Creating lead magnets that inspire both attention and conversions only requires 3 things.
Cultivating a strong email list is an essential part of creating a loyal audience and generating leads: but people don’t just give out their emails nowadays. You need to create a lead magnet that offers sufficient value in return.
If you want to convince your readers to give you their email addresses, you have to offer them sufficient value in return.
A lead magnet is a valuable resource you offer on your website in exchange for someone’s email, such as a downloadable guide, a free trial, or some kind of online tool.
Due to the nature of lead magnets, creating them often involves pouring a lot of time and effort into producing genuinely valuable content.
As a result, if your lead magnet flops and doesn’t yield the conversions you were hoping for, it feels like a punch in the gut.
To safeguard against that, regardless of what format you choose for your lead magnet, you should aim to meet these fundamental criteria.
Is your lead magnet actually relevant to your target audience? Is it a piece of content related to them, and their problems?
Your lead magnet should address a specific problem that is closely related to both what you offer behind a paywall, and what your target audience is looking for.
You know what you are trying to sell, and who you want to sell it to: so create something that matches the place they are at.
Does your lead magnet directly serve your audience?
In return for your target customer’s time, you should aim to offer a genuine, actionable solution to their problems, instead of a random concept that interests you.
The biggest flaw of unsuccessful lead magnets is not providing meaningful value.
Ensure your content isn’t vague or subjective, and don’t hold back. Treat lead magnets with the same effort and care you would a piece of paywalled content.
Even if that doesn’t feel great right now, it’ll loop back around. That’s the whole concept of a free trial!
The best lead magnets provide value, whilst simultaneously setting up the stage for your offer. Kind of a “there’s more where that came from!” thing.
You can even directly prepare your target customer by working your lead magnet into your customer journey and having it lead directly into your paid content.
Creating a successful lead magnet is a balancing act between providing genuine value, and not requiring too much from your audience in return.
Value in this instance is defined as less investment of time, effort, and hardship, so, even if the information has the potential to help your website visitors, an intense (still free) seven-hour business seminar may not feel particularly valuable.
All you want is their email, so avoid overloading potential customers with any other commitment and making that feel daunting. “Seven hours of work… in seven minutes” is much more appealing!
We still absolutely recommend you massively over-deliver value with your lead magnet and leave your visitors wanting more, but it’s also wise to keep things snappy and offer easy, noncommital wins (that still make a difference) if you want optimal conversion!
A lead magnet can be anything, as long as it provides more value than just an answer to a Google search.
Whatever type of content you go with, it needs to be catered specifically to your target customer and should consider where in your customer journey that intended audience is.
You know your audience better than anyone – put yourself in their shoes. What kind of content would they value enough to exchange their email for?
Exclusive discounts on your products
Early access or sneak peeks at new content
Gated content such as eBooks, templates, etc.
Personalised quizzes
Downloadable workbooks and checklists
Access to a set of tools or information
A free online consultation or advice session
An invite to a live webinar or event
Access to your “inner circle” – a membership in your online community with exclusive benefits
Free samples of your products
Not every format works for every audience – sometimes it will be a matter of just trying stuff out and keeping what works best.
Experimentation is pivotal to consistently creating high-conversion lead magnets.
Feel free to mess around with different formats of lead magnet as much as you want: mix and match a concept, draft it, measure how many conversions it produces, and then test another format. You can always run 30-day A/B testing and keep the format that performs the best.
The lead magnets that have worked the best for us at Indie Brand Builder:
Live, one-off workshops
Exclusive email mini-courses
Books/Ebooks
There are a million different types of lead magnets to try out, so it’s just a matter of finding one that works for you and your brand!
Your lead magnet can live in a number of places:
On a Landing Page: A dedicated landing page created to showcase your lead magnet with a clear call to action (CTA). You’ll point a lot of links to this page!
In Blog Posts: Add a smaller CTA within your blog posts to entice readers who find your content valuable and are looking for more to the next stage of the funnel. link to content funneling article essential here pls
On Your Home Page: Use smaller calls to action throughout your homepage to get visitors further engaging with your content
What if people share your gated content?
Even if it’s concerning at first, people sharing your gated content isn’t a bad thing!
Just like the old saying – “all press is good press” – all it means is that your content is valuable enough for people to want to share it.
Take it as a reassurance instead of a worry, because you must be doing something right!
Credibility: If the original downloader shares it, they must have found it helpful, which boosts your credibility
Engaged Audience: Those who receive the shared content may value it more than if they had just visited your website, leading them to seek you out in the future!
Crafting effective lead magnets is entirely based on knowing your audience, and what is valuable to them.
A great lead magnet delivers solutions that are relevant, valuable, and require little effort on the reader’s part.
There’s no universal solution for lead magnets, so experimenting is key to discovering what resonates with your audience.
Keep in mind, your lead magnet is your first impression—make sure it’s a good one!
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