One of the key elements of having a successful launch is making sure that you have a nurtured and engaged audience and email list. One of the ways that almost every online coach or course creator has built their email list is through creating and promoting lead magnets, aka list builders.

A lead magnet is typically a free product that helps your audience in some way and they can access it in exchange for their email address.

They can come in many different forms including:

• Ebooks

• Planners/ spreadsheets

• Templates

• Video training (live or pre-recorded)

• Email series

• Mini-course

• Audio files like meditations or private podcasts

The format of the lead magnet comes down to what will work best for your audience and what you offer, so for example, if you’re an online fitness coach then sharing a meal plan or a 5-minute workout video is going to work well for your business and audience.

The most important thing in creating your lead magnet is that it must be related to what you offer and leave them wanting more. The lead magnet is about giving your audience a quick win or perspective shift so that they can see it’s the first part of the solution they’re seeking but not the whole thing. 

We want them to feel that the resources are valuable and useful but at the same time we don’t want them to feel like that’s all they need so they’re not looking to you for the next step of the puzzle. 

Questions to ask when creating your lead magnet:

1. What is my ideal client’s current biggest problem?

2. What is one thing I can provide them right now that will help start them on the path to solving that problem?

3. Or what will help them have that first perspective shift in wanting to solve this issue that they’re facing? 

4. How can we help them with this in the most quick and effective way?

5. How can we deliver it in the most impactful way? 

Examples:

You’re a finance coach for female entrepreneurs who helps them learn how to manage their finances better so they can grow wealth. You might create a meditation for them to help them work on their money mindset and you might create a guide and checklist to make sure that they have everything covered when it comes to tax season and doing their paperwork correctly.

You teach fellow aspiring artists how to paint better. Your lead magnet is a quiz which shows people where they are in their art journey and some recommended next steps for how they might improve and get to the next level.

You are a fitness coach who wants to teach people that fitness can be fun and you have a dance workout that is quick, easy, fun and can be done at home. So you record a short workout that people can do to show them how easy it is!

One of the key elements of making a winning lead magnet is to create something easily digestible - that someone can work through in 20 minutes or less (or if it’s a mini-course, make the videos bite-size). 

Why is this so important? Because psychologically if someone downloads a freebie from you and they go to get into it and it’s either too big to tackle then it puts them off from completing it. Then when you come round to email them with an offer in the back of their mind they are less likely to buy because they feel they have this ‘uncompleted’ homework still sitting there waiting to be done. 

If someone has worked through your freebie and got a quick win then it sends a subconscious message that they can create wins working with you and it won’t feel like they’re constantly falling behind. 

Now once you have the lead magnet idea nailed and are using it to attract new people to your audience/ email list make sure that you’re not just leaving them hanging! Introduce yourself - who are you, why do you do what you do and why are you the person to teach this thing? And have a clear call to action  - what’s the next step once they’ve been through your freebie? Is it to buy a mini-offer? Join your course? Book a call?

This can be done either in the lead magnet itself or in your email nurture sequence that follows. Think about your customer journey and breadcrumb it for them in your emails. 

What happens when no one is downloading it?

If you find that your lead magnet is not being downloaded then before you ditch it all together you need to look at why. Ask yourself:

• Am I promoting it enough and in front of new people? (do you speak about it every week? Are you mentioning it in Facebook groups, podcast interviews etc where you are in front of new eyes)

• Is it what your audience wants? Make sure to do market research with your ideal client and ask them what are they looking for help with.

PRO TIP: Other places to get ideas from are to see what lead magnets your competitors have (can use this as a starting point for inspiration although please note that you cannot see how well these are doing or if they are actually successful)

In addition, look at your current content library. What has your audience responded most to? Are they asking questions on a particular topic? Are they more engaged in videos or blog posts? This can be a big indicator of what they'll want in a freebie offer.

Don’t be afraid to create a few different lead magnets to test what works and appeals to your audience. Knowing and understanding your ideal client here is key. If you have a few different user personas that you can target with your business then you may also need to make different lead magnets for each of these.

Remember that creating a lead magnet/ list builder is about giving your audience value, a taste of what you bring to the table and how you can help them. It’s all about building that trust, authority and sense of community with them.

Ready to build your perfect lead magnet but want help brainstorming ideas and bringing it to life? Our VIP offer is perfect for this. We can support you not only with ideas but also with creating all the pieces that need to come together to make promoting it and growing your list feel effortless! Click here to book a call with us and see how we can help you!