Growing Your Sales Pipeline with Lead Magnets

In a world where more people are taking their business online, it might seem challenging to stand out amongst other businesses. However, combined with other tools, utilising lead magnets can significantly increase the interest and traffic to your site.

What is a lead magnet?

A simple way of describing a lead magnet is that it is an offer which piques the interest of potential customers. The aim of this offer is not to result in a direct sale, but to exchange for information such as their email address or name.

This offer will build you an email list that you will use as a way of acquiring customers. It’s an offer so irresistible that people are willing to hand over the precious details to their inbox, which would otherwise feel like an impossible task.

We will provide top examples of lead magnets, however, to maximise the effectiveness of your content, you should create or utilise your customer avatar – if you’re not sure what that is, we have everything you need to know here. This information allows you to create targeted lead magnets constructively, with a higher chance for success.

What are the advantages of using lead magnets?

Lead magnets are incredibly valuable for any business and can be exactly the tool you need to see an increase in traffic, interest, subscribers and sales. Lead magnets offer you one way of measuring the success of your marketing efforts while connecting you to your prospective customers.

Most small business owners tend to focus their efforts into social media marketing, which is great, except you’re limiting your audience to how well you can navigate the site’s algorithm. With lead magnets, you build a mailing list, which gives you direct and almost guaranteed access to your audience’s inbox.

As a rule, email leads and marketing are far more effective than your average reach on social media. Sources such as Optinmonster have conducted research that shows 60% of users prefer to receive offers and promotions via email, compared to a mere 20% who prefer social media. However, if that wasn’t interesting enough, it was found that email can provide a return on investment rate (ROI) of 4400%, where the ROI with social media is highly uncertain and unpredictable.

Essentially, if you’re not already using lead magnets, you probably should be – and this is how.

Converting your visitors into leads.

The average visitor to your website will spend between 10-20 seconds before leaving it again. This is the time you will have to turn them from a web traffic statistic into a lead. Before you create your lead magnet, you need to set the customer on the path toward it. This can be done using the following path structure:

The Call to Action

This is a button on your website that enables readers and visitors to click through to your offer. Ideally, your call to action button will stand out as much as possible so that it’s impossible for visitors to miss. It’s the button that will lead visitors to your offer, and begin the process of converting the visitor into a lead.

Landing Page

After visitors have clicked on your call-to-action button, they will be taken to what is called a landing page. This page is where your visitors will be asked for their email address, and other requested information you require, via an online form and will begin the process of exchanging information.

The Thank-You Page

This is the page that will allow the visitor to download your resource, therefore completing the exchange of information. You have successfully converted your visitor into a lead! However, there is just one more step to the process.

The Kickback Email

This is just a follow-up thank you email which acts as a way of keeping your lead interested for longer, and not just for the duration of your offer. You now have a direct connection with a prospective customer.

Now that you know the process of converting visitors into leads, it’s time to take a look at some of the best lead magnets you can use for this process.

Examples of lead magnets you can create.

Your lead magnets don’t have to be extremely long or detailed but must provide a solution to a specific problem potential customers may have. Here are some fantastic lead magnets that have been extremely successful all over the internet:

The cheat sheet / checklist.

Creating cheat sheets and checklists is super easy and you don’t need fancy software to create them. In fact, it can all be done using a word processor or using a website like Canva which can open up your options for creativity.

If you have created an instructional blog post, then you can use this information as the basis for your checklist in order to make the process quick and simple. Turn your instructions into bullet points and, for maximum results, create it in a printable format so that people may use it as a physical resource, as well as a digital one.

As for your cheat sheet, instead of reorganising it into bullet points, re-structure your main points into a compact and easy-to-read table to act as a quick point of reference.

The sign-up discount.

If you’re a business which sells either physical or online products, you have the advantage of offering up a one-time discount in exchange for your potential customer’s email address. You can make this as broad or specific as you like, offering a percentage of their first order, a specific product or even free shipping – the choice is yours!

The mini e-book.

A compilation of useful, high-quality information can be an enticing offer and won’t demand a lot of time and effort. If you have a blog for your business site, you can combine blogs surrounding a similar topic, fill in the gaps between them and create an incredibly convenient guide for your visitors to refer back to. Now, that helpful information will be credited to your site.

There are many types of lead magnets you can create depending on its intended purpose.

How to promote your new lead magnet.

Write a blog & guest post.

Now you have your content, how are you going to get people to see it? Blogs are effective in promoting traffic to your site and can be the perfect way to present your lead magnet to visitors. Whether it’s embedded in the content or tucked into the sidebar.

If they have already made it as far as your blog post, there’s a good chance that they may be after exactly what your lead magnet has to offer. You can also guest post a blog piece, and present your lead magnet within your author bio.

Social media & pop-ups

Of course, where better to feature your lead-magnet than on your social media pages? You can add a little excerpt that teases users into investigating what you have to offer, and share this on as many platforms as you have, increasing its reach every time. Other methods include showing it as a pop-up on your website, adding it to your email signature or posting it in related groups and forums.

So, as you can see, lead magnets are extremely important for any digital marketing strategy. They create a direct channel to your customers, which increases the chances of converting interest into a sale, therefore expanding your reach and increasing your brand credibility.