Are you an entrepreneur who wants to attract as many people as possible to your business? Do you want to grow your revenue? (Silly questions right?) You need lead magnets! Content that builds trust and connects you to people who are interested in what you can offer them.

Lead Magnets Generate New Leads (To Put it Bluntly)

A lead magnet is an offer (usually something free) made to a potential buyer in exchange for their email or other contact information about them. Lead magnets allow you to stand out from the crowd and share your knowledge and expertise, gaining your audience’s trust right when you first interact with them! Whether you are selling a physical product, a program, or a service, sharing something for free will help you build trust, leading to a sale.

What Do You Need For A Successful Lead Magnet?

Simply providing a resource for free isn’t enough, you can lead a horse to water but can’t make them drink, so entice your audience with something they really want!

Make sure your lead magnet will be a hit by:

• Addressing the needs of your customer (What can you specifically provide them?)
• Making sure your lead magnet is in line with what you are selling (Don’t give away shoe laces if you're selling flip-flops.)
• Keeping it simple (Make it easy for them to share their information.)
• Sharing it immediately (When you are offered something, you want it as soon as possible or you lose interest.)
• Understanding the monetary value of a new contact or lead (Don’t invest $5 when $50 will get you more in the long run. Figure this out by deciding how many leads you want to receive from this lead magnet, expect 10% to act and become customers. Now divide the cost of your head magnet by the amount of customers you can likely expect from it - voila, cost per lead!) 
• Focusing your lead magnet to just one topic or item (Leave room to up-sell your audience.)
• Creating something that is easy to consume (Don’t share a 20 minute video when a 2 minute one will do.)
• Having a funnel to engage with your new contact after you’ve connected with them (Not sure what a funnel is? Find out by clicking here!)

6 Effective Lead Magnets

You know the keys of successful a lead magnet, but that might have you asking, “but what does that look like?” -- I’ve got 6 different lead magnets that will work for any entrepreneur!

Guide

Offering a guide is one of the most common and straightforward lead magnets used today. They are common because they work.

Guides can be how-to, where-to, resource collections, or any form of educational text. Your guide needs to be downloadable and printable PDF (so your audience can easily use it but not alter it).

If you’re in an industry full of information you can make a “best of” guide!  Make sure you don’t copy and paste, instead, summarize, add links, and give credit to other businesses (your customers will actually respect you for acknowledging other strong companies in your field).

Cheat Sheet

Everybody appreciates something that can make their life easier-- a cheat sheet does just that for your potential customers! So what can you help your audience “cheat” in their life?

• Can your streamline a process? (Example: the easiest way to make your nighttime schedule relaxing)
• Can you take the guesswork out of something? (Example: The 20 ways you can use *insert product*)

Always be looking to add value to your audience’s life. What’s something that you always struggled with until you changed this one minor aspect;?  Your audience is experiencing the same thing! Make sure to keep your cheat sheet to the point, you should only need one or two pages.

Newsletter

People love to be informed, especially when they don’t have to go digging for the information. With a newsletter you can share a variety of information involving your business and industry. Sharing the latest industry trends, newest products or innovations that your potential customer can benefit from are great things to include in your newsletter.

This lead magnet can actually be recurring, which will consistently refresh your brand’s presence in your customer’s mind.

Discount / Coupon

Who doesn’t love to save money? This lead magnet often works best for a physical product or a recurring customer.

Figuring out just how much to offer may take a few tries because you want the perceived value to be high without devaluing your product (if you have a $100 product but offer it for $10, that seems a little fishy).

Do you want your customer to get 50% off or to save 50%? These are two different mindsets and you should do a few test runs to see which attracts more business. Offering free shipping is another version of a discount as well, showing your customer your willingness to do something for them.

Ebook / Audiobook

An ebook is a great way to share more detailed information. If you are in an industry that requires the customer to consume a lot of information, you can make it easier by giving them a way to digest information over multiple platforms; laptop, tablet, or phone.

An audiobook is a great way to connect with an audience that’s always on the go - they can listen while driving or completing other tasks, showing your audience how much you value their time and your ability to adapt to their needs.

Consultation:

The best way to offer help or explain the benefits of your service is to offer a free consultation. You have the opportunity to offer free advice (as a teaser to the rest of your services) and educate your customer as to what they can expect from you.

A consultation requires the lead to divulge more information about themselves than just their email. Adding a small questionnaire helps you learn more about those interested in you and gives you the opportunity to strengthen your connection to them.

Engagement is an added benefit of a consultation. The more someone engages with you, the stronger the likelihood they will become your customer. Most lead magnets provide a product for just an email. By offering a free consultation you capture not only the email, but vital information about the types of businesses interested in your product, their needs, and what solution they are looking for. In the best scenario you have the opportunity to speak one-on-one and showcase why you are the subject matter expert.

Putting It All Together:

Lead magnets are a great way to engage your potential customers and create a desire to do business with you.

Make sure you keep your freebie focused and in line with your product, keep it simple, easily consumable, and maintain a high perceived value. You may have to try different ideas to see which works best for you and your audience. Stick with it and you will achieve results, increase your brand’s recognition and drive sales!

Need help thinking of the killer lead magnet for your business! Hop into our free Online Entrepreneur community (click here to join!) and ask away!