Every good lead generation strategy begins with a way to get leads into your sales funnel. Leads do not magically appear out of nowhere and very few will bother to sign up to your lead forms unless they think they are getting something in return. This is where lead magnets come in to help.
Lead magnets offer leads an enticing lure to encourage them to give out their details in exchange for some sort of reward. That’s not to say that any type of reward will work. You may get some sign-ups with a bland, generic offer. You will get far more leads – and targeted leads – with lead magnets that are carefully planned and optimised for your audience. In this guide, we take a deeper look at lead magnets to find out how they can be used to drive lead generation results.
Using Lead Magnets in Your Lead Generation Campaigns
Before we get going, you may be wondering if lead magnets are the same as opt-ins or content upgrades. Essentially, these all share the same goal in lead generation, which is getting leads into your lead funnel. While opt-in offers and content upgrades are typically added to blog articles as a way to add more value, lead magnets are added to splash pages, landing pages, and various other locations. They are usually evergreen, giving them long-term value.
Why use lead magnets?
Why should you use lead magnets and do they really make any difference to your lead generation efforts? Lead magnets do what their name implies – attract leads. The growth of email marketing has lead to an over-saturation of emails. The average consumer will receive countless emails in their inbox on any given day. They may have signed up for some of these emails but many will be unsolicited. As a result, consumers have become wary of giving out their email details without a good reason.
Lead magnets are that good reason. A good lead magnet provides consumers with genuinely useful resources that add value. Unlike generic ‘sign up for update’ forms that offer nothing more than being added to a mailing list, lead magnets are highly targeted specifically for lead nurturing. They focus on meeting a certain need, providing leads with solutions. To get the most from your lead magnets, you first need to have a good idea of what works and what doesn’t.
What works and what doesn’t
Lead magnets are not created equal. To be truly effective, lead magnets need to offer leads enough benefit that makes it worth signing up to a list. Don’t assume that leads will be rushing to sign up to download something you already offer, something that they can get anywhere else, something they don’t actually need or want or something that has no connection to your products or services. Don’t bother creating pointless infographics that offer no actionable advice. These are all things that don’t work. Things that work include:
- Relevant guides or tips that offer insider advice
- Reports that highlight and aim to solve key problems in your industry
- Fun quizzes that give your brand personality
- Other interactive content that increases engagement
- Videos and webinars that cannot be found anywhere else
- Ebooks that are not simply extended versions of your blog articles
- Case studies that related exclusively to your industry
- Courses that are just long enough for leads to learn something new
- Cheatsheets and checklists that are instantly actionable
- Member-only resources that cannot be accessed by non-subscribers
- Access to private social media groups or communities
Best practices for conversion
Now that you have a better idea of the types of lead magnets that work best for lead generation, let’s take a look at how you can get the most from your lead magnets to see a difference in your sign-ups. Some of the most important practices to keep in mind include the following:
- Know your audience. That means knowing exactly who your lead magnets are targeting. It also means knowing their pain points and challenges. If you try to create magnets that appeal to everyone, you will lose out on the chance to attract your target customer. Creating lead profiles is the simplest way to ensure that your lead magnets are targeted to your ideal audience. Take the time to do your audience research before you even begin creating magnets and building your forms.
- Focus on pain points. This strategy is not about you and your business. It is not an opportunity to punt your business or straight for the sale. It is about your audience. More to the point, it is about meeting your audience’s needs. At this stage, leads have not yet entered the funnel. Signing up and receiving your offer will often be the first real introduction they have to your business. You will need to get specific and zoom in to the primary pain points your audience might have in order to meet these needs. Think carefully about what sort of advice or insight will address problems. Rather than trying to feature every single problem, keep focused and answer just a single primary problem in each magnet. You can then create more magnets that solve different problems.
- Under-promise and over-deliver. Hyping up or over-selling your content is very risky. Flashy lead pages, pop-ups that make huge promises, pages that make leads expect a lot need to be backed up by content that lives up to such promises. One of the worst things for conversion is tricking leads to sign up for a free resource, only to find out that it offers no real value at all. There will be other types to sell. Keep the hype down and instead focus on providing the best quality resource that will make leads want to move further along your funnel.
- Keep your resources evergreen. Evergreen content is essential for blogs as well as downloads. If you signed up for resources, which would you be happier to receive – a guide that has not been updated since the early 2000s or one that is current and targeted for this year? Although seasonal resources can also add value, the resources that will be the most popular will be those that can be downloaded at any point without losing relevance. High-quality evergreen resources will also increase the chance of conversion – particularly if you are providing content that people actually want and need.
- Test and test again. Testing is a must-do with any type of lead generation campaign. For lead magnets, testing is every bit as essential. Testing will help you determine whether your CTAs are working, whether your click-through rate is increasing, whether your lead magnet emails are even being opened, whether you need to tweak content, images or any other element, and even whether your magnet is working or not. This will make it far easier to continually update and revise your content so that it has the best chance of converting more leads.
Boost Your Lead Generation Efforts With Lead Magnets
Working for businesses of all sizes, across all industry, these resources will help you drive more sales, increase customer loyalty, grow your reputation for providing premium content, and consistently reach your audience. Take advantage of the many benefits offered by lead magnets and you will see just how much of a role they play within your lead generation campaigns.
