The dream of every business owner is an ideal world where every website visitor makes a purchase immediately after entering the page. The reality is not so pleasant – 96% of the audience does not make the target action, and the average conversion rate in e-commerce is just over 1.5%. That is, only 15-16 people out of 1,000 who visit an online store’s website will become its customers.
What are the best ways to increase conversion? There are many options, but the most effective one is a lead magnet. It helps to attract high-quality leads, thanks to which the conversion rate increases several times. Let’s try to understand how this tool works.
A unique offer that carries value for a potential customer is a lead magnet, provided that you can use it for free by providing your contacts to the company.
Interesting free content is often used as a lead magnet: a video or a useful article. Sometimes a bonus or discount acts in this role. In offline outlets, a potential client is offered a free tasting or samples for testing. In this case, getting the visitor’s contacts is not necessary at all, because the salesperson-potential customer interaction is automatic.
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A lead magnet is an attractive offer with an obvious benefit that a visitor can receive for free if they provide information about themselves in return. A lead magnet is an element of the first level of the sales funnel.
The tool gives an opportunity to attract potential audience and build trust in the brand, show the user the benefits and the way to solve their problem. Later it is possible to communicate with already warm customers, who are located to the brand, and offer the main product or service.
In simple words, a lead magnet is a test sample of a product that helps to:
Get the contact information of the target consumer;
Position him/her in relation to the promoted product or service.
It is important to remember that the first level of the sales funnel starts with the lead magnet. Different types of lead magnets are used at different levels of the funnel. If the sales funnel is important to your business, then make sure you use one or more lead magnets.
Why do you need a lead magnet and how is it used?
This indispensable assistant of a specialist working in the field of Internet marketing, solves several tasks. But not everyone can immediately answer the question, for what a lead magnet is needed. By using it, you can:
attract leads;
increase conversion rates;
filter the input data base by getting quality contacts;
increase the loyalty of new customers.
The most attractive for the customer is that the lead magnet is provided for free: it is hard to find someone who does not like to receive something necessary and interesting on a gratuitous basis.
It should be said that the tool does not provide a hundred percent efficiency. Not everyone is ready to provide information about themselves. But this is more of an advantage of the lead magnet than a disadvantage. After all, you get contacts of a truly interested audience.
The goal of forming a quality database can be considered accomplished, because getting a lot of traffic to the site is only half the task.
Important! One potentially ready for a deal lead is much more useful than several consumers who are not interested in a product or service.
The result of attracting useful leads is almost always an increase in conversion to purchase.
What tasks does a lead magnet perform?
Among the main tasks of this tool:
Lead generation. The direct and main function of a lead magnet is lead generation (the process of collecting a base of potential buyers who are part of the advertiser’s target audience). When a lead magnet does not fulfill this task – it does not work effectively.
Increasing loyalty. Especially important in complex niches, where the sale happens in several stages and the user thinks for a long time before making a decision. Show your expertise with a free consultation or trial period and it will be morally easier for the user to order your service at full price.
Product Familiarization. Few people are willing to pay money to a business whose product they haven’t tried before. A lead magnet is a great chance to give potential customers a chance to familiarize themselves with the brand. Offer them a product sample or a free test period of a service so they can evaluate all the benefits.
Formation of the target audience. Of course, there will be random people among those who received a lead magnet, but most of them are your target audience. However, you need to work with these people to get loyal customers: set up remarketing on them, connect email newsletters, offer to subscribe to the company’s social networks.
Advantages of using lead magnets
Ability to legally populate a list of email addresses or phone numbers for cold calls, SMS or internet mailings. If you are going to launch an email newsletter, don’t forget to get users’ consent to process personal data;
Only 6 out of 20 visitors return to the site repeatedly and only one concludes a deal at the moment of the first visit to the web-resource of the seller. Lead magnets provide an opportunity to establish a connection with the future customer at the moment of his acquaintance with the product. A sequence is built: lead magnet – cold contact – warm customer – purchase;
The presence of useful content increases the level of expertise of the company in representing the client, which promotes further interaction. For example, having familiarized themselves with a free instruction on operating or connecting a complex device, many people do not risk performing setup or repair on their own and are ready to order a paid service. Such a lead magnet helps to attract additional customers.
