Useful Lead Magnet Ideas
Email marketing is alive and well regardless of what anyone tells you about it. Research has found that email marketing is still one of the best revenue sources for businesses, particularly online businesses. This is why you need to look at building up your email subscriber list and one of the best ways to do this is to have a lead magnet.
What Is A Lead Magnet?
A lead magnet is essentially an incentive for people to sign up to your email list. This is the item that you offer potential subscribers in exchange for their email address and the ability to continue sending emails. Lead magnets will generally be a digital product which can be sent to the subscriber instantly and immediately after they sign up to your list.
There are a lot of reasons why you need to have a lead magnet for your email newsletter. The primary reason is the fact that lead magnets will get more people to sign up to your email list. Imagine you have a blog post and at the end you ask people to sign up to the email list to receive updates. This could get a few people to sign up, but most will see no benefit for them in doing so.
However, if you have the same blog post and at the end you ask people to sign up to your email list and offer them a free downloadable PDF related to the post, you will see more signups. This is due to the fact that people see some value in signing up and the value is something they get immediately. Of course, if you want to get the benefits of lead magnets, you need to know what makes a good magnet.
What Makes A Good Lead Magnet?
While understanding that you need to have a lead magnet is important, you also need to know what makes a good lead magnet. There is no point in offering something to people if it does not make them sign up to your email list. If you want to have an irresistible lead magnet, you need to keep these 7 things in mind.
The first is that the lead magnet needs to solve a real problem that your visitors have. Your lead magnet is not going to work if it does not offer some solution to a real problem that people have. If you run a dog training website, you should look at lead magnets that help with a problem that your customers will generally have such as house training a puppy.
The second point is that the lead magnet will need to offer a quick win to the customer. It is important that you not only offer a quick win to the person signing up, but that your lead magnet is able to actually deliver this. This means that the item you offer should help them achieve something easily.
The lead magnet that you have should also be specific. General lead magnets may work, but they will not provide the same level of results as ones that are specific and tailored to your content. The more specific you are able to make your lead magnet, the better the conversion rate will be and the more people will remain on your email list.
Your lead magnet should also be something that people can quickly digest. This is one of the reasons why PDF checklists are common lead magnets which convert very well. Lengthy reports and ebooks can make your users feel overwhelmed and could lead to lower conversions rates.
The value that your lead magnet offers will also need to be considered. It is important that it has a high perceived value as well as a high actual value. Higher value lead magnets will get more people to sign up because they feel it is worth their while to do so.
Your lead magnet also has to be instantly accessible. You do not want people to have to wait to get the item because this will lower the overall success of your email marketing campaign. People love instant gratification and you need to provide this to them.
The last point you have to consider with your lead magnet is that it should demonstrate your expertise or unique value proposition. When your lead magnet is consumed, it has to show that you know what you are talking about. This will help you convert leads into customers in the future because they know you are experienced in what you tell them.
Lead Magnet Ideas
Knowing what a lead magnet is and what it should offer is important. The problem that many people face is that they do not have any ideas for their lead magnet. Lead magnet ideas can be broken down into 5 different types. The first is the useful lead magnet, the second the education lead magnet and the third is entertaining lead magnets. The last 2 types will be the community-building lead magnet and the bottom of the funnel lead magnet.
It is important that you have some ideas for each of these types of lead magnets. This will ensure that you always have an idea for the lead magnet that you need. Each type will offer something different and will convert visitors into leads at different points in their journey with your business.
Useful lead magnets will be ones that help people save time, money, energy or more. This is the most irresistible of lead magnets because it is seen as a silver bullet. This means that it can be a specific and actionably solution to a problem that the user is having. It is in human nature to want a great outcome with minimal work which is why these magnets are so popular.
The first idea for a useful lead magnet will be a checklist. Checklists convert very well because they are easy to consume and they will help people solve an issue that they have. The solution they offer is condensed to an easy to follow list which is ideal for most people.
Checklists are also very easy to create which makes them a good solution for you as well. To create your checklist, you could summarize all of the popular blog posts you have into a list. Of course, it is important to note that checklists will not work for every industry.
Another good useful lead magnet idea will be a template. This is a good option for niches and industries where checklists might not work too well. If you run a web design and management business, you could offer a basic web template. If you run a VA business, you could provide a template for a common issue that your clients have such as a budget.
Templates are a good lead idea because they offer people an instant solution. They also show that you have experience in what you are offering. If you did not have the right experience, the template that you provide would not work very well.
Another useful lead magnet idea will be a resource list. A lot of people underestimate the value of a resource list, but they can be major time savers for your visitors. When you provide a list of all the best resources on the internet, you are going to be helping your leads greatly and this will lead to better conversions later on.
Educational
As the name suggests, these lead magnets will teach the user about a specific topic that is relevant to what you have to offer. This type of lead will generally help users understand why they need to work with your business and how your business can help them. The primary benefit of these lead magnets is that they prime users to buy from your company making it easier to convert them from leads to customers.
One of the most common education lead magnets is gated content. Gated content is when part or all of a blog post is hidden behind an opt-in form. In order to gain access to the content, the person will have to sign up to your email list. This is one of the easiest lead magnets to create because you will be using content you already have.
You will need to use specific tools to gate your content. To make the most of gated content, you should look at gating the second half of your blog post. This will ensure that you have ensnared the reader with the first half of the post and made them want to know what the second half has to say.
Another common educational lead magnet will be a tutorial. Tutorials are something that a lot of people use because they are able to learn something in an easy to digest manner. The tutorial that you offer could be anything from a video to a PDF with numbered steps.
