I’m glad you asked this question, because a lead magnet can make or break your sales funnel!
Simply put: if you don’t have a good lead magnet, then no one is going to join your list, and no one is going to be buying your tripwire or anything else.
So let’s make sure you create an enticing, effective lead magnet. Use this checklist to help you do exactly that…
Do Market Research
The first step is to make sure that people want and are already buying the type of product you have in mind. If people are buying it, then you know they’ll happily exchange an email address for it.
Go to marketplaces to search for your keywords (e.g., organic gardening), and then look for bestselling products and/or multiple products on the same topic. These marketplaces may include:
- Amazon.com
- Clickbank.com
- JVZoo.com
Search Google for your keywords to see what top sites in your niche are selling.
Look at paid advertising on niche sites and sponsored ads in Google to see what people are selling.
Check your competitors’ blogs, forums and Facebook groups to see which topics get a lot of likes, discussion, shares and other indicators of interest.
Check sites like Quora.com to see what topics keep popping up repeatedly in your niche.
Create The Product
Decide whether to outsource or do it yourself. Ask yourself these questions:
- How much does it cost to do it yourself? (Take your hourly worth times the number of hours it would take you to create the lead magnet.)
- How much does it cost to hire a freelancer?
- Who could do it faster, you or a freelancer?
- Who could do it better, you or a freelancer?
Once you start creating the product, use this mini-checklist:
- Create something people will reference often, which will keep your links and calls to action in front of prospects.
- Research the topic thoroughly.
- Create an outline to keep yourself on topic.
- Write an introduction that whets people’s appetite for what’s coming.
- Focus on solving ONE problem.
- Write in an edutaining way, meaning you educate while entertaining.
- Use lots of examples, tips and stories.
- Offer useful tools within the product such as checklists, worksheets, cheat sheets, mind maps and similar items.
- Insert graphics to add value to the content and make it more aesthetically pleasing.
- Offer something useful yet incomplete. This makes people satisfied with your lead magnet because it solved part of their problem, yet it gives them the opportunity to purchase a paid product to solve the rest of their problem.
Example: Your lead magnet shows people how to install a WordPress blog, and this leads to a promotion for a product that shows them how to create a successful, income-producing blog.
- Craft an eye-catching title. E.G., “Three Explosive Ways To Beat The Competition!”
- Proof, polish and edit.
- Convert to .pdf.
And finally…
Get the Click
As mentioned above, your lead magnet should be useful yet incomplete so that it naturally leads to a paid promotion.
Ask yourself these questions as you craft your promotion:
- Is the paid product highly related to the lead magnet? In other words, will people who want the lead magnet naturally want the paid product too?
- Did you clearly state the benefits of the paid product?
Example: “You’ll find out the #1 trick for getting rid of those pesky aphids in your garden!”
- Did you provide a strong call to action next to your promotional link?
Example: “Click here to download this video right now – and in just moments you too will discover the secrets of building a six-figure business!
Let’s wrap things up…
Conclusion
As you can see, creating a lead magnet isn’t any different than creating a paid product. Indeed, the same care and attention you give to paid products should be given to your lead magnet too, as it has such an important job.
So here’s a question: how do you use these free products to create a profitable business?