My two year old, like every other two year old, prefers sweets over fruit and vegetables. Nothing new there. He's also a highly emotional little creature and can change his mind at a seconds notice.
If I ask my two year old if he wants some Mango, he'll respond emotionally with what he wants right there and then. Sometimes it's a yes, but often times, it's a no. he's two, he doesn't know what he wants. And that's OK.
Because I'm well aware of how a 2 year old thinks, I never offer him a piece of mango. Instead, I put the mango close to his mouth so he has to do no work to get the mango and his natural response (unless he truly doesn't want it) is to take it.
Then I sit back and wait for him to come to me with requests for more. If he wants more, he'll say "more please". If he doesn't I don't push him to eat it. That'll just create a negative experience with mango and he won't respond as well to future offers.
Then I sit back and wait for him to come to me with requests for more. If he wants more, he'll say "more please". If he doesn't I don't push him to eat it. That'll just create a negative experience with mango and he won't respond as well to future offers.
A lead magnet is very much the same as offering Mango to a two year old (stick with me).
A lead magnet is an eBook or a free giveaway you might give to website visitors to try and persuade them to take another step with you. Most personal trainers have a lead magnet but don't know how to create lead magnets that work and convert website readers into leads.
Many trainers think it’s all down to traffic generation. If you get more traffic to your lead magnet, you'll see more sign ups. This is true. However, you can drive half of the combined population of the US, UK and Australia to your landing page, but if what your lead magnet offers is of no interest, you’ll have a very poor sign up rate, if any.
The good news is that lead magnets don’t have to be lengthy, complex or time-consuming to create. They simply need to solve a specific problem that your clients have.
The one single most important characteristic of a great lead magnet is specificity. Here are three tricks on how to create lead magnets that work.
1. Creating lead magnets for each stage of your Buyer’s Journey
The Buyer Journey describes the stages your website visitors go through before they become a client. Understanding the Buyer Journey is the first step to creating truly authentic, value driven marketing campaigns to attract more leads.
You can read more about the Buyer Journey in a previous blog post: How to Create Content for Every Stage of the Buyer Journey.
The method to create lead magnets for each stage of the Buyer Journey (Awareness, Consideration and Decision) is very similar to creating content. You need to consider what your ideal clients need in each stage, what solution you can provide to answer that need and how is best to deliver that solution.
Creating Lead Magnets for the Awareness Stage
In the Awareness stage the buyer is already aware they have a problem ("I feel fat") and they are actively looking for answers. They'll actively search for things like:
As the service provider, it becomes your job to provide a starter level solution that is valuable, highly actionable and shows the prospect that there is in fact solution to their problem. This will ensure they remember you when they get to the consideration phase.
Example:
Nick Lower at re:bourne fitness & nutrition has lead magnets targeting men and women separately in their Awareness stage to help them take the first step towards a healthier lifestyle.
You can read more about the Buyer Journey in a previous blog post: How to Create Content for Every Stage of the Buyer Journey.
The method to create lead magnets for each stage of the Buyer Journey (Awareness, Consideration and Decision) is very similar to creating content. You need to consider what your ideal clients need in each stage, what solution you can provide to answer that need and how is best to deliver that solution.
Creating Lead Magnets for the Awareness Stage
In the Awareness stage the buyer is already aware they have a problem ("I feel fat") and they are actively looking for answers. They'll actively search for things like:
- How to lose weight
- Lose weight quickly
- Drop 10lbs
As the service provider, it becomes your job to provide a starter level solution that is valuable, highly actionable and shows the prospect that there is in fact solution to their problem. This will ensure they remember you when they get to the consideration phase.
Example:
Nick Lower at re:bourne fitness & nutrition has lead magnets targeting men and women separately in their Awareness stage to help them take the first step towards a healthier lifestyle.
Notice how the lead magnets offer answers for common problems a man or a women might have when first starting out on their health and fitness journey. There's no offer of a "free session".
Creating Lead Magnets for the Consideration Stage
In the Consideration stage the prospect clients already know that they need help to solve their problem after a few failed attempts with fad diets or generic free workouts. They are considering all options available but always on the lookout for value for money.
This is another opportunity to help them with their problem. Lead magnets for the consideration stage might include:
- A guide on how to choose a personal trainer
- A comparison on the benefits of a trainer Vs. going it alone
- Success stories of previous clients (also a good lead magnet for the decision stage)
Consider using expert guides, offering access to a closed Facebook challenge group that is aimed at tackling the issue they have, invite them to have a commitment-free live chat with you about their goals.
