If you like eBooks, you can get them by subscribing to newsletters. Indeed, offering an eBook for download, as an incentive to register for a newsletter, is a strategy that has long been used to boost newsletter subscriptions.

There is a good chance that you are using this strategy or have thought about using it and would like to do it. However, if you have never used this technique before, you need to find an easy way to deliver the promised goods which will not be available to visitors before they subscribe and also to prevent the download page from being indexed. by search engines. The good news is, you have options.

In this tutorial, we'll look at five ways you can use to provide a free downloadable file. All five are easy to implement, convenient for your users, and allow you to keep your newsletter beyond the reach of search engines.

Option # 1: Use Cloud Storage

Use cloud storage

It is the easiest solution and the best option for many types of websites. Just upload the free downloadable file to your favorite cloud storage service: " Google Drive, Dropbox, Box "Whatever. Then, generate a URL share and offer this content in your newsletter.

For most of us, this solution is perfectly adequate. However, there are reasons why you might not want to use cloud storage. For example, maybe you don't like the idea of ​​using cloud storage. File permissions can be difficult to manage. Besides having files in the cloud, will give you an opportunity to keep your visitors coming back to your website.

Option # 2: Use the service provider mailing list

Service provider mailing list

Another simple option is to provide the downloadable file using your email service provider. Not all mailing list service providers will allow you to do this, but if you use a provider like MailChimp ou ConvertKit , it will also be easy to download your files (subject to size limitation) and integrate it as a link in your registration email.

If your email service provider doesn't offer this feature, there's a good chance they'll offer integration with a third-party provider that will allow you to easily host and deliver downloadable files. However, there will be additional costs that will apply if you choose to use a third-party provider.

Discover other ways to create newsletters by reading our 5 best email marketing services for your business

Although this solution is easy to implement and convenient for your subscribers, it will not bring back your subscribers. If this is important to you, continue reading. The rest of the options we have will help you do just that.

Option # 3: Use a noindex page

Use a noindex page

One of the main reasons why mailing lists are used is to drive traffic to a website. So why not use a free downloadable eBook to do this:

  • Create a page to host your downloadable file.
  • Send your downloadable file and embed a link to this file on a page you just created.
  • In your welcome email, share the link to the page.

This will allow new subscribers to easily download your email and also keep them coming back to your website where you can earn additional ad impressions and take the opportunity to present them your best content to keep them on your website longer.

Also check out our tutorial on How to make money with your blog when you have low traffic

There are a few practical considerations to take into account when using this method. You must be careful not to make it easy to access this page, as some will access your eBook without subscribing. To do this, do the following:

  • Use the link to the page only in the email.
  • Use a plugin like Smartcrawl to add a "noindex" meta for bots, which will prevent this page from being indexed.
  • Look at the analyzes. If the page receives many more visitors than the number of new subscribers to your mailing list, then the page URL will likely have been somewhere. Change url and use a redirect plugin to redirect the old URL to a specific landing page on your blog.

Option # 4: Use a password protected page

A protected page on wordpress

If you want to protect your downloadable file a little more. A simple solution is to use a page protected by a password page and provide the link to the page and the password in your welcome email. This way the file is relatively safe and you will have the advantage that your subscribers will come back to your website.

Also read our guide How to write an e-book: Start FINALLY writing your book ...

For your page to be shared publicly, a visitor will be able to share the link and password. This makes your downloadable file more secure, but at the expense of adding an extra step that visitors will have to go through to access the file. This method is also easy, especially if you find that your password has probably been shared, you will only have to modify it.

Other recommended resources

We also invite you to consult the resources below to take more ownership and control of your website and blog.

Conclusion

So ! That's it for this set of tricks you can implement to offer an eBook for free on your WordPress blog. If you have some Comments or suggestions, do not hesitate to tell us in the section reserved for these.

However, you will also be able to consult our resources, if you need more elements to carry out your projects of creation of Internet sites, by consulting our guide on the WordPress blog creation or the one on Divi: the best WordPress theme of all time.

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