Harnessing the Power of Lead Magnets: Choose your opt-in.

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Trying to catch the eye of your audience online can feel like playing hide and seek in the dark.

You’re ‘it.’

Lead magnets let brands turn on the light and show the world what they have to offer.

These free value offerings in exchange for a lead’s contact information do more than allow you to grow your subscriber list. A well-crafted lead magnet allows you to connect and nurture your audience, all whilst building brand recognition, trust, and value.

A recent study into the effectiveness of lead magnets: Best Lead Magnets for Lead Generation: 2020 Study Report, discovered that a combination of video and text-based lead magnets were the top performers as opt-in incentives.

That same study also found that the effectiveness of long-form content (41.1%), and short-form content (58.6%) was reasonably balanced. This means that the best practice for choosing your lead magnet style and length is still to choose the content that aligns with your audience’s needs and your products.

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If you’re selling time-saving software, a 20-page guide might not be the best way to showcase your expertise.

If you’re offering an in-depth service on the other hand…

When choosing your lead magnet also consider the format that is easiest for you to deliver. Instant, automated delivery helps to maintain trust, bypass buyer’s remorse, and saves you a whole lot of effort.

Step 1 Choose a lead magnet idea from the list below

Step 2 Create your lead magnet

Lead magnets, when chosen and executed correctly, can be the spark that electrifies your brand's presence. Follow these best practices when creating your lead magnet for the best return on investment (ROI)

• Consider SEO when choosing your title.

• Remember your brand voice guidelines throughout.

• Create an eye-catching design using your brand’s visual guidelines.

• Use statistics, provide insights, and offer valuable information.

• Don’t forget to link your lead magnet back to your services with a strong call-to-action (CTA).

Remember, even if your lead magnet is program based, such as a rewards program for existing customers or offering affiliate marketing, you still need to ensure that your program is discoverable, valuable, and all the associated copy is well branded.

Lead magnets are one of the few marketing tools that attracts leads and also nurtures them. The best lead magnets can even convert leads into customers, all with a single click.

Make the most of your lead magnet and maximise your return on investment (ROI) with expert copywriting and graphic design services.

Step 3 Time to opt-in

Now that you have your lead magnet, you’ll need a way for people to exchange their contact information for a copy of your electrifying content. There are three ways to do this:

Create an opt-in page on your website

This is the preferable option for those who already have their own website or are looking to create one, anyway. Your opt-in page should be a separate page on your site that promotes your lead magnet and includes an opt-in form where you can collect lead’s contact information, most commonly, email addresses. You’ll need to connect this form with your automated email campaign to allow for follow-up email marketing. For instructions on how to set up your opt-in form to deliver your lead magnet, jump to the lead magnet delivery section of this post.

Create an opt-in page through a dedicated sales-funnel hosting provider

If you don’t have a website of your very own yet, you can still create a dedicated opt-in page through a provider like Clickfunnels, Leadpages, or Hubspot marketing hub. These platforms allow you to create simple opt-in pages, offer automated lead magnet delivery and integrated email marketing. Because they are focused on creating a seamless sales funnel and consumer pathway, these platforms offer an easy way of delivering lead magnets and managing your marketing, however, with Clickfunnels pricing starting at $127 per month, they can be expensive for small businesses and start-ups.

Using the collection form feature in Facebook ads

This method involves creating a Facebook ad where you advertise your lead magnet and ask people to opt in via a Facebook form. It’s much cheaper than having your own website or using third party platforms, but it’s not as seamless and you lose the persuasive and nurturing aspect provided by a dedicated opt-in page. This method is only recommended if you cannot afford a dedicated opt-in page.

Opt-in page design

If you’re using a platform like ClickFunnels then you’ll have access to tons of templates to base your opt-in page on. However, you still need to create copy that nurtures and converts your audience into parting with their valuable contact information.

To do this, think of your opt-in page like a sales page for your lead magnet. Start with an attention-grabbing hook. Then raise a problem that your audience faces and your lead magnet can help alleviate. Remember, connecting through emotion here is key. Showcase the features of your lead magnet and connect them to the real life benefits your audience can expect to experience by opting-in. Finally, don’t forget your call-to-action CTA and your opt-in form to actually collect lead’s information.

You’ll want to connect your opt-in form to your automated email campaign for further email marketing.

Lead magnet delivery

There are several ways to deliver your lead magnet. The method that is best for you depends on the lead magnet format you chose, how you set-up your opt-in page or form, and the other resources you have available.

If you used a third party platform for your opt in page, then follow their instructions for delivering your lead magnet.

Email delivery

This is the most popular method for delivering your lead magnet. When creating your follow up email campaign, simply attach your lead magnet to the first email for leads to download. It works because it’s instant, automated, and easy for leads to find. It also means that you can use the redirect feature of your opt-in form to take leads to your sales page. The drawback is that spam filters may warn leads that attachments may be unsafe. If you’re targeting millennials or younger, that’s fine, but it may prevent the less tech-savvy older generations from accessing your lead magnet. As always, knowing your target audience is key.

Redirect/download

If your automated email service doesn’t allow for attachments, then you can redirect leads to a dedicated download page. Simply create the page and upload your lead magnet. Then set your opt in form to redirect to that page. If leads choose not to download instantly, you can ensure that they have access to download at a later time by including a link to the download page in the first email in your automated campaign. It works because it’s instant and easy, but you do lose the ability to instantly redirect leads to your sales page.

Online access

Online access works for video format lead magnets such as webinars, community access, podcasts, free trials, and referral programs. Your lead magnet is hosted online. You can redirect leads straight to the host page from your opt-in form and send them an email with the link. If you want to keep the lead magnet a little more exclusive and up the perceived value, you can always ass a login or password to access the page.

Follow-up

Lead magnets are unique in their ability to capture, nurture, and convert leads all in one step. However, not every lead will convert immediately. Some leads take a little more nurturing, and that’s where email marketing comes into play. Creating the right kind of campaign with the right copy can be tough for small businesses. If you’re creating your own email campaign, remember, emails should be valuable, on-brand, and build connection before you even think about sales. Email marketing remains one of the most used and boasts one of the best returns on investment (ROI) than any other marketing technique. Getting it right can take your business to the next level. If you need a little help to connect with your audience and creating emails with spark, check out my email copywriting services.