Example:
Aidan, founder of Fitroots, uses a 10 Steps to Choose the Right Personal Trainer guide on his personal training services page. People who view his personal training page are more likely to be contemplating hiring a PT. Therefore, how to choose a personal trainer is the ideal guide to help them.
When a person downloads this guide, we can then send them follow up emails that help to guide them through the decision making process. If that person was going to hire a Personal Trainer in Slough, they'll almost definitely choose Fitroots.
Creating Lead Magnets for the Decision Stage
In the Decision stage your ideal clients already know they need to hire a professional to help them see results, but they probably have more than one personal trainer shortlisted.
This is the perfect time to showcase your success stories, client case studies or a comparison chart of you and your competitor’s services to help them come to a decision. This is also the stage where you’d offer free sessions to get to know your prospect more.
Example:
Decision stage lead magnets aren't often visible on the client facing marketing assets like a website or leaflet. They're reserved for people who have previously shon interest in the other stages.
The best example of this is an email auto-responder series. If someone download your free guide on how to choose a personal trainer, you might send a series of emails with more value and example client success stories. One of these emails might include a time sensitive offer for anyone thinking about starting training with you.
2. Creating blog specific lead magnets
Blogging is a very efficient tool to drive traffic to your website from organic searches on Google. Most of these readers that land on one of your blog posts get there because they were searching for keywords that lead them to your post.
In other words, your blog post answers their problem. There is only so much you can tell in a blog post without it becoming overwhelming, but you can add resources as lead magnets to help your readers take their journey one step further and take action. This will tell you where exactly that reader is on their buyer journey.
Example:
Christine created a blog post on 4 steps her ideal clients can take to change their habits and start working towards becoming happier mums. She also created a workbook to provide something more engaging so the people who download it can take action immediately and apply the steps explained in the blog.
In other words, your blog post answers their problem. There is only so much you can tell in a blog post without it becoming overwhelming, but you can add resources as lead magnets to help your readers take their journey one step further and take action. This will tell you where exactly that reader is on their buyer journey.
Example:
Christine created a blog post on 4 steps her ideal clients can take to change their habits and start working towards becoming happier mums. She also created a workbook to provide something more engaging so the people who download it can take action immediately and apply the steps explained in the blog.
In the process, Christine will have a list of mums who need help managing their habits which happens to be included in one of her online services too.
If you have written some blog posts, go back through the most popular blogs and think about how you might offer a "content upgrade" for each of those posts. Your email list will start growing in no time!
3. Creating channel specific lead magnets
Lead magnets come in all shapes and sizes. You can create an eBook, a cheat sheet, shoot a video, record a podcast, hold a webinar, offer live chat or even live Facebook sessions. It really depends on where your ideal clients hang out.
Consider different channels for your lead magnets depending on the content and the people you target with it.
Examples:
If you are targeting the 50+ population, you’ll be better creating something that is less interactive, easy to consume and revise as necessary, so written sources or even taped video can work.
Live chats, webinars and Facebook video can work well for the middle aged or younger population who are generally plugged in 24/7 and are following every new trend available.
If your target market is professionals or people in high level jobs who are generally very busy, but are likely to read before going to bed or first thing in the morning, you are better choosing a format that is easy to send in an email – PDF, link to a YouTube Video or a hidden page on your website, etc.
Consider different channels for your lead magnets depending on the content and the people you target with it.
Examples:
If you are targeting the 50+ population, you’ll be better creating something that is less interactive, easy to consume and revise as necessary, so written sources or even taped video can work.
Live chats, webinars and Facebook video can work well for the middle aged or younger population who are generally plugged in 24/7 and are following every new trend available.
If your target market is professionals or people in high level jobs who are generally very busy, but are likely to read before going to bed or first thing in the morning, you are better choosing a format that is easy to send in an email – PDF, link to a YouTube Video or a hidden page on your website, etc.
Summing Up
Creating lead magnets shouldn’t be too complicated, stressful or time consuming, but it takes a little practice and knowing your audience well plays a very important part in the creation of effective lead magnets.
We dedicated a whole course for copywriting on the Institute of Personal Trainers Academy. If you'd like a better writer or just learn How to Create Your First Lead Magnet, check it out.
We dedicated a whole course for copywriting on the Institute of Personal Trainers Academy. If you'd like a better writer or just learn How to Create Your First Lead Magnet, check it out.
