Lead Magnets: how to make one

by Angela Reed-Fox

What's a lead magnet and why do I need one?

A lead magnet is an offer that encourages potential customers to sign up with you - either onto your email list, or to register with you.
Lead magnets are useful because they increase your list and therefore the number of potential conversions.

Lead magnets are easily consumed, they are generally a short or bite-size piece of information that can be acted on immediately. They have high perceived value this is because they solve your target market's immediate problem, not only this, they are specific in supplying to your target market's need and showing them that you know what they need. They therefore have high perceived value for your potential clients even if they are provided at low cost to you - often they are evergreen, which means that they can run for as long as they are effective. Lead magnets can bargeted to a specific segment of your target market, and enable you to oposition yourself as an expert who can be trusted to provide exactly what your target market needs.

Differentiating yourself from an increasingly competitive and crowded market is essential, and a lead market will help accomplish this.

Types of lead magnets

There are many types of lead magnets, but some work better in some markets than others. examples include:

• checklist
  
• blueprint
  
• cheatsheet
  
• swipe file
  
• infographic
  
• recipes
  
• list - top 10
  

Make your lead magnet

1. Find out what your target market needs help with that you are ideally placed to solve. You can do this by asking questions on social media, asking questions in emails, or by asking for feedback when new people register.
   
2. Format the solution - maybe it's a 5 step process; explain how to achieve their desired outcome, briefly and clearly. Present the information attractively and save as a pdf, or if it's a link to a specific page to your website, ensure that it clearly solves the problem and clearly shows that the person has arrived in the right place.
   
3. Create a squeeze page with an opt in form so that the lead magnet is sent automatically.
   
4. Promote! Make sure people know what you ahve available and how to access it. Use different platforms and test their effectiveness.
   

Lead magnet mechanics

We advise that the lead magnet can be provided instantly on request. Using a reliable email marketing provider will enable this by embedding an opt-in form on a specifically designed squeeze page on your website.

Test different lead magnets, test different squeeze pages, and test different platforms. Using social media to point towards the lead magnet can be very effective. Instagram allows one link under the bio of a business page, you can use this to point people towards claiming your lead magnet. You can use the same lead magnets across different platforms, but likewise, you can create specific ones for different platforms.

The lead magnet is just the start of your potential customer's journey. After they've received it, give them plenty of reasons to love you more and more by offering them more content and offers enabling them to make the easy decision to become a customer. Follow up the lead magnet with an email campaign - get to know them better - ask them questions, send them more tips and help.

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