How to Create a Lead Magnet Worth Opting In For
Happy young woman using cell phone in the city
Increasing your sales begins with fresh leads. Lead magnets are the perfect marketing tool to attract these leads. But what makes a lead magnet so enticing that it’s irresistible? Here’s how you can improve your lead magnet skills to create a more enticing lead magnet for your business.
What is a Lead Magnet?
Most people reading this will already be in the know… But lead magnets offer consumers something of value in exchange for completing a specific action, typically giving you their contact info like an email address or other means of communication like a phone number.
The purpose is to get people who are curious about your business to say “Hey, I’m open to having a conversation with you.” Once you have their email or other information, you can continue the conversation and send them through your sales funnel.
What is not a Lead Magnet?
- Promotional Videos or content that focuses on your products or services
- Client case studies
- Press releases
These are all valuable marketing tools. They all lead visitors to know more about you and persuade them to buy. But they are not lead magnets. They should be on display for everyone to see. If you’re having a hard time distinguishing whether the marketing material you have should be used as a lead magnet or not, ask:
- Is this material valuable to a potential customer in a way that is unique? In other words, does it share more about my industry that can’t be found easily anywhere else and build my reputation as an industry expert?
- Does it address a pain point or interest of my target audience?
If you answered yes, then you have yourself a valuable lead magnet. If you answered no, consider offering that material right on your website instead of behind a form.
Why Use a Lead Magnet
As a business, you always want to be digging up new leads. There are many ways to do this. Essentially, a lead magnet gives you a list of people to work as warm leads. These are people who have their defenses down more than people who have never heard of you.
When someone opts in for your lead magnet, they’ll receive your offer, and you receive their information. You can now nurture these leads, typically through email or SMS marketing.
Move these leads through your sales funnel by continuing the conversation and selling them your products and services.
7 Irresistible Lead Magnet Examples
Now that we’ve covered the basic elements of a lead magnet that will get your audience salivating, let’s look at some examples. Here are seven awesome lead magnets your website visitors will be happy they opted in for.
- Free e-book
We’ve talked about how well e-books can convert in the past because they are a great way to provide value to those who opt-in. An e-book can be as small as 2,000 words. The most successful free e-books are those that are rich in useful content that resonates with your audience and the perfect format to give pro tips for a specific topic. It could be a guide or “how to” on a topic that relates to your industry and audience.
Example: The Chiropractic Guide to Naturally Fighting Inflammation.
- Templates
Proposals, email communications, and product launch plans are all examples of the template lead magnet. Templates share information by providing a skeleton for people to build upon. They can be as simple as a worksheet with questions to fill out, or as complex as a stellar sales email to be customized. This can be helpful for people needing to make a business plan or learning how to craft fantastic communications. Templates are enticing because they offer to do the work for the customer.
Example: Tax Preparation Template for Small Businesses
- Discount Codes
Who doesn’t love free coupons and discounts? Imagine seeing a banner on a website offering 15% off. Wouldn’t you click on it? Discount code lead magnets are dually beneficial: you get the customer’s contact information, and you have a chance to make revenue right away as they have to make a purchase to redeem their reward.
Example: Get 15% off your order with this coupon emailed to your inbox!
- Exclusive Deals
Similar to discount codes, deals can be offered to “exclusive members” of your email or SMS list. This plays into a longer game with your email and SMS marketing strategies, as you’ll need to create content with deals for your members. This also serves as a way to build relationships with customers. Make them feel valuable as members by keeping them updated with the inside scoop.
Example: Become a free member to get exclusive deals!
- Free Trials
Do you have an online tool or offer a monthly service? Give potential customers a free trial! Let them enjoy all the benefits for free for a limited time. Show them all of the awesome features of your service or tool. Pack so much value into your free trial they won’t be able to stop themselves from continuing their subscription after the trial.
Example: Enjoy the premium version free for 30 days!
- Consultations
Consultations are perfect for customers who know what they need,but aren’t quite sure where to invest their money. In a consultation, you can review a customer’s situation and tell them how you can help. As a lead magnet this can be extremely valuable to you because the consultation tells you exactly what the customer needs. Your post-consultation messages should target their specific problem and how you can help. A consultation is great for many businesses including handymen, software companies, fashion experts, marketing experts, and more!
Example: Don’t know where to start? Let us help. Get your free consultation today!
- Free Shipping Offers
Ready for another discount idea? This example is for companies who ship products to customers. Offering free shipping is another attractive freebie to offer within a lead magnet. Similar to discount codes, this offer is great because you get their information and likely revenue from the purchase they make redeeming their free delivery. It’s a win-win.
Example: Enter your email to receive a coupon for free delivery!
Get More Leads
Every business can benefit from a lead magnet strategy — or two! Whether you’re offering a free consultation, trial of your services, or an information-packed ebook, you’re providing value to a customer. In exchange, the customer happily hands over their email or phone number. You can use this contact information to target them with marketing strategies in the future. And you’re building customer relationships along the way. Lead magnets are truly a win-win.