musical talents.

And truthfully, I would love for both of my kids to do the same. But at $200 per month ($2,400 per year) I desperately need to make peace with the cost.

Balancing Kids’ Activities and Frugal Living

I’ve always said that children can be as expensive or as cheap as you want them to be. If you buy them everything under the sun, the price tag can surge quickly. But if you’re sensible and prudent with your budget, children don’t have to cost an arm and a leg.

With that being said, there are some things you can’t buy used at a garage sale or skip altogether. Sports, group activities, piano lessons, and summer camps can’t always be recreated at home for a fraction of the cost.

As parents, it’s our job to create a financial plan we can live with, but also to expose our children to as many real benefits as possible. Sometimes, figuring out what could really make a difference in our children’s lives- and what won’t – is the hardest part.

Being a parent isn’t easy, and neither is balancing a family budget. In the end, all we can do is make the best decisions we can – and hope for the best.

How has your family handled the cost of your children’s sports and activities? How do you decide which sports to participate in – and when to pass?

The post Kids’ Activities: The End of Frugality? appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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Triple Your Email Opt-in Rate by Using This 6-Step Lead Magnet Creation Process

Creating great content isn’t enough.

Although getting lots of traffic and social shares is nice, it’s not the goal of content marketing.

Pop quiz: What is the real purpose of any marketing?

To make sales.

Now, you can’t typically do that straight from blog posts, at least not for most products.

However, what you can do is collect your readers’ contact information—even if it’s just an email.

Ten years ago, you could get a decent sign-up rate just by having a box in your sidebar that said “subscribe to the blog.”

But now, brands are producing a lot of content, and 70% of marketers plan to create more content this year than the one before. I don’t see this trend slowing down anytime soon.

People are overwhelmed by the amount of content coming at them. And everyone creating that content wants their email addresses.

That old opt-in form in the sidebar won’t collect much of anything other than dust these days.

As marketers, though, we evolve with the times, and our tactics evolve too.

We began to offer free products such as e-books, courses, checklists, and videos for anyone who signed up to our lists. These are called lead magnets because…well…they attract leads.

And it worked.

You’re essentially trading value in the form of premium content for your reader’s email address.

But now, almost everyone offers a free bonus.

If your lead magnet isn’t something special, two things can happen.

Either you won’t get many sign-ups, or you will get sign-ups, but those readers will be unimpressed with the bonus and unsubscribe right away.

The most successful marketers today create lead magnets that are a step above everyone else’s.

Yes, it takes some time and effort, but raising your opt-in rate just 2% or 3% can produce tens of thousands of dollars in the upcoming year.

It also takes some skill and knowledge to create a good lead magnet, which is what I’m going to teach you in this post.

By the end of it, you will know how to:

• find an idea for a lead magnet that your readers want
• create a lead magnet that they love and use
• specific tactics to skyrocket your opt-in rate

Step #1: Research always comes first

One of the hardest parts of being a good marketer is understanding your audience.

Even when you think you understand them, you might realize that you have different views on what is and isn’t valuable.

So if you’ve created lead magnets (of any kind), but they’re only converting at 1% or less, you’re probably off the mark.

And I know that’s tough to hear, but I think it’s actually good news. It’s really easy to fix, and you can double or triple your opt-in rates just by fixing this one issue.

The point of this research is to discover what your audience finds most valuable.

And there’s an easy way to see what that stuff is: look at what they buy.

A great lead magnet should be of such quality that people would actually pay for it. But since you’ll be giving it away, you’ll obviously get great conversion rates.

There are tons of places to look if you want to see what your readers value, but there are three in particular that work for almost any niche.

Source #1 – The Kindle marketplace: Amazon started out as a book seller and only later became the giant it is today.

But it still sells books—a lot of them.

I would look primarily at the Kindle books, just because e-books are more like a typical lead magnet than physical books are.

The people who like to buy things online (hopefully from you eventually) are usually the same people who would feel comfortable buying a book online.

Start by heading to the Kindle marketplace.

On the left-hand sidebar, you’ll see a list of categories. When you click one, the new page will have a new list of categories. Keep clicking through until you get to your specific niche.

For the sake of an example, let’s say I run a yoga website.

I clicked through three different levels to find the yoga section:

Obviously, you get a list of books as your results.

In the top right, sort the results by the average customer review:

Now, you’ll have the top-rated results in your category:

Just from the top few results, you can already come up with two great ideas for lead magnets that people are willing to pay for:

• A guide to Yin Yoga (free e-book)
• A guide to Yoga Poses (could be an e-book, video series, or even an email course)

Reading the actual reviews will tell you what readers valued the most. Make sure you include those aspects in your lead magnet.

Step #2 – What do your competitors sell? Your competitors have a large portion of your target audience.

