Here’s How to Create GREAT Lead Magnets.

Are you collecting email adresses of your website visitors? Stick to these 5 principles for creating great lead magnets and get dramatically BETTER leads!

A marketing process running

The first thing I check out when I start working with a new client is whether they have a FREE OFFER on their website. It tells me if they’ve got some sort of marketing process running to attract leads or that the website is merely an online brochure or business card where nothing has been set up to convert. You know those typical ‘Ghost Towns’, where people just have a quick peek and then run away FAST.

A FREE GIVEAWAY aka lead magnet

Now a lot of entrepreneurs already have something that they offer on the homepage that serves as a ‘lead magnet’: a free giveaway that is designed to attract people that are interested in getting the offer in return for their precious email address. 8 times out of 10 it’s the ‘Get My Free E-book’. Not very innovative, but nonetheless a great starting point.

Better any lead magnet, than NO lead magnet.

After all you have to start somewhere.  And anything ‘bad’ is perfect material for optimization. Which is key to professional marketing that results in attracting more of ideal clients. And the starting point for creating great lead magnets.

But still, you have to know that creating just any lead magnet is one thing. Creating great lead magnets that actually attracts lots of HIGH QUALITY leads (in opposite to low-quality freebie-hunters that never become your clients) is a whole other thing!

So what’s the biggest problem with most lead magnets?

POOR CONVERSION.

That means hardly anybody signs up to get your lead magnet. Over the past couple of years I have created a TON of lead magnets, and I also KILLED a whole bunch of them. Because either they were poorly converting – even after modifications and tweaks and running traffic to it. Or the context required a brand new lead magnet.

However, I remember the day that I discovered that actually one lead magnet I created performed quite well – it had a relatively high conversion rate. So that one I kept for like 2 years or so. And I think that at that time about 90% of the people I had sales conversations with that resulted in new client enrollments, all told me that they found my website and signed up for that one lead magnet.

So here’s the rule: Don’t fix what isn’t broken. But when it IS broken or things change…

…Don’t be attached!

You have to allow yourself to replace your precious, with blood-sweat-and-tears crafted lead magnets to get better results. So don’t get too overly attached to your existing lead magnets.

Now the reason I decided to write this extensive blog post on creating great lead magnets, is because many of my clients are currently in the process of creating a new lead magnet, as am I.

I’m guiding them through the entire process of setting up a professional Lead Magnet Funnel. And at the same time I’m doing it for my own business. So that’s a pretty fun situation. I thought let’s share some of the tips that can make or break your lead magnet.

Why it is a good time for new, great lead magnets? Because the pandemic and the current economic downturn really affect and impact the lives of so many people. I know it does for my audience. And the entire market for that matter. I suspect you notice the same. And lead magnets are the perfect combo of giving value and building your business at the same time. Win-win.

A lot of entrepreneurs really feel lost – especially women entrepreneurs. Here’s the thing I notice: For women entrepreneurs giving is almost never the problem, charging for services is. More than ever it feels off to charge high ticket prices or to even focus on getting sales. That’s what I’m hearing from a lot of women.

So let me encourage you: It’s OK to market your business. And it’s certainly OK to get sales. It’s what keeps the economy alive! We need to invest. Your clients need to invest. That’s how we will rise from this transition that the world is in right now.

Having that said, setting up a new, automated lead magnet funnel that leads people right up to your offer takes out a great deal of the emotions around getting clients and charging money under the current circumstances.

That’s the advantage of marketing systems; You don’t have to do anything once it has been set up and runs properly!

OK let’s get back to how to create a new GREAT lead magnet. My advice is to keep the following to mind:

VALIDATE THE NEED

When it’s your aim to be of value, in marketing the rule is always: WATCH the market, find out what the biggest problem is that your target audience has and validate their specific NEED first (e.g. ask your tribe or check Google Trends: Are they googling for solutions?). Then create and offer a solution based on that specific need.

Now the idea of a lead magnet is NOT that you solve the entire problem or present the entire solution, but that you totally clarify 1 tiny specific part of that solution for your audience.

The only requirement is that they know they have this problem and that you make clear that your lead magnet solves this specific, particular part of that solution so that they can move one step forward. And it leaves room for the next step with you.

So what makes a GREAT lead magnet?

It needs to CONVERT.

In other words: It needs to generate email addresses from the visitors of your website. That’s your metric: How many people that visited your website (or: what percentage of visitors) opt in for the lead magnet?

Here’s what many entrepreneurs experience: They have lead magnets on their website that just don’t convert! If that applies to you, then that is something that you certainly would want to fix immediately.

