Leads, or contact information of potential customers, are the basis for creating relationships. However, many people are cautious about giving away their email address or phone number for fear of SPAM and intrusive marketing. So it’s worth giving the customer something in return, i.e. applying the so-called lead magnet: what is it and what can be an effective lead magnet?

Lead magnet – what is it?

Starting from the beginning, a lead magnet is a service or a free product (usually digital) – the customer provides their contact information to access it. This way he gets something useful free of charge, and you can start to build a relationship with him, likely that he will use your offer in the future – this time already paying for the product or service. Once you have acquired a lead , the task for a good salesman begins, that is, so-called lead nurturing, i.e. taking care of the customer in such a way that he will not run away tired of too pushy contact, but will be ready to pay for your products or services.

Types of lead magnets

Of course, for a lead magnet to work, it must have real value for the user. You’ll have a hard time getting customers to leave their contact information in exchange for, say, a generic guide that doesn’t include anything that isn’t available on other sites, and without providing a phone number or email address.

First of all, you need to know who you are creating a lead magnet for: it should not be aimed at users who are seeing your brand for the first time, but rather potential customers who are already considering whether your products or services are worth using. Such solutions are most effective if you are consistently building an image as an expert in the industry – it is better to develop a background of blog articles, video tutorials and testimonials first. The customer should have some basis for thinking that it is worth gaining access to the materials you offer.

What kind of lead magnets are worth creating? They can be divided into several groups:

• Discounts – the simplest type of lead magnets are discount codes sent to customers via email, providing users with a lower price or free shipping, for example.
• Ready-made downloads – e.g. contract template, calculators, editable files, planners.

• Educational content – e.g., e-books, infographics, reports, tutorials, a free book chapter, access to a webinar or video course.

• Contests – customers love contests, as long as there is a valuable prize to be won, of course. However, always remember to make clear contest rules.

• A limited opportunity – such as a preorder of a product awaited by customers, access to a closed Facebook group (as long as the administration is vigilant about keeping posts on topic and the discussion on the level), the opportunity to test a product, receiving free samples.

An effective lead magnet, that is?

Often, just creating a lead magnet takes less time than analyzing customer needs. At least 5 features of an effective lead magnet can be listed:

• Off-the-shelf – the time from the customer providing contact information to receiving a free product or service should be as short as possible, which is why files sent by email work so well.
• It builds the image of a specialist – the bonus should make the customer’s job easier or provide really useful information. If you don’t have the time to prepare reliable materials or outsource it and quality control, it’s better to let go of creating a lead magnet than to disappoint the customer with clickbait. If you are creating a landing page for a lead magnet, exercise restraint in the content promoting your product or service – don’t provide something the customer won’t get and avoid phrases like all the ways, best guide , etc.
• Easy to read – lead magnet is supposed to be content that is simple, easy and pleasant to read. If you are planning to create an e-book of 500 pages, there is little chance that the user will get through it.
• It solves a real problem – knowing your target audience and their needs definitely pays off. The product or service you provide in exchange for contact information should realistically solve the customer’s problem, make their work or daily life easier. One of the worst practices, for example, is to create a tutorial that doesn’t help the customer do anything on their own, but is one big CTA to contact you. The customer feels like he has wasted his time and is likely to quickly unsubscribe from the newsletter and revoke marketing consents.
• Useful NOW – the customer is supposed to reap the benefits here and now, a discount code redeemable in a few months will not pass the test. If a user doesn’t take advantage of a bonus from you immediately, he or she is likely to forget about it quickly, and thus there is little chance that he or she will be willing to pay in the future.

Having trouble getting leads? Have you prepared a lead magnet, but it is not as successful as you expected? I will help you promote it – call or write, I will respond as soon as possible.