Lead Magnets: How to Find the Perfect Hook to Engage More Leads

Smart Business Revolution is a B2B company specializing in using podcasts as a marketing tool to improve sales.

Their lead magnet is a cheat sheet on what you need and how to run a profitable podcast.

This is a good idea for a lead magnet, as it educates visitors about podcasts and encourages them to return to Smart Business Revolution when they’re ready to host their own:

While it’s not technically a free sample, free shipping on any ordered products can also be a great lead magnet!

Moo uses this type of lead magnet very well.

As a company specializing in branding merchandise for marketing purposes, they trade in physical products.

A free sample allows their visitors to test their product and service, and if they’re happy with the result, they’ll use Moo when they need branding for advertising purposes.

If you’ve ever ordered something online, you know expectation and reality don’t always coincide.

Moo reassures their customers by using a sample pack of products as a clever lead magnet:

A short tutorial on how to achieve a specific goal, or a free guide on how to do something, are both great ways to give your potential lead an immediate solution to a problem.

This is also a great lead magnet to show off your expertise.

If you can easily solve someone’s problem quickly, odds are, they’ll be back for more.

A free guide is a popular lead magnet in the health and weight loss industry — people want to see results, and they want to see them now!

RunToTheFinish uses this desire for instant gratification with a free guide on what you should eat before going for a run — whether it’s a quick afternoon jog or a day-long race.

RunToTheFinish offers products and courses. When leads follow the guide and improve their performance, they’ll be willing to spend money on future products and services:

Creating content is as easy as looking at your blog, if you have one.

Find a blog post that did particularly well, and expand on that.

Your ebook should be easy to read, so strike up a conversational tone, and keep it casual.

Your lead is far more likely to finish an entertaining read than something reminding them of a highschool textbook!

At systeme.io, we understand our customers’ desire for financial freedom, so we offer an ebook on exactly how to make that happen.

Reading the ebook will show leads that we value their goals and are willing to help them reach those goals, so our business tools are worth the investment:

Much like an ebook, an online or email course is a great way to show off your expertise.

You can create a course around any topic, but online courses tend to work better for a niche where continuous personal development and growth are a priority.

A free course on how to invest or how to choose a new business venture could be ideal for small business owners.

Be careful though, you don’t want to give away everything.

Only give the basics — once your prospective customer knows you have good advice, they’ll be back for a full course on how to make money through investing or how to start that new business venture.

Crafting a clear message is vital for showing your leads that you have the answer — and encouraging them to sign up for your lead magnet.

The Unconventionalists is a life coach that understands the value of a clear message and offers a video training course to help you do just that.

Once leads have gotten a taste of how to effectively change their message, they can book a workshop or one-on-one coaching session to improve every aspect of their lives:

A webinar is a popular marketing tool but can also be an effective lead magnet.

Unlike online courses, a webinar can be either pre-recorded and made available on request or can be presented live.

A live webinar allows for a Q&A session which will give your lead a chance to get to know you.

You can also limit the number of participants which will create a level of exclusivity, making your webinar more desirable and encouraging site visitors to opt in.

Much like ebooks and online courses, an evergreen webinar is something you only need to create once, and you can continue using it for months or even years if the information isn’t time sensitive.

Again, be careful not to give away everything, but feel free to show off just how much of an expert you are!

Amy Porterfield, a well-known business coach, understands both the importance of email lists and how hard it can be to grow your list.

Using this pain point, she created a lead magnet to help her leads solve that problem with a useful webinar.

Solving one problem shows leads that she knows what she’s talking about, encouraging them to sign up for coaching to improve all aspects of their business:

A fun way to generate leads is to use quizzes, surveys, and polls.

People love quizzes, and surveys make for great lead magnets. In fact, interactive content has two times more engagement, making this a valuable resource.

Everyone likes to feel like they’re being heard and that their opinion counts — so give your visitors a chance to voice their opinions.

Not only will you generate leads, but you can get a good idea of what problems your visitors are facing.

For example, a survey on healthy living will give you a good idea of what issues your customers face when trying to live a healthy life.

Armed with more information, you can develop better products, and great lead magnets, that your buyer will love.

MND, a marketing and social media consultant, decided to use the popular question of how to use social media effectively as a lead magnet.

The quiz is a fun way for her to find out exactly what her customer needs and allows her to tailor her service accordingly:

Much like getting stuff for free, a special offer or a coupon on your product will encourage website visitors to sign up and take advantage of the discount.

Putting a time limit on the special offer will also create a sense of urgency, encouraging your prospective customer to act quickly if they don’t want to lose out.

