Catching a potential customer’s attention in the sea of content is hard work. You need to create an irresistible offer to lure your target audiences. Pull your lead closer to your business by using the right types of lead magnets for your business.
What is a lead magnet?
A lead magnet is an incentive. It’s free. Offered to potential buyers in exchange for their email address. Your lead magnet should be a valuable solution to the lead’s problem that brought them to your business in the first place.
The goal is to get a lead’s contact details. This helps you convert them to paying customers through lead nurturing tactics such as email marketing.
How are lead magnets used in business?
Lead magnets encourage your potential customers to give you their email address. In return, they get something valuable or helpful. Something that “solves their problem”. Entering their email to get it is natural and instinctual. It’s up to you as a marketer to give an attractive offer by using the right types of lead magnets for your business niche.
Here’s how businesses use lead magnets:
- To increase conversion rates through lead generation activities such as email marketing campaigns
- Capture the attention of potential buyers through free items in exchange for their contact detail/s
- Generate high-quality leads since people who choose to give their information are already interested in the brand and what the brand can offer
- Build loyalty towards a brand by giving the potential buyers a valuable freebie
Types of lead magnets
There’s a variety of lead magnets to choose from. Here are examples of lead magnets you can use:
- Ebook – a great way to compile related topics about your business. The pdf format is preferable since it’s usable in almost any reading application.
- Video training – gives valuable and engaging information to your leads. It has a high perceived value and can be accessed anytime.
- Discounts – early bird discount, codes, coupons, a bundle offer, or even free shipping if you’re selling a physical product are some things you can offer to leads.
- Resource list – can be a starter kit with recommendations of tools, websites, or downloadable contents that can aid your leads to achieve results.
- Webinars – often interactive and it gives feedback to viewers in real-time. A pre-recorded webinar is also a good choice so you can edit and set a specific date for the session.
- Templates – infographics, proposals, websites, posters, and other easily reusable outputs
- Printables – unleash your creativity and start making attractive graphics your customers can print. You can make calendars, checklists, quotes, or anything relevant to your brand.
- Assessment/Quizzes – quizzes are fun and can be done fast. It can range from simple quizzes to a more in-depth assessment. Information entered and the results also give you valuable insight into your demographics.
- Consultation – offering advice in your field can demonstrate your value to leads. Focus on helping your leads instead of turning it into a selling opportunity to have an effective result.
- Giveaway – who doesn’t want free stuff? Giveaways are effective but you have to offer a relevant prize and you can also incentivize participants to share (sharing on social media can be a plus point for their entry).
Tools for creating lead magnets
Here are some handy tools you can use to create your own lead magnets.
Landing page builders
- Unbounce and Landingi: a novice-friendly landing customization tool for landing page
- Leadpages: use it to collect email subscribers, webinars, and landing pages opt-in forms
Visual format tools
- Canva: easy-to-use design tool with free templates to choose from
- Keynote or PowerPoint: for beautiful slides for guides and other visuals
- Freemind: mindmaps to break down complicated topics
- Draw.io: to create flow charts and steps in a process
- MailChimp: build an email list and create templates
- Beacon.by: customizable and professionally designed templates
Audio and video editing tools
- Webinarjam: record webinar service
- FreeConferenceCall: hosting conference, record videos, and interviews
- GarageBand or Audacity: audio editing tool
- Loom.com: easy and free screen recorder
- Vimeo: video storage and screen recorder
- Veed.io: an easy to use video editing tool with a great free plan
Video maker tools
- Adobe Express: create engaging visual graphics and videos
- Fleeq.io: create explainer bite-sized training videos in a few minutes
- Promo.com: create scroll-stopping videos for all your socials
Survey and quiz format
- Typeform: automated quiz and form creator
- SS Quiz: a quiz creator WordPress plugin
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
- Trello: list making and organising application
- Process.st: organizing and workflow software for businesses
What makes an effective lead magnet?
Will your planned lead magnet work? It should if it ticks the following criteria:
- Provides a solution to a specific market
- Answers to one problem
- Gives immediate gratification
- Instantly accessible or can be consumed quickly
- Has a specific end result
- Unique and truly valuable
How to promote your lead magnet?
Just because it’s free doesn’t mean people will sign up! Visually attracting your audience is important during the first contact with them. Catch their attention when promoting your lead magnet by taking note of these things:
- Create an appealing landing page, pop-ups, and call-to-action banners. The landing page should be responsive and fast loading
- Remove unnecessary details so audience attention won’t divert from your offer
- Add encouraging message for visitors to try your offer
Some places where you can promote your lead magnet:
- On your website: use different parts of your website like your website homepage, footer or pre-footer, navigation button, website pop-up, blog sidebar, and blog post
- Social media: create accounts for platforms your target audience use
- Email: you can encourage your existing email list to share the link with their friends or anyone who needs it
- Forums: answer questions related to your niche and link your resources for additional help
- Email Signature: Include a link to your landing page in every email you send
Lead magnets as a part of the sales funnel
Which of these lead magnets do you think will work for your business? Converting leads into customers is an important step in the sales funnel. Lead magnets are essential in the lead generation stage. These are very warm leads. They’re the audience who have the problems or pain points you propose to solve, and would be interested to see more.
Learn more about the sales funnel here.
