If you own a small business, you may have heard the term “lead magnet” before, but if you’ve never explored what a lead magnet is, you may be missing out on a marketing strategy that could help you take your business to the next level.

What Is a Lead Magnet?

A lead magnet is an incentive, a freebie … something that is so valuable that you’re willing to exchange your email address for it. On a daily basis, we come across lead magnets like downloadable content, free online quizzes, and more that require us to provide an email address to receive a free piece of content or information that promises to benefit us in some way. 

A great lead magnet will bring value to your life or your business — so much so that when you read something like, “Download a free guide to [insert topic here],” you immediately enter your email, because you anticipate receiving something of value. Consequently, you’ve just jumped into that business owner’s sales funnel — perhaps without even realizing it. Prepare to receive regular emails from that business until you unsubscribe!

Lead magnets can be downloadable PDFs, checklists, quizzes, swipe copy, calculators, a free email course or webinar, etc. It may be an e-book that educates the audience on a particular industry or an “ultimate guide” to completing a task. Whatever the topic, it solves a problem and provides value for free as a way of piquing interest and building trust — and it’s a golden marketing tactic for gathering leads and growing an email list.

Why Use a Lead Magnet?

If you run a small business and have an online presence, you need leads — people who are interested in what you offer, though they may or may not be ready to take the plunge and purchase/register/patronize your business right away. Building an email list is one benefit of a lead magnet; a great lead magnet keeps you with a regular influx of potential clients voluntarily giving you their email addresses.

A strong lead magnet gives you a chance to set yourself up as an expert in your industry right off the bat. It also is a way to build trust with your audience and show them the kind of value you can provide. If your lead magnet solves some of their problems and all it required was their email address, they’ll have high hopes for the paid work you do!

What Every Lead Magnet Needs

Once you’ve decided you want to create a lead magnet, you should determine what you want your topic to be and whether you’re going to write it yourself or hire a professional to do it. If you decide to hire a professional, there are many copywriters that specialize in creating lead magnets that convert, and hiring one can help you save time and bring in an objective third party to write with your audience’s needs and goals in mind.

Regardless of whether you write your lead magnet or hire a copywriter to do so, there are a few qualities that every lead magnet needs in order to be successful, no matter your field or industry:

Provide Problem-solving Value

Your audience has a problem, and you have the solution; that’s marketing 101. Whether you work in the fertility awareness space, financial advising, graphic design, copywriting, or another field, your lead magnet should give your readers something they want, need, and can use to accomplish a goal or solve a problem. The topic of your lead magnet should be as specific as possible and should educate, instruct, or inspire readers so that they can easily take what they’ve learned, use or implement it, and see a result.

Show Your Expertise

A lead magnet is a great opportunity to show off what you know to people who may want to work with you in the future. Show off your skills, your knowledge, and your expertise. A lead magnet is a way to collect emails, but it’s also, importantly, a way to start building trust and create a strong first impression.

Be Easy to Access

People are impatient and busy. Make your lead magnet something they can access quickly — a download of just a few pages (many marketing professionals tend to shy away from long e-books). Make it downloadable immediately after they enter their email, or make it automatically, instantly appear in their email inbox. Don’t make your audience wait!

How They Work

First, select one of these lead magnet categories: 

• E-books

• Checklists

• Swipe copy (drag and drop, copy and paste, ready-made copy for emails, social media, and more that your audience can use that will make their lives easier)

• Quiz/assessment or survey

• Calculator

• Resource guide

• Workbook

• Webinar

• Newsletter

• Free trial

Then, come up with a title your audience just can’t resist, based on the “must-haves” discussed above. Here are a few examples:

• If you’re a graphic designer, a free webinar on how to build a landing page.

• If you’re a copywriter, a newsletter with monthly or weekly writing tips. 

• If you’re a financial adviser, a debt-reduction calculator.

• If you’re an artist or designer, a downloadable print or desktop wallpaper.

The key is that the freebie must be accessible only by providing a valid email address.

Finally, decide how you’ll deliver your lead magnet. Common methods include using a popup box on your website, a link or sign-up space on your blog, and promoted social media posts.

Wrapping It up

Lead magnets are a key marketing tool, especially for small online businesses that gather the majority of their leads from the web. Don’t miss out on this integral aspect of lead generation and cornerstone of your sales funnel!

Sarah Coffey is a freelance writer, copywriter, and editor. In college, she converted to Catholicism, met her now-husband Jesse, and received a B.A. in History. In 2018 she took the entrepreneurial plunge and started a copywriting and copyediting business — Coffey Copy & Content, LLC — and hasn't looked back. She loves using her talents for writing and editing to help business owners, students, and writers convey their messages powerfully and cleanly. She is also currently working on a Master's in Sacred Theology through St. Joseph's College of Maine and writes on matters of faith, theology, business, and travel. You can read more of her writing here.