Lead Magnets: How to get more customers (and keep them)
In 1887, an Atlanta businessman named Asa Candler experienced a brief period of insanity—which was referred to as a "brainstorm" at the time. He created the first-ever coupon: a handwritten ticket offering a bottle of Coca-Cola (a product he co-owned) for only five cents.
This invention inevitably turned the beloved drink into a marketing giant. By the early 1900s, discount coupons were present on every cereal box in America.
Candler didn't know it then, but he had discovered an invaluable marketing device: a lead magnet.
What is a lead magnet?
A lead magnet's definition depends on what corner of the internet you look into, but it boils down to this: a free resource that attracts potential customers.
By using FREE content, visitors are more likely to sign up for your email list. When they do that, they become sales leads. In marketing, we call that conversion.
We've done it, and Coca-Cola continues to do it; who's to say that you can't do it, too?
How do you make a good lead magnet?
Now that you've taken care of the "what," here's the "how."
There are good lead magnets, and there are great ones. And then there are those lead magnets that you want to use: the BEST.
But what makes high-conversion lead magnets?
They're solution-based. If your lead magnet isn't solving your customer's needs and wants, it won't even touch their radar. So make sure that they do.
They give value. Aside from solving your audience's problems, your lead magnets must be high in perceived and actual value. Perceived value is what your customers believe your product is worth, while actual value is your product’s real worth.
They're specific. Generalizing the benefits of your lead magnet will get you a one-way ticket to the spam section. Make those benefits more specific to the needs and wants of your audience. Better yet, personalize them. (More on this later!)
They're accessible. Everyone loves instant solutions. Your lead magnet will work best if it is something that delivers on its promise instantly.
They're digestible. Avoid making your lead magnets lengthy if you want them to be accessible. Prospects tend to get overwhelmed with blocky reports.
They put your expertise on the front line. Your lead magnet should demonstrate your knowledge or unique selling point to potential customers.
All of these are essential elements in your lead magnets. The more aspects you check off your list, the more likely your lead magnets will convert.
So, where do you start?
5 Lead Magnet Ideas (with Examples!)
Sales. We all want more of them, right? But before a purchase can even occur, you need the right person in your pipeline. That's where it all starts.
This sentiment is true whether you sell online courses, high-ticket coaching, or any digital product. Getting the "right people" makes conversions easier and creates a more rewarding experience for everyone.
But finding the perfect lead magnet isn't easy. After all, there is no recipe to fit all businesses and their needs. If you'd like to see what works for you, here are five lead magnet ideas you can use as a starting point:
1) E-books and Guides
E-books and guides tend to offer solutions to your audience’s problems. Solutions that you, coincidentally or not, have to offer. They can also provide information that gives your customers more knowledge about a matter. When you offer an e-book or a guide as a lead magnet, you position yourself as a subject expert.
These lead magnets are usually given away for free as long as an email address is provided.
Here's an example from Awwards. Aside from the e-book cover, you'll see a box where the user can input their email address to download it:
2) Case Studies
A real-life example can allow prospects to place themselves in the customers' shoes. Thus, they can understand how your product can benefit them. When people relate to your business, the chances of converting prospects increase.
A case study can be a whitepaper your audience can download by providing their email address. You can also insert a CTA at the end of it.
3) Webinars
When talking about powerful ideas for your next lead magnet, webinars cannot go unnoticed. This lead magnet, through videos or live streams, gives your audience knowledge on a certain topic.
Whether live or recorded, webinars help you:
Engage with your audience. Here, you can use polls, surveys, and the chat feature to build trust and rapport with your viewers. Some webinars even have a whiteboard feature that allows you to draw on documents and videos.
Generate conversions. You can do this by offering your paid product or service at the end of the webinar. For better chances of conversion, make sure that your webinar is relevant to the service or product you are offering.
4) Free Trials
There is something very compelling about the words "free trial." Free trials are a great lead magnet, as they allow your audience to try out your product without paying for it beforehand.
If your product delivers, most people will go in for an upgrade—your paid plan.
Think about the free learning trials from Skillshare or LinkedIn Learning. A free trial doesn’t have to include all of the features of your full product, just enough to get your audience hooked. It can also be an opportunity to gather feedback from your target audience. If they don’t convert their trial into a paid subscription, give them the option to complete a survey to tell you why.
5) Quizzes
Online quizzes are the main tool for testing knowledge in eLearning. They can also be used as a fun lead magnet. Think Buzzfeed, for instance: people enjoy quizzes that prove their worth and tell them how wonderful they are. Participation usually requires completing a sign-up form at the end of the quiz to receive the results via email.
The main draw quizzes have is the opportunity to make contact and discover more about your customers’ needs. Quizzes are one of the more creative lead magnet ideas and can be used to gather useful info for your buyer persona too.
Having an idea for a lead magnet is just the beginning. For your lead magnet to set up for success, you'll need to make the post-work work.
What happens after you create a lead magnet?
