What Are Lead Magnets and Why Do I Need Them?
Lead Magnet, Freebies, Welcome Sequence: What does this all mean?
When you’re in the marketing business, it’s very easy to get caught up in the jargon and forget that those new to this business may not know what these terms mean. When I started my own business, I had no idea what a “Lead Magnet” was and why I needed one. So I decided to break it down for you in this blog post.
What is a Lead Magnet?
A lead magnet, also known as a freebie, is basically what it says on the label. It’s a free resource that you allow somebody (a potential client) to access in exchange for their email address. You get an interested party on your email list (so you can start sending more direct and personalised marketing) and the interested party gets a taste of the service or product you provide. By offering a free tool or resource, your audience can sample your expertise. For this reason, the lead magnet should provide value; something tangible that your dream client will find useful.
A lead magnet can come in many forms. It can be a guide or a checklist (e.g. 10 things you need in place before starting a business). Say your niche market is new business owners, your guide might be “Essential Tools Every Solopreneur Should Have” and would include a list of free resources that they can use when starting their new business. It could be a free mini-planner designed for new Solopreneurs or perhaps a mini pack of social media marketing templates.
These are just a few examples of lead magnets/freebies. They don’t need to be long or fancy, but they must provide value so your potential client feels it was worth giving up their privacy and email address in exchange. Don’t forget that free is a big motivator. You can also have multiple lead magnets going at one time; this is especially effective if you have more than one niche market; you can offer a freebie specific to each market that you serve.
How to deliver your Lead Magnet
You’ve created your exciting Lead Magnet and now you need some way to deliver it to your potential client. For this, you need a landing page: a fancy term for a single page website which includes a form where visitors can enter their info (email address) that will trigger an email sequence to deliver the freebie. This website is purposefully very simple so as not to distract your potential client from giving their info to get their freebie. Your landing page is there as a way for you to capture information before you deliver your Lead Magnet.
You don’t need a website of your own to start, several email marketing platforms enable you to create a landing page using their platform. I use Flodesk for my own business (check out this blog post to learn why). Flodesk offers several options, my favorite is the full-page form which is very simple and quick to build. The link doesn’t have to go on a website, you can share it directly with people or add the link it to your social media profile. Another option would be to use a web builder, such as Squarespace, and create a landing page on your current website provider.
Promoting your Lead Magnet
Now you know what a lead magnet is, what it can look like and how to deliver it while capturing emails. Your next step is to get the word out there about your amazing freebie. You want to make it as easy as possible for your potential client to go from social media follower to email subscriber. For example, Instagram or LinkedIn, like most social media platforms, will let you have some sort of link in your profile (like a Smart Bio or Link Tree) where you can connect to a page with multiple links. You can also build a very simple bio page on your website which contains all of your key calls to action and is linked to your profile page. Just make sure you have the link to your lead magnet somewhere that is easy to access.
Next you need to promote your freebie all the time. Create a post about it and publish it on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. and then publish it again a few weeks later. Don’t worry about over saturating your audience. People have short memories so you want to keep reminding them about this fabulous free resource! You don’t have to write an entire post about it every time (although it's a good idea to slot them in every so often) but make it a call to action if your content is relevant to your lead magnet or vice versa.
Remind your audience to go to your LinkedIn or Instagram bio and download using the link. You can even share a link within your email signature. If you have business cards, you can create a QR code with a link to your lead magnet. The point is to put the link anywhere and everywhere so that potential clients can find your lead magnet easily and sign up to your email list. Email subscribers are almost 6 times more likely to read your content than social media followers.
Key Takeaways
Your lead magnet is a free resource that you give someone in exchange for their email address and permission to market to them.
You will need a landing page; somewhere for people to sign up to your email list in exchange for the freebie.
Finally, you need to promote your freebie to encourage people to sign up and download it. The more people who click that link and give you their email address, the more opportunities you have to show them what you have to offer.
A lead magnet should be followed by a Welcome Sequence: a personalized series of emails that allow you to introduce yourself to your potential client, to send them stories, to show you understand their specific needs, to follow up with testimonials from other satisfied customers and generally show them that you provide exactly the service they are looking for. If you want to know more about email welcome sequences, read my guest blog post for Mompreneur Caach, Hillary Bennet or check out this episode of Showing Up Solo.
