The three best lead magnets that will launch your email list with bang

Lead magnets may be the secret component that your list-building approach is lacking. Here's why and how to get started with them today.

After a while watching those marketers and small business executives discuss the benefits of their email lists begins to look like that particular scene, and its accompanying music from The Lion King.

It's like it's too good to be true. Average ROI of 3800% ? It's not possible. Eighty-nine percent of professionals claim email is their primary channel to generate leads? That's a bit much.

However, there's a rationale behind this. Email marketing isn't just only a single-sided relationship between companies and consumers. As with the Lion King, email is beloved by all within the realm of commerce.

In fact, 73% of customers choose email as their top-choice channel to receive communications from marketers and to interact with them.

That's not what you're struggling with.

Your issue is much more pragmatic in its nature: you understand that you need an email list however, how are you supposed to build one from scratch?

In addition, how do create a quick list with no compromise on the quality?

The solution, dear reader, is as simple as:

It is necessary to have an effective lead magnet.

Which is what we'll tackle this morning. We'll first explain the reasons we'll show you the steps, before topping it all off with a done-for-you lead magnet solution to energize your lists with just ten minutes.

Let's get started.

What exactly is a lead magnet?

The key differentiator that separates lead magnets from any other type of marketing through content -- further details on this later -- is that lead magnets come with a particular reward contingent on users taking the desired decision (e.g. sign up for your mailing list).

Also, the box for subscriptions on Backlinko's homepage does not not a lead-generating tool. While the tips and tricks might be unique only to Brian Dean, they are not provided in as a specific resource as a reward for sign-up.

However, the case study found on the bottom of the page is a lead magnet since the information is locked behind an email address box. It's only after users' complete the required action and convert to subscribers that they are able to access the study.

Both buttons lead users to the same location -- Brian's email list -- but it's only the second button that offers new subscribers to sign up with an event-based incentive.

In general one of the best ways to determine what qualifies as a lead magnet, and the ones that are not is to employ the "if it is true, then" formula.

If the user takes an action that is desired The user will get the xyz as a reward.

If the user doesn't take the desired action in the time frame specified, the user won't get xyz as a gift.

That's enough for the dictionary. Beyond the above definition What is the process (and why) do lead magnets work?

The process behind lead magnets generally looks something like:

The steps can vary -- users may start on the landing page of the lead magnet -- but the relationship between the action and reward remains the same.

That brings us back to the "why" of the magnets for lead.

They give your visitors a reason, right then and there, to give over their details and convert into leads immediately. (The are really effective lead magnets are, in fact. More on this in the next paragraph, as well.)

This means that lead magnets can solve the most pressing marketing problem faced by the majority of professionals across the globe by driving the necessary traffic and leads all in one fell one swoop.

A different way of thinking about it is like the difference between texting someone using the dating site and warming them up with witty jokes or inviting the same person to have dinner with you while you're already in the restaurant.

Do it right and you'll have an email subscriber in just a tiny fraction of the time that it takes to execute your official content strategy. Do it wrong and users will flounce, rightfully as they will never come back.

This isn't a supposition It's true, in fact.

A minimum of 70% of visitors who leave your site after the initial visit do not return.

Therefore, getting your lead magnet right isn't just about generating more leads, it's creating the best first impression possible when visitors are able to become leads.

The answer is simple: making the right connections at the right time with the appropriate people.

For more information you can read further.

Lead magnets that work are well-targeted to address the pain points

If you're about to fall into a hopeless depression trying to figure out when the best time, place, and method you'll put together an attractive lead magnet to attract people, be encouraged.

The thing that lead magnets with high-quality performance have in common isn't the amount of time required to develop them, nor the budgets behind them or even the talent of their creators: it's in their targeting.

Simply put The more focused and useful the lead's content is for the people you're trying get to, the better the lead magnet's performance for your business as well as your customers.

Keep in mind that the goal of any type of content -- whether it's a lead magnet, blog post, or a webinar -- shouldn't be to appeal to general masses.

Your golden rule should always be to reach your specific audience.

After all, 71.7% of users that rated content as irrelevant declared it to be too general in nature.

In comparison, just 2.9 percentage of this users believed that the content wasn't relevant because it was not sufficiently complex or in-depth.