You've carefully crafted your lead magnet and sent it out for email signups. It went well—great, even. But now you've got a ton of emails with nowhere to go. And you're still not generating sales.
Don't panic! Here's what you can do to turn those potential customers into actual consumers:
1) Set up your conversion paths
Your website is the online storefront of your business. Like a physical store, your visitors will need help navigating your website the first time they visit. Conversion paths are those navigational tools.
A conversion path is a strategically outlined journey created to attract visitors to your website and convert them into leads. It typically includes an offer, content or promotional, a CTA, and a landing page.
Your lead magnets may have given them what they want, but providing the things they want is only the first step. You also have to **give explicit directions to the offer or product—**that's the purpose of a conversion path. You must pave the road for them with CTAs and landing pages.
A CTA stands for Call-to-Action, which pushes your audience to do something. You can learn more about CTAs in this blog.
2) Create your landing pages
Your conversion paths should “land’ on these landing pages, hence the name. Landing pages are standalone web pages designed to encourage a particular action.
It could be:
A landing page for a free consultation call, where you ask them to book a schedule
A sales page that lists all the benefits of your product, with a “Buy Now” button to encourage purchases
A “Thank You” page that follows a successful purchase.
This is one of the reasons why you need to make your lead magnets specific. If it helps your audience solve a particular problem, you can follow that up with an offer that further gives them value—something that could solve the problem for them and save them time. You can build an entire path for them with multiple CTAs, depending on what your lead magnet is about.
Here's an example:
Your prospect attends your free webinar and goes to the sales page you mentioned. The page talks about your online course, with “Enroll Now” CTAs strategically located.
If your prospect clicks the CTA button, goes through the checkout process, and successfully purchases the course, they will be directed to a “Thank You” landing page.
If you have a one-on-one coaching service that you think your audience might be interested in, you can add that to the path, too. On the first page they visit, a CTA could lead them to the Coaching sales page instead. This gives them an option to purchase your higher-ticket items.
When they purchase, they end up on your “Thank You” page.
Multiple CTAs and landing pages can help your consumers find the product specific to what they're looking for. It also drives traffic toward your website, resulting in better SEO!
3) Promote
Now that you have email sign-ups, it’s time to promote your offerings. If you want to make it extra effective, use a buyer persona. Utilizing your buyer personas can help you determine what products to offer and who to offer them to.
The best way to promote your product/service will depend on what channels your audience frequents and what their online behaviors are. Regardless, you should use multiple channels, including your social media channels, website, email newsletters, and even paid ads and cross-promote
The more cohesive and consistent your message is, and the more your audience learns about it, the more engagement you can expect. Try out different engagement strategies to get the results you want from your next product launch, learning course, or new service offerings.
Sending out new offers to your email sign-ups means casting a wider net to catch more potential consumers. It's a cycle, yes, but a vital marketing strategy for businesses in all industries.
4) Email Nurture Campaigns
An email nurture campaign is a series of emails that depend on a consumer's behavior. These emails deliver timely, targeted information that guides your consumers through their purchases.
But the point of nurture campaigns isn't solely promotional. Instead of just promoting, these campaigns are all about building trust, establishing credibility, and creating lasting relationships with potential customers.
Consumers, after all, want to feel appreciated. Email nurture campaigns tell consumers that they, as an individual, matter to your business overall. Usually, the best way to interact with these consumers and build credibility is through email.
Use these campaigns as an opportunity to introduce yourself (without being too sales-y) and create a pattern of engagement.
Once you've built up your credibility and created a form of trust with your audience, you can offer your services or products and help them decide if your product is the best choice.
You can find out which campaigns to pursue using these four examples:
New Customer Campaigns: An opportunity to introduce yourself to potential customers (without being too sales-y) and create a pattern of engagement.
Post-Purchase Campaigns: A way to generate more reviews on your product or service and communicate that you care what they think.
Repeat Customer Campaigns: A campaign for the segment of your customers likely to advocate for your brand. Structure your emails to make your customers feel like a big shot.
Re-Engagement Campaigns: For re-engaging customers that you are at risk of losing. Consider this an opportunity to get back on your customer's radar.
5) Email Marketing Automation
Sending those nurture email campaigns can be quite tedious if it's not automated. Luckily, you can find marketing automation platforms and email marketing services on the internet.
Here's why you want to automate your emails:
You get increased transactions sending emails with personalized fields, like mentioning their First Name or Nickname
You get effective market segmentation
You get higher revenues with transactional emails
You sync your offer sending with your customer's buying cycle
You schedule and send timely email updates
Of course, you'll still need to write and personalize these emails if you want to stay out of email spam folders. But the benefits remain.
Using lead magnets to benefit you and your customers
That was a lot of information! But now you have a selection of lead magnet ideas, what your after-post looks like, and how to make your lead magnets stand out.
Lead magnets are just the tip of that magnificent iceberg we call marketing. At least now you have a foot through the door—or, should we say, a diving flipper in the water. But hey, Coca-Cola wasn't built in a day.
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