OK yesterday, we talked about bad lead magnets. The ones which don’t work very well.

Today, I want to talk about GOOD lead magnets. And the good news (other than the fact they work better) is…. these are actually easier to make. 🙂

Now, if you’ve been with me for awhile, this might be review. But, we need to cover it anyway. This is a series on building your list like a madman, and we simply can’t do that if our lead magnets suck.

There are 7 criteria that go into an effective lead magnet. Let’s roll through ’em….

#1 – Provides a specific solution to a specific kind of person.

You should know your market. Therefore, you should know who they are and what kinds of problems they commonly deal with. With that in mind, you create a solution for them which does something about that ONE thing, for that ONE kind of person.

Now, what do we mean by a “solution”? A full training course? NO!

It needs to be something they see as an immediate solution to a problem they’re experiencing right now. And it needs to be for a specific kind of person. Don’t make it generic so as to be attractive to everybody your blog could possibly serve. Keep in mind, you can totally have more than one lead magnet, with specific ones for specific types of people. It’s a damn good idea, in fact.

#2 – Promises one big thing.

Not 7 tips, 10 strategies, blah blah blah. You have one specific problem, and you give them one specific solution.

You’re making one, single promise to them with your lead magnet. As a relevant example, my audience (bloggers, mainly) is highly interested in getting more traffic. But, I would never offer a lead magnet with a big pile of traffic strategies. I would give them just ONE. I’m making ONE promise to show them ONE thing.

#3 – Lends itself to a known, specific result.

This is why I hate lead magnet ebooks with stupid “booky” titles. Good businesses are centered around a transformation that is REAL to the customer. It should be a transformation they can see, feel, touch and know full well when it is there.

Same goes for a lead magnet. Your lead magnet should be aimed toward them accomplishing something they know, understand and is concrete. The lead magnet shouldn’t just talk about it or make the person think about it. It should be aimed toward action… toward something specific.

#4 – Gives immediate gratification.

No, I’m not talking about the fact that they get the lead magnet right after they opt-in. I’m talking about the outcome of the lead magnet is something they feel quickly.

This is why big honker ebooks don’t work. This is why listicles don’t work. If you’re giving them a lead magnet which tells them to do a bunch of things where they won’t feel any relief for quite some time, then this isn’t going to work.

What you want is for them to feel like they just made headway. I personally like to go for lead magnets which feel like they just got a shortcut. This is why I like things like checklists, templates, swipe files. These kinds of lead magnets feel like a shortcut to make things easier… all toward a known, end result that they want.

#5 – Moves them down a pathway of belief.

We talked here in The Daily recently about the customer awareness scale. In the beginning, they’re aware of their problem. But, next up, we want them to be aware of solutions.

That’s what we want. We want our subscriber to see that a solution is possible, that they just made some headway in some capacity, and that YOU are the one who provided it to them.

This is an important marketing function. You’re literally moving them ahead on the customer awareness scale… and that’s something that needs to happen if you ever want to make a sale.

#6 – Has a high perceived value

You want your new subscriber to feel as if they just downloaded something which is way more valuable to them than the PDF file you just sent. You don’t want them to feel as if they downloaded an ebook or just some new reading material.

Value is a perception. It isn’t some fake dollar amount. I don’t want to see any of you saying your lead magnet is “a $47 value, your’s free!”. If I see it, I’ll make fun of you. Relentlessly. 🙂

Your subscriber will view it as very valuable if it provides a shortcut to something they really want.

For instance, if I were interesting in putting together a Facebook ad campaign, then downloading a swipe file of 50 actual, proven ads that I could model would be very freakin’ valuable.

In a completely different niche…  let’s say some kind of crafts niche. Let’s say I was trying to make something but had that “blank slate syndrome” and didn’t know how to start. Some site offers me a TEMPLATE which I can print and model my project after. That’s valuable!

#7 – Can be consumed quickly.

Lastly, your lead magnet has to be something that provides this hit of value, but then gets out of the way. Because, as your business fully develops, you’re going to have something for sale. And, if your lead magnet just piled on and becomes an incomplete, pending thing for them, then it gets in the way of the sale.

Your lead magnet should be able to be fully consumed within a few minutes.

………….

Alright, this email is getting long enough. 🙂

Those are the 7 criteria for an effective lead magnet.

Tomorrow, we’ll apply them with some examples I’ll make up.

These 7 criteria all work together. And when they’re all there, your lead magnet will usually convert like crazy. 🙂

– David