from the book | page 153
Lead magnets are one of the best ways to grow your list, get email subscribers, and generate leads. Moreover, relevant — page specific — lead magnets can effectively prequalify the leads you get!
If you aren’t currently using lead magnets (or you don’t have good ones) then this resource could be a game-changer for your business. Contained below are tips, techniques, and tools (plus over 25 highly effective lead magnet ideas) to grow your email list and generate strong, QUALIFIED leads.
Before we dive into the lead magnet ideas, let’s cover the basics first…
What is a Lead Magnet?
A lead magnet is an incentive that you offer to potential clients in exchange for their email address, and (possibly) other contact information. Lead magnets usually offer a piece of digital, downloadable content, but they can be anything you deem valuable to the prospect including discounts, consultations, physical mailers, and more.
Why Every Business Needs a Lead Magnet
If you want your website to generate leads for you, then it needs lead magnets. Period.
Why? Because few people will pick-up the phone and call you until they’ve already decided you’re the person for the job. And that’s far too late. What’s worse is that many visitors will be in research mode when they first arrive at your site. Unless you’re one of the last websites they visit, there’s a good chance they will never return.
You should think of your website as if it were a booth at a tradeshow. Would you ever leave your booth unmanned, hoping that people that walked by would see your phone number and call you later? I doubt it.
Truth is, when people walk a tradeshow, no one goes down the same aisle twice. You MUST get the lead when they walk past your booth, or they will be gone forever. And in order to do that, you must be there to engage with them.
Your website is the same way. Once people visit, it’s rare that they return. You must engage with them when they come by. And lead magnets are your “people working the booth.”
So, now that you understand the importance of lead magnets, here’s some resources for creating your own.
5 Things Your Lead Magnet Should Do
If you want an absolutely irresistible lead magnet (and you do), then it should satisfy these 5 criteria:
- It solves a real problem – Your prospects have problems. They’re searching for answers. Your lead magnet needs to solve a problem, or it won’t work.
- It promises one quick win – your lead magnet should promise (and deliver) one quick win for your prospect. In other words, it should help them to easily achieve something.
- It’s laser focused & specific – don’t create a lead magnet about something general. The more specific you are about the benefit of your lead magnet, the better it will convert leads.
- It has high value – your lead magnet should have high perceived value.
- It’s instantly accessible – your lead magnet will work best if it is something that can be delivered right away. People love instant gratification.
Tools You Can Use to Create Lead Magnets
Okay so there’s no special “Lead Magnets” app that just spits out lead magnets for you. But don’t worry, you don’t have to get too fancy either.
You can use Microsoft Word or PowerPoint to create your “thing” and then save it as a pdf (you should almost always deliver as a pdf to preserve your formatting).
Of course, you can always have someone with graphic design chops work their magic on the document to make it a visual wonder in Adobe InDesign, but it’s not necessary.
It’s okay to keep it simple, but it must look professional and valuable.
Here are some tools you can try:
Beacon is a template tool for creating “beautiful lead magnets without hiring a designer.” There’s a free version as well as paid.
Canva is another tool that you could use to layout a great template and then plug your content into it. It too has a free version and a paid upgrade version which gives you access to a whole slew of convenience tools.
DIYbookcovers has a free tool that generates 3D Book Mockups in seconds. You just upload the cover image.
PlaceIt is a very strong tool for creating mockups. Though there are some nice free options, you can access them all for less than $100 per year.
Here’s one I just created on PlaceIt. All I had to do was upload my book cover art:
Lobster on a Cheese Plate: the Sleep Mask!
That’s right, after you have read and successfully implemented all this book has to offer, you’ll be able to sit back, relax and catch some z’s as the leads come rolling in.
And Lobster on a Cheese Plate is non-ergonomically designed to block light when placed on your face. 😉
Examples of Lead Magnets
- Checklists
- Cheat Sheets
- Guides
- Templates
- Inspiration Files
- Script (think “interview questions for hiring a builder”)
- Toolkits
- Resource Lists
- Annual Report
- Webinars
- Samples
- Free Coaching Session
- Podcast / Interview
- Summaries (think Cliff Notes)
- Library
- Catalogues
- Calendars
- Planner / Plan
- Worksheet / Workbook
- Printables
- Calculators
- Generators
- Spreadsheets
- Assessments / Evaluations
- Reviews
- Contests
- Coupons / Discounts / Specials
- Recipes