Because building an email list is like building your pool of prospective clients. And that pool needs to get filled constantly. A large database with leads and prospects is – next to your client/customer database considered as a highly valuable asset of any sustainable and successful business.

However, a lot of people who have poor converting lead magnets (that don’t add anything to the list) and are aware of it, don’t do anything about it. But that’s like leaving money on the table! And worse: They’re disserving potential clients. We’d better avoid that.

Now, let’s dive into how to get the most out of the lead magnets you create. I recommend sticking to these 5 key principles:

Principle 1: Create something outrageously valuable

The emphasis is on outrageously. Here’s why.

The market is FULL of free stuff. People are getting more and more reluctant about giving away their email addresses. “More of the same” is what they think most of the time. So that means your lead magnet needs to be OUTRAGEOUSLY valuable to convert.

In other words, the value of your offer needs to outweigh the relative hassle of signing up for your free stuff and for the storage space on the laptop it will take up. That’s right 😀.

So rule of thumb is that something is outrageously valuable and worth to get if people would have gladly paid for it to get it. That is often the case with really in-depth information on the topic that your audience is super interested in. It is likely that lead magnets containing such info will convert well.

Note that in-depth information doesn’t automatically mean the lead magnet needs to be super lengthy, like those pretty long e-books you see a lot. Something can be lengthy but full of fluff and superficial information. And that will only hurt your business. A lead magnet needs to be consumed in order to be of value and do the magic for you, right?

Principle 2: Overdeliver on the promise

This is an exciting thing. It means that you go the extra mile to WOW your new subscriber by not only delivering what you promised, but even more. Ideally they should be pleasantly surprised thinking: “OMG I can’t believe this is so good and totally free!”

That’s a super great first impression that you’ll make. And it’s one of the first steps to building a strong relationship. You don’t want new subscribers immediately unsubscribe, which they’ll do if we disappoint them. Brainstorm about all the things that would make your lead magnet WOW. And then select one or a few things you can implement.

Principle 3: Pitch it like it’s a 10,000 EUR/USD product

Yes, it takes a LOT more effort to get someone’s email than the one sentence “Get X now for free” on the annoying pop-up that we’d rather click away! To have people understand the outrageous value of your lead magnet it needs to be pitched extensively, like it’s a super high ticket service or product.

That means you’ll be needing a landing page with attractive headings, images and commercial-style, persuasive content that explains why we should sign up and what precisely that juicy stuff is we’re going to get from you and what it will do for us. Keep in mind this single most important question that needs to be answered:

“How will this thing improve my life?”

Principle 4: Create a catchy, professional and branded design

With all the design tools that are out there, like e.g. Canva, it’s easy for anyone to design a nice looking lead magnet. But it also means that our expectations are up: An unattractive or poorly designed lead magnet won’t get our attention let alone our email address!

I wouldn’t count on it that a plain looking PDF might work. But obviously a nice design definitely boosts the perceived value of your lead magnet AND your image as a professional. Make sure it reflects your brand, both the high quality and the recognizable look-and-feel.

Principle 5: Make it super easy to get 

Here’s a fact: The more form fields you require to fill out, the fewer people will opt in. Either they’re too lazy or they get suspicious. “Why would they want my phone number? I don’t want to be called.” Also to be compliant with GDPR rules, you just want to ask for ONLY the info you’ll need: an email address.

OK true, for email purposes it’s nicer to have a first name but it’s not required. And it actually saves you list management duties if people sign up with “!@#$%%&” as their first name. Weirdly enough, some people do this. And when your emails start out with “Dear @#$%%&” it’s not really client attractive!

So make it as easy as possible. For those of you who have a strategic vision and a fully operational sales process behind you asking a ton of info in exchange for the super valuable lead magnet, I’d say go ahead and ask all you need to know. If not, don’t bother your visitors. It will likely hurt your conversion rate.

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SUMMARY

Collecting email adresses of your website visitors? Stick to these 5 key principles for creating GREAT lead magnets and get dramatically BETTER leads:

1. 1. Create something OUTREAOUSLY valuable
   2. Overdeliver on the promise
   3. Pitch it like it’s a 10,000 EUR/USD product
   4. Create a catchy professional, branded design
   5. Make it super EASY to get

Those are 5 key principles to create a GREAT lead magnet. It’s your first step towards building your automated Lead Magnet Funnel. Now when  you’ve created a new Lead Magnet, the question will rise: How do you let people know that it exists? Watch out for my next email and blog. Subscribe if you don’t want to miss out.

More on using your book as a lead magnet: Go read HERE.

👉 YOUR TURN: What ONE key principle will you apply firstly? Share in the comments below. 

Helpful? Insights? Leave a comment below, and if you like it, give me a thumbs up or share.

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