As an email marketer, this is super embarrassing to admit.

But.

When I first started managing my own email list, I was all over the place with links. Some emails didn’t have any. Others had too many. And when I did include them, they were always tied to a request.

👉🏼 Sign up for this.
👉🏼 Buy that.
👉🏼 Book a call.

Every link had an agenda. And my click rates really, really sucked.

So I made a change. I stopped asking and started giving. My engagement tripled overnight.

Here’s exactly what I did—and how you can do it too.

The #1 Trick to Higher Click Rates: Make Your Emails Feel Like a Gift

Most people treat email marketing like a one-way street: “Here’s what I want you to do.”

But the best emails feel like a two-way exchange. They make the reader feel like they got something—not just that they were asked for something.

Instead of dropping links that say “do this for me,” start dropping links that feel like a bonus, a shortcut, or a gift.

One of the easiest ways to do this is by offering instant-download freebies.

Not a 20-page eBook that takes weeks to design. Just simple, high-impact resources—checklists, templates, trackers—that help your audience solve a small but frustrating problem instantly.

Shifting the mindset from “what can I get from my audience?” to “how can I make this valuable for them?” changes everything.

How to Create Instant-Download Freebies That People Actually Want

Let’s talk tools.

Most of my freebies are built using a mix of Canva and Google Docs/Sheets.

Canva is quick and easy. It’s perfect for polished PDFs, workbooks, and infographics that don’t require much interaction. If I need something designed fast, Canva is my go-to.

But if I want something interactive, dynamic, and customizable, I build it in Google Docs or Google Sheets. They’re a little more involved to set up, but the results are amazing.

(A quick shoutout to Mighty Growth Lab, a membership I’m in that teaches you how to create seriously beautiful, functional workbooks, trackers, and journals inside Google Docs and Sheets. Game-changer.)

What makes a great freebie:

✅ Solves a small but annoying problem.
People don’t need an encyclopedia. They want something quick, easy, and useful.

✅ No friction.
No extra steps, no “enter your email again to get access,” no hoops to jump through. The best freebies deliver instant results.

✅ Creates a “Wow, that was helpful” moment.
When someone downloads your freebie and gets immediate value, they start seeing you as someone worth paying attention to. That’s how you build engagement long term.

Step-by-Step: How to Create an Instant-Download Link (No Tech Overwhelm)

Once your freebie is ready, make it easy for people to access.

💡 Step 1: Upload Your Freebie to Google Drive

• Go to Google Drive and upload your file.
• Right-click the file → Get Link.
• Change the settings to “Anyone with the link can view.”

Most people won’t bother if they have to request access.

💡 Step 2: Convert It into an Instant Download Link
Google Drive doesn’t automatically create direct download links, but this fixes it:

1️⃣ Copy your shareable Google Drive link.
2️⃣ Go to Google Drive Direct Link Generator.
3️⃣ Paste your link, click “Generate,” and grab the new direct download link.

When someone clicks, the file downloads immediately—no extra steps, no confusion.

💡 Step 3: Add Your Link to Your Emails
Now that you’ve got a frictionless, high-value freebie, make sure people actually see it.

Where to put your link:

✔ Inside a CTA button: “Click here to grab your free checklist!”
✔ Within the email body: “I made a quick tracker for you—download it here.”

When an email feels like a gift, people start clicking without hesitation.

The Long-Term Impact of Higher Click Rates

Once I started including valuable, frictionless links in every email, everything changed.

✅ My click rates tripled.
✅ My audience started engaging with future emails—even when I wasn’t offering a freebie.
✅ My emails stopped getting buried in inboxes.

This isn’t just about boosting a single email’s performance. It’s about training your audience to expect value from you—so they actually look forward to your emails instead of ignoring them.

A Final Word on Click Rates (and Why This Matters More Than You Think)

I used to send emails without links all the time. It didn’t seem like a big deal.

But here’s the truth:

👉🏼 No links = 0% click rate.
👉🏼 Low click rates = bad sender reputation.
👉🏼 Bad sender reputation = your emails start disappearing into spam.

If emails aren’t getting clicks, email platforms like Gmail and Apple Mail notice. Low engagement leads to poor deliverability, meaning fewer and fewer of your emails actually reach inboxes.

This is why every email should have something clickable. Even if it’s not a freebie, it could be:
✔ A link to a blog post
✔ A helpful video
✔ A simple “Reply to this email and let me know…” CTA

Making it effortless for people to interact with emails keeps engagement strong, helps emails land in inboxes, and keeps your business top of mind.