How to Boost Business Leads and Sales with Lead Magnets

What is a lead magnet?

A lead magnet is a conversion rate optimization tactic or hack which provides information usually in the form of a PDF or graphic which is placed on a website in exchange for contact information. The contact information is used as a lead or email list. The key to a successful lead magnet is understanding what the visitor really wants or needs that is related to their job or personal life. Your offer must be relevant and provide value in order for the visitor to be converted. It doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does need to be specific. Lead magnets can be used in social and viral campaigns as well as paid advertising.

In order for a lead magnet to have an impact, it must offer a big value within a few minutes of the visitor clicking the submit button. The most common type of lead magnet is a report or a guide or a checklist that interests your target market. Other types of lead magnets are info-graphics that explain a product or a process using pictures and graphic images and videos.

Key takeaway – lead magnets solve a specific problem with a specific solution for a specific audience in exchange for contact information.

A lead magnet triggered for the user to see at the right time in their customer journey can have a conversion rate range from 3% to 40%. The average lead magnet conversion rate is in the 10% to 20% range.

How do you start with lead magnets?

The first thing you need to know is who is your target market. Know your audience, who they are, what they want and why they buy.  Think about what your target audience is interested in and what will make their day or their job better. It does not necessarily have to be 100% connected to what your business does. For example, a coffee bean wholesale company could have a lead magnet called “7 things that cause coffee shops to fail.” The coffee shop owner will want to read this and in doing so will learn about a coffee bean wholesaler.  If you don’t target the lead magnet to your target market, then you will collect poor quality leads. 

What are some examples of lead magnets? 

The most popular lead magnet example is the checklist. In most cases, a checklist has a high conversion rate because it is easy to consume. A checklist condenses a ton of information into a list of action items. You can take all the content from a blog post and turn it into a checklist, which is a quick and easy method to re-purpose your content.

Another common lead magnet is the cheat sheet. It’s similar to a checklist but it tends to focus on a specific process or a set of guidelines that the user can follow to achieve a specific outcome. Why are cheat sheets so popular? Because the user associates a cheat sheet with acing a test – getting an A without studying. Cheat sheets are shortcuts to success and remove the requirement to think.

Info-graphics can show a lot of information in a quick format. This can be used to help the reader understand a market or industry trends.

A less common lead magnet is the sample. A sample is something you provide to your audience that gives them an example to follow. For instance, if you sell software that builds price quotes for clients, you can offer a free sample of the quote form. The user gets to see what the quote form looks like, and they also get to see the extra features that your software provides to help them create their own quote forms.

E-books like this one are another way to build your email list and present useful and helpful information.

How do I build a lead magnet?

One way to build a lead magnet is to capture users on your site just when they are leaving your site. The Ometrics exit intent popups allow you to upload your lead magnet or point a URL to the lead magnet on your server. The process would be like this:

1. Create your popup and select how the users trigger it, such as on exit, on a specific page, the second time they visit the site, after scrolling to the bottom, etc. There are different triggers for mobile users such as showing a banner asking if they are interested.
2. The user can fill out the form on the popup, which typically asks for an email address. When they click submit, the lead magnet is viewed for download or the user is pointed to a different page on the site.

Once your lead magnet is created you have a couple choices in delivering it.

1. Create a landing page with a form. The page should show a picture of the lead magnet and a couple bullets of the benefits.
2. Once the form is submitted you can either email the lead magnet automatically or point them to the lead magnet PDF or image to view and download.

Now that you know more about lead magnets, how do you think they will work on your site? Give us your comments and feedback about your experience with lead magnets.