Many business owners know they need a strong presence online and online is the future. Even so, it still surprises me, when I ask them “do you have any lead magnets?” They respond with, “What’s a lead magnet?”
In this short article I’m going to reveal the best lead magnet ideas to build your list in any industry, but firstly, let’s define…
What Is a Lead Magnet?
A lead magnet is a free marketing offer that generates leads for your business by offering high-quality information in some form in return for the contact’s name and email address.
Leads magnets can take many forms and I’m going to show you the best lead magnet ideas to build your list in any industry in a moment. However, before I do, I want you to understand how the overall process works so you can easily decide which of the five best lead magnet ideas to build your list in any industry would be the best for you.
The Lead Generation Process
Lead Magnet Offer – this is a place on your website, your landing page or your blog where you make the Free Resource Offer
Call to Action (CTA) – This is a headline to catch attention and the button people click to access the resource you’re offering after they enter their email address and name in an online form (required before they can access the lead magnet).
Landing Page – if you are making a specific and targeted offer to capture leads, such as Facebook ads offering a free guide or the like, you may want to create a specific landing page separate to your website. This means visitors won’t get distracted from your offer and also making it easier to track you success data.
Thank You Page – After the request for your lead magnet via the online form is submitted, the visitor is then directed to a page where they can download your resource (or you can automatically send it by email), and where you can make and “add on” offer.
Delivery Email – this email delivers the resource or access to it if it doesn’t download directly. You can also automatically follow up with another email to download or access the resource a couple of days later in case they have forgotten to do so.
Marketing Automation – you have their name and email address, and you also know what they are interested in. This is the time to have automated follow-ups that continue the conversation, add more value and build you into their life as a trusted authority in your industry.
All right, now you understand the high-level process, here are the best lead magnet ideas to build your list in any industry…
The Five Best Lead Magnet Ideas to Build Your List in any Industry
The most successful lead magnets offer an irresistible and instant reward to your visitors, let’s check out the best of the best.
#1 The Simple eBook
The goal of the eBook is to offer a solution to a problem that your website visitors’ may be facing or an outcome they may want to achieve.
For instance, in Digital Marketing SEO is a subject that many business owners struggle to understand, so a marketer may write a short eBook of less than 20 pages which is a “simple guide to SEO success”.
If you owned an accountancy practice you may write about “how to set up a self-managed super fund”. A florist may write “the real man’s guide to choosing the right flowers for the right occasion”.
The good thing about writing eBooks is that you are seen instantly as an authority in your industry and the level of trust has been improved with a potential customer
Your short eBook is best if it can be read and digested in 20 minutes or less.
#2 The Checklist
If you have written instructional blog posts a checklist is easy to create. Just take your blog post and simplify it into a series of bullet points. Then remove any points that don’t contain actionable advice. Once you’ve done this, split the list into several numbered steps to make easier to follow and for ease of completion.
If you offer the Checklist as a PDF , this means your audience can print it and physically tick-off each item on the list as they complete it. This sense of achievement is a great feeling that people will attribute their success back to your business.
For example, we offer a 21 Step Landing Page Audit Checklist that helps you create the highest converting landing page possible. It’s a simple paint by numbers process that helps you create a successful landing page (if you’d like a copy click here to go to our home page and grab your copy now).
#3 The Cheat Sheet
You probably already know that it’s a good idea to write blogs on a regular basis and even better if you can write in-depth blogs because they’ll rank you higher for SEO.
If you write such blogs, it is a good idea to create cheat sheets from these blogs that people can refer to rather than having to remember the blog content and create their own to-do list.
This type of resource takes the pressure off the reader and it compels readers to opt-in to your list though which is the ultimate aim – to build your list.
An example of this could be a beautician who gives an in-depth look into the science and process of keeping your skin looking “ten years younger” in a blog. They could then offer the 7-step checklist to skin that looks “10 years younger”. And who wouldn’t want that?
#4 The Workbook
The Workbook is a brilliant lead magnet, especially for service businesses. In its simplest form, a Workbook is a download-and-complete resource that helps people to apply the principles to their own business.
I mentioned our 21 Step Landing Page Audit earlier. This resource doubles as both a checklist and a workbook at the same time. Follow the paint by numbers approach to building successful landing pages.
A Workbook is a perfect steppingstone to your premium products or services, so it’s a good idea to include a strong call to action at the end that clearly tells the reader how you can help them to apply their newfound knowledge.
#5 The Webinar
Webinars are one of our favourite lead magnets. Webinars are an opportunity to engage your audience for 30 minutes, 45 minutes or even up to two hours depending on how engaging the content is.
Having someone’s attention for this period of time helps you to develop authority and trust that would normally take weeks or months in a normal sales process.
Webinars can take countless different formats, and we’ve successfully used the following versions over the past seven years.
- Interview Other Experts
- Present as an Expert on a Niche Subject
- Sales Webinar
- Evergreen Sales Funnel Webinar
Each one serves a different purpose; however, they are all brilliant lead magnets, in fact, we would say these webinar formats are the best lead magnet ideas to build your list in any industry.
What makes a webinar a lead magnet?
You’ll invite people to the webinar using their email address, and participants often have a chance to ask questions. This allows you to identify those who speak up during the webinar as potentially hotter leads to follow up with after the webinar ends.
To learn more about how to run successful webinars, check out our blog, Webinars That Convert: Your Ultimate Guide To High Converting Webinars
So, there you have it.
The five best lead magnet ideas to build your list in any industry. Here’ they are again:
- The Short eBook
- The Checklist
- The Cheat Sheet
- The Workbook
- The Webinar
Have fun trying each one and determine what your audience responds to best and then focus more on that form. But keep in mind that a mix will often produce the best list building results.
Good luck!
Rohan James
