Craft a stellar lead magnet to build your list

Last updated on May 14th, 2023 at 10:00 pm

If you landed on this post, the chances are you are aware that lead magnets can be extremely powerful for attracting new leads into your business. 

Maybe you are a course creator who wants to attract and nurture potential students.

Or you are an online coach who wants to attract new people you can ultimately help. 

Either way, a lead magnet can be used in a variety of online businesses to give your audience a taster of the awesome way that you help people. 

What is a lead magnet? 

Put simply, a lead magnet is usually a free offer that your audience can download and use to solve a specific problem. 

🐶 Dog trainers could offer a free puppy equipment checklist for new dog parents preparing to welcome a pooch into their homes. 

💻 SEO experts could offer a free one-page checklist of non-negotiables when writing a blog post. 

💰 Money coaches could offer a set of free printable money mindset cards. 

I could go on and on – you get the idea. Here is one of my lead magnets:

Email Newsletters – the 4 Key Decisions 👇🏼

How can they grow your business? 

Offering a lead magnet is a way of helping people in return for their email addresses. The beauty of this is that you can follow up with them and nurture them so they are ready to buy from you when the time comes. 

They are added to your email list, which is a very important asset within your business. The bigger your list, the more sales you will make. Email is such a lucrative way of selling as you own your list. It’s unlike social media platforms, which can shut your account down and give no reason for it. (Yep been there – I think it was something to do with moving to Malta) 

Lead magnets encourage people to sign up for your list as they are getting something in return. Ten years ago, a simple sign-up form saying ‘join my list’ was enough to get people to sign up, but we need to cut through the noise and business of the online space now. Your lead magnets need to be really good and give your audience a good first experience with you. You can do this by ensuring that your lead magnet helps them solve their problem the easiest way possible. 

How to create lead magnets that will get you conversions.

As I mentioned before, your lead magnets need to solve one specific problem in the easiest way. 

Neil Patel, in his post about lead magnets, suggests looking at Kindle Marketplace for ideas on where to start. If there is a reoccurring theme that people are searching for or a question they keep asking you, this is a great place to start. 

Wendy Maynard views lead magnets as tasters of what you offer as a paid service. So when people think about a certain aspect of their business, they are more likely to think of you as the go-to person to solve it for them. 

Ana Lea believes that lead magnets should lead into your paid offers. They need to prep your audience, so think about where they might be now in terms of knowledge and skills. What could you offer them that is the step before your paid offer? What might they need to learn, be aware of, or need help with? 

Andrew and Kathy from Bluchic think to be highly converting, lead magnets need to address a core problem your audience is having. They suggest reaching out to your audience with a simple poll to ask them what their number 1 struggle is, and then you know you are onto a winner. 

Is there a small problem that you solve for 1:1 clients again and again?

Is there a question that keeps popping up in your group or wherever you see your niche discussed online?

The 5 Elements of an Irresistible Lead Magnet

Let’s recap, so you have some specific takeaways to remember about lead magnets. 

Lead magnets need to solve a specific problem 

• Think about the questions you get asked in your business time and time again. 
• Is there a core problem you see that everyone you work with needs to solve? 
• Are there any pre-problems that people have and need to solve before they work with you?

Lead magnets need to be related to your paid offers

• Work backward from your paid offer and the problem this solves.
• Solve a problem for your audience quickly, and it will remind them that you are the go-to expert to help them. 
• Plan the journey your ideal client will take before they purchase your offer. What problems are related that you could solve for them, so they are ready to work with you? 

Design is really important when creating your lead magnets

It’s well worth investing in a great template if you have the budget. I was lucky enough to have Sidney Eve create and brand mine so that all I have to do is choose which pages I will use and edit the templates with text. Even if you feel you haven’t got the budget, it’s worth doing a quick time calculation as to how much time creating a well-designed lead magnet would take you. 

When I calculated it, it was far cheaper for me to ask Sidney to do it, and she did an awesome job. The best thing is that I can just use the templates again and again within Canva. 

Check out Sidney Eve’s lead magnet templates here – they’re super cute! 👇🏼👇🏼

Give high-value, not just the perception of high-value

If people can’t believe you are offering this kind of stuff for free, they will snap up your freebie because it will be a no-brainer for them. In other blog posts I have read about this topic, people describe it as a perception of high value. But I want to come out and totally disagree with this. In my opinion, you need to risk it and give high value so you are not misleading your audience. It would feel completely misaligned for me to offer something that gave perceived high value, but my audience would be disappointed when they realized it wasn’t as good a solution as they thought. 

Also, if the topic of your lead magnet makes you nervous that you are giving too much away for free, you are generally on the right track with the quality of the content. Be generous with your freebie, and it will be repaid when your leads are ready to work with you. It will also make you feel more joy to be operating within values that you are comfortable with. If you have come this far into the blog post, I’m guessing that you hold integrity, honesty, and transparency dear to your heart, right? 

Give them an easy win with your lead magnet 

• Make your lead magnet as short and as fluff free as possible
• Get a peer or someone who fits your ICA (ideal client avatar) to review it for you so that you are laser-focused on what you are trying to solve for your audience. 

Pick formats that you love doing and make lead magnet creation fun!

Here are some ideas of the formats you could use to create your lead magnets. 

• Worksheet/workbook
• Report or case study 
• Quiz to help them understand what they need to learn next
• Swipe files
• Checklist
• Templates
• Video recordings
• Ebook
• Roadmap
• Prompts
• Cheat sheet
• Email course
• Resource list/toolkit
• Printable
• Audio recordings
• Private podcast episodes

Final thoughts on lead magnets

Lead magnets are a perfect way for you to connect with your audience 24/7 and when they are ready to let you solve their problems. It is a way for you to reach more people and help them in a meaningful way, so they will think of you when they reach out for help.

Which lead magnet sounds like the most fun to create and will serve your audience in the best way?

I can’t wait to see what you create!

Loved this?

Download my free guide, Lead Magnets, the 5 Key Elements summarizing the main points covered here so you can create high-quality, highly-converting lead magnets too! 👇🏼