You need to build a subscriber base and potential customers without offering expensive incentives that can strain your budget. In your search for a solution, you probably came across the concept of a lead magnet (otherwise, why would you be reading this article, right?).
According to research , nearly 53% of entrepreneurs use lead magnets to generate leads, and 44.3% reported that this method brings the best ROI. So engineer database if you haven’t yet incorporated this approach into your lead generation strategy, now might be a good time to give it a try.
In this article, we’ll explain what a lead magnet is in marketing, look at the types of content it can include, discuss how to create one, when to offer one, and more. We’ll also show you how to promote your existing valuable content in a way that leads to conversions without a significant investment.
Types of Lead Magnets and How to Choose the Right One
The meaning of a lead magnet is already in the name. The principle is simple: you offer your website visitors something valuable for free. The catch? They share their contact information with you, most often an email and phone number. Your offer can include discounts and free shipping to interesting downloadable materials. We’ll focus on the latter.
For a lead magnet to be useful to both you and your audience, it needs to fit seamlessly into the customer journey. This impacts its content and format. Research shows that respondents prefer different types of content at different stages of the purchase funnel:
| Customer Funnel Stages | Types of Content Consumers Need
(in order of demand) |
| Awareness
(people are looking for information about a product/service) |
|
| Consideration
(potential clients need evidence to support a specific proposal) |
|
| Making a decision
(potential buyers need guarantees) |
|
Note that during the decision stage, potential buyers focus more on testimonials and case studies, as they are looking for social proof. However, it is best not to restrict access to these materials as subscription content. Interested buyers should have free access. Instead, you can use case studies and testimonials to enhance other content, such as eBooks.
By offering lead magnets with content that matches the needs of customers at each stage of the buying journey, you help them gain information and move more successfully to the next step. Now that we understand which lead magnet formats are worth highlighting, we can examine them in more detail.
E-books
When you think about what a lead magnet is, an ebook is probably the first thing that comes to mind. Ebooks are a cornerstone of lead generation strategies for good reason. They offer a significant amount of valuable information in exchange for contact information, making them very effective at generating leads.
Benefits of Lead Magnets: Ebooks allow you to dive deeper into a specific topic, demonstrating your expertise and providing immense value to your audience. This rich content positions you as an authority in your industry, building trust and credibility. Plus, ebooks are versatile assets that can be transformed into blog posts, social media content, and even webinars, expanding their impact.
Best Practices: To maximize the effectiveness of your ebook as a lead magnet, focus on the following:
- Create content that directly addresses the problems and desires of your target audience.
- Selecting a specific, well-defined topic and providing comprehensive, practical information.
- Invest in professional design to create a visually appealing and engaging reading experience.
If you want to learn more about creating ebooks, you can find valuable tips on lead magnets in this article .
Checklists
Unlike lengthy e-books, checklists are more concise. They help users navigate a topic or issue. They usually serve as guides that simplify the understanding of complex processes. Using them, a person can successfully achieve a certain goal. An example is the checklist from SEO Buddy.
Advantages: This content is short, so it takes less time to create. It focuses on the practical side of the issue and encourages users to take real action, which many consumers may find useful.
Lead Magnet Best Practices: Consider the following tips to create an effective checklist:
- Create a step-by-step description of the process.
- Please point out any points or common problems.
- Make it visually appealing and easy to understand.
Webinars
Webinars are the most interactive form of lead magnet, as they involve real-time communication with your target audience. However, recordings of interesting online events can be just as attractive to consumers. According to a survey , webinars are gated usa data content, for which 64% of respondents are willing to share their contact information.
Try this template
Benefits: Interesting and useful webinars keep viewers actively engaged. During the Q&A session, you can get valuable insights from your audience. Moreover, such online events are a great opportunity to build trust in the speaker and the company they represent.
Best Practices: To use webinars as a lead magnet, consider the following:
- Identify your audience’s pain points and offer solutions. Provide unique value that competitors cannot replicate.
- Emphasize the benefits of participation and what participants will learn.
- Ask only for necessary information when registering. A complicated form may discourage registration.
Free Trials
Free trials are a good lead magnet because users prefer not to buy a pig in a poke. For example, in the subscription-based services space, a study found that 75% of users are more likely to subscribe if a free trial is offered. However, the median conversion from trial to paid is 50%, which is still a good rate. The same study found that the most effective offer is a free trial of 7 days or less.
Try this template
When it comes to other types of businesses, the same practice can be applied widely. For example, in e-commerce, instead of offering free trials, product samples are offered. This even applies to authors and content creators. Look at how Noah Kagan offers the first chapter of his book for free as a lead magnet.
The benefits of using a lead magnet like this are that users can research the features or qualities of your product for themselves. This helps them form an opinion about its necessity and, in many cases, drives sales and subscriptions.
Best Practices: To generate leads with free trials, consider the following tips:
- Clearly explain the key features and benefits of the trial to the user.
- Choose the optimal length of the trial period. Users should have enough time to evaluate the benefits of the product. Common lengths are one week, two weeks, and one month.
- Provide instant access to a free trial after user registration.
- Provide a clear onboarding process within the product and through welcome emails.
Polls and quizzes
Polls and quizzes provide site visitors with an interactive this is important for loyal visitors experience that may be more interesting to them than static content. In return, the company gains not only a subscriber, but also valuable audience data that can be used to improve marketing and sales strategies.
Benefits: The information collected about your leads helps segment your contact base and target marketing activities more effectively to different customer groups. Quizzes provide an entertaining or educational element. Instant results allow users to make more informed purchasing decisions, potentially improving their attitude towards the brand. For example, here’s how quizzes work on the Naturisimo website.
Surveys also help you get to know your visitors better. Moreover, the exit survey available in Claspo can even prevent some users from leaving the site. For example, with such a pop-up, you can achieve several goals:
- find out about possible problems that the visitor has encountered;
- offer them help;
- get their contact information.