The dream of any business owner is an ideal world in which every website visitor makes a purchase immediately after entering the page. The reality is not so pleasant – 96% of the audience does not take the targeted action, and the average conversion rates in the e-commerce industry are just over 1.5%. That is, only 15-16 people out of 1000 who visited the website of the online store will become its customers.
What are the best ways to increase conversions? There are many options, but the most effective of them is the lead magnet. It helps to attract high-quality leads, thanks to which the conversion increases several times. Let’s try to understand how this tool works.
A unique offer that carries value for a potential consumer is a lead magnet, provided that you can use it completely free of charge by providing your contacts to the company.
An interesting free content is often used as a lead magnet: a video or a useful article. Sometimes this role is played by a bonus or discount. At offline points, a potential client is offered a free tasting or samples for testing. In this case, obtaining the visitor’s contacts is not at all necessary, because the interaction between the seller and the potential client occurs automatically.
What is a lead magnet?
Lead magnet is an attractive offer with an obvious benefit for the visitor, which he can get for free if he provides information about himself in return. The lead magnet is the element of the first level of the sales funnel.
The tool makes it possible to attract a potential audience and build trust in the brand, show the user the benefits and a way to solve his problem. Subsequently, you can communicate with already warm customers who are close to the brand and offer the main product or service.
In simple terms, a lead magnet is a test sample of a product that helps:
Get the contact information of the target consumer;
Position it in relation to the product or service being promoted.
It is important to remember that the first level of the sales funnel begins with a lead magnet. Different types of lead magnets are used at different levels of the funnel. If the sales funnel is important to your business, be sure to use one or more lead magnets.
Why is a lead magnet needed and how is it used?
This indispensable assistant to a specialist working in the field of Internet marketing solves several problems. But not everyone can immediately answer the question of why a lead magnet is needed. Using it, you can:
attract leads;
raise conversion;
filter the input data of the database by getting high-quality contacts;
increase the loyalty of new customers.
The most attractive thing for the buyer is that the lead magnet is provided free of charge: it is difficult to find someone who does not like to receive something necessary and interesting for free.
It should be said that the tool does not provide one hundred percent efficiency. Not everyone is willing to provide information about themselves. But this is more of a lead magnet advantage than a disadvantage. After all, you get contacts of a truly interested audience.
The goal of creating a high-quality database can be considered accomplished, because getting a lot of traffic to the site is only half the task.
Important! One potential lead is much more useful than several uninterested consumers in a product or service.
The result of generating 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 database of potential buyers who are part of the advertiser’s target audience). When a lead magnet does not perform this task, it does not work effectively.
Loyalty increase. It is especially important in complex niches where the sale takes place in several stages, and the user thinks for a long time before making a decision. Show your expertise with a free consultation or a trial period and it will be morally easier for the user to order a service from you at full cost.
Introducing the product. Few people are willing to pay money to a business whose product they have not tried before. A lead magnet is a great chance to give potential buyers the opportunity to get to know your brand. Offer them a sample of the product or a free trial period of the service so they can experience all the benefits.
Formation of the target audience. Of course, there will be random people among those who received a lead magnet, but the majority are your target audience. However, you need to work with these people in order to get loyal customers: set up remarketing for them, connect an email newsletter, offer to subscribe to the company’s social networks.
The benefits of using lead magnets
The ability to legally populate a list of email addresses or phone numbers for cold calls, SMS or online mailings. If you are going to launch an email newsletter, do not forget to get users’ consent to the processing of personal data;
Only 6 out of 20 visitors return to the site again, and only one makes a deal at the time of the first visit to the seller’s web resource. Lead magnets provide an opportunity to connect with a future client at the moment of their acquaintance with the product. The sequence is built: lead magnet – cold contact – warm client – purchase;
Having useful content increases the company’s level of expertise in the customer’s view, which facilitates further interaction. For example, after reading the free instructions for operating or connecting a complex device, many do not risk setting up or repairing on their own and are ready to order a paid service. Such a lead magnet helps to attract additional customers.
How to make a lead magnet that works?
The most productive lead magnets combine value with accessibility. As a result, even the most ardent skeptics agree to take advantage of an attractive offer.
The following rules will help to make a lead magnet effective:
Utility is the main property of a magnet, so only by solving a certain problem of the buyer, you can make him your subscriber;
The lead magnet should be relevant to the offer you are planning to make and relevant to your field of activity;
The benefit that the consumer receives must be communicated to him as clearly as possible. Concreteness is an important quality of a lead magnet;
Demonstrate your level of expertise to your audience by providing high-quality content;
The offer must be really valuable – you should not offer what is freely available as a lead magnet;
The quality of the content must be impeccable – texts with a clear structure, logical and accessible, accompanied by infographics and beautifully designed;
If it takes more than a quarter of an hour to study the content, make sure that the entire volume is necessary and of value. Large amounts of information are better perceived if the data is systematized and structured;
To use a lead magnet, the user does not need to have any special knowledge and be well versed in the subject. The idea should be clear;
Providing a lead magnet to a user should happen as soon as possible. Wrong if download link is sent one week after receiving contact details;
Content should encourage the consumer to make a positive decision about the transaction and move to the next levels of the sales funnel.
