Why a Lead Magnet is the Way to Grow Your Mailing List

One of the best ways to increase your email subscribers is by creating a lead magnet. Think of it like an incentive for people to give you their email address. They need to be receiving something of “value” in return.

 

So, what makes a good lead magnet? It needs to:

  1. Solve a problem 2. Be easy to digest 3. Be specific!  

Types of Lead Magnets

 

• Webinar – it doesn’t have to be long. Start with a blog post about a topic you’re an “expert” on.
• Checklist – an easy on is to turn instructional blog posts into checklists.
• Mini e-book – try putting a series of blogs together on the same topic.
• Cheat Sheet – essentially the same as a checklist!
• Quiz – before participants can download their results, they have to enter their email
• Challenge – these allow people to get a taste of what you offer. An idea is to run it exclusively in a Facebook group.
• Downloadable/Printable – great for creatives. These are pretty looking, like a shopping list.

Some subscribers will unsubscribe right after they receive your lead magnet. This is the nature of the beast. If it happens, don’t let it get you down. It simply means they aren’t your target audience.  

Choose Your Core Lead Magnet

  To start, you will need to identify your core lead magnet. This will be the one you use the most and it will need to align with the product or service you are selling. Ensure when promoting it you put it in a highly visible spot on your website. Unsure on what to decide to use? Ask yourself these questions.

• What are the most common questions asked by our target audience?
• What does my target audience need to understand before they buy from me?
• What is my target audiences biggest pain points?
• What content would my target audience think is so valuable they just have to have it?

 

How to create your lead magnet

  Start by writing out what you are going to include in your lead magnet and then hav e it designed. You can opt to do this for yourself but I find when you use a graphic designer it looks a lot better! Remember this could be a potential customers first impression of your business.

How are you going to deliver it?

  Think about where it is going to be stored. Will it be upload to your website if it’s a downloadable link or if a webinar or event, are you going to add the event to your website/Facebook etc. You’ll need to set it up on the homepage of your website either as a pop-up box or on a banner so its easily visible when someone visits your website. And then the most important, how will people sign up to receive it? My preference is always a landing page on your website that details the lead magnet and where people can enter their details. It keeps brand consistency but most importantly increases your web traffic and allows for remarketing.  

Don’t forget to create a Thank You Page for your Lead Magnet

  Again, really beneficial for remarketing but it is also a confirmation to your new subscriber that they have successfully opted in to receive your lead magnet. From there you can choose to have them either download the lead magnet direct from the Thank You page or advise them to check their email for the “lead magnet”. I prefer to have them check their email, which is away to confirm that the details they entered are correct. Now you need to create an automation series after they download/sign up to your Lead Magnet Once they receive your lead magnet and you receive their email in return, your work doesn’t stop there! You want to nurture your new subscriber by creating an automated email series. It should look something like this:

• Confirmation email with the lead magnet
• What they should do/happens next
• Sell – if you’re not ready to sell identify what your next step will be

I cannot stand when I sign up to something when I receive and email every day for 10 days – to me this is way too much and annoys me and I am more than likely just going to delete them or opt out. It’s crucial to know your audience. I tend to send no more than 3 emails over the series of 7-10 days.  

Promoting Your Lead Magnet

  You’ve done the work in creating it and setting the process up, now’s the time to promote it! The best way for me is via social media advertising, targeting a cold audience. Just remember when creating your lead magnet that you need to give people a compelling reason to give you their email!