Creating great content isn’t enough anymore. 
The traffic you generate to your site through your content marketing and even paid traffic is there for a reason.
To generate sales.
The problem is that for most content, you won’t be generating immediate sales for your products just from having people there.
That’s why the most successful online entrepreneurs use lead magnets to collect email addresses from readers.
The secret is to collect email addresses of potential customers though NOT just any ole’ subscriber.
But in today’s world, everyone is using some sort of lead magnet whether it’s an effective one or not so, it’s getting even harder to stand out from the crowd.
That’s why we wanted to share some ideas to spice up your next lead magnet.
Here are 7 lead magnet tips to make your next lead magnet stand out from the crowd and generate potential customers.
1. Use A Story
I wanted to start here because I remember the first time I read a blog post by Groove and saw this opt-in at the bottom of the blog post.
It totally caught my eye mainly because it said “oh shit” but then I realized what was going on.
Instead of the checklist, ebook, a video series lead magnet that we see 99.9 times out 100, this came as a refreshment.
Groove wants to bring you behind the scenes on their journey.
Who doesn’t like behind behind the scenes to see what ACTUALLY is going on? I know I eat that sh*t up everytime.
In a world where everyone and their mother is using an ebook, guide or checklist of some sort (I’m guilty too), the promise of learning what Groove is learning as they grow came as a refreshment.
So before you create your next lead magnet, consider how you might be able to take new subscribers on a journey.…
Heck, I did a thing with my podcast co-host for the Zero To Scale Podcast but, instead of email, we chose podcasting as a format (which isn’t the best idea if you’re trying to build a list but that’s a different convo for a different day).
[Tweet “Make your next lead magnet a journey like @groovehq and stand out from the crowd.”]
There are a lot of things that make this a great lead magnet.
First, the copy is on point. I can’t think of one entrepreneur or small business owner that wouldn’t relate with the message “From “aha” to “oh shit””.
The sub-headline “We’re learning a lot and so will you.” is very authentic and almost prepares me to empathize with the ups and downs that I believe they are about to be sharing with me.
Lastly, the graphic of their monthly revenue is intriguing, right?
You see that graph and despite the fact that they are already making almost $375k/month, you automatically know that they started with zero.
And that gives viewers the “If they can do it, so can I” attitude.
And once you have your readers saying believing in you AND themselves…you better believe they are opting in.
So if you want to mix things up and try something new for your business, why not figure out how to take your new subscribers on a journey that has a strong tie into your product/service offering?
And if you needed any more convincing…
Neil Patel (arguably one of the most successful entrepreneurs) clearly thought it was a good idea that he essentially modeled his lead magnet after what Groove was doing.
2. Leverage Loss Aversion In Your Copy
I’ve always respected Derek Halpern over at Social Triggers.
He’s not only grown his email list super fast to six figures but, there is something about his New York attitude that just makes me feel like I’m at home (I’m from Jersey. And I’ve heard all the jokes so just drop it).
So I was not even close to surprised when I saw this pop-up on his site trying to teach me how to get 5,000 subscribers for free and the language he used for his call-to-action buttons.
If you’re familiar with the content on Social Triggers, then you know that there is often a connection between psychology and marketing.
A powerful combination when used correctly.
What do you think someone feels when they click on the button “I Reject The Free Ebook”?
I wish there were a technology that tracked how long one’s mouse hover over that button before actually clicking it.
I’d guess it’s longer than most.
There is this almost an instant feeling of loss when you think of the word “rejection” and nobody likes losing anything.
In fact, there is science that describes an experiment that shows just how strongly a human behavior will change if the feeling of loss is introduced.
This all leads to trying a few new things when encouraging people to opt-in to your next lead magnet.
- Use language that implies your audience already has access to your lead magnet. With this example, I feel like I already have it (if I want) because it’s free. Why wouldn’t I request it? 🙂
- Take this to the next level and talk about what your prospect will lose if they don’t opt-in rather than what they would gain by buying. Test it and see what happens or keep losing subscribers. (See what I did there?)
[Tweet “Flip the script and focus on what subscribers miss out on if they don’t download your lead magnet.”]
3. The Choose Your Own Adventure Lead Magnet
My friend Bryan Harris over at Video Fruit knows what he is doing when it comes to building a list.
Heck, he has a whole product called Get 10k Subscribers.