What types of lead magnets are there?
Informational. This can be a case study, a brochure, a guide, a statistical summary, a checklist, a video lesson. Also popular are compilations in a “top of the best” format (e.g., “Top 5 top mistakes of a beginner in…”). Such lead magnets provide the audience with valuable and applicable knowledge, demonstrating the brand’s expertise. In addition, by receiving quality free content, the potential customer is convinced that the company has enough expertise to solve their problems.
Practical. Their main purpose is to give a person a tangible positive effect immediately after learning the material. Good examples are step-by-step checklists, guides, document templates, etc. Such lead magnets are ideal for quickly closing point needs of the target audience.
Educational. This includes materials that demonstrate your expertise in your field – how-to guides, guides, tutorials, e-books, podcasts, closed webinars or mini-courses. Only subscribers can access them, which increases their value in the eyes of the audience.
Entertaining. Their task is to evoke positive emotions in the audience, to motivate and inspire them to take a targeted action. Examples include marathons, tests and quizzes, quests, themed games, and colorful infographics. This option engages users well and unobtrusively familiarizes them with the brand. However, it’s important to strike a balance so that entertainment doesn’t crowd out value.
Social. They are aimed at forming a loyal community around the brand. Audiences are invited to join a closed club, community or join a loyalty program. This gives people a sense of belonging and importance, encouraging them to take further steps in the sales funnel. Most importantly, keep the community you’ve created active and valuable.
Pre-sales. These are built into the funnel just before the sales stage and contain basic information about the product. They can be completely free audits, personal consultations, certificates with a discount on the purchase. Such an option is great for dealing with the objections of potential customers and pushing them to pay.
How to make a lead magnet that works?
To develop an attractive lead magnet that still provides value to the user, consider the following nuances:
Benefits. Analyze the “pains” of your target audience – what they care about, what their wants and needs are. Only by offering really useful content will you be able to attract attention and interest people. For example, if you are a trainer – make an optimal training plan for weight loss. The video editor can offer free lessons on the basics of editing and video processing.
Concreteness and practicality. Your lead magnet should provide a solution to a tangible problem. Abstract reasoning doesn’t work. Put yourself in the client’s shoes and determine what kind of finished result he wants to get. For example, a guide “How to get into twine in 30 days” from a stretching coach will be much more effective than general advice on developing flexibility.
Demonstration of expertise. A lead magnet should not just provide useful information, but also show you as a professional in your field. High-quality, expert content directly reflects the level of service you provide. Make the potential client think: “If this quality is available for free, what’s in it for the money?”. As an example – a specialist in targeted advertising can offer as a lead magnet a guide to setting up a social media advertising campaign with real cases.
Simplicity and accessibility. Even the coolest and most expert content will be useless if it cannot be properly studied. Choose popular and simple formats that do not require too much effort from the user. For example, a clear, colorful pdf manual instead of a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Make sure you are clear and avoid complicated terms. Your task is to make it as easy as possible for the client to digest the information.
Visual appeal. A lead magnet is, among other things, a business card. Its appearance directly affects the first impression of a potential customer about you and your brand. Take care of the visual component: the design should look modern and neat, but without excesses. Quality design, together with useful content, significantly increases conversion rates.
Instant accessibility. Receiving any lead magnet must be simple and fast for the user. The ideal option – when the desired content comes to the email immediately after entering the contact information. Don’t complicate the process with unnecessary registrations, forms and checks – the more obstacles, the higher the probability that a person will abandon the download halfway through. In addition, be sure to test the technical part – links should work and files should be easy to open.
Timeliness. The “here and now” principle is critical here. Promised content should be delivered to the user immediately, not days later. Delays don’t just reduce conversion rates, they are bad for brand reputation.
Brevity. A lead magnet should be capacious and compact – a user simply won’t spend more than 15-20 minutes studying it. Choose concise formats – infographics, a short brochure, an hour-long webinar or a video lesson. The main thing is that the content should be as useful, interesting and well-structured as possible. This approach will not only increase audience engagement, but will also save your efforts.
