Charles Herren

How To Create a High-Converting Lead Magnet in 2022

Lead magnet templates, tips, and inspiring examples to help you quickly create lead magnets that get you more leads and email subscribers

So you’re looking to create a lead magnet?

Chances are, you need one because you want to generate more leads and email subscribers you can eventually turn into customers.

Well, if you’ve ever tried building an email list from scratch, I think you’ll agree that convincing people to give you their valuable contact information is getting harder by the day.

Or is it?

The fact is, you can significantly increase the number of new sign-ups you’re getting on your website by following a simple strategy.

And when you see what I’m going to show you in the next few minutes, you’ll be ready to grow your list faster than you ever thought possible.

You’ll also see plenty of lead magnet examples designed to convert more visitors into leads.

Plus, you’ll get access to customizable lead magnet templates that'll save you time and effort.

Okay!

Assuming you're ready to start generating more leads and build your email following, let's get started:

Table of contents:

What is a lead magnet?

Why do you need a lead magnet?

What makes a good lead magnet?

How to create a lead magnet: 12-step action guide

How to successfully promote your new lead magnet on your website

A fast, easy way to boost your website conversions

What is a lead magnet?

A lead magnet is a special offer that’s strategically-designed to meet website visitors and prospects precisely where they are in their search for a solution to a problem or challenge.

It’s vital that lead magnets have sufficient perceived value to persuade qualified prospects to exchange their email address and other contact information for the incentive you’re offering.

Take the case of ConvertFlow, “When planning our new partner program, we knew we needed a high-value lead magnet that could walk agency owners through the process of selling conversion marketing services to their clients, says Ethan Denney, CEO, “So we decided to make our Conversion Marketing Playbook available in both digital and print format.”

"We invested a lot of money and time in producing our playbook," explains Ethan, "so we felt that offering it as an actual printed book would communicate a higher perceived value to agency owners."

Depending on the situation and their campaign's goals, smart marketers will leverage different types of lead magnets to generate qualified sales leads. This way, once they have the prospect's email they can confidently begin the process of converting those leads into paying customers.

Why do you need a lead magnet?

If someone does a Google search and clicks through to your website, consider yourself fortunate. After all, nowadays, you’re competing with millions of websites for that searcher’s attention and click.

Once a visitor lands on your website, you should assume they’re going to take a quick look, then click the back button, and never come back again.

After all, they have so many options. Plus, most people are busy, distracted, and have tiny attention spans.

Once a visitor lands on your website, you should assume they’re going to take a quick look, then click the back button, and never come back again.

To make matters even more challenging, today’s companies, publishers, and marketers are creating more digital content than ever before. And most of this online content is available at no cost to the consumer.

That’s why you need to do everything possible (within reason) to convince new website visitors to give you their email address before they flit off to another site like a butterfly in a garden full of flowers in springtime.

To motivate people to give you their email address and other personal information, you’re going to need to offer them a high-value incentive in the form of a discount, a unique experience, or some form of premium content that’s hard for them to find elsewhere.

As Don Vito Corleone from The Godfather would say, you need to “Make them an offer they can’t refuse.”

The challenge is you have just a few seconds to persuade website visitors to give up their contact information. And although you’re not asking them to make a purchase, getting an email address from a busy, serious person who values their time and privacy is an important transaction.

This is especially true if you’re in the B2B space.

When a businessperson becomes a lead and shows a sincere interest in your product or solution, this person could potentially be worth thousands of dollars in new revenue for your company.  

By giving you their company email, businesspeople are giving you direct access to their inboxes. They’re giving you permission to market your products or services to them.

And nowadays, that’s worth a lot.

It’s important to note, in spite of all the hype around social media “E-mail is still a significantly more effective way to acquire customers than social media, nearly 40 times that of Facebook and Twitter combined. That’s because 91 percent of all US consumers still use email daily,” according to a report by ExactTarget.

Furthermore, a study by eMarketer concluded, “The rate at which emails prompt purchases is not only estimated to be at least three times that of social media, but the average order value is also 17 percent higher.”

What makes a good lead magnet?

As you can see, the potential ROI of building a high-quality targeted email list is undeniable. If properly managed, your list will play a vital role in the success of your business and brand.

Think about it. Building an email list gives you the ability to develop top-of-the-mind awareness and influence the mindset and behavior of your subscribers. A list lets you proactively drive more engagement, leads, feedback, sales, or anything else you’ll need to grow your business.

That’s why offering a compelling lead magnet targeting the right buyer persona is a powerful and proven way to accelerate the growth of your email list and business.

The best lead magnets speak directly to people who want and need your product or service while delivering real, measurable value.

The best lead magnets speak directly to people who want and need your solution while delivering real, measurable value.

Ideally, your lead magnet will offer an actionable solution to an important problem or alleviate one or more pain points the prospect is experiencing.

You can use valuable free offers to capture email leads, and establish a mutually-beneficial relationship with new leads and subscribers.

Over time, you can continue to deliver high-value, helpful content to their inboxes, earning trust, and ultimately, the right to ask for their business.

