Building an email database from scratch is tough. You can place a sign up form on your website relatively easily, but getting your website visitors to sign up can be more of a challenge. Particularly if you’re not giving them a compelling enough reason to subscribe. That’s where you need to think about giving them something of value. But what will your audience appreciate in return for their email address? Here’s some lead magnet examples that could work for you.
What is a lead magnet and why do I need one?
A lead magnet is typically something you give away for free in return for an email address. You may have seen pop ups on websites (including this one) that offer a freebie when you sign up to a mailing list. Ecommerce sites often offer a discount off your first order to incentivise the sign up. This is their lead magnet. The discount means you’re more likely to give them your email address which they can use to promote their products to you in the future. You get something of value, something that you want or need, and they get your email address and (hopefully) future business.
You don’t necessarily need a lead magnet to encourage people to sign up to a mailing list. Lots of lists have been built by just demonstrating the value that their newsletter brings to its readers. So rather than just saying ‘Sign up to our newsletter’, you need to tell them why they should. What benefits will they get from receiving it?
This can still be a tough sell, particular if you haven’t put too much thought into your value proposition at this stage and how your emails will serve your audience. It can also be difficult if you only intend to use email for promotional messages as no one really wants to be bombarded with sales emails unless there’s something that benefits them, like exclusive discounts.
So this is where lead magnets come in. Lead magnets offer a way to entice people to sign up to your mailing list by offering something they’d genuinely be interested in. You can have more than one lead magnet offering different content or incentives and use this to segment your audience and create more tailored content for them.
Examples of lead magnets
Lead magnets come in various formats, so here’s 12 ideas to get you inspired and get those cogs turning!
#1: Discount
As mentioned above, this one’s used by ecommerce websites a lot to incentivise, not just an email subscription, but also the first purchase, so it has multiple benefits. It’s not always appropriate for non-retail businesses and you need to consider whether discounting is the right strategy for you.
#2: Video series
Offer your visitors a series of videos that will educate and inform them on a particular topic. The content here is crucial. It must solve a problem they know they have.
#3: Whitepaper/Report
An alternative to video, is providing content in written format as a downloadable PDF. Again, the content needs to resonate with your audience and be information that they need to help them do their job better.
#4: E-book
More in-depth than a whitepaper, an e-book provides an excellent opportunity for you to showcase your knowledge and expertise. E-books are relatively cheap to produce, it’s just a matter of investing your time to write it.
#5: Webinar
Live or recorded, webinars usually teach the audience something or inspire them in some way. Webinars could be about learning a new skill or listening to an interview with a successful entrepreneur. The important thing is that it should be interesting to your target audience.
#6: Templates & Swipe files
Make your customer’s life easier by providing downloadable templates (or swipe files) so they can follow the exact process you recommend. Used a lot for marketing purposes, swipe files include email templates, sales page content outlines and ad copy that can be tweaked for each business.
#7: Checklist
Simple and easy to produce – a checklist provides a useful resource for your audience too. If you’re a website designer, having a ‘website brief’ checklist. If you’re an estate agent, have a ‘moving house’ checklist. If you’re a wedding venue, have a wedding checklist.
#8: Quizzes & Surveys
Great for finding out more about your audience, quizzes and surveys are much more interactive and will likely get a better quality of lead if they’re designed strategically. Make sure your quizzes and surveys are highly relevant to what you do.
#9: Free consultation
This can be applicable to many B2B businesses (and you may already be offering this), but having something on your website that offers a free initial consultation when they sign up can be a great way to get your foot in the door with a new prospect, just remember to set boundaries and time limits and value your time.
#10: Competition
Entry into a prize draw can be a simple way to attract new sign ups, however, be sure to make the prize highly relevant to what you do so that the audience you build is highly relevant and more likely to buy from you in the future.
#11: Courses
Short courses and educational content offer something of value to your audience and also let you showcase your expertise. They can be time intensive to create and you may be concerned about giving too much information away for free, so consider focusing in giving away the first lesson for free or perhaps a mini course (max 1 hour long) that leads into your paid course.
#12: Special offer
Exclusive deals, discounts, added benefits, limited time offers can all make good lead magnets, particularly for B2C and retail businesses. As with discounting, you need to consider your strategy and whether this is right for your business.
Which lead magnet is right for you
This will depend on your products and services, your audience, your industry, your skillset and how much time or budget you have to create your lead magnets. Be clear on who you are targeting. Think about the “pains” your customers have and how you can go some way to relieve those pains with your lead magnet. The key to making any lead magnet successful is to make is truly useful and of value to your audience.
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