A <\/span>lead magnet is a free offer given to visitors to a website or social media channel <\/a> in exchange for an email<\/a> address.\u00a0<\/p>\n You may have heard lead magnets called by other names like…<\/p>\n Don’t worry about semantics; these all refer (more or less) to the process of giving something in exchange for personal information that can be used to contact visitors in the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n In this article I’m going to show you…<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Before we go any further, let me remind you why you should spend time creating FREE content and going out of your way to give it away.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Why do people like me PAY to give away things to people we don’t know?<\/p>\n Here is why…An email address is the lifeblood of a good online business.<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Lead magnets are key to building an audience that you “own” and can contact whenever you want.<\/p>\n Whenever you have a new piece of content, a new product, or are part of a new promotion, you can send an email to your subscribers for free.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you’ve ever paid for traffic on Google<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, or other social media channels, the concept of free traffic should make your mouth water.\u00a0<\/p>\n One email broadcast to subscribers can result in hundreds or thousands of clicks. If you were to pay for that sort of engagement elsewhere, it adds up . . . fast.\u00a0<\/p>\n I’m not against paying for traffic by any means (I spend a lot on paid promotions myself), but I am the biggest advocate of email marketing and retargeting you will ever find.\u00a0<\/p>\n Don’t worry, paid traffic and email marketing aren’t mutually exclusive. Email marketing just lets you get more out of each visitor that lands on your site.\u00a0<\/p>\n Let’s say that you pay $0.25\/click to send traffic to a blog post. Each visitor reads a certain amount of the post, maybe they buy something, maybe they don’t.\u00a0<\/p>\n If they don’t, they are likely gone forever. If you are collecting their email addresses by offering them an enticing reason to fork it over (a lead magnet) you can then retarget them until they unsubscribe<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Now, that $0.25 click you paid for can be worth exponentially more!<\/p>\n Giving away enticing freebies is one of the most lucrative moves you can make for your internet business.<\/p>\n You should average $1+\/subscriber per month on my email list. Let that sink in. That number is extremely conservative.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n If you get 1,000 email subscribers, you should be generating $1,000\/month in revenue!\u00a0<\/p>\n Here are some email marketing statistics you should consider…<\/p>\n This is why I’m willing to spend big money to GIVE people great stuff.\u00a0<\/p>\n In spite of all the hype around social media platforms, your email list is the only thing that can’t be taken away from you.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “<\/em><\/span>\u00a0<\/em><\/span>.<\/em><\/span>..your email list is the only thing that can’t be taken away from you…<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n You can spend years building a following on Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube just to have it all taken away. There are countless horror stories of internet businesses that were decimated when they were booted from their only platform.\u00a0<\/p>\n So, how do you get email subscribers? It starts with giving value. You can’t get email subscribers without giving something of value in return.\u00a0<\/p>\n Every time I see a blog that says something like, “Join our newsletter,” I can’t help but roll my eyes. It’s sad to think how much money these sites are leaving on the table!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Convincing enough? I hope so.<\/p>\n Let’s go on…<\/p>\n<\/div>\n First, remember that email addresses aren’t handed out freely like they once were. A clean inbox is a high priority for most people so your readers\/viewers don’t want emails that they don’t care about.<\/p>\n This means that your lead magnet needs to be well thought out, extremely enticing, and of the highest quality.<\/p>\n A great lead magnet should meet the following 6 criteria.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Your lead magnet needs to be something irresistible and immediately applicable. Someone is much more likely to download your lead magnet if they can use it in the near future. If it’s not something they need right now, they likely won’t hand over the email address.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Your lead magnet can’t be vague. It should be extremely targeted to your readers and their current needs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I have<\/span>\u00a0made the mistake<\/a> many times of associating total value with total opt-ins. The truth is that readers care more about solving their immediate problems than they care about amassing even more information on topics that aren’t yet on their mind.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n So, if your niche is bodybuilding, instead of creating a lead magnet like “Ultimate Guide to Building Muscle,” consider something much more simple like “My Simple Cure for Muscle Soreness.” <\/span><\/p>\n The latter is less overwhelming and solves one specific problem (muscle soreness) that would relate to your topic of interest.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I can almost guarantee that all things being equal, the shorter, targeted lead magnet would outperform the massive “ultimate guide” magnet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n A good lead magnet should be something that subscribers can access quickly. <\/span><\/p>\n The best lead magnets are downloadable and can be opened by the subscriber quickly and easily. Offering lead magnets that require massive commitments of time (think of something like a “40 week training course”) doesn’t attract subscribers like magnets that provide the content immediately.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Many marketers make the mistake of creating freebies that don’t define their user base. I’ve seen people do things like, “enter to win a free iPad<\/a>!” The problem with this is that everyone likes free iPads! If someone joins your list because they wanted an iPad, they aren’t likely to be good customers in the future.