Is your lead magnet getting the downloads you’d hoped for, or are you hearing crickets?

A lead magnet is a fantastic way to grow your audience, gather useful insights and generate leads but you can’t just share any tosh and expect results.

So how do you make sure your lead magnet is valuable?

Here are 5 top tips to help you get started.

1. Make sure your lead magnet solves a problem

Make sure the content you creating for your lead magnet solves a problem for your ideal audience. If you aren’t sure what problems or challenges they are currently facing – ask them! If you have a FB group you can ask in there, if not use your social media to conduct polls and get feedback to see what your followers would find most useful. If your lead magnet solves a problem your ideal audience are facing it will not only be more appealing to them to subscribe and download but also it will help build trust.  Understanding the problems your ideal audience face will also help you to understand what type of lead magnet to create and which format they would find most appealing. For example if your reader’s problem is they are stuck for ideas for content, something like a content calendar may be useful.  If they are feeling stuck with their mindset, perhaps some journalling prompts of a motivational mini training may be beneficial. (For more support on choosing the right topic for your lead magnet, you can read my blog here.)

2. Make your lead magnet easy to consume, quick to implement and easy to understand

People love quick wins and so if your lead magnet can leave your reader feeling more informed, empowered or in control then it’s going to be a winner! Keep your lead magnet on the shorter side so you reader can easily find a few minutes to read it, watch it or fill it in.  If it’s something that is going to take a lot of time the likelihood of your reader using it or returning to it is much lower.  Creating lead magnets that can be easily implemented and where people can see a difference quickly are always popular. Think scripts, prompts, swipe files and templates!  

3. Make it feel worth the sign up.

It’s happened to us all. You download a lead magnet that looks full of promise and that it might have some of the answers or inspiration you need but in reality what you recieve isn’t up to the quality you’d expect. When this happens to me I head straight to the unsubscribe button! If someone can’t create a lead magnet  with value then I certainly won’t spend my time reading their emails! You do not want your readers to feel short changed when they download your lead magnet. Even thought the content you are offereing is free, it still needs to be valuable – after all, people are sharing their email address with you.  If a lead magnet feels like click bait to people and they feel it wasn’t worth signing up for then it’s not going to help build trust in you, your business and certainly not your services. 

4. Leave them wanting more

The ultimate aim of a lead magnet (as well as building your list) is to leave your reader wanting more. This is a good sign that their trust in you as someone who can help them is growing!  Your lead magnet should be valuable. It should provide some answers and showcase your level of skills and knowledge. A lead magnet is an amazing opporunity to make a first impression with somone as a lot of the time it may be their first touchpoint with you – what better way than to wow them with something super valuable? (See more on customer touchpoints here!).

A great strategy is to create a lead magnet on a topic you know LOADS about. This way you won’t feel like you are giving all the good stuff away for free (which you should never worry about anyway!).  Choosing something which will lead people nicely into a service, product or offer you already have, or are launching, is also a good idea. This way if they do want more, or they want to next step, you have something in your product suite or product staircase to offer them. 

5. Provide them with the next steps

One mistake I see time and time again is that people see a lead magnet as something to grow their list. And yes, this is important! But, a lead magnet can do so much more and so it’s key that you think about the next steps you want your reader to take for example:

• Do you want to direct them to your FB group?
• Do you want them to follow you on social media?
• Do you want them to book a discovery call with you?
• Do you have a product you’d like to offer them that would be the perfect next step?
• Maybe you want them to reply to your email or reach out via DM?
• Perhaps you want them to vote in a poll or fill out a simple questionnaire so you can find out more about them

Whatever it is, TELL them! Any way that you can nurture your relationship with your new subscriber, get to know them, provide another touchpoint, find out what they are struggling with and what they need support with or start a conversation is great.