As small business marketers, we love lead magnets, and it seems like everyone has at least one.
But why? And should you?
The short answer is yes, for these two main reasons:
- They are popular because they work.
- People will often download or access them.
Let me explain to you what they are, why you ultimately need one or more, and the different types, and I will even give you 20 examples!
What Is a Lead Magnet?
A lead magnet is a great marketing asset that a small business like yours will give away for free in exchange for the prospect’s first name, last name, and email address.
Popular blogger, podcast host, and author Tim Ferriss uses an exit intent pop-over oh his website with a lead magnet.
This popup highlights Tim Ferriss, a well-known influencer and includes a powerful headline and a simple download offer. It teases the reader that Time will share some of the questions that have made him successful.
Any small business can create something similar for your industry and target audience.
What Is a Lead Capture?
In its simplest terms, a lead capture happens when someone fills out your opt-in form for your lead magnet.
Now obviously, the more leads you can capture, the higher the chance you get to convert that lead to a qualified prospect and ultimately a client.
Be sure to use an email autoresponder to send them a link to download it. This does two things. It helps ensure you have a good email address and helps the user if they lose your download in their downloads folder. It will also allow you to communicate with them on a personal basis.
Why Does Every Small Business Need a Lead Magnet?
If you're not convinced why you need a lead magnet, consider how many leads marketer Neil Patel generates from his every month.
One of his most popular lead magnets is a webinar. It helps to deliver considerable value and allows his fans and followers to benefit from his experience.
In the screenshot above, Neil's email newsletter alone produces roughly half a million website visitors per month. These visits lead to increased brand identification and conversion rates.
By implementing effective lead magnets for your target audience, you can significantly increase your lead-generating efforts.
The Ultimate Lead Magnet Checklist
When creating a lead magnet, you want to do it right the first time. Simply offering something for free will not work as your visitors have to be enticed.
Before you offer a lead magnet, make sure it meets all of the following requirements:
- Solves a real problem for your target audience
- Promises one quick win
- Is super specific
- It is easy to digest.
- Provides instant gratification
- Demonstrates your expertise or unique value proposition (UVP)
What Are the 5 Different Types of Lead Magnets?
You also should know what type of lead magnet will work best for your target audience to answer this question. Here are five of the most popular:
- Educational lead magnets: These are ones in which you teach your visitors something they don’t already know.
- Useful lead magnets: With these, you provide a calculator, tutorial, or another tool for problem-solving.
- Community-Building lead magnets: Create a mechanism for your audience to form a community or group based on the things they have in common.
- Entertaining lead magnets: Inspire or entertain your prospects.
- Bottom of funnel lead magnets: Tip the prospect from lead to client.
20 Effective Lead Magnet Ideas and Examples to Convert Visitors Into Leads and Prospects
Now that we’ve covered the subject’s broad strokes, let’s look at some concrete examples. Browse through this extensive list of twenty lead magnet options, then create the one you believe will be most appealing to your target audience.
Ideas and Examples of Educational Lead Magnets
The educational category contains some of the most popular and widely used lead magnets. They educate the visitor about something new and often coveted in exchange for their contact information.
Let’s have a look at some educational lead magnet options:
Gated Content Lead Magnet
Gated content simply means that the user must first complete an action to access the content, such as filling out a form. Here are two options that would work well for educational type leads:
- Short course (such as a webinar series) lead magnet
- Educational video or audio training
- The online course market is expanding rapidly, and individuals often prefer to study through video lessons.
People love to learn through video tutorials; therefore, the online course industry is still growing by leaps and bounds.
E-book Lead Magnet
Depending on their preferences, people can read e-books on tablets, laptops, or e-readers. This is a terrific method to get outstanding content into the hands of your visitors without having to print and send actual books.
An e-book can be of any length, but most are at least 10,000 words long.
Audio Book Lead Magnet
Some people would rather listen to content than read it. They listen to music on their phones, the automobile university, and while running or exercising.
Create an audiobook version of your ebook. You'll have two chances to convert your leads, and you won't have to alienate those who choose one over the other.
Lead Magnet PDF Version
Computers may have eliminated paper clutter for some people, but they have also produced digital clutter. Consumers’ devices have crowded desktop files, bloated bookmark bars, and a plethora of programs installed.
As a result, when someone doesn’t have time to read a blog post or other piece of information in its entirety, they frequently abandon it altogether.
Consider making your blog posts available as PDF downloads that can be saved for later use.
Video Transcript Lead Magnet
Generate a transcript of your most popular video. Provide it in PDF format so that folks can read the text instead of watching the video if they choose.
Report and Infographic Lead Magnets
Reports, infographics, and white papers contain a wealth of information. They’re also time-consuming to make, so you’ll want something in exchange. The email addresses of your prospects will suffice.
Make it clear what the report or infographic will contain. You don’t want your prospects to feel duped after downloading it.
Prediction Lead Magnets
Do you have any forecasts or predictions for your industry? Use them as a lead magnet by offering to reveal your secrets. People always enjoy being one step ahead of the competition.
SlideShare Lead Magnets
Great SlideShares can pique people’s interests. They’re a cross between PowerPoint presentations and infographics. They provide a lot of information in a short amount of time.
Community Guide Lead Magnets
Consider making a guide to your city or town, or perhaps you’ve written and illustrated a how-to guide to help your readers locate what they need.
