From your work in the last three modules, you know the customers and clients you want to attract and where you want to take them.  Now it’s time to motivate them to provide their email address and other contact information.

While simply asking for that information can work (but rarely does any more), you’ll get the best results if you offer something of value in return. In this module, you’ll create the valuable free gift that will entice your potential customers to join your email list. This free gift is also called a lead magnet or a free opt-in.

Why Do I Need a Lead Magnet?

A lead magnet is the nudge to get your clients onto your email list and into your sales funnel. With a lead magnet, you give a bit of your expertise in exchange for your client’s email address. Remember, the end goal of your list-building is to convert some of your subscribers into customers who make a purchase and grow your business.

A lead magnet helps you:

• Motivate your ideal customer to opt in to your email list
• Familiarize potential customers with you, your business, and how you can help them
• Turn website visitors into potential customers and clients
• Create the basis for future conversations and long-term relationships
• Build your credibility and your reputation, making you a thought leader and expert
• Start to build your ‘know, like, and trust’ factor.

Best Practice for Designing Your Lead Magnet

Unless you are offering something valuable in return, you won’t experience a tremendous amount of growth with your email list. People are more and more concerned about data security, identify theft, and so on and are reluctant to give away their contact details. They are also on many email lists so they need to know, a) that their data is safe and b) that it’s going to be worthwhile signing up to yet another list.
Keep these things in mind when you start to create your lead magnet. The whole point is to provide value by solving a problem that specifically relates to your ideal client and their challenges.

1. Less is More. You may be tempted to spend a lot of time and energy creating your lead magnet. However, this isn’t the place to share everything you know with your subscribers. Don’t run the risk of overwhelming your clients with too much. Remember that less is more.
2. Base it Around Your Expertise. Think of your lead magnet as a sample of what you have to offer. Your lead magnet gives a first taste that whets people’s appetite for more dishes and then the main course. Promote yourself as the expert by demonstrating that you know exactly what you’re talking about.
3. Be Specific. You must create a lead magnet that shows your audience that you truly know them. This is why building your ideal customer avatar in Module 2 was so important. Don’t pick a topic at random; rather, pick something that makes your audience think that you’ve read their mind and draws them to join your list.
4. Make it Captivating. Long reports and eBooks aren’t very enticing. People want useful information they can put in action quickly. You need to make a difference in their lives right away. This could be done using an infographic, checklist, questionnaire, or even a resources list (see below for other options). One page is fine if it has all the essential information in it and it looks attractive. It might be delivered as an audio download or video if you don’t like writing.
5. Create an Organized Sequence. Once you have the topic, put the content into a logical order so you take the person through a flowing journey from the beginning to the call-to-action at the end.
6. Give Clear instructions. Add a call-to-action of some sort at the end of the lead magnet (for example, to visit your site, book a call, explore another resource, sign up for a waiting list for a course, etc.). Your call-to-action doesn’t have to be to sell something, it just needs to entice the viewer to take some next step.
7. Make Time. Block time out in your diary for this activity. Treat it like any other task of importance and book an appointment with yourself to get your compelling lead magnet created.

Choose the Content and Format of Your Lead Magnet

There are lots of options for what type of content to include in your lead magnet. The key here is that it must be the type of content your audience wants. If it doesn’t solve a problem or help them, they won’t sign up for your list and your efforts will go to waste.

Here are some popular types of lead magnets:

• Quiz or assessment
• Cheat Sheet
• Checklist
• Template
• Script
• Swipe file
• Toolkit
• Resource List
• Calendar or planner
• Spreadsheet
• Recipe
• Tutorial
• eBook
• Report
• Infographic
• Video or audio series
• Email course
• Slide share
• Newsletter
• Webinar
• Access to a library of information
• Survey
• Access to join your Facebook group
• Free consultation
• Offer of a discount or special price for your offering

Don’t let the choice of format hold you up. As you’re starting out, we recommend you choose one of the following and keep it simple:

Option 1: List of Resources. The list of your favorite resources for [fill in something that relates to your customer’s needs and your business]. For example, “My Top 10 Recipes for Baking the Perfect Cupcake.” Some of the resources can be free.

Option 2: Checklist. Create a checklist for [a process your customers need to complete to be successful]. For example, a checklist for “Everything you need in your kitchen to become a star baker.”

Option 3: Cheat Sheet. This is great way to break down complex information in a simple way. Use cheat sheets for 5 top ways to [solve a key challenge your customers have]. For example, “The Top 5 Ways to Make Perfect Fluffy Frosting.”

Create Your Lead Magnet Step-By-Step

This won’t feel overwhelming if you break it down into steps. If you already have some really great content, you may even reuse and repurpose it into a lead magnet. For example, if you’ve already written a blog post about the topic, turn it into a checklist.

Step 1. Choose your option from one of the three above to create a lead magnet that is either a list of resources, a checklist, or a cheat sheet of “Top 5 Ways.”

Step 2. Brainstorm the key needs your ideal client has with this topic and how you can solve their problem. Using the examples above:

• Option 1: List of Resources – your client wants recommendations of what works because they’re just starting out.
• Option 2: The Checklist – they need a process to follow to achieve their goal because they’re confused and it’s unfamiliar.
• Option 3: The Cheat Sheet – they want to make sure they’ve covered all the steps because they’re unsure of what they’re doing.

Step 3. From this brainstorm list, decide on the top 5 priorities – those 5 most important client needs – and use them in your lead magnet.

Step 4. Choose how you want to deliver your free offer. If you are really uncomfortable with the written word, don’t let this hold you up. Customers also like video and audio! You still need to follow the same process as in Steps 1-3 above, and write a script for yourself to follow when you get to recording.

Here are some tips on delivery formats:

Using Written Format

If you decide on a written format, you will need to design the lead magnet and save it as a PDF document which can be easily downloaded. The document should look professional and engaging. Even though this is something you’re giving away for free, it still needs to look high value.

Use Canva to design it yourself for free, or find someone on Fiverr who can do the layout for $5. Then, upload the document to your website or Dropbox. Get the link to paste into your first email so people can access it easily and quickly.

Using Audio Format

If you want to use audio, record the content into your smart phone and extract an mp3 file. Or use free software from Audacity on your system to get the mp3 file. Then, store the file on Google Play, Sound Cloud, or another service. Get the link to paste into your first email so people can conveniently access it.

Using Video Format

If you want to use video, record the content using your camera, a webcam, screen recording software, or even PowerPoint. Render the video as an mp4 file and upload directly to YouTube as ‘Unlisted.’  It’s important to do this to protect the exclusivity of your content. Paste the link into your first email so only your people can access it instantly.

Conclusion

The most crucial takeaway from this module is that your lead magnet is not something you want to create, but something your ideal customer wants. This is how you will set yourself apart from others in your same industry and build meaningful relationships with your email subscribers.

By giving something of value for free, you reach more people, gain more exposure, and that all leads to growing your business.