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What is a lead magnet? (with 30 lead magnet ideas)

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What is a lead magnet? (with 30 lead magnet ideas)

And… how to create one

What is a lead magnet

What is a lead magnet and why you need one (or more)

When people visit your website, read your blog or watch a video you’ve uploaded, only 4% of them are ready to buy. The other 96% are either just researching or not ready to buy anything from you.

This means with the incredible amount of information at our fingertips we will quickly click on the next page on our Google Search. After clicking on more websites your visitors completely forget about yours. You have now lost them as a potential customer.

Scarily, statistics show more than 70% of the people who visit your website will never come back. Have you ever looked at your own website analytics to see how many visitors you are getting each day and then how many buy from you?  It’s probably a shocking (and depressing) numbers of potential leads lost.

This is why – when people visit your site – you must make it your top priority to capture their name and emails. And this is what a lead magnet is – a way of getting that information.

So, if you are looking to turn your website visitors into paying customers, you have to have an irresistible lead magnet.

Lead magnets can also be called freebies, downloads, opt-in incentive, irresistible offer, signup incentive, compelling bribe and more.

Whatever you call it, a lead magnet is simply something you give away in exchange for a name and email address.

So now you know what is a lead magnet, how do you create lead magnets and why are they crucial to building your list?

This article aims to break it all down for you and answer the following questions:

  • How can you use lead magnets as powerful email list builders?
  • What’s the best way to set up opt-in forms?
  • What criteria will make my lead magnet convert well?
  • How can I test my lead magnets?

Create lead magnets to grow your email list

Lead magnets – if made properly – will turn your website visitors into warm leads on your email list.

And good lead magnets have a much higher conversion rate than the boring “subscribe to our newsletter” or “sign up for latest news” buttons.

Even better, lead magnets also set you up as an authority because you are showing your potential customers that you have a lot of knowledge and you can provide them with the information they need to solve their problem.

By providing a helpful lead magnet that solves a problem, you build respect, trust, and loyalty. You start to become the person or company they turn to when they’re looking for an expert in whatever product or service you provide.

The goal is to make your lead magnets so compelling and irresistible, that your website visitors simply must download it.

The people who are looking at your website have just put their hand in the air and said to you “Hello, I like you and what you have to offer.”

Having those interested people now on your email list, you can start communicating with them and let them know about updates and news about your products or services. Over time, this builds a relationship with them so they begin to know, like, and trust you.

When these people who LIKE you are ready to buy, they’ll buy from YOU!

And, you can continue to email them even after they’ve become customers. Once you nurture the relationship, your list of people will buy from you – not just once – but the next time they want whatever you offer.

That’s why your email list is an asset in your business with a HUGE return on investment. The more people you have on your list, the more money you can make in your business.

And it all starts with those irresistible lead magnets.

How to create a lead magnet in 5 simple steps

Step 1: Define the ideal customer for your lead magnet

To create the most effective lead magnet, you have to start by defining your ideal customer.

When you are clear on your ideal customer, all of your marketing becomes easier. And your lead magnets will be tailored exactly to them.

To define your ideal customer, try to understand as much as you can about who they are and what their life is like.

Think about the following:

  • What is their age, gender, education, location, income, family size, and so on?
  • What is their situation in life?
  • What is their biggest problem right now?
  • How can you solve their problem?

Once you have this clarity, you will be able to create lead magnets that are super focussed on your ideal customer – their problems, their fears, their desires, their language. Now you can get them on your list.

Step 2: Set up your email list

An email list is one of the biggest assets you can build in your business. And you are in complete control of it. You have no control over what happens to social media for example, or even whether your post shows up to your followers. But, your email list is all yours.

To build an email list, you have to have an email service provider.

There are many different options, but my favourites are:

If you are on a tight budget, you can use MailChimp (it’s free for up to 2,000 subscribers). Or there are paid for options like Hubspot, Active Campaign, Aweber and many more.

Step 3: Set up opt-in forms for your lead magnet

To collect your website visitors’ names and email addresses, you need to create a form on your website where people can sign up to receive your lead magnets.

Best practice is to have your opt-in form in at least five places on your website. That may sound like a lot, but it is that important.

You want the copy on your opt-in form to be compelling and engaging. It should immediately explain the benefits to your audience in the copy. Words such as “Sign up for my free download” don’t convert very well. Instead pull them in with words unique to your brand, personality, and style.