Newsletter Lead Magnets
Ask that visitors join up for your email newsletter. But don’t forget to explain why they should bother. Do you provide any exclusive content? What are discount codes? Do you want early access to your products or services? Make your point as clear as possible.
Roundup Lead Magnets
Compile a collection of facts, quotes, or other helpful information in one document. It could be a downloadable zip file, web page, PDF, or SlideShare presentation. Prospects who are willing to offer their contact information should be granted access.
Useful Lead Magnet Ideas and Examples
Useful lead magnets assist the prospect in achieving a goal or resolving a specific problem. They frequently include tools or resources.
Checklist Lead Magnet
A checklist is a list of things that the user must accomplish, acquire before participating in an event or do. An example might be our Local SEO Checklist. This list is full of tips and ideas to help local small businesses with their local marketing and local SEO.
Examples Lead Magnet
Some people find it simpler to visualize a concept when they can see solid proof of how it might work. Create a document with examples relevant to your industry.
Swipe File or Template Lead Magnet
A swipe file is a document that offers a lot of inspiration, ideas, and methods that a user can “swipe” and utilize for their purposes. On the other hand, a template is a document that users can edit to match their individual needs.
Either one can serve as a good lead magnet.
Toolkit Lead Magnet
This sort of lead magnet is common in the graphic design profession. Toolkits will be created by experienced designers and will include WordPress themes and assets, icon sets, texture packs, Photoshop actions, etc.
The user can then apply the toolkit’s elements to their design work. It reduces the amount of effort required to create the end product.
Free Script Lead Magnet
Another alternative is to write a script. For example, if you cater to salespeople, you may offer adjustable scripts for outside sales, inside sales, and even telemarketing.
Fill-in-the-blank items should be included in these scripts so that the user can substitute brand-specific information. They are used to train salespeople and improve the sales process.
The following are some further examples of valuable lead magnets::
- Resource list
- Calendar
- Plan or planner pages
- Worksheet
- Printable template
- Inspiration list
- Idea generator
- Spreadsheet template
- Recipes
- Calculators
Community-Building Lead Magnet: Facebook or Slack Groups
Lead magnets that foster community encourage your website visitors to interact with your brand and one another. They contribute to the development of your company culture by soliciting feedback from the people who count the most, existing and prospective consumers.
If you don’t want to create your forum or membership site, you can move the discussion elsewhere. Set up a FREE membership group on Facebook, Slack, etc.
Entertaining Lead Magnet Ideas and Examples
Lead magnets don’t always have to provide something particularly beneficial. Customers enjoy being amused.
Informal lead magnets provide prospects with a small respite from their daily lives to simply enjoy themselves.
Quiz Lead Magnet
For years, Facebook quizzes have been popular. So have other websites that hold quizzes, whether you’re trying to figure out which Star Wars character you most closely resemble or which interior design style best suits your likes.
Don’t be afraid to experiment. Simply ensure that users receive answers quickly and that you include more than merely the solution. Include photographs, captions, and other exciting content on the page.
Giveaway Lead Magnets
Who doesn’t like getting something for free? Prospects enter a giveaway for a free product or equivalent prize in exchange for their email addresses.
Ideally, the prize will be something from your catalog. You don’t want to give out a free iPad because people like them. It will not have the desired effect if it is unrelated to your business.
You might also use one of these as an amusing or community-building lead magnet:
- List of quotes
- Mobile app or game
- Mission statement
Bottom-of-Funnel Lead Magnet Ideas and Examples
Often prospects are ready to convert when they reach the bottom of the funnel. They've already done their homework and are looking for a cause to acquire your goods or services.
At some point, educational and beneficial lead magnets aren't very appealing. You require an offer that will help you tip the balances in your favor.
Free Quote
This is common in the automotive industry. Enter your name and email address to receive a free, personalized quote.
Other bottom-of-the-funnel lead magnet possibilities include:
- Free service session or a free consultation
- Instant access to a free add-on
- Coupons, discount codes, or buy-one-get-one offers
- Catalogs
- Case studies
What Are Some Tips for Great Lead Magnet Opt-in Design?
When creating a lead magnet opt-in page, the most crucial thing to remember is to demonstrate value. Tell your viewers exactly what they're going to get.
Make your offer stand out by using contrasting colors. Then, choose a distinct background and foreground color for the call to action (CTA) button.
If at all feasible, ask your guest a yes-or-no question. According to Neil Patel, a simple trick like this can enhance lead capture by up to 30%. Prospects that hit the "No" button were offered an alternative lead magnet based on conversion optimization. It's an excellent approach to keep people interested in your material.
When Should You Use Lead Magnets?
Use a lead magnet whenever you want to collect information from your visitors. But be sure to change the content of the lead magnet to represent your target audience.
Add a bar, slide-in, or pop-over to your website that describes your lead magnet and provides a CTA. When visitors click on the CTA button, they will be directed to the opt-in page. Make sure to provide more information about the lead magnet on this page.
In other words, prioritize communicating value over all else. If your prospects do not believe the lead magnet is valuable, then you may have lost them forever.
Conclusion
Lead magnets are widely used and extremely popular by marketers. And for a good reason, because they work!
If you want to develop your email list and create a healthy lead backlog, you need a way to attract prospects. This is precisely what a lead magnet does.
All you need to do is offer something of worth, provide immediate gratification, and ask for something small in return.
If you are interested in creating a lead form for your website, there are lots of different ways to do it that I didn’t cover. If you need help implementing one as part of your content marketing, reach out. I will be glad to help you!
