Priya Jamba, Content Marketer
Priya Jamba
Mar 3, 2022

What is a Lead Magnet & How to Create a Lead Magnet in Easy Steps?

What is a lead magnet? How does it help & how to create a lead magnet? Read this article to know about lead magnet examples, types and ways to create it.
What is a Lead Magnet & How to Create a Lead Magnet in Easy Steps?

Table of contents

You don't have to be a well-established company to understand the importance of lead generation. You now have two options for attracting new subscribers: 

  1. Using paid advertisements to promote your website.
  1. Creating content that converts visitors to paying customers.

The second thing is what we refer to as lead magnets.

When you hear the phrase “lead magnet,” you think of something that would be attractive. As we explain the term lead magnet, it would mean the things that work as a magnet for your leads.

In this ultimate guide, we'll walk you through the lead magnet, different types of lead magnets and how to use it to build your brand rep and attract more visitors.

What are Lead Magnets?

Lead magnets are exclusive content supplied as a reward for taking a specific action (typically signing up for an email newsletter or providing contact information). Some examples of lead magnets are downloadable PDFs, case studies, resource lists, and videos.

People are hesitant to give out their contact information unless they are promised something of value in exchange.

Users will not subscribe without a compelling reason unless they are confident that you will not spam them.

The best possible way is to give only give helpful information, focus on your clients' concerns, and provide quick and effective solutions. 

Great lead magnets help you create trust and authority while also allowing you to email market to your opt-in subscribers.

Why do Businesses Need Lead Magnets? 

Your business needs a lead magnet if it wants to generate more leads.

This is true whether you run a small blog, podcast, membership site, or a full-fledged eCommerce site.

Why? Because a person's contact details is private data.

Even if people appreciate your brand, they aren't going to give you their contact details without a solid reason. Your role as a marketer is to give them a compelling reason to do so.

Why do Lead Magnets Work so Well?

Your goal is to use the lead magnet as a means of building your brand and attracting new subscribers. 

Here are 3 reasons for using lead magnets:

Gives you a reason to subscribe: You give your audience a reason to subscribe when you offer an exclusive resource.

You can also make it even more powerful for them by giving them access to something that will help their business or personal goals.

For example, if someone is looking for information on how they can increase the profit of their online store, then offering a free digital download or an ebook with valuable content on sales and marketing will greatly benefit them in the long run.

Targeted to generate leads: When you're using a marketing method such as an email list or social media, it's important to ensure that the content is useful for your target audience.

If your audience isn’t interested in what you have to offer, then they won't be interested in subscribing either.

An effective lead magnet can help generate leads for other marketing channels like advertising and paid ads on Facebook or Google AdWords.

Get qualified visitors: If you're looking to get qualified visitors, then lead magnets are a great way to attract them. You can help your subscribers feel like they have something that will be valuable for the future.

It will also encourage the visitors to tell their connections about it and hopefully get them to sign up as well.

What Makes a Good Lead Magnet?

Now, a perfect lead magnet has surely got some criteria. Here are the 6 criteria that make for an ideal lead magnet:

Guarantees quick win: Your lead magnet should provide your avatar with one quick win. It should help them to achieve something quickly.

Super specific: The more specific your lead magnet's features and benefits are, the more likely it is to convert potential consumers (and even better if you can customize this lead magnet to a unique landing page).

Quick to digest: A lead magnet should be easy to read and quick to digest. PDF checklists tend to convert very well because they are short and easy to read.

Address a problem: It won't work if your lead magnet doesn't solve a real problem for your customer or provide them with something they actually want.

Accessible: Your lead magnet will be most effective if it can be given immediately. People are addicted to rapid satisfaction.

Builds trust: People are more likely to give you their attention if they know that you care about them and want to help them.

Lead Magnet Examples and Ideas

There are various types of lead magnet ideas. 

Guides & Reports

One of the most common ways to attract people to share their information with you is through industry reports.

Reports are especially effective in attracting leads for B2B companies, but they may be used in any company that relies on data, statistics, or research.