Then make sure your button’s call to action (CTA) compels your visitors to click it. Definitely not “Click here to subscribe,”  so here are some other ideas:

  • Get started
  • Find out more
  • Yes please
  • I want it
  • Give me my checklist
  • Send it to me now
  • Grab the template

Should you use a particular colour for your call to action button? The answer is the jury is out on that one!

The best idea is to use a colour that stands out on your website’s background colour so it gets noticed.

And, you can always test. Have different coloured buttons on different places on your website and see which gets more clicks.

You can have opt-in forms, or pop-ups, for your lead magnets anywhere on your website. Areas you can use are:

  • Above your header as a floating bar (also called a hello bar).
  • In your main navigation
  • In your footer
  • As a slide-in form on one or more pages.
  • As a scroll box on your blog and/or website.
  • In the sidebar of your website and/or blog
  • At the bottom or middle of blog posts
  • Pages on your website
  • On dedicated landing pages

Many people worry about adding pop-ups or similar forms onto their website.

But test after test shows they convert well and they work. Higher conversion leads to more people on your list, which means more sales and more money in your bank account.

Step 4: Create your lead magnet

Now you understand who is your ideal client and you understand their problems and pain points, it should be fairly straightforward to create something that will help solve their problems.

Remember – your lead magnets are NOT about you! They are about your potential customers.

You are the expert in your product or service, so show, teach, give them the information that they need.

Here are some specific questions that can help get you thinking about how you can create lead magnets that are irresistible to your ideal customers:

  1. What information is incredibly valuable to my ideal customer?
  2. What is my customer’s big challenge or problem and how can I help them overcome it?
  3. How can I make it easy to implement and immediately actionable?
  4. Can I break down the solution to their problem into easy-to-action bits?
  5. What can I do to motivate my visitors to take action?
  6. What does my ideal customer need to help them?

Number one is the most important. This is what will bring you the highest conversions.

Be as specific as possible when you are creating your lead magnet. Instead of a “Guide to planning your ideal kitchen,” offer a “Planning your ideal kitchen: Free Checklist of Everything you need to consider.” See how much more useful the second one is in helping people solve their problem?

Once you’ve the idea for your lead magnet, think about how you will nurture your lead for what you want to sell to them. Your lead magnets should be related to the offer you will be making to them later.

A lead magnet should take 10 minutes or less for your potential customer to consume (exceptions might include a Webinar). And it should be fairly straightforward for you to create.

There are many different lead magnets you can create for your readers.

Here are my favourite 30 lead magnet ideas for you:

  1. Checklist
  2. Short E-book
  3. Resource list
  4. Cheat sheet
  5. Free Trial
  6. Video
  7. Planner/Spreadsheet
  8. Report
  9. Quick-start Guide
  10. Webinar
  11. Formula
  12. Slide deck
  13. Infographic
  14. Book chapter
  15. Swipe files
  16. Worksheets/Workbook
  17. Masterclass
  18. Industry trends or report
  19. Printable poster
  20. Compilation/roundup
  21. Hacks or shortcuts
  22. Coupon/discount
  23. Calendar
  24. Survey/survey results
  25. FAQs (with answers)
  26. Assessment/test
  27. Calculator
  28. Recorded Workshop/event
  29. Review of book/product/course
  30. Access to a private group

Step 5: Test your lead magnet

The only way to know if your lead magnet will convert well is to get it out in the world.

If you want to test it on a smaller number of people, you can send it out to a small group of existing customers to get their feedback. Or you can give it to your business friends (even if they are in a different industry) for their overall thoughts.

You could post it in a Facebook group and get the members’ opinions on it. (You are more than welcome to join my group, Getting Clients like Clockwork I’m happy to give you feedback and so are the many kind members!)

After that, you’ll have to make it live. As with any marketing material, testing and improving will increase your success. Over time, you’ll discover which of your lead magnets get downloaded the most and what engages your audience the most.

Get started creating your lead magnets as soon as you can to build your list and grow your business.

Ultimate Guide to Creating Lead Magnets that Convert: This Power Checklist will help you create lead magnets that are so compelling, your visitors simply must download them. Having high-converting lead magnets will quickly build your list and grow your impact and revenue!

If you need some help, or ideas or just a sense-check; give me a call I’d love to chat it through with you.

Book a time on my calendar here

 

 

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