Uniqueness. The web is full of identical “magnets”, so template materials are unlikely to impress the audience. Try to offer truly original and fresh content that is difficult to find in open sources or from competitors. This will increase the value of the offer in the eyes of future customers and ensure an increase in conversions.
Call to Action. Don’t forget that the ultimate goal is to make a sale. Therefore, intelligently integrate information about paid offers into your content with a call to action. For example, at the end of a useful brochure, talk about your specialized training course at a discount. Or after a series of free photography tutorials, offer a full training course. This approach allows you to unobtrusively introduce your audience to your products and drive sales.
Tips for creating a high-converting lead magnet
Before creating a lead magnet, it is recommended to analyze it. First of all, it is necessary to outline the purpose of using this tool and determine how exactly it can help the business. Only after that you can start developing a lead magnet.
Step 1: Define your target audience
Describe a portrait of your “ideal customer” based on market research and consumer information already available in the company. You should not try to target all audience segments at once, even if your product is universal. The approach should be selective, because a lead magnet only works effectively with target customers.
Tip! If necessary, the audience can be divided into several segments. For example, the first group will include those who are just getting acquainted with the service or product, and the second group may include potential clients who are at the stage of making a decision to choose among competing companies. Each segment will require fundamentally different lead magnets.
Step 2: Analyze the pain points of your target audience
The next step is to visualize yourself as your own customer and understand what benefits your offer has, how it helps solve the potential customer’s accumulated problems. A good example of a lead magnet is the email document templates that accountants, managers and marketers generate manually every month.
Step 3: Choose a type of lead magnet
The following types of lead magnets are most commonly used:
instructions and reports;
test and demo versions of products;
lists of useful resources;
questionnaires, tests, polls and surveys;
checklists;
training videos;
bonuses, special offers and discounts;
sales materials.
Important! Try to convey to your target audience that by taking advantage of the offer, buyers really solve a specific problem quickly and effectively.
Examples of lead magnets for different niches
The tool is not applicable in every sphere of activity. Since the action of a lead magnet is most often aimed at forming the reaction of one person, not a group of people, it often doesn’t work in the B2B segment. Nevertheless, the formats of lead magnets are amazingly diverse. Examples of commonly used types are listed below.
Discount
This popular format is probably the first thing that comes to mind when the question of what lead magnets are. Its prevalence in e-commerce is due to its easy launch and obvious effectiveness.
In order not to lose money by giving discounts to everyone, you need to come up with a mandatory condition to fulfill. For example, limit the lower value of one transaction. The iHerb store gives a 15% discount on the first order of $60 or more:
The result may not even be a discount per se, but priority access to products at special prices.
Goods as a gift
As the saying goes, even vinegar is sweet for free. But as a gift, you should still offer something of real value to a potential customer. For example, food delivery promises a roll for an email. However, the gift will be sent only with the first order. This format is not used that often:
Free consultation
The difficulty in applying this type is the large amount of labor required to understand the essence of a certain client’s problem. An example is a lead magnet from the Adonis chain of medical clinics.
The company has developed the offer “Pregnancy Diagnostics up to 10 weeks”, which offers future moms a free first gynecologist consultation and ultrasound:
The aim of the promotion is to get patients for further support of pregnancy and childbirth.
Checklist
Selling expertise and knowledge companies can demonstrate their level of experience and skills at the moment of introduction by assisting the potential buyer. Provide him with a checklist that makes it easy to analyze business processes:
Test period of using the product
A prospective customer will be convinced that a product is rightfully called good when they try it. If you are confident in the quality of your product, then let them test it, as, for example, Netflix did.
Potential customers will find it easier to make a decision and appreciate the opportunities open to regular subscribers of the famous online movie theater after a free test period of one month:
Book as a gift
The advantages of this tool include its versatility – having developed a lead magnet once, a company can use it without making significant changes and additions for a long time. In this case, it is easier for a potential subscriber to decide to provide his email, knowing that in return he will buy a long-lasting product:
How many calls and sales will I get by ordering contextual advertising from you?