Assuming they are more established than you, they probably have products of their own.

If you go to their site, you’ll probably find a link to a shop or landing page in the top menu bar or in the sidebar:

There are a few things we can learn from their products that could help you come up with a great lead magnet that your audience will value.

The first option is to look at the “intro level” products. These cost under $20, which isn’t making anyone very much money.

But since people buy them, you know they value them, which is all the evidence you need.

Now, you’ll create a similar product but offer it as a free lead magnet.

For example, on the example authority site pictured above, there’s a product in the shop that consists of a 20-minute guided yoga meditation session:

People pay $7.99 for it.

When it comes to products at this level, there are three types of people:

1. Very willing to pay - They’re pretty sure that they’ll like the product and think the money is well worth it.
2. Not sure - They think they might like it, but they’re not sure.
3. Will never pay - Some people either don’t have the money to spend on such products or always try to find a free alternative.

When you create a free version of a product they are looking for, you will attract the people in groups 2 and 3.

Obviously, the ones in group 2 are most valuable because they might actually buy from you in the future.

Here is what happens. When they discover this product on your competitor’s site, they might search for a “free 20 minute guided yoga meditation session.”

They are looking for a free version to give it a try, and then they might purchase the other paid product based on that.

If you really impress them with your free lead magnet, they might feel like they don’t need the paid product.

They figure that if your free content is that good, your paid products are probably even better. If they’re going to buy something, it’ll be from you in most cases.

Source #3 – Look for course ideas: Most lead magnets are problem-based. They solve a small, specific problem that your audience has.

Essentially, they’re mini-courses on a topic.

At the same time, online education is exploding in popularity.

Universities are putting up full high-quality courses, and private educators are creating their own courses. Some are big, and some are small.

The best place to look for these is Udemy. Anyone can post a course there, which has led to a huge variety of courses.

Start by finding courses about your niche.

You can search for a keyword in the search bar, browse the course catalog, or pick categories on the left hand side.

In our example case, I searched for classes on “yoga.”

Always start by sorting the results by popularity. You want to see courses that people are actually interested in.

From the top results, you can already see three great ideas for a lead magnet:

• A 30-day yoga email course challenge
• A 14-day yoga detox email course
• A video or email course on yoga for busy professionals

People actually pay for these courses and obviously value them. If you offer a free version, your target audience will be interested as well.

Step #2: Most readers will tell you, just ask them

One amazing source of lead magnet ideas are the people who are already on your email list.

They already like your content and obviously feel that you have something valuable to offer them.

When you send them your next post, ask them if there’s any way you could improve it for them.

Don’t publish the post publicly yet, wait for any feedback.

If you have a large list, you only need to send this to a few hundred subscribers at first.

Send them a template like this:

Hey (name),

I just wanted to share with you the latest (your brand) blog post, called:

(Post title and link)

(2 paragraph description of post)

Could you do me a quick favor?

After you read the post, I’d like you to tell me if there’s any way that I could make the post better. Is there anything you’re especially curious about?

Thanks,

(Your name)

Your best readers will reply with some great ideas for a lead magnet.

You can create one quickly and then offer it within the post once you publish it publicly.

Step #3: Don’t be afraid to listen

Another great source of high value lead magnet ideas is your comments section—specifically from readers who haven’t yet signed up for your email list.

They clearly read your content—and like it enough to comment—and probably even have your blog bookmarked.

So, what will it take to get their email addresses?

Readers will often tell you the things they are most curious about in the comments section.

For example:

This comment was on a post about how to generate over $300,000 on Instagram.

Yume and Kyle were both interested in how someone mentioned in the article created lists that helped her connect Instagram promoters with great products.

This could easily be turned into a lead magnet. I could record a video or text interview with Jessica, asking her to spill her secrets, and then offer it as a bonus on the post.

Step #4: One way to skyrocket your opt-in rate

In order to get someone to subscribe to your email list, you need to offer them something they want in exchange.

And in order to generate interest in a lead magnet, your reader needs to be interested in the topic you’re writing about in your blog post.

So, what would happen if you focused on writing about topics on your blog that your audience was most interested in?

It would attract more shares, traffic, and eyeballs to your lead magnet. This will, of course, lead to more email subscribers.

How do you find out what they’re most interested in?

Simple. Go to Google Analytics (or whatever analytics software you’re using), and look at the data based on pages.

To do this, navigate to “Behavior > Site Content > All pages” using the left menu.

It’ll look something like this:

The more posts you’ve written, the better.

Then, decide which category each of your top posts belongs to. I’d look at your top 10-30 posts, depending on the number of posts you have all together.

You’ll notice that one or two categories get way more views on average than all the rest.

If you simply focus more attention on those categories, not only will you grow your email list but you’ll also grow your overall site traffic.

