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Getting lead magnets in front of your audience is way more difficult than it needs to be.
In fact, the process is so complicated that it’s almost certainly costing you leads. Today we’re announcing a massive update to our Lead Capture features to fix this.
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You already know about the persuasive power of lead magnets. These freebies are called “magnets” for a reason— they attract.
But not all free offers have the same magnetism. Some are more irresistible than others. What’s the secret to creating compelling lead magnets? Images.
That’s right— You can use images and other graphic elements to strengthen the appeal of your lead magnets. In this post, we’ll discuss how to select the right images for your lead magnets.
Let’s get started.
How many lead magnets do you think you need to create? One, two, maybe even three?
Keep on guessing.
The real number is probably higher than what you have in your mind right now. Research indicates that most businesses can benefit from using 15 or more lead magnets in their marketing strategy. You read that right— 15 plus.
If you’re struggling to figure out why so many and how to incorporate over a dozen lead magnets into your content marketing, this post is for you. Below, we’ll discuss exactly how to use lead magnets to attract leads and convert them into customers.
Before we get into why you need to create so many lead magnets, let’s define what they are in the first place.
Lead magnets are free gifts that you offer to your audience. But you’re not just giving away free gifts like Santa Claus. It’s more like an exchange of information — you give a valuable resource away but you’re getting two things in return: The other person’s email address and their permission allowing you to send them marketing emails.
But, if you’re new to the idea of lead magnets, you’re probably wondering if it’s even necessary to offer one. After all, you’ve definitely visited websites that asked for newsletter signups without offering lead magnets in return.
Here’s the magic question: Did you sign up for that newsletter? Or did you just scroll past, read the page, and then hit the back button?
Most website visitors have that same response. These days, people are fiercely protective of their inbox. They’re not just going to sign up for your email newsletter because you invite them to. To make the invitation worthwhile, you’ll need to add an incentive, something that offers immediate gratification. This is where the lead magnet comes in.
The lead magnet is usually a digital file that can be instantly downloaded. The most popular types of lead magnets are checklists, eBooks, and guides.
Be instantly available – Someone who signs up for your lead magnet shouldn’t have to wait to download it. You can automate the delivery of your lead magnet to minimize wait.
Make a promise – To entice, you need to offer a promise, like “learn how to do X in 5 steps.” This gives the reader an expectation which can be a powerful incentive to download.
Be useful – Make good on your promise and deliver a valuable product. Understand the needs and challenges of your unique audience and create a lead magnet that they’ll identify as beneficial.
Solve a specific problem – Be careful not to go too generic with your lead magnet topic. While you can appeal to a larger audience this way, you’ll also dilute your lead magnet’s efficacy. Don’t be afraid to go ultra-specific, especially since you’ll create multiple lead magnets.
Be easy to read – Your lead magnet shouldn’t read like a college dissertation. Write it in a tone that’s casual, conversational, and easy to consume.
Be actionable – The best lead magnets are action-plans. They provide information that shows the reader a step by step plan of how to get what they want.
Build trust – Finally, lead magnets should always build trust with your reader. By sharing relevant information (for free), you can position yourself as an expert on the topic.
So now that we’ve covered what a lead magnet is, let’s discuss why you need so many.
Most businesses cater to multiple customer types. If you have more than one product, you definitely have more than one type of customer. But even if you only offer one product or service, you can still appeal to multiple customer types.
For example, a photographer only sells their photography services, but they can appeal to customers who need the following photos:
And the list goes on. Similarly, you may have customers who need the same product/service, but for different reasons. Because they have different goals, you need to create different lead magnets to appeal to them. Here are two lead magnet examples to illustrate what I mean:
But there’s another reason to create multiple lead magnets. In addition to multiple customer types, you’re also appealing to customers at different stages of your sales funnel. Not everyone will arrive on your home page. And not everyone will need to know the basics. You also need to develop lead magnets to reach people who are at the decision stage of the sales funnel.
We’ll discuss what all of this means next.
As mentioned above, different customer types have different goals.
Your first task is to identify the unique goals of your target customers. What are their challenges and what do they need help with?
You may be thinking, Well, duh, that’s why I created my product to begin with. Shouldn’t I be more focused on getting people to buy my product?
Sure, you want your audience to pay for your product or service. That’s all the more reason to create a resource that will build trust with your reader. Your lead magnet (and subsequent email marketing) will ultimately point back to your product or service.
In the above example, the lead magnet “10 tips for working with wedding photographers” gives the reader information on how to use the service that the photographer provides. As you see in this example, the lead magnet doesn’t compete with the service, it simply gives the reader the best practices for using that service.
Most lead magnets follow this same rule: Provide valuable information that your audience needs to know without directly competing against your products or services.
Most lead magnets follow this rule: Provide value without competing against your products/ services. Click To TweetBy identifying the challenges of your audience, you’ll be able to come up with attractive ideas for potential lead magnets.
Make a list of the top 10 problems that your target audience has. Then, figure out what types of content can solve each problem quickly. To help you, at the end of this post, we’ve created a list of lead magnet ideas.
As we discussed above, not all of your website visitors are at the same stage of the sales funnel. Some visitors come to your website to identify the problem while others know a lot about the problem and are beginning to investigate solutions. You need lead magnets to serve both of these visitors. If you only create an entry-level eBook to introduce the problem, you’ll miss helping the visitor who’s looking for a comparison guide between you and your competitor.
Here’s a breakdown of how to use lead magnets for a basic sales funnel:
Top of the Funnel – Inform
During this stage, you provide basic information to help your audience correctly identify their problem.
Examples of lead magnets for the top of the funnel include:
Middle of the Funnel – Educate
During this stage, you share resources that help your audience learn more about their problem and your solution.
Examples of lead magnets for the top of the funnel include:
Bottom of the Funnel – Evaluate
During this stage, you give your audience the information that they need in order to make a decision to buy.
Examples of lead magnets for the top of the funnel include:
To get started with your own lead magnet, click here. We’ll help you create a professional lead magnet in minutes. Get started for free here.
So, you’ve heard that blogging brings in customers. You’re convinced that you need to blog for your business, but now you’re scratching your head and wondering:
How do you magically transform your one-time site visitors into customers?
Well, we’ve got the answers. Below, we’ll discuss how to consistently generate leads from blogging. Let’s get started.
If you’re looking to convert more of your leads into customers, you must use social proof. Social proof builds brand credibility and causes prospective customers to trust you. It’s a key component in any marketing strategy and one that you’ve, no doubt, also used to make your own purchasing decisions before.
Curious about social proof? In this post, we’ll discuss why you need social proof and how to use it effectively to increase lead to customer conversions.
Pop quiz!
What’s the easiest, quickest, and most effective way to reach your target audience?
If you answered “content marketing,” you’re right. Content marketing is a time-tested marketing method used to deliver relevant and engaging content to a specific audience. The goal of content marketing is to develop a relationship with prospective customers in the hopes of eventually converting them into actual customers.
According to the Content Marketing Institute, content marketing generates over 3x as many leads as outbound marketing and it costs 62% less.
(you can find more handy marketing stats here)
But content marketing isn’t just for lead generation. You can and should use content marketing to maintain a relationship with your current customers so that they continue to buy from you and also tell others about your product.
Unlike traditional ads, content marketing is not focused on the quick sale. It’s about delivering value, educating the audience, and building trust.
If you’ve never created a content marketing strategy before, you may feel intimidated. Where do you begin? What do you include? How much will it cost? How long will it take?
You’ll begin with this post. Below, we’ll discuss everything you need to create a content marketing strategy for free. If you have one afternoon, you can create a simple strategy from scratch.
Let’s get started.
What’s more important than getting new customers? Keeping them.
Did you know that it costs five to seven times more to acquire new customers than it does to retain them? And did you also know that repeat customers are more likely to return with every purchase? This study found that after one purchase, a customer has a 27% chance of returning. However, after three purchases, a customer has a 54% chance of returning. Instead of putting all of your energy into getting new customers, it’s more profitable to keep your current customers happy.
So, how do you do that? In this post, we’ll discuss simple strategies that any business owner can use to improve their retention rates. Let’s get started.
Created a helpful, usable lead magnet? Check!
Now, it’s time to advertise your lead magnet so that your target audience will see it. But where?
You have a ton of choices. You can advertise your lead magnet on your website. You can advertise it on social media or your email signature or guest post or business card.
But perhaps the most important place to advertise your lead magnet is via search engines, like Google or Bing. And by advertise, I don’t mean pay for promotion. I’m talking about good ‘ole fashioned search engine optimization (SEO) strategies where you tweak your lead magnet to improve its visibility on the search engines.
So, let’s discuss exactly how to make an SEO-friendly lead magnet.
You’re on board with the idea of creating a lead magnet to attract prospective customers and grow your email list. But the only problem is that you don’t have the time to create an elaborate lead magnet.
Here’s the good news: You don’t need a lot of time. If you have a few hours to spare this afternoon or the next, you can create a valuable and attractive lead magnet. One with quality content and professionally designed packaging.
Actually, a few hours may be overplaying it. If you hustle, you can create most of these lead magnets in less than an hour.
Intrigued? Let’s take a look at 6 lead magnet ideas that are simple to create when you’re short on time.