What is Lead Magnet?

A lead magnet solves the problem of website visitors who are interested but not ready to buy. Without a lead magnet, the choice for a visitor is binary: contact you now, or leave. Most visitors are somewhere in the middle, curious, doing research, not yet at a decision point. A lead magnet captures them before they disappear.

The most effective lead magnets are specific, immediately useful, and relevant to the purchase decision the visitor will eventually make. A web design agency's lead magnet of "Download our guide to 50 website design trends" attracts people interested in design trends, not necessarily people who want to hire a web designer. A better lead magnet is "Free website audit: find out exactly what's holding your site back", it attracts people who already have a website that is not performing, which is precisely the audience who would then hire you to fix or replace it.

Lead magnet formats include: downloadable PDFs (guides, checklists, templates), free consultations or audits (a service rendered before purchase), mini email courses (drip-delivered content over a few days), webinars or video training, calculators or assessment tools, and free samples or trials (for product businesses).

The lead magnet should feed naturally into your main offer. If someone downloads your "7-step checklist for a high-converting coaching website" and finds 4 of the 7 items are things they cannot do themselves, the natural next step is to hire someone who can. That is the journey the lead magnet is designed to create.

Delivering the lead magnet via email (rather than instant download) keeps the subscriber on your list even if they do not immediately use the resource. It also creates the opportunity to follow up with relevant content that moves them toward becoming a client.

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