Free video tutorials and webinars are a popular tool among psychologists, coaches, counselors, and information businesses. Many are eager to share their contacts to get exposure to content of interest:
A series of emails with training materials
Educational projects and infobusinesses often use this format as a basis. By regularly sending free lectures or lessons, you engage the potential customer more and more, after which there is only a small step left before the purchase of the main product:
Marathon
The format works successfully in infobusiness and services. Marathons of personal growth, weight loss, beauty, desires, etc. are now offered in large numbers. The idea is simple: after passing all the stages of a free marathon, the client will be able to assess the level of the company and will decide to continue interaction with you in paid projects or will want to buy products of a favorite brand:
If among the many formats you couldn’t find the right one for your business, try to modify some for your own purposes or develop your own. The key is to provide value to your subscribers and get their contact information.
Guide (instructions)
The main rule when creating a guide is to make it as clear, structured and practical as possible. Your task is to give a person a clear algorithm of actions, following which they are guaranteed to get the desired result.
The format of the guide can be different depending on the specifics of your niche. A “5 easy steps to…”, a visual roadmap, a step-by-step script, a ready-made sales script or a detailed checklist will work here. The main thing is that the guide should remain valuable and demonstrate your expertise in your business.
Guides work well in almost any niche:
For internet marketers, it can be a step-by-step plan for launching an effective advertising campaign;
For fitness trainers – a detailed training program for weight loss;
For psychologists – a practical guide to combat stress or improve self-esteem;
For beauty masters – step-by-step instructions on how to create a fashionable makeup or styling.
The power of guides is that they do not just provide information, but also show the way to its practical application. And this is exactly what most potential clients need. After getting a real result from your instructions, people will be ready to turn to you for paid services or products.
Prize drawings
The mechanics is simple – users are offered to perform a targeted action (subscribe to a newsletter, join a community, make a repost) and get a chance to win a valuable prize.
Your products or services, certificates, branded products can be used as prizes. The main thing is that the prizes should be really desirable and valuable. This will increase people’s motivation to participate.
When conducting raffles, it is important to follow a few rules:
The conditions for participation should be as simple and transparent as possible. Ideally, if a person is only required to sign up for a newsletter or account.
Provide a clear timeline for the drawing and the winners. It can be a quick contest with instant summarization of the results, or a longer one with a designated drawing date.
Be sure to prepare consolation prizes or bonuses for all participants. For example, a promo code for a discount or a free service. This will not only help to retain the loyalty of the audience, but also stimulate sales.
Yes, the organization of raffles may require certain costs. But with a competent approach, they are more than recouped by the growth of the subscriber base, recognition and sales.
Lists of useful tools (services)
This is a great lead magnet option for companies working in IT, marketing, design, copywriting, etc. The idea is to share with your audience a selection of useful services and tools that will help them speed up and optimize their work on certain tasks.
You can organize such a selection in the form of a structured file or an interactive checklist with brief overviews of each tool. The main thing is that the list should really make life easier for users and save their time searching for the necessary solutions.
By the way, your own paid solutions can be organically built into such a lead magnet. For example, copywriting exchanges often offer their services for checking the uniqueness of texts with a limited limit of free checks in their free tool lists. To remove restrictions, users are offered to register or pay for full access.
Webinar or lecture recording
The secret of their success is simple – you immediately give the audience valuable information, demonstrate your expertise and establish direct contact with potential customers.
This format is universal and suitable for most niches:
Psychologists and coaches can conduct a webinar on “5 Techniques for Dealing with Stress” and then offer participants a recording of a more in-depth course or personal counseling.
Internet marketers can analyze live the strengths and weaknesses of participants’ websites and give recommendations for improvement. And at the end – to present their services on complex promotion.
Fitness trainers can hold a master class on healthy eating and then invite participants to their online training program at a discount.
The standard way of working is as follows: a user registers for a free webinar, leaving their contact details. During the online meeting, you share with the audience useful knowledge on your topic, answer questions. And at the end, you offer participants special conditions for the purchase of your main product or service – a personalized discount, bonuses or extended warranty.
When creating webinars, it’s important to keep a few things in mind:
Content should be as useful and practical as possible for the target audience.
Do not overload participants with unnecessary information – focus on the main things.
Follow the time limit – the optimal duration of the webinar is 1-1.5 hours.