So if you take nothing more from this piece this moment, it should be this:

Whatever product you choose to sell that is lead magnets or any other type of product designed to please everybody will delight few and be lost to many.

Now, with that soapbox out of the way, how do you ensure that your lead magnet is relevant to your audience? Beyond nailing your customer research down, you should analyze your audience's issues.

Pain points, if you've never heard of this term before, refer specifically to the issues that your customers are experiencing which are pertinent to the business you run. These are not the solution to those difficulties.

The comic created by Ceralytics clearly illustrates the differences between pain points and solutions .

Potential pain points might be:

I need to reduce the size of my files, without loss of quality.

I need to create a compelling logo for my client.

I'm trying to cut back the time I spend between pitching and delivering.

They would not, however, be:

I need to save files with .PNG format.

I require a color palette to help my client.

I need an automated workflow.

Why? because the first half is issues that aren't solved yet. solutions. The second half are the (possible) possible solutions.

While pain points are a helpful way to narrow the focus of your lead-generating content, they are not the only ones that make an ideal content.

There are a multitude of issues that consumers encounter throughout their day. And if it's not something that users are enthusiastic about solving -or i.e., actively seeking solutions for -- even if they're relevant the lead magnet you've chosen won't make the waves you're hoping for.

An effective lead magnet has to be both profitable and fueled by passion.

If it's a problem issue that people want to resolve --- i.e. it's possible to discover Reddit threads seeking assistance and a market for similar premium products, it can be positioned into the top right quadrant and can result in an engaging and highly targeted lead-generating attraction.

If you're on the other side there's a problem that people aren't eager to address or spend money to make go away, then it would fall into the left side of the matrix and probably isn't your ideal lead magnet.

In this case, it is how I'd deal with my readers' problems within the realm of content strategy:

And, this is how is at stake:

Lead magnets that succeed have relevance to the intended audience and address specific problems.

(Coincidence? Most likely (Probably not.)

If you'd rather make things easier, I recommend opening our download generator from a different tab and following along. But regardless of how you build your lead magnet use these guidelines and techniques to help it shine above the rest.

Three lead magnets that are easy to develop and the best way to make them pop

We're going to be focusing on three different formats today- our favorite types of lead magnets as well as those which have proven to be the most effective for us. But if you're interested in exploring different forms, Blogging Wizard has an comprehensive guide to lead magnets which I highly suggest.

In other words, these are the kinds of formats we'll working on for the remainder of the article:

Sound good? Then without further ado we'll dive right in.

#1. Make your checklists visually appealing to make a lasting impression

The checklists should be fairly self-explanatory and include anything that users can interact with through the process of completing items using a computer, or with a pen. They're usually less visual-heavy in comparison to other formats.

It is important to note that I say less visual-heavy and not visual-free. On the whole, marketers working within content marketing prefer materials which has aesthetic appeal  This includes checklists.

Why? There are many reasons why checklists need to include visuals. The most notable is the effect the image has on awareness of brands. Within three days after exposure individuals could keep about 70% of the information they have seen if it was paired with an image.

In the more concrete terms of adding illustrations to your checklists can make them memorable and distinctive, which in turn ensures that your business is always in the forefront when users are putting your checklist to work.

However, you don't must have an incredibly creative design in order to create the most of an agenda. Small visual elements are a great way to make a difference.

As an example, take a look at the (abbreviated) blog writing checklist created by CoSchedule.

If you look at it objectively, it's not a particularly sophisticated graphic however, it does incorporate colors, iconography, as well as visual hierarchy, to create the information itself - such as the 21-item list is distinct with other options and boost the perceived worth of the offering.

You see a similar approach in this content checklist for editors from Vertical Measures.

Does the content in this checklist relevant and helpful to readers? Absolutely. Yet, how would people remember it came from Vertical Measures or turn to them as a trusted source of blog post content if it did not include branded colors and a logo?

Perhaps, but it's not likely to be the case, and it's not easy.

Simple, no matter the type of marketing that your company is doing, it's always the goal.

Final word:

Checklists should incorporate colors and the logo of your company to help them stand out and increase their appeal overall. The main text could be in the text, however the best steaks benefit by a properly-positioned accessory.

