What is a Lead Magnet and How Do I Make One?

What is a lead magnet and why the heck do you need one? 

Simply put, a lead magnet is a freebie you give to folks as an incentive to join your email list. 

If we were to get a little fancy I would say...

It's a quick burst of your brilliance packaged into a teensy, digestible, actionable package that gives your future clients a sense of what it's like to work with you!

Your lead magnet is one part of your big-picture marketing and email list-building strategy. 

What is the goal of a lead magnet?

To get your perfect potential clients onto your email list so you can build some solid know-like-trust action and give them a simple way to work with you!

Ok, ok. But let's get back to why I say your lead magnet is only ONE PART of your overall strategy...

There is more that goes into creating a sweet-sweet list-building funnel than JUST your lead magnet.

Way more than we'll dive into in this blog so that your brain doesn't catch on fire from overthinking it.

BUT ...

An irresistible, high-impact lead magnet is DEFINITELY the most fun element of your list-building funnel!

Why is a lead magnet important?

Because you want to give your superfans a place to hear from and engage with you other than social media (that's a good thing) and where you can promote your content, programs, products and services! (So people can ... oh I don't know ...  WORK with you?!)

As Jacinda Santora at OptinMonster reminds us, "60% of consumers subscribe to a brand's email list to receive promotional messages compared to 20% of consumers who will follow brands on social media to get deals."

Yet, list-building funnels and email marketing is often ignored for YEARS in favour of posting on social media. 

Check out my blog, Do I Really Need Social Media to Build a Business Online, to get clarity on the best content marketing and social media strategy for YOUR business model!

😫 The biggest regret I hear from successful entrepreneurs is that they waited too dang long to start building their email list and nurturing a relationship with their subscribers.

Let their regrets be a cautionary tale and let's talk about how YOU can make an irresistible lead magnet and start to build your email list!

How Do I Make a Lead Magnet?

If you're new around here you're about to learn that I never advise people to just jump into creating something without first thinking about it strategically!

How else will you know if you're making the right thing??

The first thing I teach my clients is that you need to consider the 3 Building Blocks of an Irresistible Lead Magnet before you actually begin to create one. 

Start by asking yourself...

Building Block 1: What do you want to sell?

I can't tell you how many times entrepreneurs new to digital marketing mess this one up! 

While your intention with your lead magnet and list-building funnel may not be to sell something...

You definitely have to consider what you DO want your subscriber to buy (eventually) and make sure your lead magnet is a smaller, simpler version of that!

What are you currently focused on selling?

How can your lead magnet be a mini version of that?

Building Block 2: Most Common Mindset Breakthrough

What is the most common mind-blowing AHA! your clients first experience once they start working with you? 

Where are they saying, 

🤯 "I never thought of _____ that way!"

🤯 "I didn't know I could do _____!" 

🤯 "I can't believe how easy it is to _____!"

🤯 "How have I missed _____ for so long?!"

🤯 "What a relief, I can finally stop _____!"

🤯 "Oh! I can totally do ____!"

Think about your clients when they begin their journey with you...

What is the first big mindset shift that helps set them free? 

You're gonna want to create a lead magnet that replicates that shift!

Building Block 3: Give Them an Actionable Quick Win in 15 minutes or Less!

Once you blow your new email subscriber's mind with a mind-blowing mindset shift, how can you get them into action that will deliver a quick win in 15 minutes or less that will empower the heck out of them to feel super proud of themselves?!

🥳 What first step can you have them take?

🥳 What super simple action can they do that is accessible, quick, and delivers genuine results? 

Hint: This is where your new subscriber gets to see how quickly you can help your clients get results ... and what will have them gushing to everyone they know about how dayum good you are at what you do! 

Once you've established what product or service your lead magnet aligns with, the mindset shift you want to blow their minds with, and how you can get them into action for that sweet quick win....

NOW YOU CAN START TO CREATE YOUR LEAD MAGNET!

It should be much easier to decide what KIND of lead magnet to create once you've answered the first 3 questions. 

The next step is to think about the best format for delivering the mindset shift and actionable quick win!

You could create a...

🧠 Quiz

🧠 E-book

🧠 Checklist

🧠 Mini-course

🧠 Video series

🧠 Template or prompts

Do a quick Google search and you'll find lots of examples of lead magnets but the 3 MOST IMPORTANT SHOULDS to remember are...

1. It Should Be Easy to Make!

No fancy software, apps, platforms, or new hardware to buy. 

Ideally, I'd like you to be able to create this lead magnet in 5 hours or less ... without spending any money! 

Remember, you can get fancier and more high-tech further down the line. 

But if this is your first lead magnet (or a new lead magnet that incorporates my strategy above) odds are you're going to change it within the next 6 months to a year. 

DON'T...

😰 Overthink it

😰 Spend weeks creating it

😰 Buy a bunch of tech, programs, or professional services

✅ Keep it simple and just start where you're at with what you've got. 

Believe me, you'll get fancier and more high-tech down the road!

2. It Should Be Simple to Consume

One of the biggest mistakes I see new entrepreneurs make is making their lead magnets too complicated and drawn out!

😰 Too much content that ends up overwhelming their new subscriber

😰 Hard to access like having to log into a membership or course portal

😰 Tries to cover too many topics at once

✅ Aim to have 1 SINGLE FOCUS that gives that single mindset shift and single actionable quick win! 

How long should a lead magnet be?

✅ Long enough to have an impact, short enough that it can be completed and implemented quickly!

Less is more...

You'll be able to wow your subscribers with ongoing content to fill in the blanks or deepen the lesson. 

...and of course, when they work with you they'll get the whole shebang!

3. It Should Be Fun to Talk About!

You want to LOVE talking about your lead magnet to everyone that'll listen, including on podcasts, YouTube videos, in your blogs, social posts, emails, new connections, other leaders, and more! 

Also, you want your new subscribers to LOVE talking about it to! 

You want to blow their minds so much that they share on social, tell their friends, and spread your socials and content around the internet like confetti! 

Have fun creating your lead magnet and make the experience fun for folks working through it. 

You want to leave people feeling inspired, empowered, and ready to change their lives! 

As I said earlier, your lead magnet is the first step in your overall list-building funnel and is only one example of digital marketing. 

Once you have your lead magnet created you're going to want to share it all over the internet! 

📥 Download my Sprinkle Your Lead Magnet Online Like Confetti Checklist for 33 ways you can get your lead magnet out into the world. 

Final thoughts

Deciding on a lead magnet is only the first step to your list-building funnel. 

Think of it this way...

🧩 Your lead magnet is a small piece of your list-building funnel.

🧩🧩 Your list-building funnel is a small piece of your digital marketing strategy. 

🧩🧩🧩 Your digital marketing strategy is just one piece of your client acquisition and business growth strategy. 

✅  And they all need to work together to get you in front of the right people, talking about the right things, and offering the right paid products and services! 

Next Steps!

To get a better idea of how everything works together go....

🥰 Watch my Super Simple List Building YouTube video

🥰 Dive into my free 5-day business course, 4 Business Building Basics Every New Entrepreneur Needs to Know

🥰 Snag my Sprinkle Your Lead Magnet Online Like Confetti Checklist 

🥰 Join my live Coaching & Coworking sessions on Zoom on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month

And get your brilliance out into the world so you can change some lives!

I'll see you online,

Lindsay 😘