How to see what content your audience loves when you don’t have an audience: That simple strategy above assumes that you’ve already developed a healthy level of blog traffic.

Obviously, that isn’t the case for many people.

You have two options at this point.

You could just write about a whole bunch of different topics in your niche and see which ones do well.

Which is totally okay.

Or you could do a bit of research and find out which topics are the most popular for sure.

There are two main ways you can do this type of research.

First, you can try Reddit.

Find a subreddit related to your niche. For example, if I was starting a new marketing blog from scratch and with no prior knowledge of what’s popular, I would go to the marketing subreddit.

Then, click the “top” button along the top menu to see the top posts of all time.

All subreddits have thousands of posts submitted to them (some have millions), so you get a really good idea of what that particular audience likes.

Go through the top 100 results or so and categorize them like we did before.

You’ll see that certain categories pop up way more than others. Note that there will be irrelevant submissions as well since Reddit submissions include much more than just blog posts.

The second option is to look at close competitors.

If they are more established and have the audience you want, you can look at their posts and again see which topics are the hottest.

The biggest limitation here is that you don’t have their traffic stats.

However, you can write down the title of each post along with the number of comments or social shares it has:

It’s not a perfect substitute for traffic numbers, but it’s a good approximation.

Step #5: If you want high opt-in rates, you need…

The biggest thing I’ve tried to emphasize is that you need high quality lead magnets.

Your new subscriber should be shocked that you aren’t charging for it.

After you give it away a few hundred times, you should get at least one or two emails telling you exactly that.

I can’t go over how to create every single type of lead magnet, but I can show you how to create the most common ones so they stand out from everyone else’s.

They’ll look great, and your subscribers will actually use them, which will lead to them staying subscribed to your list for a long time.

How to make a high quality PDF version of a guide: If you post really lengthy guides and tutorials, it’s tough for readers to get through the whole thing at once.

If they don’t have a lot of free time, it’s hard for them to ever get through it.

Many bloggers offer a copy of the post in a PDF format in exchange for the reader’s email.

It’s something I’ve seen Brian Dean do fairly often:

This is a solid option for a lead magnet for a few reasons.

First, anyone who subscribes because of it is probably going to use it. They’ll download it and read it at work, on their commute, or somewhere they have a bit of free time.

Secondly, it’s really easy for you to make. If you’re not creating lead magnets because you simply don’t have the time to make them, you can create a PDF version of a post in just a few minutes.

Something I strongly suggest doing is creating a custom cover for the post. It makes it look like a professional e-book, which readers will value more.

You can make one yourself, or you can buy one from Fiverr. Just search for “e-book cover,” and pick a gig with a high rating:

Note that most take at least a few days to get back to you with the cover, so plan as far ahead as possible.

Aside from that, you can convert your post into a PDF by just highlighting and copying all the content in the article:

And then pasting it inside a blank Word document:

The above picture is what a random Quick Sprout article looked like when I pasted it into a blank Google Doc.

Looks pretty good.

There might be a few formatting errors, so go through the article, and fix any weird spacing.

If you use Google Docs in particular, it does something neat.

The heading tags from WordPress are automatically recognized as headings in the document.

This allows you to quickly create a table of contents for your PDF, which makes it even more useful.

Just go to “Insert > Table of contents”:

You’ll get a very simple table of contents with links to each section:

Depending on the number of heading tags you use, this can be very useful.

If you do have a cover made, just paste it on the first page before all the content.

Then, when everything looks good, go to “File > Download as,” and choose PDF:

Alternatively, use this simple tool: If you’re really pressed for time, you can use a tool called Print Friendly.

Paste your URL in the tool, and click the “print preview” button:

The tool will quickly generate a minimalistic version of your post, optimized for printing.

If anything shows up weird, you can hover over it and delete it (“click to delete”):

If it looks good, click the “PDF” button at the top of the page, which will start downloading the file:

How to make a high quality checklist: The second type of common lead magnet is a checklist.

Checklists are a great way of breaking down a process into concrete steps that your audience can follow with ease.

They are best used when you’re outlining a particular strategy or technique to your readers.

But what do you think of when you hear the word “checklist”?

Probably something like this:

Don’t get me wrong, it could still be useful, but it’s so plain.

But what if there was a way to make a checklist sexy? To really blow away your new subscribers?

That’d be pretty cool.

It’s something that Bryan Harris at Video Fruit has done really well in the past. Take a look at this checklist:

That is not a typical checklist. It has a professional cover plus a custom layout that looks amazing.

People might actually print this out and use it—unlike what they do with most checklists, which might be used once and then thrown into the recycling.

And although that looks super fancy, there’s no reason you can’t create something similar.

Again, you can get a similar cover made by a designer on Fiverr.

