How to create a great lead magnet - Part 2: Format
I could talk about lead magnets all day! (And when I sat down to record a video about them, I did! If you missed my first blog post about choosing the right content for your lead magnet here).
You can have the best content in the world, but if the way you're presenting it doesn’t connect with people, they aren’t going to sign up and they aren’t going to use it.
Let me ask you something: do you feel excited about your lead magnet? (Or your idea if you don’t have one yet). If you’re not excited about it, why should anyone else be?
Check out the video below for ideas on choosing the right format for your freebie.
Listen to the audio:
What type of lead magnet should I create?
There are so many different types of lead magnets you can do, and there's not necessarily a right or wrong answer. It's a matter of trial and error and seeing what actually has the best results at getting people's attention and bringing them in.
Here are some examples of lead magnet formats you could try:
PDF (checklist, ebook, tips, steps, processes, etc.)
Video
Video series
Mini course
Giveaway
5-day challenge
Workshop
Webinar
And more! This is not an exhaustive list!
A note on free PDFs
Obviously we've seen PDFs of all sorts out there - checklists, ebooks, five-step processes, etc.. A PDF is a common thing for people to do, because it's a fairly quick and easy thing to throw together.
However, because there are so many free PDFs out there, this could be an easy thing for people to overlook. I know I've reached the point where if I see a checklist or free download, it has to be pretty compelling for me to want it. I have multiple folders on my computer of free downloads that sounded great. So I got the PDF, downloaded it, and put it in a folder to look at and work on later. And then I never looked at it again.
I don't want this for you! I'm not knocking PDFs. I'm not saying that you shouldn't do one. But what are some other things that you could do?
It could be a video, which is a great way for people to see your face and your personality, and get to know you a bit better. It could be a video series, or a mini course, or a quiz. A quiz can be fun, because it's interactive. (That's what I'm trying right now. You can get the link to my quiz here).
Depending on the type of business you have, a giveaway could be a way to get a bunch of people on your list. Or a free challenge is a good one because, again, it gives people a chance to get to know you a little bit and work through some of those foundational things that would be part of working with you anyway, to give them a taste of who you are and what you do.
Don’t put too much into your freebie
Now, I encourage you not to gatekeep or withhold too much information, because we want this freebie to be valuable. We want it to be something where a) it catches someone's attention right away and makes them want to sign up for it and b) it makes them think, "Oh my God, I can't believe that this is free."
We want people thinking that if this is what you’re giving away for free, imagine what they would get with your paid services!
However, I would also be cautious of giving too much in this freebie. We want it to be something that's easily digested and easily actionable. We don't want it to go the way of all the freebies on my computer that are sitting untouched in a folder.
We don't want it to be overwhelming. Sometimes you see freebies out there that are too jam-packed, like a 50 or 100 page ebook. That’s great, but that's so much information. That's probably too much information, even for paid products and services.
Think about the number of courses or programs that you've bought and never finished because it was too much information. So we want to keep this lead magnet to the point, but still valuable. Still something that's going to help this person move forward and feel like they've made some sort of progress by getting it and completing it.
Again, that's why I encourage you to pick something that's foundational to the work that you regularly do. The process that you already have or your signature system, because then you're basically guaranteed that these people are going to get some sort of actionable result from doing this, because it's already something that you're doing to get your clients to take action.
Choosing your lead magnet format
Out of all of these types, how do you choose? Well, you can talk to clients, potential leads, or other people in your business sphere. Give them some options and see what they think sounds the most interesting or the most enticing.
You could see what jumps out at you. What is your gut feeling? Does a five-day challenge interest you right now? Or a video series? What feels like the best way to present your information in a way that people are going to connect with?
You could also go with something that you see other people in similar businesses to yours having success with. Although, be careful that you are doing something unique and you're not copying them. This is just a way to get ideas for format. Make sure you are using your own ideas!
For example, I mentioned that quizzes are popular right now. I see a lot of people having success with them. That's why I'm trying one with my own content and ideas.
Whatever it is you try, be open to experimentation.
What lead magnet formats are you interested in? Let me know down in the comments or feel free to reach out.
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