Your email list is one of the most valuable assets in your business⦠and in order to grow your email list, you need to learn how to create a killer lead magnet.Ā
So in this blog post, Iām going to break down the exact 3-step lead magnet formula I follow to attract HIGHLY qualified leads and turn those leads into sales.
So you want to learn how to build your email list and get more qualified leads in your business?Ā
Well, first, let me tell you what NOT to doā¦
āHey! Subscribe to my email list, so I can send you more emails?!āĀ *crickets*
Come onnnnnnnnnnnnn. We all get enough emails in our inboxes as it is.Ā So the last thing anyone really wants to do is sign up on another list to get even more emails!
The way you have to think of it is this…Ā
People donāt actually want your emails.Ā
They want HELP.
So the BEST way to build your email list is by offering HELP in the form of a lead magnet that you give your prospects for FREE in exchange for their name and email addressā¦
But hereās the thing…
It has to be GOOD. I see time and time again business owners just slap together some arbitrary content they have lying around, call it something fancy, and expect people to come flocking to their website to sign up.
It doesnāt work like that.
So in this article, Iām going to walk you through the 3 things a good Lead Magnet must includeā¦
And at the end of this blog post, Iāve even included a list of the 4 most popular types of Lead Magnets you can offer in your business to grow a list of highly qualified leads.
Hey guys! Whatās up? Itās Alex.Ā
Iām following up my recent email marketing tutorial with this in-depth training on how to actually build a list to send those emails to!Ā
If this is your very first time landing on my blog, welcome! I put out a new tutorial on copywriting, marketing, and freelancing strategies every single week.Ā
So if thatās the sorta thing you want to learn more about, go ahead and subscribe to the newsletter toĀ know when my next article is posted.
Okay, now letās dive right in! But first…
What is a Lead Magnet?
A Lead Magnet is some form of content or information that you offer for FREE to attract qualified leads (aka people who are actually interested in what you do and, therefore, are more likely to buy from you at some point in the future).
Now, this doesnāt just help you grow your email list, it also creates trust, builds authority, and gets you new customers!
The first thing a good Lead Magnet must do is…
#1 Solve an Immediate Need
Youāll sometimes hear people call a Lead Magnet an āethical bribeā…Ā
And just saying that makes me cringe a little. I hate the term ābribeā because it makes it feel like what youāre offering isnāt insanely valuable and you need to convince people to want itā¦
It sounds a little douchey…
A good Lead Magnet is anything but douchey! A good Lead Magnet will provide massive value to your audience and make them think:
āWOW. If theyāre giving this away for free I canāt imagine how much value Iād get if I actually became a customer!ā
In fact, Iām a firm believer that you should give away some of your BEST content for free. Thatās why I literally spend hours every single week creating these free tutorials for you!
And ā just like when Iām creating these articles ā the best way to make sure you’re giving your audience something valuable is to actually ask them what they want!
Every single one of my Lead Magnets was created in direct response to questions that you guys asked me for help with or wanted more clarification on.Ā
So always make sure that your Lead Magnet is valuable and solves an immediate need or challenge for your audience.
The second thing your lead magnet must do isā¦
#2 Create a Desire for More
Remember, the ultimate goal here is to have your leads become customersā¦
And if your lead magnet doesnāt create a desire for MORE, chances are your leads will just sign up to get the free thing and then bounce.
So while you want your lead magnet to be insanely valuable and solve an immediate need, you also want to create the desire for your leads to go deeper and learn more from you.Ā
Thatās how you build community. That is how you build an engaged and active email list. That is how you turn your leads into lifelong fans.
But⦠how do you create desire, you ask? You do it by providing useful but incomplete information…Ā
And weāll talk about 4 ways to do that in just a minute.
But first, I want to talk about the third thing every Lead Magnet must doā¦
#3 Sell
Yes, your lead magnet is one of the best sales tools you have.
