Lead Magnets: What Are They and Why Do You Need One? 

Lead Magnet Marketing: Key Details to Know

A lead magnet is a unique and completely free offer for potential customers. To get it, they must provide contact information (for example, email address, phone number, or other data). A digital marketer lead magnet does not propose a company product or a call to action but rather something the client needs to solve their problem.

This is a “bait” to convince a person to take a certain action. For instance, in online stores, lead magnets are discounts, bonuses, access to closed sales. 

Lead magnets help to solve the following tasks:

• stand out from competitors;
• convert leads to subscriptions or contacts (just save emails add-on for Google Sheets https://getprospect.com/email-finder-addon-google-sheets to simplify this process);
• increase sales.

How to Create a Lead Magnet

To create a lead magnet, define its purpose first. Think about why you need it and how you can benefit from it. Use lead magnet examples that will help you attract more leads. Only after the goals are set, you can apply a lead magnet funnel strategy that consists of 4 steps.

Step 1: Develop a Buyer Profile

Each company should have a specific customer portrait. It doesn’t matter if you use an add-on email finder to promote products or sell products via social media, you need to have a solid understanding of who your prospect is. Unlike a target audience, which represents a group of people interested in your offering, a portrait of a potential category of customers is an image of a specific person who can become your client.

A customer portrait characterizes the “ideal customer” based on market research and customer data that your company already has:

• age;
• gender;
• social status;
• behavioral models;
• goals, etc.

Don’t try to reach all people at the same time, even if your product is perfect. This approach will not bring the desired result. Remember lead magnet should target a specific customer.

Stage 2: Determine the Value of Your Offer

Now, imagine yourself as a buyer and think about why you would choose your offer. What can your company promise to potential customers? Developing an effective value proposition is much easier when you know your target audience and the benefits of the product.

Think about what your potential buyer might need. And then write down the characteristics and features of the product that will make your offer unique and most attractive among competitors. For example, analyze the SEO positions of different pages on your site to determine the most visited. This will help you identify the topics and keywords that users are most interested in. Build a list of ideas for your future offering based on the findings and traffic.

Stage 3: Analyze Competitors’ Proposals

Never copy your competitors’ strategies, but regularly monitor and analyze their proposals. It can inspire you to come up with new ideas. First, identify your top ten competitors using SEO tools. Add their main B2B lead magnets to your Excel spreadsheet for analysis and move on to the next step.

Step 4: Choose the Type of Lead Magnet

First, come up with a headline that emphasizes the value of your product. This process may remind you of creating a subject line. Next, select the type of lead magnet. To start with, keep it simple, short, and straightforward. Highlight your strengths and show them to your leads.

Emphasize that by taking advantage of your offer, customers will receive an effective and fast solution to their problems. For example, if you provide a delivery service for goods, indicate your main advantages over your competitors.

Popular Types of Lead Magnets

The most common types of lead magnets are:

1. Quizzes and Questionnaires

They are used to determine how well users know a particular topic. In exchange for participating, clients can be offered helpful advice and guidance. Based on survey results, marketers segment audiences to submit more personalized and relevant content.

2. Free trial

If you sell digital products and services, give your users the opportunity to “test” them for free. Trials increase your customers’ brand confidence. You can offer a free version of the product or a 30-day trial period. Both options work well when it comes to collecting email addresses for potential customers.

3. Educational materials and video tutorials

Prepare useful content and format it in the form of a blog post, video guide, or a series of emails. Next, create a pop-up with an offer. You can choose a time or condition for displaying the pop-up form, for example, a lead magnet can appear when a user tries to close a page.

4. Discounts on your first purchase

Motivate users to become subscribers with discounts. However, first, analyze the lead magnets of other companies in your niche. Offer a discount that grabs the attention of potential customers and leaves no doubt about the quality of the brand’s products or services. Mostly, a 15-20% discount is the best option. 

5. Giveaways and contests

They are used by companies from different business areas. With their help, they try to attract as many subscribers as possible on social networks. All sorts of contests increase brand awareness and audience engagement.