4 Types of magnets sales that every business must know

If you’ve progressed from “word of mouth” marketing, you’re probably wondering how to generate leads that flow to your business. You might have seen all sorts of promises of paid advertising and complex panels. And while some of them may work really well, it’s an insane financial investment, sometimes beyond the budget framework.

So if you still want to start bringing leads to your business, I’m going to teach you 4 different types of lead magnets that will help you attract more interested customers. And the good news – you can do it with organic marketing, without spending a dime on paid advertising.

A lead magnet is essentially a free offer that potential customers receive in exchange for their email address or contact details.

So first of all, you’re familiar with such magnets. Every time you left your details in exchange for a free guide, a course sample, or to receive a free consultation call, you were drawn in by a lead magnet.

We understand that lead magnets work, but it’s also clear that they work much less in the post-coronavirus era, where there is an insane inflation of content.

Once we understand the purpose of each magnet and how it works, it’s much easier to create a content strategy that includes a magnet, helping us grow the audience around our business.

Just before I give you the four magnets to attract new leads, let’s understand what preparation work needs to be done to build and operate a successful lead magnet.

Target Audience

The first step is figuring out who we’re talking to.

This can make a big difference. Instead of trying to attract everyone, we want to create something that pulls in the exact customers we want.

Start by making a list and getting to know your target audience. How many are there, what do they do, how much money do they make, what do they need, and what kind of experience are they after?

Then, dive even deeper to understand the kind of person they are.

If you already have customers, think about the three you enjoyed working with most. What problems did they have that made them come to you?

Once you know who you’re targeting and what they need, create something specifically for them. This will help attract more customers like them.

Format

Not every audience will want every magnet.

I’ll explain.

If my audience consists of busy managers, I won’t give them a magnet that includes a one-and-a-half-hour video. Similarly, if I’m targeting classic Gen Z, I’d opt for platforms like WhatsApp or Telegram over email.

The format you select could be a PDF guide, a series of short videos, an email course, an interactive tool, a handy checklist, an audio recording, or any other format you can think of. The key is ensuring that it resonates with your target audience and provides them with value in a way that they appreciate.

Let me share an example that isn’t exactly a lead magnet, but it perfectly caters to my target audience.

When I launched my podcast “Between Worlds,” it was in response to consistent feedback from people saying, “Why don’t you start a podcast?” or “I’d listen to every episode if you had a podcast.” This encouragement gave me the impetus to kickstart my podcast because I recognized that it’s a format my audience enjoys consuming.

Eye-catching Design

No matter how valuable your content is, if it doesn’t grab attention and prompt people to sign up, all your efforts will be in vain.

Opt a design that integrates with your brand colors and speaks the same language, but with a twist. I Include a compelling sentence or promise in the design that you can deliver on, to instantly capture your audience’s interest.

I know that quite a few of the audience who choose to read my content use Canva.

It’s easy, it’s convenient, and there are plenty of templates to choose from. The problem is that it always feels like “something we’ve already seen.”

My hot recommendation is to create an inspiration folder of designers or brands you love their design language and try to integrate elements you liked and captivated your attention into your design.

If you’re comfortable in English and can see what’s happening across the sea, it’s better. There are always cool inspirations that haven’t been noticed here.

And if you want to learn how to design without designers, you can do it here.

Call to Action

A lead magnet is just one piece of the marketing puzzle.

Sure, you might create a guide solely to grow your email list. But whatever you’re offering should ultimately tie back to what you’re selling or how you’re establishing your expertise.

A year ago, I worked with a graphic designer who had a lead magnet for a “Design Your Own Business Logo Course.”

I tried to understand the logic behind it. After all, if he teaches others to design for themselves for business, what will he sell them afterward?

We’re aimed to create a magnet that provides real value to our audience, and a part of it can also be taken and developed into something we would sell, but we wouldn’t want to give 100% of the value we’re selling.

Ultimately, we created a guide for ideating a logo and even how to convey the idea effectively to a graphic designer.

It was amazing because many people had great logo ideas but didn’t know how to articulate them or were burned by a designer. So we provided them with a tool that helped them, and naturally, it became the address they turned to.

In the email, we even offered a discount to those who went through the branding process, including a logo. He had dozens of interested people, and he closed forward work for 3 months.

Optimization

Your audience will sign up for your magnet using a landing page. It’s how you gather their contact details to guide them into your marketing funnel.

Design a dedicated landing page for your magnet, focusing on its value proposition. Clearly outline the benefits and what the potential customer will receive, alongside a signup form.

Fill the landing page with testimonials, social proofs, or engaging visual elements—but with only one call to action within the page.

Sometimes I come across landing pages that also offer signing up for the magnet but also to follow, watch something on YouTube, etc… It’s a mistake. Include only one call to action on your landing page.

Once your landing page is up, it’s time to analyze its performance. Connect it to analytics, or if you created it through a mailing platform, just try to understand how many people visited the page, and among them, how many people registered.

