9 Irresistible Lead Magnet Ideas to Grow Your Audience

When it comes to lead magnets, saying that the ‘free’ bar has been raised would be an understatement. Gone are the days when visitors to one’s website would hastily type out their email address just to get a freebie.

People are far more web savvy these days and tend to be reluctant to divulge their email address because they know that they’re going to be receiving promotional emails in the future.

So your lead magnet (freemium, freebie, opt-in gift – or whatever you want to call it) must be highly tempting and offer a solution to their pressing problems. This is key to increasing your opt-in conversion rate.

• Get these rules wrong and no one will want your lead magnet

There are 3 unwritten rules when it comes to putting a lead magnet in front of your audience:

1. It must grab attention and be something that your audience desperately needs. Your mantra here is this, “Targeted, specific and relevant!”

It should have a compelling value proposition which encourages your audience to quickly type out their email address in the opt in form because they can’t wait to access your freebie.

2. It should share information that will help your subscriber – but it shouldn’t give away the farm.

The lead magnet must be useful enough for them to implement (to some extent) … but it must also tempt them to consider purchasing your complete product so that they can enjoy the full benefits that they’re potentially missing out on.

3. The opt in page needs to look professional, there should be ease of access and a clear call-to action.

Avoid asking for too many details such as the visitor’s address, phone number, blood type, mother-in-law’s name, etc.

Just their first name and email will do. In many cases, you may choose not to even ask for their name. The more fields they need to fill out, the lower the conversion rate will be.

Now that we’ve covered the basics and highlighted the importance of having a lead magnet that people truly want, it’s time to look at 9 different types of freebies that you can offer.

This is not rocket science. All the freebies mentioned below have been proven to convert. It’s important to note that just because it’s a free gift, that doesn’t mean you can do it perfunctorily and release a shoddy product.

You don’t get a second chance to make a good first impression.

In fact, your lead magnet should be so awesome that it makes your subscriber think, “If their free gift is so good, I wonder how much better their paid offer will be. I need to go get it!”

Your lead magnet is almost like an affiliate working round the clock to get sales for you. It’s a calling card that highlights your expertise, attention to detail and professionalism.

9 High-Converting Lead Magnets

1. Short reports

Generally, a short report should be about 3-5 pages long. Give a quick introduction, talk a bit about the mindset required and share 1 to 2 tips that the reader can implement immediately. It should be concise, targeted and informative.

Keep things simple and straightforward. If it’s a new subscriber, that will mean they barely know you and will have no time for drivel. By giving them useful and helpful information in a simple format – they’ll appreciate the guidance and consume your content easily.

2. Infographics (or posters)

A simple infographic containing the key points for a topic can prove very useful for your reader.

For example, a copywriting infographic may highlight the different components a sales page will need.

With this image, the subscriber will know with one glance what they need on their sales page – and this handy reference makes their life much easier. Of course, once you’ve delivered the infographic, you can try to sell them your outstanding copywriting course that everyone is raving about.

This is how a lead magnet opens the door to other promotional emails. By giving them an appetizer, you’ll leave their mouths watering for your main course.

3. Templates

Fill-in-the-blank templates are very popular for sales letters, videos, blog posts and much more. With a proven template, it’s easier for your subscriber to create content without being intimidated by the prospect of starting from scratch.

Email templates, style guide templates, content calendars, social media post templates, etc. are all examples of templates you could create.

4. Checklists

A checklist is INVALUABLE when a process has multiple steps to follow.

For example, if you’re selling a course on creating profitable niche sites, a checklist will be a list of tasks that needs to be completed in the right order to build a functioning site that ranks well.

Since checklists are often bullet points (with checkboxes), despite being useful to the subscriber, they’ll need to buy your complete course to really understand and nail down the process.

Guess what?

Yup! Many of them will buy what you’re selling just to get the most out of the checklist.

5. Case studies

People love true crime shows, gossip magazines and videos about celebrities’ lives. There’s a reason for this – they love real-life scenarios and enjoy watching the consequences of people’s actions.

Similarly, many marketers, beginners, and experts alike love case studies because they reveal the marketing actions taken and the resulting wins (or losses). A real-life case study is a lesson on what to do and what to avoid.

Your subscribers will find case studies extremely useful because of the step-by-step and honest nature of it all. This lead magnet builds trust and credibility, if you can show what you did and the positive results you achieved.

6. Videos/webinars

Videos are easy to create. Just record a 15-minute video highlighting a few key points that your viewer can implement. Below the video, you should add a link to your full course which is on sale.

If you use a webinar as a lead magnet, make sure it’s interesting, concise and believable.

These days, many people are wary and cynical about webinars which are just pitches with long-winded stories about the presenter going from eking out a dismal homeless existence under a bridge to now feasting on caviar in some penthouse in Dubai – all because of his ‘push button’ viral marketing system.

Less is more when it comes to videos.

7. Mini-courses

A mini-course is a great way to introduce new subscribers to your style of teaching. It goes without saying that if your mini-course is outstanding, your subscribers will view you as an authority.

And they’ll be more likely to buy from you.

So make it an outstanding mini-course. Give them some of what they need to know… but NOT everything.

The truth is that most subscribers won’t even complete the free course. But they’ll still believe that they received value, and many will purchase from you in future.

8. Free trials

If you have a membership site or a paid software tool that has a monthly fee, offering free access for a week or a month in exchange for their email will get you a lot of subscribers.

They have nothing to lose and can get free access to see if they like what you’re offering. Once the free trial is over, they’ll have an option to pay and stay on, or leave.

This is extremely straightforward. Those who stay will go on to become fans of your service… and those who leave can be remarketed to or deleted if they’re not interested. Your email list will be ‘cleaner’ and more targeted.

9. Resource lists

A resource list is basically a list of tools, services, products, etc. that you use.

If you’ve achieved success in your niche, people will want to know exactly what products you’re using so that they can model your actions and replicate your success.

It doesn’t matter what niche you’re in. Champion bodybuilders are always asked what supplements and training routines they follow.

Successful marketers are asked what tools and services they use. Fiction writing beginners ask the pros what books they need to read. Travelers ask for recommendations on which hotels to stay in and so on.

Resource lists are like personal recommendations. So only recommend what you’re using.

A PDF or web page with a list of links to the resources you’re using will be advantageous to your subscribers who are looking for reputable products/services.

You can add affiliate links to all the products you’re recommending. Just ensure that you add an affiliate disclaimer to your PDF/page.

Time to magnetize!

Now that you know the different types of lead magnets you can create, it’s just a matter of choosing one and creating it. Sometimes, you may wish to create a few different types and split test them.

You may discover that checklists resonate with your audience while videos have poor conversions. From here, you’ll just need to focus on driving traffic to your checklists opt-in page.

Besides the tips mentioned above, you may wish to use a reputable page builder such as LeadsLeap to create your landing page.

You’ll also want a proven autoresponder with satisfactory deliverability rates such as SendSteed. This will ensure that you build your list efficiently and your emails land in your subscribers’ inboxes instead of languishing in the spam folder.

Start putting out your lead magnets into the marketplace and you’ll attract targeted, fresh leads into your business in no time at all.