Lead magnets. Every Tom, Dick and Harry seems to either have one or be talking about how much you should have one.

You hear so much about them you definitely want one – but you aren’t sure why or, what having one is going to do for your business.

Perhaps you’ve already spent time putting one together but it’s hit the ground like a lead balloon and only your mum, aunt and business bestie have signed up for it?

Or maybe you’ve decided you want to create one but you’re struggling to get off the starting blocks?

Wherever you are in your lead magnet journey there are a couple of things I want you to stop and think about. Because lead magnets can be an amazing way to grow your business but only if they are a) given some consideration and b) done well.

So, in today’s blog, I’m going to be sharing three things you should do BEFORE you start creating a lead magnet to ensure maximum success. 

1. Know your intention for creating your lead magnet

It’s pretty simple really but without knowing what you want to achieve by creating a lead magnet, how will you achieve it? Of course, you might just want to create a lead magnet to start building an email list and that’s fine, but by considering the bigger picture and your bigger goals, you can use a lead magnet to help you achieve them MUCH more quickly.

Some ideas of what you might be looking to achieve or your intentions might include:

• Attracting a new type of client to your business
• To make them aware of a new service/package or offer

To make sales and book new work in

• To funnel them into a Facebook Group or a membership 
• To get people to book on to discovery calls

So have a think about how a lead magnet could align with your future goals. This will help with things like choosing the topic of the lead magnet or the format of the lead magnet you choose. (You can read my blog here about choosing your lead magnet topic or 10 ideas for high value lead magnets for more information).

2. Do your market research

What you THINK your audience want and want your audience ACTUALLY want are often two very different things. If you don’t know, don’t sweat it – just ask them! Surely you want to spend your time creating something your audience will find helpful and valuable?

You could try using polls on FB or IG to ask your audience to choose between two topics. Then once you have your topic ask them to vote on their favourite from a couple of ideas. 

Another idea is to spend some time in groups where your ideal clients hang out. Look at what questions they are asking, this is usually a great way to get inspired about how you can create a lead magnet that is really going to support them with the challenges they face in their business.

3. Commit to making your lead magnet a success

Once you’ve done the preliminary work, yes, lead magnets can often look after themselves but until then, your lead magnet needs YOU to show up for it and spread the word.

If you want your lead magnet to play its part in your content marketing strategy, you’ve got to help it out. Talk about it, share it, show it love and scatter it across ALL of your touchpoints. This doesn’t mean share it once and then pop the link in your IG bio and hope people will magically come across it all by themselves.

It’s YOUR job to direct traffic to the top of your funnel and that can take time so, before you start off on your lead magnet journey ask yourself:

1. Why do I want a lead magnet for my business and how is this going to help me achieve my goals?
2. Am I committed to putting the time and effort into making my lead magnet a success? (Because if you aren’t, what’s the point!).

A lead magnet can be an extremely powerful tool in your business in so many ways, but you are ultimately responsible for its success and so to get the best result, you have to commit to giving it the best chance possible. 

I’ve seen (and created!) hundreds of lead magnets over the last five years and so if you’d love even more support with creating a valuable, engaging and converting lead magnet for your business download my amazing guide ’10 Tips for Creating the perfect lead magnet’.

It’s filled with practical ideas and suggestions to get you thinking more strategically about creating and using a lead magnet to help you grow your list and your business.

Download My Copy!