There’s no one correct number, but in my opinion (and I’ll say it depends on the field and what the magnet is…) if the leave details are below 30% for a magnet I know is accurate for my audience, I go back and tighten the offer, and even play with the structure of the page. Sometimes minor changes (like moving the form upwards or adding digital testimonials) make a big difference in the number of registrations.

Create Media Buzz

Creating a lead magnet is not enough.

Let people know there’s something new they should check out.

Craft a campaign with compelling storytelling to create an engaging experience. Use what you know about your audience to drive them to the landing page while highlighting the benefits. Spread the word across all your platforms: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, website, email. Customize your approach for each platform, like promoting the magnet in stories or including a link in your Instagram bio.

Collaborate with strategic partners to offer the magnet for free to their customers.

So after understanding what needs to happen and what needs to be built, prepared, and written for the magnet and its distribution, let’s talk about the types of magnets there are.

The type of magnet actually determines the strategy and allows your audience to get to know different sides of you. You can use one type of magnet or all of them over time. But it’s important to understand when they are relevant and how to maximize their use.

#1 Lead with Results

Everyone knows you need to provide value.

But to take your brand marketing to the next level and captivate your potential customers, you need to do more than just offer information.

Solve their initial stage of their problem for them.

This magnet offers a partial solution to the potential customer’s problem.

The goal is to provide relevant information that genuinely helps the potential customer while leaving them wanting more. Start by trying to identify what is the most desired outcome for your potential customer, and then divide it into achievable stages. Your magnet will be the solution to the first stage. It’s a magnet that adds value and provides quick results but also leaves the customer with an understanding that they probably need help and cannot accomplish the rest on their own. Yes, there are talented individuals with amazing technical orientation who can complete the remaining stages, and that’s fine. They are not your customers. Talk to those who can’t do it alone. If the marketing funnel is built correctly, you can lead them to purchase.

Types of content suitable for this lead magnet:
masterclasses, webinars, tutorial videos, e-books, guides, mini-courses, and free challenges.

#2 Give them the what and why, sell the how

Give them the action steps, framework, secrets, or formula they can implement themselves and see immediate results.

After providing them with the ‘what’ and ‘why’ for free, we can base our product as the ‘how.’

In other words, our product instantly becomes the comprehensive action plan that will easily, quickly, and efficiently take them where they want to go.

This leading magnet focuses on educating potential customers about what they need to do to solve their core problem or achieve the desired outcome. It provides them with the action steps, frameworks, secrets, or formulas needed for self-implementation and immediate results. After offering the “what” and “why” for free, you can position the product or service as the comprehensive “how” – the action plan that will efficiently lead them to their goal.

Questions you should ask yourself before building the lead magnet:

– What useful, valuable, and relevant information can I share with my audience to educate them about their problem?

– Why is this information important?

– Why will they need to learn beyond the free magnet?

– How can I help them?

Types of content suitable for this lead magnet:
free templates, frameworks, exercises, workbooks, case studies.

#3 Teach them about their problem

Essentially, you’re offering your audience a quick fix (“band-aid”) upfront, followed by the long-term solution (“cure”).

Sometimes, potential customers aren’t even aware they have a problem. This magnet is powerful as it educates your audience about an issue they didn’t know existed.

This approach is effective for audiences who are unaware. It’s crucial to gauge where they are in their awareness stages—what they know and what they don’t about the problem and solution. Then, show them how your product or service can fulfill their needs.

Questions to ask yourself before building the lead magnet:

– What does my customer know and what do they still not know about the problem/solution?

– Why is it important to educate my audience about the product I’m selling?

– How can I efficiently diagnose this problem?

– How can I provide an immediate fix/result?

– How can I offer longer-term results?

Types of content suitable for this lead magnet:
Quizzes, surveys, “discovery” calls.

#4 Let them taste

Give them a taste of what you’re offering.

Experience / Sample / Sneak peek of what you’re ultimately selling.

You need to leave them hungry for more, eager to learn more about how your brand can help them achieve their goals.

First and foremost, it’s important to know that you’re already familiar with this magnet.

Every time you stopped at the supermarket and were given a snack to taste and said to yourself “Wow, I’m going to buy this,” use this magnet on yourself.

Now, you need to understand how to do it digitally and not necessarily about food 🙂

Offering a free sample or trial allows your audience to experience the quality of your service. The goal is to generate early commitment from potential customers by giving them something for free, which boosts the chances of them making a purchase.

Questions to ask yourself before building the lead magnet:

– What do I want my potential customer to do/purchase?

– What can I do to allow my potential customer to sample the product for free, without commitment?

– What can be done to increase the likelihood that my potential customer will “upgrade” to the full service/product?

Types of content suitable for this lead magnet:
First chapter as a gift, trial lesson, consultation call

When creating a lead magnet, it’s important to ensure its relevance to the product or service you’re trying to sell. A free item that is not relevant or arbitrary is unlikely to generate sales as it does not strategically guide potential customers towards your solution. By using one of the magnet formulas, you can attract and entice potential customers, provide value, and ultimately increase the chances of making a sale.

I invite you to a free lead magnet characterisation call