3 Lead Magnet Mistakes That Will Ruin Your Lead to Client Conversions
Let’s face it:
You don’t create lead magnets just to generate leads.
Of course, getting new signups is important.
But I’m sure you also want the lead magnet to make a strong first impression on prospects, and ultimately, help move them further down your sales funnel.
But what if I told you that in spite of all your efforts, you’re still unknowingly sabotaging those conversions?
I’m sure you’d be pretty upset.
Unfortunately, that’s exactly what might be happening.
So, in this post, I decided to help you identify and eliminate the 3 most common lead magnet mistakes that shatter lead to customer conversions.
Ready to get started? Then let’s do it.
Mistake #1. You Don’t Proofread Your Lead Magnets
I agree:
When it comes to online writing, the quality bar is set low.
For the most part, we pay more attention to the message rather than the form.
Or so we think…
Because you see, as it turns out, your leads not only notice typos and grammar errors but also, base their decision to purchase from you on them.
And there’s some interesting research to back that up. For example:
Standing Dog examined the effect spelling, and grammar errors had on our willingness to continue reading the content as well as the buying behavior.
Here’s what they discovered:
“The majority of people polled said that errors bothered them at least somewhat (24 percent). Most people polled also said that they consider the type of error (typo, grammatical, one-off or a consistent issue, etc.) and then make a decision on whether to continue reading or making a purchase based on the level of egregiousness. A very small minority (3 percent) said that they did not mind errors at all.”
Another study, reported by ConversionXL, discovered that customers find poor spelling and grammar errors more irritating than sales messages.
And, as a report by Kibin (quoted via this site) revealed, bad grammar affects our dating choices too. A study of 1700 adult online dating sites discovered that 43% of their users consider poor grammar unattractive, and 35% find good grammar appealing.
And the no.1 reason for all this is that typos immediately turn readers off, and undermine the credibility of your copy.
Want to ensure your lead magnet is typo-free? Here are a couple of exercises to try:
- Read the text aloud (or use text-to-speech option on your computer). Not only you’ll catch spelling errors, but you’ll also make the copy more conversational.
- View the copy in the mirror. This is an old editor’s trick. Read the copy in the mirror. It will force you to read the copy more carefully and present each word out of context.
- Use a dedicated proofreading software. Personally, I use Grammarly, although other solutions help check copy for spelling and grammar errors too.
Mistake #2. You Don’t Format the Copy for Easy Scanning
Love it or hate it but most of your leads just want quick, snackable solutions.
When signing up to download your lead magnet, they don’t expect long passages of copy.
What they want instead is a quick scan writing.
And as with bad grammar, researchers have already confirmed this behavior. For example:
Research by the Nielsen Norman Group found that time spent on a page does not proportionally increase with the length of the text.
And according to the same source, readers typically consume only about 20% of the page.
Gerry McGovern confirmed this behavior in a separate study. In his test, only one out of 15 people was able to find a text that wasn’t scannably placed on the page.
And according to the Washington Post, we’ve also started skimming serious literature.
Crazy, huh?
So, how do you make your copy scannable?
Well, it’s not that difficult to do. As Pamela Wilson from Big Brand System writes:
“It takes just a few minutes to turn a post from an overwhelming mass of gray text to something that engages the reader and pulls her in.”
And here are a couple of ideas how to do it:
- Shorten your paragraphs. First of all, include only one idea per paragraph. And reduce their length to three – four sentences at most.
- Use one sentence paragraphs. Just take a look at this post, it’s full of them.
- Use subheads and text styling to break the copy.
- Convert paragraphs into bullet lists.
- Set your text in black on white background.
Mistake #3. You’re Trying to Talk to Everybody
Look, I get it:
It’s more enticing to try and convert every website visitor, rather than targeting just a small segment of your audience.
After all, this way you can get more leads to nurture and convert, right?
Not exactly.
You see, you have a much greater chance to attract a potential client if you connect with them by offering a specific advice they seek rather than a generic information that just might happen to catch their attention.
As Ryan Malone, the CEO of Smart Bug Media, an inbound marketing agency points:
“As a writer, your first priority is to get the first page turned. You want your first page to scream “I hear you. I hear you and I am listening!” But you can only create this if you create a connection with the reader.”
But how do you create that connection in the first place?
Start by identifying the audience segment you want to target.
Ask yourself, who are the people you’d like to sign up and download your lead magnet? You don’t need to create specific buyer personas for them. But at least name their characteristics and the key challenge they’re looking to overcome. For example:
- Small businesses looking to grow their sales.
- Remote teams looking to improve communication and project management.
- Freelancers looking to build a location-independent lifestyle.
Then, reference them directly in the copy.
Add sentences describing the target audience to the lead magnet’s cover and calls to action. For example, if you target the first group I mentioned above, add a line that says: “for small business owners interested in growing their sales.”
If you want to attract marketing agencies, describe the lead magnet as ideal “for marketers looking to cut down reporting” and so on.
Include relevant examples in the copy. If you’ve repurposed old content into a lead magnet, then this part should be easy. You probably already have examples from your target audience’s industry. Otherwise, consider adding screenshots, or any other examples that will be relevant to your target market.