A good percentage of the people on your email list will become high LTV customers, raving fans, and even partners who can play a vital role in the long-term success of your business.

So, while planning your next lead magnet, keep these key points in mind:

1. Your lead magnet should be laser-targeted and provide a solution to a specific problem your buyer persona is currently trying to solve.

2. Your lead magnet should communicate high perceived value and deliver what is promised. (Ideally, it will over deliver.)

3. Your lead magnet should be easy to access and easy to consume.

4. Your lead magnet should help the prospect achieve a quick win.

5. Your lead magnet should offer and deliver instant gratification.

6. Your lead magnet should position you as an authority in your field and industry.

7. Your lead magnet should clearly communicate your UVP and show why your solution is different and better than what’s being offered by the competition.

Okay. Now that you understand what makes a good lead magnet, let’s walk through a step-by-step process you can follow to create an effective lead magnet that converts more website visitors into leads and email subscribers.

How to create a lead magnet: 12-step action guide

In the early days of the internet, you could throw together some random content, call it a special report, and offer the PDF file as a lead magnet on your website, but nowadays, just throwing together some content won’t cut it.

When it comes to content quality, whether free or paid, the bar is much higher in 2022.

Nowadays, if you want to build a loyal following of subscribers and customers, you’ll need to produce high-value, premium content that’s clearly better than what your competitors are offering.

If the quality of your lead magnet isn’t exceptional and doesn’t deliver real value, you may not get enough sign-ups to make it worth your while.

Or, you may get sign-ups, but those people will be unimpressed with the quality of your lead magnet and unsubscribe from your list.

That’s why today’s most successful companies and marketers create high-quality lead magnet content that delivers a viable solution to an important problem the reader is trying to solve.

High-converting lead magnets not only provide valuable content, they also need to really stand out when it comes to cover design, typography, imagery, and formatting.

Many marketers are even offering free tools, templates, and courses as lead magnets to provide substantially more value to the visitor than they can find elsewhere.

As you may have realized by now, producing premium content you can offer as a lead magnet requires a substantial investment of time and effort.

Nonetheless, when you grasp the true value of attracting more qualified leads that become loyal, long-term customers who can add tens, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue to your business, you’ll be willing to put in the time and effort.

It’s worth noting that there are many types of incentives you can offer people in exchange for their email. It’s not always necessary to create twenty-five to fifty pages of premium content.

Depending on your business, you can offer things like discounts, coupons, access to live events, tools, and more.

So don’t worry.

In a few minutes, I’m going to give you a list of lead magnet ideas.

Some are fast. Others require more time to create.

You’ll also see plenty of lead magnet examples and I’ll show you how to get access to a variety of free lead magnet templates.

With these tools and resources, you’ll be able to launch a quick lead magnet and start collecting email addresses in a matter of minutes.

But for now, let’s assume you want to create a high-converting lead magnet that delivers valuable, authentic content to your target audience. We’re talking about unique, competition-free content that positions you as the go-to expert in your field.

If that describes what you want to achieve, follow the steps shown below:

Step 1 - Clearly define your target persona

To create an effective lead magnet that converts more of your website visitors into quality email subscribers and leads, you’ll need to understand exactly who your ideal customers are and what they want to accomplish.

After all, it’s hard to develop targeted, premium content that helps potential customers solve a specific problem if you don’t know who these people are, and what problem they’re trying to solve.

Defining buyer personas is the foundation of any successful content marketing strategy as well as a critical step in crafting high-converting lead magnets and content upgrades.

By creating buyer personas, you can benefit from a deeper understanding of your prospective and existing customers. These insights will help you tailor lead magnets and other content to the specific needs, goals, and preferences of the personas you’re targeting.

Of course, creating an effective buyer persona requires market research including getting feedback from real-life prospects and customers.

Some businesses may have one or two buyer personas. Others target multiple personas.

However, for the purpose of creating your next lead magnet, all you’ll need is one clearly-defined buyer persona that represents the kind of person you’re trying to help.

Hubspot has developed a helpful tool that will walk you step-by-step through the process of creating a persona. It’ll also help you understand the science behind and the importance of developing accurate buyer personas.

Step 2 - Choose a topic that’s relevant and valuable to the people you’re targeting

Even though you may not be charging for a lead magnet, it’s important to remember that a value-for-value exchange is taking place.

You’ll be asking people to give up their email and other contact information to receive whatever incentive you’re offering.

That’s why you need to be careful to select the right topic before you do all the work involved in creating high-level content that breaks through all the noise and truly stands above the crowd.

Of course, choosing a topic may not be necessary if you plan to offer a simple discount, coupon, or another lead magnet that’s easy to create, launch, and test on your website.

On the other hand, if you plan to craft outstanding content from scratch, the ideal way to find a topic is by asking your existing audience and customers what challenges they’re facing and what kind of problems they need to solve.

You’ll be happy to know, there are lots of ways you can gather more information and insight into the kind of topics people in your audience consider valuable.

