The 7 Ways to Create a Compelling Lead Magnet

The lead magnet can be an elusive little thing in your digital marketing and lead generation strategy.

Okay,  maybe it’s not so little.

Let’s be honest. It’s that bribe you’re offering your audience, in exchange for what you really need from them: a lead. At LeadQuizzes, our users offer a lead magnet at the end of their quiz.

Below is an example of a lead magnet featured on DigitalMarketer.com.

Seems simple enough. Offer your readers something valuable, and they’ll, in turn, give you something valuable. Easy, right?

Here’s the problem.

How do you actually deliver value? How do you create a lead magnet so compelling your audience can’t refuse it?

Below are 7 lead magnets that are compelling enough and have just enough irresistibility to get your audience to go ahead and hand over their information.

1. A Video

According to Unbounce, videos are one of the best ways to increase your qualified leads, while simultaneously improving your return on investment. Additionally, research shows a whopping 65% of us learn best through visuals. Why not put these factors to good use in your lead magnet?

Unbounce, in an effort to prove the value of videos, put together a campaign called “Tale of Two Marketers.” It’s a cartoon video storybook, which aimed to get people to ultimately download a case study, and then of course, give up their email address.

The conversion rate for the campaign? 33%. Looks like the simple cartoon explainer video worked.

2. Create a “Blueprint”

Simple is almost always better, and designing a lead magnet is no exception. You probably already know you need to create value, but trying to do too much isn’t going to make your offer compelling. Instead, offering something simple, specific and packed with value is going to make it compelling.

This next example is an excellent representation of offering something that’s short, simple and specific. You get value, you get actionability, and it’s all delivered in an easy-to-digest blueprint format.

3. The Checklist Approach

In today’s fast-paced world, a checklist is how many of us get throughout days. Checklists for what we need to accomplish in a workday, family and household duties, checklists for things we need to buy, errands we need to run. Whatever it is, checklists work for many people. There are even entire apps dedicated to helping people create and manage their checklists. Why not take this appeal and turn it into a value-creating lead magnet? Checklists are brief, to-the-point and inherently actionable.

Neil Patel does a great job of this. The content and marketing guru often offers checklists as his lead magnet.

4. Sample Products

We had a client at LeadQuizzes who found her lead generation tactics weren’t working. She came to us and we worked to design a quiz called “What’s Your Skin Score?”

After the quiz Annmarie, the owner of an organic skincare line, then offered a sample skin care kit for only $10, along with free shipping for anyone who opted in. She also offered a $10 coupon for the user’s next purchase. The offer was highly aligned with the quiz, it was appealing for visitors who wanted to try the products out, and she offered a 100% money back guarantee, all of which made the lead magnet offered by Annmarie a hit. She saw 20,250 leads in a period of two months.

5. Quotes and Consultations

There are a lot of businesses in the service industry in particular, where customers request a personal quote or estimate. Offering a free consultation can be an excellent lead magnet idea, and you’re likely to get more qualified leads as a result. We had another LeadQuizzes client who harnessed the value of offering free consultations as a lead magnet. Dr. Alan Christianson was able to gain 40-60 new consult requests per month with a 57% close rate of consult requests by first offering the Thyroid Quiz to help people uncover whether or not they had a problem with their Thyroid functioning.

Then they opted in with their name and email, and were given their result. On their results page, users were given an offer to sign up for a free consultation at the Integrative Healthcare office in Scottsdale. Also part of the deal was a signed copy of Dr. Christianson’s book, and a free food intolerance test, if they went on to become a patient.

Below is another example of using a consultation as a compelling lead magnet.

6. Free Trials

This idea is a bit like offering a free sample, but it’s ideal for a business such as a yoga studio or a gym. Offer a free trial period. This is the tactic many fitness studios take advantage of already, which is offering a complimentary trial period to give potential customers a feel for what the gym is like. It works well as a lead magnet strategy, as well as an in-person marketing tactic.

Check out the yoga studio lead magnet below. It’s simple, and you can select the club where you want to redeem your free pass.

7. Offer a Course or Webinar

Ultimately, your goal when designing a lead magnet should be providing value to leads. A good way to deliver that value is through an online course or webinar. When you’re creating this type of webinar make sure you let your audience know up front what problems the webinar or class can solve, and how it can create value for them. Webinars and online course offerings work particularly well for leads who already have some level of interest in your product or service, but aren’t all the way there yet.

Below is an example of a lead magnet offered by penny stock trading guru Timothy Sykes. He offers seven video lessons for free, in exchange for just the user’s name and email address.

As another example, below are webinars offered by KISSmetrics as part of their approach to lead magnets.

Here’s another example of KISSMetrics  using webinars as a lead magnet:

So there you have it, some of our favorite ideas for creating a lead magnet that really is compelling. You can also rely on access to a whitepaper or eBook, but the above examples deviate from that path a bit and add new, exciting elements to the traditional lead magnet.

Visit LeadQuizzes to see how you can transform your lead generation using the combination of an engaging quiz along with a compelling magnet.