The minute you step foot into the world of online business, you’re told “the money is in the list.” Collecting the email addresses of people even remotely interested in your business idea seems to have become a crazy sport — some business shell out thousands on it every single day. And, with more and more advice popping up all over the internet about lead magnets, it’s easy to feel confused.
You’ve probably created lead magnets in the past with limited success, and now you want to know what you should to do to turn those sign-ups into clients or customers. Or, you’re in the middle of creating your first lead magnet and either have no idea what to create, or if your idea will actually work. If that’s your predicament, you’re in the best place to learn about everything email related, including lead magnets.
Let’s get started, shall we?
What A Lead Magnet Really Is
Back when internet marketing was a new phenomenon, a group of marketers huddled around a computer throwing back beers had the most brilliant idea. “Let’s give away something for free, in exchange for their email address. That way, we’ll be able to keep selling to them forever!” Thus, the lead magnet was born.
Actually, I have no idea who came up with the idea for the first lead magnet. But we can agree that things have changed since the first lead magnet. A simple checklist doesn’t cut it anymore. Instead, more valuable freebies like quizzes, case studies, ebooks, free products and even full-length courses are being used to grow email lists. Why?
The answer lies in what a lead magnet really is. Clients and customers are the most valuable thing ever to a business. People are getting smarter, and they are certainly hip to the fact that emails are extremely valuable to us. They know they’re being marketed to, and in order to cut through the noise your lead magnet has to be more than just a “free, easy download.” It has to solve a burning problem for your target audience.
A lead magnet is actually your first opportunity to show your audience the value you bring to the table. It’s a trial run for what you’ll be able to do if they take the even bigger leap of actually spending money with you. Therefore, you’ve got to blow their socks off.
Now that we’ve put things into perspective. Let’s take a look at some of my favourite pointers for creating great lead magnets.
Best Lead Magnet Guidelines
In the online marketing industry the “gurus” preach that you should never reveal everything you know. They tell you to give out inferior or incomplete information in your lead magnet, and reserve the best for only those who pay you. I say that’s foolish. Why?
If you take a look at most industries outside of the online marketing world, when you go to make a purchase you can easily know exactly what you’re getting. If you go to buy a car, you can test drive the very vehicle you want to buy. You can sit in and experience a sofa before you pay for it. Even in clothing stores, there’s a dressing room to try your items on before you buy it. Why should selling online be any different?
Replace the notion that you have to “bait” people to join your email list, with the idea that you’re giving them a taste of what it’s like to work with you. By framing your lead magnet with that narrative, you’ll see everything clearer. A few other guidelines and thought processes you can use when creating your lead magnet are:
Ensure that the lead magnet is solving an important problem
Often, the first lead magnet idea you come up with isn’t the best one. Instead, a good lead magnet is informed by research and is evergreen, meaning it can last forever. While the content may change over time, the need it solves won’t. When you strip away the complex thought processes of every human, you find that only one thing causes them to make a decision: how they feel.
You might have chosen your lead magnet based on what you feel is the best topic. But what does your audience think? Your lead magnet has to solve a burning problem for them on an emotional level. Here’s an example of what I mean:
Above, is a lead magnet from Creative Revolt. Jorden helps freelance writers make bank, even if they don’t have much experience — which is exactly what she did a few years ago. (I’ve been a long-time admirer of hers, and some of her advice has helped me to grow my own business.)
What makes her lead magnet so effective is that it speaks to the emotions of someone who wants to be a freelance writer, but doesn’t know where to start. Often, when people consider freelance writing, they’re desperate for a source of income. Jorden has put together an entire course dedicated to helping that person make $1,000, and is giving it away for free. To someone who needs to make cash and thinks of freelance writing as the best way to do so, there’s no better deal. Just by reading what the lead magnet promises, their mind instantly springs into action. They think, what could I do with $1,000 right now? Their emotions handle the rest.
Think about it, if someone takes this course and makes $1,000 or more based on her advice, do you think she’ll have a problem turning that person into a customer or client? Of course not. Capitalizing on the emotions of your target audience (in a good way of course) is the key to creating lead magnets that solve their most burning issues.
Drop the professional lingo and speak from the heart
Whenever I’m tasked with helping clients resuscitate their dying websites I see the same issue. Their lead magnets are littered with all this super professional wording and industry jargon, but nothing that speaks to their personality. Even if you aren’t the fact of your brand, your brand has to have a personality. Without it, you risk alienating people before they even sign up for your lead magnet. Then you’ll scare away the rest who actually get your freebie.
That’s not what you want. Instead, speak from the heart and in the same manner you’d talk to a close friend. Don’t try to be overly formal just because you’re writing. Remember, people buy emotions. Not perfect grammar.
Refine the focus to reduce confusion
There’s power in simplicity, especially in online marketing. It’s common to add calls-to-action throughout your freebie, to sensitize your audience to what you offer through your business. Still, you need to ensure that your lead magnet only has one focus, and only one offer. It’s fine to include multiple calls-to-action, but each of them should lead to only one thing. You don’t want to confuse your audience, and keeping things simple, yet informative creates the biggest impact.
People signed up for your email list because of how they felt about the problem you promised to solve for them. Ask yourself, following the solution to that problem what would they be most interested in? Use the answers to that question to choose which product or service would be the best one to offer.
Don’t skimp on design, detail and value
This is probably the most important piece of advice I can offer about lead magnets. Invest in it like you would a paid product. Hire a designer to put together your pdf in an appealing format. Have your videos professionally edited. Have the copy for your emails edited (or written) by a copywriter. Curate the content you’ll be dispersing, and leave your heart on the pages.
Your audience will notice the effort you’ve put into creating your lead magnet, and will instantly value any future content you produce 2x or 3x more just because of that. After all, this is the first real impression that they will have of you. You want to make this experience the best in every way.
You’ve Got The Power To Create Killer Lead Magnets
The results you’ll get from implementing the guidelines mentioned above will be phenomenal. Think about it — for just a few hours of your time and a minimal investment, you can create a piece of content that will possibly help make you hundreds of thousands over the course of your business’ life time.
For example, when I created my own lead magnet it took me a lot of time. It was the first course I had ever created, and each step of the process was scary. But, once I completed it I knew that it would be a gamechanger for me. Putting the best of my knowledge into a free email course is one of the best things I’ve done.
What are you waiting for? Go ahead and refine your existing lead magnet. Or better yet, make a phenomenal one from scratch! The results will surprise you.