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Your lead magnet should relate directly to what you are offering your subscriber in the future. Do you plan on promoting a product relating to weight loss? If so, your lead magnet should be related to weight loss!<\/span><\/p>\n Lead magnets help you skim the ideal customers from the masses and segment them in a way that allows you to sell to them more easily in the future without being “salesy” or annoying. If they have already expressed interest in something, you promoting something related to that interest in the future is perfectly natural and welcomed.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Think of it this way: if your lead magnet provides huge value, the subscriber will ask themselves, “if this is the FREE stuff, what do I get if I buy something?!?” Everything you promote in the future will sell better<\/a> when you’ve already built trust and given value freely.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The free content shouldn’t be something you just whip together without any effort. This is your chance to showcase your expertise and impress your new subscribers. Lots of lead magnets end up damaging the reputation of the person or company giving them away because they were put together with little thought or effort.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Now, some lead magnets won’t check off each of these items. That is ok, but the further you deviate from these guidelines, the lower your conversion rates will become, and you will get subscribers of lesser value.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n So where do you start?<\/p>\n I have good news, if you already have created content, you likely don’t have to start from scratch.<\/p>\n Some of the best lead magnets are just repurposed content from blog posts, videos, podcasts, webinars, etc.\u00a0<\/p>\n Are you worried that people will feel cheated since the information is freely available online? They won’t care…<\/p>\n No one cares where it came from; it’s about value. Just make sure that your magnet provides tons of value.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you feel bad getting emails for content that could be found elsewhere, you can always remove the original content after you have made your lead magnet.\u00a0<\/p>\n A great piece of content can often lead to more revenue in the long run if you use it as a lead magnet as opposed to making it freely available anyway. Just be sure that you don’t leave your site barren of the content that makes people visit it in the first place.\u00a0<\/p>\n Never remove a piece of content that is driving a lot of organic traffic on its own. I’m sure that if you’ve created a lot of content there is something that is vastly underrated that would serve better as a lead magnet than a stale post or video.\u00a0<\/p>\n When it comes to creating lead magnets,\u00a0start with the end in mind.<\/strong><\/p>\n Ask yourself the following questions:<\/p>\n Question #1 What is it you’re hoping to sell these subscribers in the future?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Even if you don’t have an exact product in mind, you should have a general idea of how you’re going to monetize your list in the future. Remember, creating and distributing free content costs you time, energy, and money, so you should have an end in mind for how you’ll justify these expenses and then some.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Question #2 What lead magnets could you make to target people who would buy this product in the future?\u00a0<\/strong>Let’s say that you are hoping to sell something to weight lifters, what sort of lead magnet would work to attract and segment people who would be interested in products in the weight lifting niche? How about a free report showing how to gain 1 inch on your biceps in 3 weeks<\/em>? How about a recipe for the perfect post workout meal for muscle growth? Both of these ideas would help attract people who are most likely to spend money with you later on in the weight lifting niche.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Here are some tips that will help you get more leads.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “Never stop testing, and your advertising will never stop improving.”<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em>–\u00a0<\/em>David Ogilvy\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n At scale, small percentage increases in conversion rates can lead to massive increases in subscribers, which means more revenue.\u00a0<\/p>\n Better optimized lead magnets also mean a better user experience on your website. If more people are opting in, it is likely annoying fewer people.\u00a0<\/p>\n You will never make the perfect lead magnet (even with testing), but you can always improve it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Be sure to test one element at a time<\/a>, so you understand what is causing changes in conversions.<\/p>\n When it comes to lead magnets, the more the merrier!\u00a0<\/p>\n I try and create lead magnets that cover every possible sub niche that my blog attracts, and I try to create different media types to resonate with the most readers possible. I don’t care if a subscriber prefers PDFs, audio files, or workbooks just as long as they are interested in the things I share and could be a valuable member of my email list.\u00a0<\/p>\n More lead magnets also means better segmentation and targeting later. I can create segments and\u00a0tags<\/a> that make sure I don’t send emails to people who wouldn’t care about them. The more emails I send that aren’t relevant to the recipient, the more unsubscribes I get and the less money I make in the long run.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n We want to ensure that our display rules are optimized.\u00a0<\/p>\n This means showing the right lead magnets to the right readers at the right time.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Why Do Lead Magnets Matter?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nWhat Makes a Great Lead Magnet?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
#1 Provide Immediate Gratification<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
#2 Attract Your Dream Customer\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
#3 Have Real Value\u00a0<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
#4 Demonstrates Your Expertise in the Field<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Creating Your Lead Magnet<\/h2>\n
Lead Magnet Best Practices<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
1. Always Be Testing<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
2. Segment, Segment, Segment!<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
3. Be Aggressive<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n