96% of the visitors to your website or landing page aren’t ready to buy from you yet. A valuable free resource, also known as a lead magnet, is a risk-free way for prospects to get to know you and further engage and interact with them.
By offering your visitors relevant, valuable content that addresses their individual needs- in exchange for their email- you’ll ultimately be able to convert a higher percentage of them into potential customers and then into clients.
Because email is a very personal thing, people aren’t simply going to give you their email address without a good incentive, even if they like your brand. Adding a lead magnet to your audience building strategy will only work if your offerings, whether free resources or paid services are a good fit for the target you are aiming at.
What makes a lead magnet desirable?
The best offers speak directly and powerfully to the fears and aspirations of your target audience. Not what YOU think they are, but what THEY think they are. When you can describe your prospects problem, dilemma, fears, wants and desires better than they can, they understand that you “get” them, and you become the best person to solve their problem.
Shortly, what renders your free resource attractive is the combo of a hot topic your audience is dying to know more about AND the format (like video, one-page checklist or downloadable audio, etc.) that makes it easy to consume your info.
When you give them something they can sink their teeth into for free–such as an e-book—you will establish awareness and credibility and add them to your email list to then nudge them toward buying your products.
Lead magnets and their role in your business growth
Your free resource is the key that turns a website or landing page visitors into subscribers
When you offer the right gift to your potential subscribers, they will be open to give you their email address to get their hands on it. And that is the very first step into their conversion from visitors to potential clients.
Why is it so important that your freebie be the right fit and addresses your ideal clients’ problems?
This becomes clearer when we understand how marketing works.
You see, marketing is the best example of chain reaction. If one of the links is off base, you will reduce your chances of succeeding. A lead magnet is an important link in that chain. And as part of a chain it is not a standalone something. It serves a purpose.
A typical marketing chain for an entrepreneur looks more or less like this
On one end of the chain you have:
Clarity on the niche/target/ client: who they are, what are the daily problems they deal with
On the other end:
A solution that is an excellent fit for one or more of their problems
And in the middle, you have the strategy that links both ends
So if your niche is not clear to you, or your product/service is not right for your niche, your ends won’t meet. Every element you insert in the chain should be carefully considered to make ends meet.
The role of the freebie is helping both ends to get first in contact and then closer. (how you get traffic to the freebie is a matter for a different post)
Types of lead magnets
- Reports
- Webinars
- e-courses/challenges
- guides, e-books, checklists
- quizzes
- free product trials
- Custom consultation, free trial, or demo of your product.
Of course, there’s no reason to be constrained by what’s typical. Use anything you think will work for your target customers. Also, keep in mind that the offer is a conversation starter, so it should be designed to start a conversation that ideally will lead to a sale.
Regardless of format, the content of your conversion magnet should be focused on one thing: the top questions and concerns of your audience. All it takes is a quick look at your past several customer interactions to come up with a clear list of their most frequently asked questions.
Don’t make this harder than it needs to be
That said, I get that it can be hard to find your talking points and message when you are flying solo.
And if you are looking for help with creating a free resource that resonates and connects with your ideal clients, feel free to drop me a line at info@bridge2more.com and let me know what project you’re working on next. We can set up a time to talk to learn more about your options for working with me to get it done.
Giving away information in the form of free resources is one of the most effective ways to build your audience, establish trust with your clients, get to know your market, become more relevant, and get your business out there.
