What is a Lead Magnet. . . Why Do You Need One?

Any marketer who’s been trying to build a successful online business knows the importance of building a list. Successful marketers also know that building a list of enthusiastic subscribers is the road to success.

That’s where lead magnets enter the stage. Lead magnets are used for building a list, gaining trust, and providing value. Lead magnets turn potential customers into actual buyers.

What is a Lead Magnet?

No doubt you’ve come across sites where you’re offered a free report with information you’re looking for. You just enter your name and email address in the form provided and the report will be sent to you at no cost.

This is a mutually beneficial exchange; a win-win, if you will. You get the report and the marketer gets your email so that they can follow up with you, gain your trust, and persuade you to buy their products.

This happens in the offline world too. When walking through a grocery store you see store personnel offering samples of the latest ice-cream or cookies, or whatever the company is promoting.

In a way, these are lead magnets too. By tasting a sample of the product, you may be tempted to buy a tub of ice-cream or a bag of cookies. That’s the point… try before you buy.

In the same way, a lead magnet will give your potential customer a taste of what you have to offer. If you do it right, your lead magnets will deliver so much value that your subscriber will be transformed into a loyal customer.

You want your customer to conclude if you’re giving away so much value for free, what you’re selling definitely has to be awesome. Right? Of course!

Here are some of the benefits of giving away lead magnets:

You Provide Value Upfront

The online world is a very skeptical one. Before people are willing to part with their money and purchase your products, they want to see what you have to offer. The lead magnet leads the way to you, your business, and your products.

Lead magnets serve as a sneak peek to allay their fears or concerns that they’ll not be wasting their time or money with you. So, your lead magnet has to provide a ton of value to convince the reader that your products are great and they’re missing out by not getting the “full product.”

They Build Trust

The lead magnet is downloaded and the reader actually peruses the content to see what you have to say. If you’ve done a good job, they’ll see you as an authority because the lead magnet provides value. They’ll begin to trust you and be more receptive to what you’re offering.

Helps You Build a List

Every marketer who wants to build a successful business knows building a list is crucial. Hence, the expression you hear all the time, “The money is in the list.”

That’s very true and lead magnets will help you to build a list faster. The free report you’re giving away will act as an inducement. It will tempt more people to give you their contact info in exchange for what you are offering for free in return.

Qualifies Your Audience

People who take that extra step to enter their name and email for your free gift are often more interested in what you have to offer rather than tire kickers and casual visitors. You can focus your marketing efforts on the list that you build through the use of your lead magnets.

These are people who have an interest and show that interest when they take the action of filling out the opt-in form and downloading your lead magnet.

Converts Visitors Into Buyers

Lead magnets that are well-positioned will have links that go to your offers. Once a person gets your lead magnet, they go from being a cold prospect to a lukewarm one.

A good lead magnet will gently lead them to your offers and your sales copy will turn them into hot buyers and get you the sales. That’s generally how it works, and it all starts with a lead magnet to take them down this path.

Come in All Shapes and Sizes

A lead magnet could be a free report, an email series, a free consultation, a no-cost webinar, a checklist, a video series, a discount coupon, free trials, and much more.

The goal of any lead magnet is to give the subscriber a taste of what you have to offer; it has to be so impressive or tempting that it makes them want to buy what you’re selling.

The only way to do this is to deliver massive value. They will happily open their wallet and fork out money because they don’t want to pass up on an offer that’s too good to pass up.

What Makes a Good Lead Magnet?

In order for your lead magnet to perform well, it needs to meet certain criteria. Let’s look at some of the key points you can’t afford to miss.

Relevance

The lead magnet must be highly relevant to what you’re selling. If it’s a weight loss product, your offer may be a set of 4 videos of fat burning exercises. If you’re selling a dog training course, your offer could be a series of emails that teach dog obedience training.

Whatever the case may be, your free offer must be on topic and relate to what you’re selling. Your lead magnet and your product must be in sync; you are leading them to your product. That is the key to a successful lead magnet; how you transform a prospect into a buyer.

Easy to Digest

The lead magnet has to be easily digestible. Provide value but do so in a short and concise manner. If you can say something in two words, don’t use three. It’s important to keep it short.

For whatever the reason, people have a short attention span these days. While many will read your report, some will just give it a cursory glance. Therefore, it’s important that you stay on topic; you don’t want to lose them because of boredom or some other distraction.

And, believe me, there are plenty of distractions out there just waiting to draw their attention. Keep your content short and sweet but deliver so much value that they’ll want to sit up and take notice.

Improve Your Opt-In Page to Improve Conversions

If for every 100 visitors who view your opt-in page only 1 visitor downloads the lead magnet, then your conversion rate is abysmal. If no one downloads your lead magnet then it won’t matter how well prepared it is. It won’t matter how interesting it is. It just won’t matter at all.

In order to capture the reader’s email, the opt-in page needs to have a great headline and a strong call to action. This is so important when it comes to tempting the visitor to claim the lead magnet. Split-test your opt-in page over and over and always strive to improve conversions.

In this way, you’ll build a list faster and more people will get access to your lead magnets. That will translate into more sales and higher profits.

Conclusion

Now that you know the importance of having lead magnets, do get one created and have an attractive and highly persuasive opt-in page to boost your conversions. Lead magnets are one of the most effective lead generation strategies on the planet and you’ll definitely want a few in your business.

When you’re finished reading this post and the other related articles, head on over to “19 Ideas for Killer Lead Magnets” by Pam Neely. She has some great ideas for what you can use as a lead magnet. She also talks about what you shouldn’t do.

Like Zig Ziglar said, “You’re out of business if you don’t have a prospect.” So, get started today and use your lead magnets to get as many prospects and customers as you can.