You can either conduct your own study and collect data, or you can compile data from numerous sources into a single, comprehensive report.

For example, if you run an SEO agency, you could sell a guide that outlines a month-long SEO plan. This way, you can pique the customer's curiosity while still providing value.

Toolkit or Resources

Most business websites, especially educators, frequently distribute free toolkits that provide an overview of the process and strategies for assisting users in turning their ideas into designs. 

A toolkit is a collection of tools that includes insider knowledge, advice, and industry hacks.

The best part about toolkits is that you can usually make money selling them as an affiliate. As a result, not only does the toolkit provide a valuable resource to your visitors, but it also has the potential to generate additional cash for your company.

Free Courses

You don't need to be an educator to make video tutorials or courses about your product. Visuals are a simple approach to capture the attention of your visitors.

As a result, many businesses are now embracing video visuals as lead magnets.

For example, a SaaS provider may create an online course about a specific service or topic and send the videos to individuals who signed up for it. Another approach is to use Google scraping, networking, and other methods to find B2B leads.

They're educational and useful, and they'll persuade your clients to sign up with you for the long term.

Webinars

Like video and audio lead magnets, Webinars have a high perceived value. They're much more attractive because they have a new element: urgency.

Because live webinars take place at certain periods and may only be available for a limited time, they capitalize on the "fear of missing out."

Webinars are a simple and effective way to promote your brand, product or service with potential clients. Utilizing the webinar platform, you can create as many different types of webinars for multiple audiences at once. 

You can create a compelling CTA to ask your audience to register for the webinar for free and collect the email address.

Case Studies

Case studies are popular among the bottom of your sales funnel prospects. This lead magnet form may provide them with the final push they require to purchase your product. 

By highlighting customer experiences and demonstrating real effects, case studies serve as social proof.

They're usually in-depth reviews or success stories about a previous client or consumer. These success stories are crucial because they increase customer confidence in your brand and demonstrate its use.

Giveaway

The giveaway is one of the most effective lead magnets. Who doesn't want a chance to win free stuff?

However, if you truly want your freebie to be effective, make sure it accomplishes two goals:

  • Qualify your leads by presenting a meaningful prize.
  • Encourage individuals to share online by offering incentives (you can do this by offering additional entries for each social share).

Coupons & Discounts 

A coupon is an amazing lead magnet because most online shoppers like to compare prices. With a coupon, you can provide your customers with the opportunity to save money, encouraging them to purchase from your store.

At this point, businesses are turning more and more towards customized coupons for their campaigns.

These special offers tend to be much better than generic pricing discounts that are offered by most e-commerce sites out there today.

How to Create a Lead Magnet?

Lead magnets do not need to be complicated. Keep it simple if you're just getting started with creating a lead magnet funnel.

Here are the initial questions to ask before laying out a plan for lead magnet:

Who are your ideal customers?

If you wish your lead magnets to be personalized and focused, you must first identify and target your target audience. You don't need to iron out all of the details at this time. You'll have a better sense of your buyer personas as you create lead magnets.

What are the pain points?

Consider some of the most common challenges your leads face. Your lead magnet should assist them in resolving a problem.

Your lead magnet should address a topic they are interested in and require assistance with.

How to solve the problem?

You must know the answer to this question before beginning your lead magnet creation.

You don't want to create a lead magnet that will solve people's problems months or years from now. Lead magnets must provide instant solutions if you want them to convert.

Now that you have identified the answers to these questions, here are the steps that you can use to create a lead magnet offer.

  • Know Your Buyer Persona

A lead magnet's purpose is to provide something valuable to your audience in exchange for their contact information.

To do so, you must first determine which user personas you want to target and what offer will entice them.

You could have one to three personas, each with its own set of needs and pain points. That means that a single lead magnet is unlikely to appeal to all three personas.

Let's say you own an SEO agency and you have two types of personas:

The first one does not fully understand the roles and responsibilities of SEO, and they do not have the tools to work.