#2. Give your numbered lists large margins and lines

Sequential lists, no matter if they're indented or numbered with bullet points, have similar needs to checklists however there's one element they must have above all other things:

Blank space.

Sometimes referred to as negative or white space, adding ample margins and spacing between the items on your list improves readability , comprehension, and helps to clarify the connections between different objects.

The distinction between a list with space and one that does not may seem subtle yet the effect it has on the user's engagement and overall usability -- is not subtle.

Here's an example of what I'm referring to:

In the case of a list that is four-items long as in the previous example, the narrow margins and tight composition can be tolerated, but imagine similar spacing on the case of a list with 20 items.

You could even go through it to see it yourself.

The only difference between these two lists is one 0.20 increase in line spacing. However, the ability to scan and digest the information will make all the differences.

In the event that your numbering list can guide people through an action that isn't a big difference, that you should be able to ignore.

I actually mean "afford" to refer to it in the sense of the literal in the sense of.

Increasing white space between items will boost conversion rates during checkout by up to 33%  like it did for Xerox and Xerox, as well as fostering more user-friendly experience and the overall level of engagement.

This increase in conversion rates and understanding has been demonstrated repeatedly by various research teams and there's no aspect of your online presence -- or products -- that won't benefit from a well-designed blank space , including numbered lists.

The gist of it:

Numbered lists need visually balanced components to ensure their value for users. If the reader must squint to read through the lead magnet, it's not likely to provide an enjoyable user experience and show the worth of your company's brand.

It's a lead magnet that draws traffic in and loses them in the same breath. Ouch.

#3. Keep lead magnet ebooks to 2,000 words or less

If this header appears strangely unique to you, there's an reason. This tip is applicable when creating ebooks for an lead magnet.

If you're creating an ebook that's formatted to be an lead magnet whether it's a case study, a short story, or a chapter snippet in a bigger book- you want to keep your ebook to just seven minutes worth of reading and 2,000 characters.

The number is derived from a study conducted by the blog platform Medium about the best length of long-form posts.

The vertical horizontal axis (the bar from top to bottom) shows the amount of duration of the post; the horizontal axis (the bar that runs from right to left) represents how long the post would take to read at a normal pace.

You can observe that viewers' interest is highest around the 7 minute mark, and it then starts to decrease as the time goes on. With the caveat that the data is applicable to blog content but not specifically lead magnets it is a simple connection to make, and moreover what you can learn from it is:

The majority of users don't wish to commit hours on a resource or even an excellent one.

For a business the same isn't good for your customers to are able to spend all day on it or even if your guide of 50,000 words is the best ebook for crocheting cute sea animals, it isn't easy to read, and readers will not be able to read the book in one go or peruse the other offerings in the near future.

After all the pleasure of reading is at the lowest level across the US .

It is probably due to the reality that Americans most of all other population around the globe, spend their weekends working.

This is what brings us to the central issue: we don't have a lot of time to spare.

The purpose of an lead magnet is to encourage users to join your email list so they can be nurtured for purchase, an ebook which takes them one time to go through (assuming they get that far) doesn't do either your business or your customer anyone any favors.

So keep it short and direct. This is a win-win situation for all.

How can lead magnets grow up big and sturdy

Basically, think of the lead magnets you use as multivitamins. They won't cure the problems with your email lists overnight However, they'll give you -- as well as the individuals who sign-up for your email list- the growth spurt you need to achieve where you wish to go quicker.

In that same spirit of brevity, here's the quick recap of what we've covered in the past:

Lead magnets are offers typically with the help of download materials, which give customers an incentive to sign up for your mailing newsletter.

The best lead magnets are targeted to their intended recipients. The more generic your lead magnet's content is, the more lukewarm the response will be.

Lead magnets are available in any form, however the most straightforward to start using are checklists, numbers lists, and ebooks.

When you're putting together your lists, be sure you've included a few small elements of visual. Without these, your company's image -- even if your list is impressive -- is forgettable.

The lists that are numbered benefit from images and also have visuals, but they must have space between items to be usable. Crowding your list doesn't increase its value -- just less comprehensible.

Ebooks that have been packaged as lead magnets should follow the same rule that long-form articles follow Keep it brief and to the point. A minimum of 2,000 words or 7 minutes reading time is optimal.

Maybe you're interested in line spacing or character count. I won't judge.