Lead magnets represent giveaways for your social media followers and website visitors which are offered for the purpose of converting them into leads. This is usually done by asking people to give their email address in exchange for access to the content. However, for this to work, what you offer prospects must be perceived as valuable by them.
As times move on, the people’s perception of value changes. Just a few years ago, a simple and basic tutorial was an effective lead magnet. Now, users can find tons of tutorials on YouTube without having to give anything in exchange to watch them.
So, what can you offer people in 2017 to build a solid list of leads? These are the most effective lead magnets right now:
- Cheat Sheets
Compared to tutorials, cheat sheets combine various techniques for achieving a desired result. In truth, cheat sheets are attractive by their name itself, because they imply sharing insider information which is not accessible to the layman.
Cheat sheets are valuable if you really respect the format – that is, you come up with at least four or five different ways of doing something with a specific end result. If you only pull out two or three tricks out of the hat, people will truly feel tricked and will unsubscribe before you manage to send them the first email message.
- Templates or Swipe Files
This is a very effective lead magnet which will continue to remain popular for a long time. Instead of telling people how to do something, you give them a basic structure which they can customise according to their needs and use directly. For instance, sales email swipe files, or landing page templates work very well as swipe files for solo entrepreneurs or home-based business owners who want to start generating revenues quickly.
- Calculators
Online calculators for taxes, for retirement funds or for planning out the monthly family budget are yet another type of effective lead magnet. In order to find the result to their calculation, users are asked to introduce their email address and receive a detailed report in their inbox.
- Free Month
For service-based businesses, the 30-day free trial is an effective lead magnet which never fails to work. By asking people to try your services before they actually commit to buy, you achieve two results: you build your lead base and you create an effective product demo which will boost sales.
- Checklists
Many people need help to stay organised or to go through a process from start to finish. Checklists help them make sure that they have done things correctly and remain useful in the long term. In order to be effective, checklists need to be very detailed. Do not assume anything, but create a literal step-by-step list of actions needed to accomplish the end result.
- White Papers
White papers need to be detailed, extensive and supported by authoritative sources (scientific journals, official statistics, or government agency reports). A valuable white paper is a complete presentation of the topic, which does not leave any loose ends and unanswered questions. In recent times, many so-called white papers have invaded the internet, adulterating the term. If you want to share a white paper as a lead magnet, make sure it is not just a longer blog article.
- Toolkits
A toolkit should be exactly what its name suggests: a series of reusable software tools for your leads to solve a problem. For instance, many antivirus companies offer free basic versions of computer scanners and anti-spam tools. They only offer limited protection compared to the full software suite, but they are still perceived as valuable. They do not fall into the free trial category, because the license of the software does not expire.