The second persona has tons of SEO businesses and leads to handle, but they have limited time to create content.

For the first, the agency can create eBooks and downloadable guides. For the second, the agency can give them details about case studies and tools.

  • Design and Name Your Lead Magnet

Now that you've decided on what your persona needs, it's time to put it together. Your lead magnet must be created and designed by you.

You can use a platform like Canva if you don't have an in-house designer.

Their platform includes hundreds of customizable templates for everything from books and presentation slides to worksheets and reports that you can use to create your lead magnet.

You can also outsource the work to an independent contractor who possesses the necessary skills to produce a high-quality offer.

After completing the design work, give your lead magnet a name.

  • Analyze Your Competition

Never imitate your competitors' strategies, but be aware of them. They may inspire you to do better by combining the best of your offer and their products.

Use SEO tools such as Scalenut, Ahrefs and Moz to identify your best competitors. Fill out an Excel sheet with their primary lead magnets and get inspired before moving on to the next stage of lead magnet creation.

  • Build a Conversion Path

The next step is to create your conversion path, which must include a landing page, thank-you page, form, and email sequence.

Here are the best practices to create conversions for your lead magnets:

  • Design a landing page without navigation: A landing page without navigation will keep users focused on the content being offered.
  • Create eye scanning patterns: Most landing pages that convert follow Z or F-reading patterns, keeping readers in their comfort zone.
  • Use social proof: Include reviews and testimonials on your landing pages to boost the credibility of your offer and boost your conversion rate.
  • Write a concise CTA: Your call to action should be clear and concise. It should also include words that are most appealing to your target audience.

The two pieces of information you'll need to enter in your form are your name and email. However, make sure to avoid adding more fields to it.

The more the fields, the more likely your audience will deviate from the form.

Once you've collected the lead, you can add them to a nurturing email sequence that will guide them further down the funnel. This includes additional resources such as webinars and newsletters.

  • Choose the Content Format

Lead magnets can be in the form of PDFs, eBooks, or videos. However, it's important to choose the right format for your audience and niche.

Once you've figured out who your customers are and their needs, you can decide which content format will work best for them.

The type of content format you select is also determined by the buyer's journey. Video demos or short pagers can help generate interest if they (your audience) are still in the awareness stage.

Some lead magnets that you can include are:

  • Guides and reports.
  • A free trial or a demo version.
  • A resource list.
  • A quiz, survey, poll, questionnaire, mini-game.
  • A cheatsheet.
  • A video tutorial.
  • A discount or special offer.
  • Sales materials.

FAQs

Q. What are the best tools for creating lead magnet content?

Ans: You can use some writing assistant tools for creating a specific lead magnet content. For example, Scalenut offers a wide range of options for creating lead magnet content such as landing page text, eBook or long-form writer, email text generators for discount offers or sales content.

Q. What is the best way to launch your lead magnet?

Ans: After you have created the lead magnet, make a launch plan. The best way to do that is by promoting it on social media or sending an email blast to subscribers and new prospects.

Q. What are the best tools for designing a lead magnet?  

Ans: You can use tools like Canva, Adobe Creative Cloud or hire a graphic designer to design your lead magnets. 

Conclusion

Lead magnets aren't being used to their full potential by many businesses. However, once you start thinking outside the box and working on your lead magnet, you might be surprised by the results.

By customizing the content for a lead magnet, you can get more prospects’ attention and generate qualified leads.

That's where we come in. Scalenut gives various use cases for creating content for landing pages, eBooks, resources, whitepapers and all other types.

The best part is that you can get started for free. Want to know more? 

Sign up and get started for free now with Scalenut.

Priya Jamba
Content Marketer
ABout the AUTHOR
Priya Jamba
Content Marketer

Priya Jamba is a Content Marketer at Scalenut. She loves marketing technologies and believes that with the right combination of tools and creativity, every organization can build sustainable brands. She is on a mission to help marketing teams across the globe produce tangible results from their marketing campaigns. Currently, she is working along with the Product team to enhance the AI content quality through prompt engineering.

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