Training video
This format is especially effective for niches where a visual demonstration of expertise is important. Unlike textual materials, video content is perceived by the audience as more valuable and allows them to literally “feel” the result of using a product or service.
Training videos can be used in almost any niche:
Fitness platforms can provide a series of short workouts for different muscle groups or fitness levels;
Cooking classes – a step-by-step video recipe from a paid selection;
Dance studios – video recording of a master class on learning a particular ligament or element;
Appliance repair services – an instructional video on how to assemble a laptop or install software on your own.
The main advantage of the video is that it gives the audience a real result already at the stage of viewing. A person can immediately put the acquired knowledge into practice and assess the quality of the content. And thus – will be more loyal to paid offers in the future.
Ready-made template
No one likes routine tasks that take up a lot of time. Simplify the life of your potential customers – and they will be grateful to you! Various templates and forms work great as a lead magnet, which you can simply download and adapt to your needs.
Depending on the niche, these can be:
Ready-made Excel spreadsheets with customized formulas and charts for analysts and marketers;
Model contracts and reporting forms for lawyers and accountants;
HTML templates for email marketers and mailing list specialists;
Basic website and lendings templates for web designers.
To increase the value of such a lead magnet, attach to the template a detailed instruction on how to use and edit it. The main thing – that the adaptation for specific tasks takes the user a minimum of time and effort.
Access to a closed group
Invitation to a closed community works on the same principle as free temporary access to a paid service. But participation in an exclusive group is perceived by the audience as more valuable and prestigious.
If the community is an addition to your main products, you can give access forever. If membership in the club is an independent service, it makes sense to give free or conditionally free access for a limited period. For example, a month in a closed Telegram channel with exclusive information and expert support.
Tests
People love to learn something new about themselves. And a well-designed test can not only entertain the user, but also unobtrusively encourage him to think about the need to buy a product. Having passed the test, a person gets an objective “confirmation” of his guesses and is ready to move on to active actions.
When creating a test, adhere to the following recommendations:
Choose an intriguing title that in itself motivates you to take the test. For example, “Find out if your advertising works” or “What learning style is right for your child?”.
Make test results as personalized as possible. Use the user’s answers to give them personalized recommendations and valuable advice.
Ask for contacts at the end of the test to send detailed results. The person has already invested time and effort, so will willingly share the email.
Add repost buttons on social media. People like to share interesting results with their friends, which will help in organic distribution of the lead magnet.
What action can you give a lead magnet for?
Providing contact information. You offer the user valuable material in exchange for their name and email. In this way you can gradually build up a base of leads, which can then be converted into real customers by setting up a mailing list or remarketing on them.
Feedback. A great option for those who are just starting a business and have not yet acquired a solid portfolio. Offer your clients a gift for a detailed review of cooperation with you.
Subscribe to a social media account. For subscribing to a group, you can offer access to closed content or exclusive promotions. The main thing is to keep your community active in order to retain the attracted audience.
Repost. Ask users to share your post, landing page or other material in their social networks, and offer a useful bonus in exchange.
Mobile app installation. As a bonus for installation, you can provide a free trial period or extended functionality. This way you will increase the number of active users and will be able to keep in touch with them via push notifications.
Summary
Lead magnet is the first and important level of the sales funnel, which gives you the opportunity to attract more leads and increase the return on subsequent levels of the funnel times;
Identify customer pains that the product can solve. Make the lead magnet help solve the most important one;
Determine the appropriate format based on the characteristics of your audience. The effectiveness of the same types of lead magnets in different spheres and niches can differ significantly;
Share not what you just can’t spare, but offer something really interesting and of high quality. Target one specific problem, not all issues at once;
Aim for the future customer to receive a lead magnet in the shortest possible time. It can be sent even in a messenger – Viber, Telegram or WhatsApp;
Create a WOW-effect – offer the potential customer more than he/she expected;
Remember about further communication, lead the user through the next levels of the sales funnel, offering a low-cost product or service first and then the main one.
Create a working lead magnet, using our tips, and stop losing 98% of potential buyers, to attract which the lion’s share of advertising costs. Build loyalty first and only then sell the main product.