Neutrogena, a popular cosmetics and skincare brand, offers first-time visitors a 15% discount on their first purchase.

This gives leads a chance to test the product themselves — all they have to do is sign up!

Industry reports and white papers are more data dense than ebooks and also tend to take more research, and effort, to put together.

If your niche lies in a technical or academic field, like engineering or research, this could be the perfect lead magnet.

Technical manuals listing the specifications of a product, or an industry report indicating how your product can improve research methods, will show your buyer that you can solve their problem.

Contentsquare used their 2021 Digital Experience Benchmark Report as a lead magnet.

It shows their users how their own customer experience compares to the rest of the industry.

Of course, if the user realizes their customer experience isn’t in line with industry standards, Contentsquare will be there to solve the problem!

Similar to quizzes, but usually with a more serious tone, evaluations — both automated or in real time — can help your visitor identify a problem they might not have known they have.

Doing the evaluation is completely free, and all your visitor needs to do is provide their contact details so that you can send them their results.

WordStream, an online advertising service, offers their leads a free evaluation to see how well their Google Ads are doing.

Of course, in order to get a demo report, the lead needs to part with their precious contact information, adding them to WordStream’s email list.

If their ads aren’t doing well, WordStream is ready to step in with a marketing solution to help them improve the effectiveness of their ad campaigns:

Exclusivity is your friend. Who doesn’t like to feel special?

Instead of asking your lead to opt in to your newsletter, give them access to a private, members-only, group where they get access to exclusive content.

Of course, while these types of lead magnets can provide your lead with loads of value, it’ll take more effort and investment from your side to maintain, as you’ll need to generate great content and run regular updates.

So while this is a good lead magnet idea, make sure that you’re targeting the right audience — after putting in this much effort, you want leads to become paying customers!

The Membership Guys does this particularly well. For their lead magnet, they combined the sense of exclusivity with a downloadable free guide.

In exchange for an email address, leads get a free guide on how to create a membership site and exclusive content.

Once leads realize how valuable the tips are, they can subscribe to the Membership Academy for more training on how to grow their membership sites:

Who doesn’t like a challenge?

If your lead is eager to make a change, a 30-day challenge to declutter their office or improve their diet might be just the motivation they need to get started.

Of course, since they’re providing you with a valuable email address, keep in touch and provide encouragement along the way — this will allow you to build a relationship with your lead.

Odds are, your lead will be far more likely to do business with a supportive friend who understands their struggles.

The holidays are coming up and, with it, the temptation to indulge.

Nutrition Stripped understands what struggles their leads might be facing and turns this into a clever lead magnet. With a 7-day challenge, they’re encouraging leads to watch what they eat.

Completing the challenge will motivate leads to join a coaching program with Nutrition Stripped to make a permanent change to their lifestyle:

These days, we use apps for everything. Need to order a ride? There’s an app for that.

Want to measure your steps to keep track of your health? Ditto.

Creating a free app that visitors can use after signing up is a great way to generate leads.

However, you’ll be competing with loads of other apps, so make sure your app is either super useful or super entertaining!

Here we can take a moment to learn from the gaming industry — creating free game apps with in-game purchases will not only grow your email list but can also make you some money along the way.

Remente is all about personal growth and development, and they understand that, sometimes, you need a reminder to take care of yourself. Of course, they have an app for that.

Their focus is not on individuals — they sell business packages to improve the well-being of employees and, thus, productivity and leadership.

After trying it out themselves and finding how well it works, leads are more likely to invest in the product to improve their businesses:

The best way to get to know someone is to talk to them. Free consultation or one-on-one coaching is a great marketing strategy and a lead magnet that provides loads of value.

During the free session, let your lead do the talking. By simply listening, you can identify pain points your lead needs help with.

You can create a connection with your lead, and based on the information, you can develop a personalized solution that’ll work for that particular lead to solve their specific problem.

A free session will show your lead that you truly care and will give you the chance to establish your expertise.

Talane Miedaner is a life coach with an international audience.

As her lead magnet, she uses an exit intent pop-up that offers a free mini coaching course to help people discover which areas of their life need improvement.

Of course, once that’s been identified, she’s happy to provide some coaching to address the issues:

Finally, a case study is a valuable tool when it comes to lead generation.

There are 2 types of case studies you can use.

For a more technical niche, a case study on a specific industry event provides information to your lead, showing them you understand the industry and can solve their problems.

Alternatively, a case study can be a personal story on how your product helped someone and solved their problem.

People are far more likely to spend money on a product that works.

Fractl is a marketing agency that uses a case study as their lead magnet that shows how effective their product is.

By showing their leads that they can deliver on their promises, they’re winning more customers: