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By Umbrella Staff on Mar 22, 2024
As a marketer, you probably already know how very effective lead magnets are for lead generation. 50% of marketers get higher conversion rates when they use lead magnets.
Well-crafted lead magnets help you to bring in not only more clients for you or your customers but to also pull in the right clients, the kind of clients who are most likely to convert.
A lead magnet is something of value you offer to your prospects in order to get their contact information. Usually you offer lead magnets on your website where your user completes a short form giving contact information in exchange for something of value.
Your lead magnet may take various forms, but for marketing agencies and their B2B clients, it’s generally information in the form of white papers, ebooks, infographics, templates, studies or other types of information that your prospect will be led to download or view after they give their contact information. But is could be something else, such as a discount code if you are developing a lead magnet for a B2C client.
For your own marketing agency use or for B2B clients, you will typically want to request the prospect’s name, email address and a bit of company information. This company information helps you to qualify the lead and it may include their industry, company name, their position at the company, company size and their position at the company. The trick is to ask for enough information to be useful to you in marketing to the person but not so much that the person is discouraged from providing it. You don’t want to present so many hurdles that your prospect exclaims, “Oh the heck with it!”
Of course, the people who respond to your lead magnet self-select. For example, if you offer a white paper about 2024 Predictions for the Commercial Real Estate Industry in Texas, your response is going to be from professional working in that industry in that state. Once you capture their information, you can proceed to market to them and move them along your sales funnel.
You need to give quite a bit of thought regarding what your customers would like to see. Check with your sales team to see what kinds of questions often arise. Analyze industry trends. You may even want to run some customer surveys before selecting your topic. But whatever you decide on, your lead magnet should check the following boxes:
Highly Relevant: The lead magnet should be highly relevant to your target audience. It must solve a real problem they have or fulfill a need.
Specific Value: Offering a specific, tangible benefit is crucial. The lead magnet should promise and deliver a single, valuable benefit rather than trying to be a catch-all solution that might dilute its perceived value. In other words, don’t be overly broad. Focus on a specific need or challenge and answer it in depth.
Immediate Gratification: People love instant gratification, so a good lead magnet provides an immediate benefit. Whether it’s a digital download, a discount code, or an educational video, it should be something that can be used right away.
Demonstrates Expertise or Value: A lead magnet should showcase your expertise or the value of your agency’s or your client’s product or service. Lead magnets such as white papers set you (if it’s for your agency) or your client (if it’s for their business) up as an expert in the selected field.
High Quality: The lead magnet must be well-produced and high quality. This is often the first exchange between you and your potential customer, so making a good impression is vital. Poor quality can turn away potential leads. So, don’t scrimp on editing and design.
Easily Accessible: Once someone opts in, you need to have the lead magnet set to deliver without hassle. You don’t want a frustrated prospect. Whether it’s a direct download or sent via email, the process should be straightforward and quick.
Building Toward Your Offer: The best lead magnets not only solve an immediate problem but also guide potential customers towards your (or your client’s) main product or service. It should naturally lead them down the sales funnel without hitting them over the head with sales rhetoric.
Shareability: A bonus quality is if your lead magnet has shareability. If people find it valuable, they might share it with others, increasing your reach and potential leads.
There are many different types of lead magnets. You need to decide what kind fits your company, your customers and your goals. Following are some examples of different types of lead magnets and how to use them.
1. Ebook
Recommended Use: For our purposes today, we are going to consider an ebook a comprehensive guidance on specific topics that may not give the in-depth analysis and data of a white paper. Ebooks help to establish thought leadership and expertise.
Strategy: Identify common challenges or interests among your target audience. Be sure to describe actionable insights and solutions.
Recommended Use: Use whitepapers, studies and surveys to target professionals or decision-makers in industries where data, research and analysis heavily influence decisions. B2B companies that need to stay informed about trends and data can use this information to guide them.
Strategy: Conduct original research or compile authoritative data to address complex industry challenges. Whitepapers should be detailed, citing sources and providing in-depth analysis. White papers and reports of studies go a long way toward showcasing your band’s expertise.
Recommended Use: People value checklists because they simplify complex tasks, breaking them down into actionable steps.
Strategy: Break down a process related to your product or service into a straightforward, step-by-step guide. Make it easy to follow and implement.
Recommended Use: Templates give your users a “shortcut” to accomplish tasks or projects, such as marketing plans, budget sheets or design layouts. They can help your audience get started on a project quickly without unnecessarily recreating the wheel.
Strategy: Provide customizable templates that save time and effort. Ensure they are directly related to your services or products, very subtly guiding users towards your solutions.
Recommended Use: Webinars are not always considered a lead magnet, but if you think about it, that is exactly what they are in many instances. Use webinars to engage with a more invested audience ready to spend time learning about specific topics or solutions.
Strategy: Plan interactive sessions with Q&As to address pain points. Use webinars to demonstrate products, share expertise, or discuss industry trends, encouraging further engagement. You may want to consider a limited time offer at the end.
Recommended Use: Free trials work well for SaaS or subscription-based services where experiencing the product directly can lead to conversion. A free trial makes people more comfortable with the product or service.
Strategy: Ensure the trial period is sufficient for users to explore and benefit from key features. Provide support and resources to enhance your users’ trial experience.
Recommended Use: Discounts and coupons are generally used by retail businesses to encourage immediate purchases or to attract price-sensitive customers.
Strategy: Offer timely discounts or exclusive coupons to nudge your prospect toward making a purchase. Think about how you can use them as a reward for signing up or engaging with your brand.
Recommended Use: Consider offering an email course to nurture your leads over time, providing ongoing value that builds trust and authority.
Strategy: Design a series of informative emails that progress from basic to more advanced topics, encouraging continuous engagement with your content.
Recommended Use: Infographics can help make complex information or processes more easily understandable at a glance. They are great for sharing on social media or blogs to attract attention as well as offering them as a lead magnet.
Strategy: Use clear, engaging visuals to summarize research findings, illustrate processes or highlight key statistics.
Recommended Use: Free consultations are an extremely effective way for service-based B2B businesses such as marketing agencies to get their foot in the door. This gives an opportunity for you or your client to show how you can customize solutions for the customer.
Strategy: Use the free consultations to learn more about your customer’s challenges. You may then want to write an audit report to recommend actions that will solve your problem and how your agency (or your client’s company) can help.
If you need help developing lead magnets that will bury you in a flood of leads, contact Umbrella for a free consultation to learn about our white label marketing services and how we can help you generate leads. Heading to our website or calling (866) 760-2638. Lead magnets are only the beginning.
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