A lot of people assume that tutorials will only work in certain niches and industries. However, this is not actually true as you will be able to teach someone something in any niche or industry. If you run an accounting business, you could have a tutorial on budgets. If you have a gardening website, you could have a tutorial on how to properly plant a tree.
If you are running a B2B business, you should look at reports. This is a great educational lead magnet idea for this type of business because they rely on data, research, and statistics related to your field. It is possible to do all the research yourself for the report or you could combine information from different sources into a single cohesive report instead.
One issue that you will face with reports is that you need to update them. This could be something that has to be done yearly or it could be quarterly. The frequency of the update will vary depending on the type of report you have and the business that you run. If you are relying on financial data, you will generally have to update this each quarter, but if you use trends this could be each year.
Another education lead magnet idea that you might want to think about is a webinar. This idea will teach people something, give you the opportunity to upsell and will make use of the fear of missing out. The fear of missing out will increase the number of people who opt in because it is human nature to want something that has limited availability.
With a webinar, you do not have to complete the webinar live all the time. There are a lot of people who record their webinar and have playback sessions which people can sign up to when they opt into the email list. This will ensure that you save time and that they get the educational information that they want.
Entertaining
Your lead magnet does not have to be particularly educational or useful to people. There are a lot of people who simply want something that entertains them. There are a lot of different ideas that you can use for this type of lead magnet that you need to know about.
Of all the entertaining lead magnet ideas out there, a quiz will generally be the best one. This is one of the best converting entertaining lead magnet ideas because it is fun to complete and quick to do. All you have to do is provide the user with a series of questions that will generate an answer and all they have to do is provide you with an email address.
To create a quiz, you will need to use a tool and there are many which are completely free. The tool you use should also allow you to drive social traffic to the quiz to get more leads. The quiz that you create should relate to your business in some way like the Hostel Bookers quiz lead magnet that tells you what type of traveler you are.
Another great entertaining lead magnet idea is a giveaway or competition. The opportunity to win a free product is something that a lot of people have a hard time passing up. This is why a giveaway is a good converting magnet that you need to consider.
If you want the giveaway to be effective, you need to ensure that you are offering a prize which is relevant to your business. You also need to incentivize participants into sharing the giveaway with others by increasing the entries they have. The only issue you will have with this magnet idea is that it is time-limited and you will constantly have to renew it.
Community-Building
Building a community for your business is something that you need to consider. This will give you an easy way to engage with your leads and customers as well as a means for customers to communicate with each other. There are a number of different lead magnets that you can use, but you need to be ready to have a community space for the people that sign up.
The first lead magnet that you can use is a challenge. 30-day challenges are the most common and they work well for a number of different reasons. The primary reason why you should look at these lead magnets is that the people who take up the offer will be a highly qualified lead. The challenge will also have a start and end date which builds a sense of urgency.
Challenges will also help you build brand awareness as you foster a sense of community. Everyone likes to do a challenge as long as they are not doing it on their own. A challenge is also a great way to lock someone into communication with your company for a set amount of time which gives you longer to convert them into a customer.
Many people do not realize that social media can be used as a lead magnet. When looking at community-building lead magnets, you should consider an exclusive Facebook group. Exclusive groups that you can only join if you sign up to the email list is a great way to get leads and to increase the group community, killing 2 birds with one stone.
You might want to combine the challenge lead magnet with the Facebook group magnet. This allows you to get the urgency of the challenge and sets up a place for the challenge community. Of course, you will have to ensure that the Facebook group you set up is relevant to your business and that you actively post in it. There is no point in offering exclusive access to a dead Facebook group.
Bottom Of The Funnel Magnet Ideas
When you think about lead magnets, the bottom of your sales funnel will generally not be the first thing to come to mind. After all, a lead magnet is meant to get people into the top part of your sales funnel, not the bottom. However, it is important to note that not all customer journeys will be linear and there are some people who will enter your funnel at the bottom instead of the top. You need to take advantage of this and bottom of the funnel lead magnet ideas will help you with this.
The lead magnet idea which most people use for bottom of the funnel leads is a free trial. If you have ever looked for an app or piece of software, you will be confronted with free trial offers and these are lead magnets. This type of lead magnet will work best when you have a subscription product or high ticket item.
You do not have to provide a free trial of the entire system that you have on offer. There are a lot of companies that offer samples of their products or access to a limited piece of software. This gives you the chance to upsell when the lead is using the item and can easily see the benefits of paying for it.
Another bottom of the funnel lead magnet idea that you should consider is a coupon. When people have reached the bottom of the funnel, they are close to making a purchase, but will generally shop around. Everyone is looking for a deal or bargain and offering a coupon is a great way to attract the attention of these people.
When you offer a coupon, you need to ensure that it is one that can be instantly redeemed. It is recommended that you send the coupon code to the lead as soon as you have their email address. This will increase the chances of turning the lead into a paying customer quickly and with minimal effort on your part.
If your business offers a service such as legal advice, you should look at offering a free consultation as your lead magnet. This is a great way to get an opt in and other information which will help you sell your service. A free consultation also ensures that the lead will be meeting with you personally which can help you close the sale.
The best thing about offering a free consultation is the fact that it gives you more options to close the sale. If you need to talk to the lead about their specific situation, this is your opportunity. If you need to close the sale over the phone, you also have the chance to do this.
Lead magnets are something that you have to consider as part of your digital marketing strategy. They are a vital part of getting people to sign up to your email list which is still one of the best ways to turn leads into customers. There are a lot of different lead magnet ideas that you can choose from, but you will have to determine which type of lead magnet you are looking at. There are 5 different types of lead magnets and you need to choose the right one for your needs.
Finding Top Work From Home Jobs