Letās refer to the classic AIDA funnel.Ā
You got your audienceās attention with a well-crafted, well-written landing page, youāve piqued their interest, obviously, because they signed up for your lead magnet… Your lead magnet should then build desire which weāll talk more about in a second⦠And lastly, you want them to take ACTION!
So, you should absolutely be telling your prospects HOW they can go deeper with you and āmake them an offer they canāt refuse.ā
This can be done in the lead magnet itself (Iāll share some powerful lead magnet examples shortly)Ā or you can follow up via email with an invitation to take that next stepā¦
Or, of course, you can do both!Ā
As promised, letās talk a bit more about the ways you can create desire with useful but incomplete information⦠because this is where most people get it wrong.Ā
Itās easy enough to share valuable information and to make an offerā¦
But, like most sales tools or copy assets, the hard part is bridging the gap between the two by creating DESIRE.
So there are four ways that I like to do thisā¦
#1: Solve Step 1Ā
This is inspired by Frank Kernās āResults in Advanceā method.Ā
Your goal here is to give away just part of the solution. You want your Lead Magnet to provide information that will genuinely help your prospect, but leaving them wanting more.Ā
So you first need to identify your prospectās most-desired end result and then educate them by breaking it down into actionable, achievable steps. Then, you simply solve the first step for free in your lead magnet.Ā
By doing this, you are adding value and providing fast results, but also creating the desire for your prospect to go deeper to solve step 2, 3, and so on (leading to the sale).
This is so powerful because once people start seeing results with what they got for free, theyāll not only trust you more, but theyāll also be excited and primed to keep the momentum going.
An example of this type of Lead Magnet comes from my own archive.
My Hot Offer Checklist is a highly valuable PDF guide that tells you all the information you must have in order to write a Hot Offerā¦
But of course, in order to write a FULL high-converting sales page top to bottom, you gotta go one step further and join my 5-Day Write & Ignite Challenge.Ā
#2: Diagnose the ProblemĀ Ā
This is where you educate your prospect on a problem they didnāt even know they had. This works really well for a more unaware audience.
So you help them identify or diagnose a core problem and give them an immediate fix, then sell them the remedy for more long-term results.
A good example of this is the Chronotype Quiz by Dr. Michael Breus.
He diagnoses the reason you have sleep problems by pin-pointing your chronotype.Ā
Then gives you a personalized solution to help you sleep better, based on your type, followed by an offer to help you go deeper to address the problem long-term.
Quizzes are awesome Lead Magnets for two reasonsā¦
- They are engaging and fun for the audience.Ā
- The quiz itself gives you the valuable information you need to best help your audience.
So itās quite literally a win-win.Ā
#3: Give The What, Not The HowĀ
So here you focus on educating your prospect on WHAT they need to do to solve their core problem or achieve their most-desired end result and WHY itās so important.Ā
You give them the action steps, framework, secrets, or formula for them to follow, which they could implement on their own and see immediate results.Ā
But then after you give them the WHAT for free, you can position your product as the HOW ā the comprehensive action plan that will more easily, quickly, and effectively get them to where they want to go.
A great way to do this is through a masterclass or webinar, like this one from Mindvalley where Vishen Lakhiani shares his 3 Keys For Transformative Living.Ā
#4: Offer A Free Sample, Trial, or Giveaway
This type of Lead Magnet is probably the most simple. You simply offer your audience a free taste of what you offer and are ultimately trying to sell.
Getting an early commitment to receive something for free makes it easier to then ask for the sale.
All my e-commerce friends know this one well. Hereās an example from Lunya…
Upon arriving on their website you are hit with a pop-up asking for your email address in exchange for $20 off your first purchase.
Itās a no-brainer. I mean, who doesnāt like a good deal?
There you have it, my tried-and-true lead magnet formula with FOUR different ways to add value, create desire, and boost sales!
Whatās your favorite type of Lead Magnet to sign up for? Comment below and let me know!Ā
Until next time, Iām Alex. Ciao for now!Ā