Or you can create the actual checklist yourself. I’ll show you how to now, step by step.

You could use software like Illustrator, but you can make it easily in a standard Google Doc.

First, start with your headline. Make it big and bold, and pick a font you like:

Then, write a brief description in a normal size.

After, go to “Insert > Horizontal line” to separate the header from the content:

Now, how do you get the number, step name, and check box to look so nice and lined up?

It’s pretty simple.

Again, go to “Insert” on the menu, but this time, insert a 1×3 table:

Then, drag the vertical lines separating the cells to match the layout you want.

To re-create Brian’s, make the left cell a square. Then, highlight that square cell and change the text to white, and the background to black. You’ll also have to increase the size of the font:

The middle cell is simple enough: it’s the name of the step on the checklist. Just type it in.

And then we come to the checkbox. There are a few ways to do this, but the easiest is probably to put your cursor in the third cell, and go to “Insert > Drawing,” which will bring up a new screen.

Pick a rectangle from the shapes drop down menu, and then draw a square by holding a shift key while you click and drag a box out.

Click “Save,” and close when you’re done. The box will show up in the third cell. If you click your new square, you can drag it to resize it.

So, now you have something that looks like this:

Doesn’t quite look the same, does it?

Now you need to highlight all three cells of the table, right-click, and select “Table properties”:

In this pop-up, change the border to “0 pt”, which means there is no border:

If any of your cell’s text isn’t centered, highlight that specific cell, right-click it again, and choose Table properties. Then, change the vertical alignment to “center.”

If you’ve done that, you have a good-looking table, and you’ve done the hardest part.

Now, just go to the lines below and type in a description, including any bullet points.

You can align the description with your step title by highlighting the words and then dragging that little blue marker on the top ruler over to the start of your title.

Feel free to copy and paste that whole section to save time on the rest of the steps.

Finally, if you’d like to give the page a background, go to “File > Page setup…”, and choose a color for “page color”:

You can enter a custom color if you’d like.

In the end, we have a great looking checklist:

Pair that with a great cover, and you have a product people are thrilled to give you their email addresses for.

Step #6: Understand the two biggest factors behind opt-in rates

At this point, you understand most of the best practices when it comes to thinking of lead magnet ideas and creating them.

But those are just tools you can use.

If you really want to achieve great opt-in rates (like bloggers who get 10-20% rates), you’ll need to truly understand why people opt in to your list.

And it all comes down to two important factors.

Factor #1 – Relevance: If I’m reading a post about social media marketing and someone offers me a lead magnet on yoga poses, I’m probably not going to be interested in it.

Now that’s an extreme example, but let’s look at a more realistic one.

Maybe you’re reading a post about SEO, and there’s an e-book offer for a social media traffic generation strategy.

You are interested in getting more traffic, but at this point, you’re likely most interested in getting it from SEO.

So, some readers of that post will opt in for the lead magnet, but not a very high number.

But what if you were offered an e-book (or other lead magnet) about SEO while you were reading that post about SEO?

Of course, you’d be interested!

This is called a post-specific lead magnet, which is also being called a content upgrade lately.

By making lead magnets for each post (or each topic) you write about, you dial up the relevance of the offer.

Bryan Harris has reported getting opt-in rates of 20-30%, and sometimes of up to 62%, using content upgrades.

Here’s what it looks like:

That’s the post title, which is ironically about the ways to use lead magnets.

A bit further down, just after the intro, there’s a bright blue box that offers a free download in exchange for the reader’s email address:

The bonus contains 35 examples of lead magnets—the exact thing the reader is interested in learning about.

Factor #2 – Value: Just because you’re reading a post about SEO, and the bonus is about SEO, doesn’t mean you’ll get a ton of opt-ins.

Why? Because your offer might not be valuable.

If it’s a list of “SEO basics,” not very many readers will care enough to give you their email addresses for it.

On the other hand, if you reveal a secret link source or tactic, readers will place a ton of value on it, and you’ll get an extremely high opt-in rate.

The more valuable your reader thinks your bonus is (before they even see it), the higher your opt-in rate will be.

If you follow the first five steps in this post, your lead magnet will be highly valuable to your reader.

Conclusion

Lead magnets are a very powerful tool to collect information about your readers.

You can then use that information (mainly the email address) to build a relationship with readers that will eventually turn some of them into customers.

But if you approach lead magnet creation half-heartedly, you won’t get high opt-in rates.

First, you need to understand what lead magnets your readers would want to sign up for and then create those lead magnets.

If you follow the six steps outlined in this post, you should be able to get an overall opt-in rate of 3%-5% (minimum).

If you get really good at it, you might be able to raise that conversion rate to over 10%.

Let me know which types of lead magnets you’ve tried and which ones have worked best for you by leaving me a comment below.

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