TIPS TO CREATE A COMPELLING LEAD MAGNET

Opt-in incentive…Opt-in freebie…

Lead magnets go by many names.

A lead magnet is essentially a piece of content that you give a reader

for free in exchange for their email address.


BUILDING A LIST OF BUYERS VERSUS FREEBIE HOARDERS

A lead magnet is extremely important in prequalifying your

subscriber. The right lead magnet determines whether you get

subscribers on your email list who can even be primed to buy your

products and services in the first place. It also extensively cuts down

the time required to prime them.

Let me explain…

If you’re selling an e-book on curriculum and lesson-planning tips

specifically for homeschooling, which lead magnet do you think is

better?

Lead Magnet A on essential oils or Lead Magnet B on

homeschooling teaching plan cheat sheets?

Lead Magnet B prequalifies your audience. The people subscribing

to this lead magnet are indicating their interest in this topic. It’s much

easier to prime an audience who is actively looking for information 

on this topic than struggle to create an interest link between

essential oils and homeschooling.

What if some of those people who subscribed to the lead magnet on

essential oils are interested in homeschooling as well?

And can’t you get people onto your list and then nurture them?

Sure, both scenarios are possible. But you can’t deny that it’s harder

to establish an interest link.

But why would someone offer a lead magnet on essential oils when

they are selling something that’s completely different? Is this an

exaggerated example?

Well, it happens more often than you think.

Mostly because people don’t see the link. They don’t see how the

different types of lead magnets and content upgrades they have on

their site affect the types of subscribers they get and in turn their

overall sales.

This is why your lead magnet has to tie in with your business

strategy and offers. This makes the difference between building an

email list of freebie hoarders or buyers.


GOOD ADVICE: OFFER A LEAD MAGNET THAT ADDRESSES A PAIN POINT

BETTER ADVICE: OFFER A LEAD MAGNET THAT HITS THESE 2 POINTS ↓

There are two main things that need to come together to help you

decide what lead magnet to create.

1. Alignment with your business and offers

A lead magnet sits at the top of your sales funnel and guides your

subscribers to your paid offers. It should not be a disjunct item but

rather gel with your offers and content. Alignment is key here and will

result in more sales.

I like to reverse engineer the process. Rather than think about pain

points immediately, I consider the place of that lead magnet within

my business.

What’s the purpose of that lead magnet?

Who do you want to attract with that lead magnet and where are you

planning on leading them to?

Are you prequalifying subscribers who may potentially be interested

in a digital product or service that you’re pitching?

If a reader opts into a lead magnet on writing tips, they are raising

their hand and indicating that this is something they are interested in.

They probably identify with the need for them to improve in that area.

If you nurture them, build trust, and then go on to try to sell them an

e-book on essential writing tips, they are more likely to buy your

product as opposed to if you pitch them an e-book on productivity

tips.

If you have a lead magnet that doesn’t lead a subscriber anywhere,

is not aligned with your existing offers or future offers, nor does it

help position you as an expert or authority on a topic that you want to

be known for, then that’s a lead magnet that you should potentially

consider getting rid of.

2. Place that lead magnet in your niche

Is your lead magnet unique? Are there similar ones that exist?

While similar lead magnets in your niche are a sign that there’s a

demand for that lead magnet, you also need to know if that lead

magnet is in oversupply. Is your niche tired of seeing that lead

magnet? Bloggers and influencers who have a much bigger

audience could possibly get away with having something like that,

but most of us would do better with a lead magnet that addresses a

specific issue or topic.


7 ELEMENTS OF A HIGH CONVERTING LEAD MAGNET THAT GROWS YOUR BUSINESS

1. IT’S EASILY CONSUMABLE

Lead magnets that are simple but pack a punch do a lot better than

e-book type freebies that are long and take time to consume. Your

readers are already suffocating with information. They don’t want a

long thirty-page e-book. Your lead magnet should be something they

can consume quickly.

2. IT PROVIDES A QUICK WIN

It should be something that gives a quick win or that they can

implement quickly. Think instant gratification for your subscriber.

3. IT’S HIGHLY SPECIFIC

Your lead magnet should be highly specific to your target audience

and what it helps them achieve. A strategic lead magnet attracts the

right people. Your lead magnet should not be for everybody.

4. IT LEADS YOUR AUDIENCE THROUGH A CHANGE

Every piece of content on your website should bring your audience

from A (their current state) to B (their desired state). Likewise, your

lead magnet should provide a transformation, no matter how tiny.

5. IT TALKS ABOUT ONE IDEA

Your lead magnet should have one idea or goal as opposed to

several ideas.

6. IT ADDRESSES A PROBLEM THEY ARE ALREADY AWARE OF

You can’t convince a prospective subscriber of a problem they don’t

know exists. A lead magnet is one of the first touch points with your

brand. Your prospective subscriber needs to know that the problem

your lead magnet solves is something they need help with at first

glance.

7. IT LEADS TO AN EXISTING/FUTURE PRODUCT OR SERVICE

You need to have a distinct lead magnet for each product or service

(any offer or group of offers) you have on your site.


FAQ 5: If a lead magnet is attracting subscribers but isn’t aligned with your business, should you keep it?

Are those subscribers your ideal customers?

Are they likely to do business with you?

Can they be primed to buy your products and services?

These are crucial questions that many fail to consider.

A bigger list isn’t necessarily a better one especially if it doesn’t

justify the cost of maintaining it. Remember the stat I mentioned at

the start of the book? For every $1 spent on email marketing, the

average return is $44.25. Consider your own return on investment

from email. If you’re not meeting these numbers, you need to weigh

the benefits of attracting subscribers versus the cost of maintaining

your email list.


FAQ 6: What’s the difference between a content upgrade and a lead magnet?

They are both incentives offered in exchange for an email address.

But content upgrades supplement existing pieces of content. For

 instance, if you have a blog post where you’re discussing a specific

process to do meal planning, your content upgrade could be a

printable of the meal planning schedule or the tools that will help you

with meal planning.


ACTION

Consider the lead magnet you have right now and run it against the

seven elements above.