You tried doing a lead magnet, but it bombed? Are you struggling to generate leads? Well, fate brought you here (or else Google did), so you’re about to read our favorite key insights about creating compelling lead magnets. But first…

What is a lead magnet?

A lead magnet is any attractive and valuable resource that you offer to people and which they can get for free if they agree to receive your emails. Sounds like a bribe or bait? It’s more of a swap – a win-win situation.

Now, what you offer for free can be:

• an e-book,
• exclusive discounts,
• a free trial,
• a video,
• webinars,
• cheat sheets,
• special reports,
• practical checklists,
• templates or workbooks,
• white papers, or
• that classic Ultimate Guide.

It can be anything of perceived significant value to your audience. Something that they see and think, “Yes! I need to get that!”

How do lead magnets work?

It’s called a “lead magnet” because it’s meant to attract website visitors and convert them to sales leads. It should be irresistible enough for someone to gladly give you their email address or other useful info. When the deal is done, you get a lead.

You see, when you provide something that people need or want, you’re building a relationship with them. The transition from visitor to lead and from lead to customer then becomes easier. Why?

You’re becoming an ally or a friend who can be trusted. As trust grows, the likelihood of a purchase or subscription also grows. The logic is that it’s easier for people to buy from someone they trust.

How can you create impactful lead magnets?

Here are some bite-sized essentials of how you can pack power into a lead magnet:

• Pull, don’t push
  • When you focus on what you want (say, sales), you will push your product. Often, the harder you push, the harder someone will resist. Now, when you focus on what your target market wants (a solution to their problem), you pull them in. When they realize that you have what they need, you’ll never have to push again.
• Focus on a niche
  • To solve your potential customer’s problem, you’ve got to know your customer. This is why it’s crucial to identify your target audience down to specifics. This also helps you spend your budget more efficiently, because the more specific your target, the less you spend per target.
• Know their pain points
  • What is the primary problem that you intend to solve with your lead magnet? Be sure you know the answer because this is the key. You also have to let your audience know why and how your lead magnet will help solve their problem. Make your offer more enticing by including a preview or a teaser.
• Deliver the goods
  • When you offer a lead magnet, you are promising to solve a problem. Make sure it will or it will backfire on you. Your visitors will not become leads because they will lose trust in you. Deliver exactly what you promise. Create high-quality lead magnets that they will not find elsewhere.
• Don’t offer rubbish
  • Never make lead magnets that will end up in the trash bin. People do not need more useless stuff, irrelevant information, or obsolete resources. They also will likely ignore offers that can be found everywhere else. The key is value, the keyword is valuable – not to you, but to them.
• Do A/B tests
  • What good is good if you can make it better? Don’t settle for good lead magnets. Test them to see how you can make them better. Do A/B tests to find if a pop-up will get more leads than a banner. Will a preview or short explainer work better than a static image? Can a gif increase conversion?
• Upcycle your best content
  • You don’t need to create lead magnets from scratch. Find your best-performing content and repurpose them. Devise a useful checklist based on a blog listicle. Make infographics from a how-to article. Find portions of existing content and transform them into more visual and more practical flowcharts, slide presentations, templates, graphs, or charts.

Your Next Step

Well, what are you waiting for? Someone to hold your hand? Ah, what destiny! There’s this bunch of lead magnet and content marketing experts called Copy Ninjas [INSERT LINK] who are ready to lend a hand anytime you need help. Hey, keep moving while the stars are aligned in your favor – CHEERS!