The Beginner’s Guide to Lead Magnets

What is a lead magnet?

A lead magnet is a resource such as a checklist, template, free report, short training, etc. that provides value to a prospective lead in exchange for their contact information.

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How much does a lead magnet cost?

Lead magnets are free but do require the prospective lead to give you contact information including email address, phone number, address or other information such as the size of the business or industry.

How long should my lead magnet be?

A lead magnet should be able to be consumed in less than an hour and, ideally, in less than 5 minutes.

How should I deliver my lead magnet?

Lead magnets can be delivered in the form of text, audio, video or graphics.

What are the characteristics of a good lead magnet?

1. Speed – The lead magnet delivers value instantaneously.
2. Ease – The lead magnet delivers value with little effort.
3. Specificity – The lead magnet offers a specific solution to a specific problem.
4. Congruency – The problem the lead magnet solves is congruent with the problem the company solves with its paid product(s).
5. Media – All needs for images, video, and audio are present and of high quality.
6. Completeness – The lead magnet delivers on the promise made in the marketing that compelled the prospect to opt-in.
7. Design – The lead magnet looks professional and consistent with the overall brand.
8. Consumption – The lead magnet is formatted or scripted in a way that makes it easy to consume.

Lead Magnet Examples

Lead magnets come in all shapes and sizes.

This example from Dave Ramsey’s marketing team at Entreleadership is a great lead magnet that offers a specific solution to a specific problem:

And this lead magnet from Cole’s Classroom is an outstanding example of a lead magnet that delivers value with ease. All the prospect needs to do is install the presets and they get instantaneous value from the lead magnet.

This lead magnet is designed to generate leads in the fitness space. Notice the use of an image to “productize” what is actually a digital deliverable.  The Fitness Planner Pack looks and feels tangible because of the imagery.

This lead magnet is actually a preview of the product they sell The Hitting Vault. I think the offer could add more value but you can’t argue with the congruence it has to what The Hitting Vault sells.

 

This lead magnet offer lacks specificity and speed but it makes up for it with completeness and a nice design.

This is a strong lead magnet offer with a high level of congruence, speed, and specificity.

This lead magnet offer does a nice job of “productizing” the offer.

This is one of the best lead magnets in this set of examples. It offers speed, ease, and specificity.

There’s a lack of specificity to this lead magnet and the bullets are lacking the explanation of the benefit. Why, for example, do we care about the “complete starter shopping list.” Your prospects need you to connect the dots for them.

This is a unique lead magnet offer. It would perform better with some strong bullets that explain what we get and why we should care.

Sitepoint sells coding instruction and books. This lead magnet offer is perfectly congruent with what they sell.

Not everyone can have an app built to generate leads but, if you have the means, I highly recommend it. 🙂

This is another case where we need more information. Use more copy on the page to tell the prospect what they get and why they should care.