Tips for creating a high-converting lead magnet
Before you create a lead magnet, it is recommended to do some analysis. First of all, it is necessary to identify 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: Decide on your target audience
Describe your “ideal customer” profile based on market research and customer information already available to the company. You should not try to immediately aim at all segments of the audience, even if your product is universal. The approach should be selective, because the lead magnet works effectively only with target buyers.
Advice! If necessary, the audience can be divided into several segments. For example, the first group will include those who are just getting acquainted with a service or product, and the second group may include potential customers who are at the stage of making a decision about choosing among competing companies. Each segment will require fundamentally different lead magnets.
Step 2: Analyze the pain of the target audience
At the next stage, you need to present yourself as your own buyer and understand what benefits your offer has, how it helps to solve the problems accumulated by a potential client. A good example of a lead magnet is the electronic document templates that accountants, managers, and marketers create manually on a monthly basis.
Step 3: Choose a type of lead magnet
The following types of lead magnets are most often used:
instructions and reports;
test and demo versions of products;
lists of useful resources;
questionnaires, tests, polls and surveys;
checklists;
tutorial videos;
bonuses, special offers and discounts;
selling materials.
Important! Try to convey to the target audience that, using the offer, buyers really quickly and effectively solve a specific problem.
Examples of lead magnets for different niches
The tool is not applicable in every field of activity. Since the action of a lead magnet is most often aimed at shaping the reaction of one person, and not a group of people, it often does not work in the B2B segment. Nevertheless, lead magnet formats are striking in their diversity. Examples of commonly used types are shown below.
Discount
This popular format is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the question of what kind of lead magnets are. Its prevalence in e-commerce is due to its easy launch and obvious efficiency.
In order not to go into the negative, providing discounts to everyone and everyone, you need to come up with a mandatory condition for fulfillment. For example, limit the lower cost per transaction. The iHerb store gives a 15% discount for the first order over $60:
It may not even be a discount as such, but priority access to goods at special prices.
Product as a gift
As the saying goes, even vinegar is sweet for free. But as a gift, you should still offer something that has real value for a potential buyer. For example, food delivery promises a roll for the left email. True, they will send a gift only with the first order. This format is not used as often:
Free consultation
The difficulty of using this type lies in the large amount of work required to understand the essence of the problem of a particular client. An example is a lead magnet from the Adonis network of medical clinics.
The company has developed the offer “Diagnosis of pregnancy up to 10 weeks”, which offers expectant mothers a free first consultation with a gynecologist and ultrasound:
The purpose of the action is to get patients for further support of pregnancy and childbirth.
Checklist
Companies that sell expertise and knowledge can demonstrate their level of experience and skills at the time they meet, helping a potential buyer. Provide him with a checklist that makes it easier to analyze business processes:
Product test period
The future buyer will be convinced that the product is rightfully called good when he tries it. If you are confident in the quality of your product, then let it be tested, as, for example, Netflix did.
It will be easier for potential customers to make a decision and evaluate the opportunities that open up for regular subscribers of the famous online cinema after a free trial period of one month:
Book as a gift
The advantages of this tool include versatility – having developed a lead magnet once, a company can use it without making significant changes and additions for a long time. At the same time, it is easier for a potential subscriber to decide to provide his email, knowing that in return he will purchase a long-term product:
Online course
Free video tutorials and webinars are a popular tool among psychologists, trainers, consultants and representatives of the information business. Many willingly share their contacts in order to be able to get acquainted with the content they are interested in:
Email series with learning materials
Educational projects and information business often take this format as a basis. By regularly sending free lectures or lessons, you involve a potential client more and more, after which there is a very small step before acquiring the main product:
Marathon
The format successfully works in the information business and in services. Marathons of personal growth, weight loss, beauty, desires, etc. are now offered in large numbers. The idea is simple: after going through all the stages of the free marathon, the client will be able to assess the level of the company and decide to continue interacting with you in paid projects or want to buy products of their favorite brand:
If among the many formats you could not find the right one for your business, try modifying one for your purposes or develop your own. The main thing is to provide value to subscribers and get contact information from them.
Summary
The lead magnet is the first and most important level of the sales funnel, which makes it possible to attract more potential customers and increase returns at subsequent levels of the funnel times;
Identify customer pain points that the product can solve. Make sure that the lead magnet helps in solving 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 areas and niches can vary significantly;
Share not what you just don’t mind giving away, but offer something really interesting and of high quality. Target one specific problem, not all issues at once;
Aim for the prospective buyer to receive the lead magnet as soon as possible. It can even be sent in a messenger – Viber, Telegram or WhatsApp;
Create a WOW effect – offer a potential buyer more than he expected;
Remember about further communication, lead the user through the next levels of the sales funnel, first offering an inexpensive, and only then the main product or service.
Create a working lead magnet using our tips and stop losing the 98% of potential buyers who spend the lion’s share of advertising spend on attracting. First, build loyalty and only then sell the main product.