If you make your way over to his site you’ll notice right there on the homepage you’re given a choice.
He asks new visitors a simple question, “What step do you need help with?” and gives you three options.
I like to call this a “Choose Your Own Adventure” Lead Magnet. He is letting visitors decide what they need help with and each of the three options is a lead magnet.
This allows Bryan to effectively nurture each of those opt-ins into the right product offering that he has for them.
No guessing, who needs what.
Just let them tell you.
[Tweet “Create a “Choose Your Own Adventure” lead magnet and build a list of potential customers.”]
You’ll probably start to see this on many websites if you haven’t already.
Danny Iny, the Founder, and CEO at Mirasee leverages this tactic extremely well too. Based on which guide you download, he immediately knows how to talk to you and in many ways, what stage of business you’re in.
You can bet this will play a part in how he engages and nurtures you down a specific path to one of his relevant offerings.
4. Use Templates From Your Existing Product A Lead Magnet
I wanted to share this example from Digital Marketer because I really like the idea of using templates as lead magnets.
They are quick and easy for prospects to get value from (if they are good obviously) AND should be something you can extract from your existing product making them fairly easy to create.
The best part about using templates from your existing product as a lead magnet is that it becomes a sample of your paid offer.
[Tweet “A sample of your product = the easiest lead magnet that generates potential customers.”]
The biggest mistake people make with lead magnets is attracting just subscribers…when we really want to attract potential customers.
There are a number of ways you can actually implement this in your own business.
- If you’re selling a book you can offer the first chapter or a summary of the book for free.
- If your services are web development and SEO, you can offer a free website audit.
- If you offer Facebook advertising
5. The Worksheet Lead Magnet (Bonus Points for GIF)
Another example from Digital Marketer that I like is using a worksheet as a lead magnet.
Worksheets are effective as lead magnets in that prospects can get immediate results when completing them (obviously with the right guidance) which is why sometimes you’ll see them combined with templates.
The template serves as a guide and the worksheet is for you to customize it to YOUR business.
The new subscribers that complete the worksheet will instantly feel like they’ve made progress which allows you to follow up with them to ensure they keep making progress.
Bonus points for using a GIF as the lead magnet image. I don’t see this often but it’s obviously something that can catch your visitor’s eye which is the first step in getting someone to give you their email address.
[Tweet “Make your next lead magnet a GIF like @digitalmarketer and catch your visitor’s attention.”]
6. The Feature Box Lead Magnet
You thought I was going to mention the webinar didn’t you.
Yes, Amy Porterfield is known for using webinars as a lead magnets and they are definitely recommended but what I wanted to highlight here was using the feature box area of your website to highlight your lead magnet.
The feature box is the top portion of your homepage new visitors see. It’s almost impossible to miss and it’s the first thing that communicates what your site is about.
That makes it a great place to highlight your primary call-to-action to get people on your list.
[Tweet “Model pros @amyporterfield, @noahkagan & @danmartell. Build your list w/ a feature box. “]
You’ll notice many entrepreneurs are doing this because it’s that effective.
Here is Noah Kagan over at OKdork.com
Or Dan Martell :
If you’re due for a website update, you may want to consider capturing leads in the feature box area of your website.
7. Free Analysis Lead Magnet (Bonus: Deliver It With Software)
Neil Patel is back showing us how it’s done.
Leveraging a Free Analysis (or audit) can be a great way to capture a lead on your website.
If you’re a SaaS company or even a service company you’re likely in the best position to implement this.
The great part about this is that it can immediately tie to your product/service offer making new prospects more qualified candidates for your sales process.
[Tweet “Tie your lead magnet directly to your product by offering an assessment like @neilpatel”]
Now, what I like about what Neil has here is that the lead magnet is actually delivered by technology making it very seamless for him to deliver it.
If you’re a web design company and you offer a free website analysis, you’re most likely going to need someone on your team to perform the audit unless you have technology that can do it for you.
So that’s why Neil Patel gets the hat tip here and if you can deliver some sort of analysis or audit leveraging technology that aligns with your service/product offering, the more likely you just generated a potential customer vs “just a subscriber”.
How Will You Give Your Next Lead Magnet A New Twist
Is your lead magnet in need of a refresh?
If so, can one of these 7 lead magnet ideas help you start building a list of potential customers vs “just subscribers”?
Let us know which was your favorite and which you’ll be trying next.
