How the Right Lead Magnet Can Help Grow Your Business
Are you looking for new ways to grow your business?
Most Squarespace freelancers or agencies look for ways to boost growth. You need to generate more traffic to your website and importantly, more of the right people - those who are your target audience.
A lead magnet comes in once you’re getting traffic to your website. There’s no sense in having people turn up and leave again, without offering a way for those who are interested to stay in touch with you. You need traffic that converts!
Your lead magnet can get people onto your email list and deliver them some kind of value - a key step to building trust and growing your business. Here’s how it works:
How can you find lead magnet ideas? Free download here
Why lead magnets matter
Lead magnets are nothing new. In fact, marketers have used them in one form or another for decades. The basic premise is that you give away something for free in exchange for the contact details of the customer (their email address), and permission to keep in touch.
This used to operate with things like sending in a coupon via mail in exchange for a free offer. On a website, a lead magnet is usually delivered digitally. The visitor fills out a form on your site with their details and receives whatever it is you’re giving away (often some kind of digital download). You might have multiple lead magnets (and this strategy can be quite effective); for example, by giving away lead magnets within blog posts that are related to the content.
Why do lead magnets matter? Because they still work (if you do them well). Many businesses are successfully using them on their websites and building an email list that they can regularly communicate with.
Essentially, building your list is a key function of the lead magnet. You might have a newsletter signup form or something similar on your website, but you need a way to encourage people to actually fill out that form. A lead magnet can give them a compelling reason.
Tobacco company “lead magnet” from 1927 (source)
What makes a lead magnet effective?
You probably noticed that statement in the last section: lead magnets still work, “if you do them well.” People don’t give up their email addresses easily these days - they have to have a compelling reason.
This means that an effective lead magnet must be designed thoughtfully, with your target audience in mind. It should deliver something that they will value - for example, a way to solve a key problem that they have.
If we were to create a list of things to make a lead magnet effective, they would be:
It’s targeted to the audience you want to reach.
It’s in a format that the audience wants to consume (for example, consider whether a lengthy ebook really appeals to a busy executive, if they are your target group).
It helps them to solve a pressing issue that they have.
You have clear calls to action in the marketing for your lead magnet - tell people what you want them to do!
Your marketing clearly outlines the benefits to the audience of the lead magnet.
You monitor the effectiveness of the lead magnet.
You make improvements based on feedback.
You keep in touch with regular email contact. (This is really the whole point. You entice people onto your email list so that they can get to know you better over time).
For extra effectiveness points, consider lead magnets that:
Provide a “quick win”
Are quick and easy to digest
Demonstrate your expertise
Are super-specific (specific topics tend to convert better rather than general topics)
Begin by brainstorming common problems for your audience to generate ideas. For example, if it’s “my audience wants ways to grow their business without spending lots of money,” you might create a lead magnet about how they can create lead magnets ;).
Lead magnet ideas
There are many types of possible lead magnets - some even may be related to other digital products that your business sells. For example, if you sell software or plugins, a logical lead magnet might be to offer a free trial or “freemium” version. Or, you might offer one part of the software for free, like some kind of tool or calculator. Whatever you choose, keep it valuable to deliver a quick win.
Here are some lead magnet ideas:
#1. Checklists
Checklists can be a win all around. If you design them well, they help to solve a problem AND they’re easy to digest. Sometimes that’s just what people want - the quick version of how to achieve something without having to go through a long set of instructions.
They’re also fairly quick to create. You probably already have the content for a checklist embedded in something like a blog post. In that case, you can just pull out key points and summarize.
Some Squarespace business ideas:
Checklist for conducting a website review
Checklist for choosing the right Squarespace theme
#2. Templates
Templates offer people an outline or starting point to follow in order to get something done. For example, if you’re an expert at formatting ebooks that can be used as lead magnets, maybe you offer people a formatted ebook template which they can use to create their own.
Some Squarespace business ideas:
Email newsletter template for reaching out to clients
Facebook ad templates for advertising your business
#3. Scripts
Does your target audience need something that will help them to speak or write effectively? Scripts can be a really handy lead magnet for those people. Sometimes they just need ideas for what to say or how to say it, and if you’re an expert at this, they’ll appreciate it!
Some Squarespace business ideas:
How to pitch your business/idea to a potential partner
Script tips for you next marketing video
#4. Toolkits
People love to know how other successful people set up what they do. For example, if you have an automated system dialed in for managing something to do with your business, other people will be curious to know what you did and how they might emulate it.
Some Squarespace business ideas:
The X tools I use to automate my marketing
The X plugins that I can’t do without
#5. Web apps
If you have the coding skills, a web app that does a useful task for people can be a great lead magnet. Here’s an example: Bryan Harris created ListGoal as a free lead magnet through which he can collect email addresses. Web apps will tend to take a bit more to create, but obviously you can make something that people use routinely (as opposed to other types of lead magnets that maybe people read over once or twice).
Some Squarespace business ideas:
A quote calculator
A web form creator
#6. Calendars
A calendar can be a great lead magnet because it provides focus and direction for the person, especially if it gives them one simple step to take each day. For example, someone in the fitness industry might create a calendar that gives someone basic exercises to complete each day.
Some Squarespace business ideas:
Set up your website content in 7 days
14 days of SEO actions
Need to find lead magnet ideas? Free download here
Final thoughts
Lead magnets can help to grow your business by building your email list and giving you a means of staying in touch with people. The key is to figure out the right sort of lead magnet that will appeal to your people; something that solves a problem they have or provides them with a quick win.
A lead magnet isn’t something to “set and forget.” While it helps you to automatically grow your email list, you have to actively make sure it’s working (or continuing to work). It’s important to monitor your results and make updates, or maybe try different lead magnets over time.
Finally, a lead magnet can be a cost-effective way to grow your business. You can usually make your lead magnet yourself and it’s a great way to optimize what you do with website traffic. Bottom line? Always have a way of capturing the details of people who visit your website!