For example, let’s say you’re catering to managers or HR professionals. Chances are, they’ve had to switch to a work-from-home setup at some point during the pandemic. So, templates and guides they can use for employee performance assessments can be helpful resources for them at this time.

Look for topics that help people solve significant problems and achieve their personal, professional, or business goals.

You can collect the kind of insights you need through:

- Surveys, polls, and quizzes
- Blog post comments
- Customer interviews
- Reviews on your website and on third-party sites
- Groups on Facebook, Linkedin, etc.
- Social media channels like Twitter, Instagram, etc.
- Slack channels
- Onsite & in-app feedback forms
- Customer support questions
- Questions and answers on Reddit, Quora and Yahoo! Answers

Those are just a few of the options available to today’s marketer.

Obviously, you’ll want to carefully look through the feedback you get to identify which topics people are asking about, and what kind of problems they’re trying to solve.

Ask yourself questions like:

- Would a qualified lead be willing to give up his contact information to learn more about this topic?

- Does he care about solving this problem?

- Would solving this problem save him time or money?

- Would solving this problem help him make more money?

- Would solving this problem help him do more, faster?

- Would solving this problem make him a better version of himself?

Questions like the ones above can get you started, then you can come up with variations and more targeted questions that may be better for your specific clients, business, or whatever you’re trying to accomplish.

In the beginning, you’ll want to ask yourself and team members the initial questions you come up with. After that, you can refine the questions and ask actual customers, as well as other people who fit your buyer persona.

Try it out. You’ll be amazed at how much you learn.

Remember, your goal is to validate that the topic you choose for your next lead magnet is of real value to your target persona and audience.

That’s why going through this questioning process will be well worth the time and effort you put into it.

Step 3 - Spy on your competitors to see what types of lead magnets they’re promoting

If you’ve recently launched your business or website you may not have enough current subscribers or clients to gather much information through surveys, reviews, customer support questions, and so on.

Don’t worry, there’s a simple workaround you can use if you don't have any clients or subscribers to survey.

Spy on your competitors.

It’s very likely you have well-established competitors who’ve been in business for years. These competitors may have built a sizable audience for their blogs. They may also have groups on Facebook, Linkedin, and other social media platforms.

Assuming these companies are in touch with their subscriber base, chances are, they’ve created content that aligns with their audience’s goals and interests. Content that helps to solve their common, shared problems.

This, of course, is great news for you!

Why? Well, because they’ve already done a lot of the heavy lifting for you.

Spying on your competitors is simple, just visit their sites and see what kind of lead magnets and content upgrades they’re promoting.

You can also go to their blogs and social media pages to see which posts get the most engagement. Look at the number of shares, retweets, comments, and other feedback on their posts.

Assuming you share the same audience, you’ll get a good idea which topics are most popular and give you plenty of lead magnet ideas.

You can also use tools like BuzzSumo to find out which of your competitors’ content is being shared on social media.

Just enter the competitor’s website into Buzzsumo and you’ll get lots of content ideas and insights.

For example, you’ll see the competitor’s best performing digital content.

You’ll see which networks perform best. Who is sharing their content. And how your content compares to theirs. Of course, we’re assuming you’ve already posted articles or other content on your website.

Create a spreadsheet and keep track of your most important competitors. Make sure you list the titles and topics of their primary lead magnets, along with the headlines of their best-performing blog posts.

You can also create a column and write any observations or insights you get while analyzing their published content.

Another tool you can use is Arefs’ content explorer.

Just enter your competitor’s URL and you’ll get lots of data and insights about their best-performing content from an SEO perspective.

The advantage of doing this kind of competitive research and compiling the information you find in a spreadsheet is threefold:

1. You’ll find which topics people in your niche are interested in.

2. You’ll get lots of topic ideas and see examples of lead magnets that are already converting well for your competitors.

3. It helps you avoid making the mistake of creating a lead magnet that’s too similar to the content your competitors are promoting.

The idea, after all, is to differentiate your business and brand. The last thing you want is to look like you’re copying someone else's lead magnet.

So, don’t skip this step. I can’t overemphasize the importance of making the right choice when selecting the main topic of your new lead magnet.

Go ahead and invest some time and effort upfront, so you can be sure you’re creating the kind of content your target audience will find so valuable, they won’t think twice about giving you their email in exchange for the premium content you’re offering.

And if you over-deliver and help them solve their problem, there’s a good chance they'll share your website and lead magnet with their friends and colleagues.  

Step 4 - Study what content your target audience is buying

After researching what kind of content and lead magnets your competitors are offering for free, take some time to see what kind of content your target audience is buying.

You want your lead magnet to offer so much value people would happily pay for it.

And the fact is, people will be paying for it by giving you their contact information and permission to market to them.

If you create your lead magnet as if you were going to sell it, you’ll deliver so much value people will be delighted you gave it to them for free.

And as long as it deals with a high-value topic and helps to solve your target persona’s problem, it should convert well as a free offer.

Here's how you can get some good ideas and see examples of the types of content people are buying.

First of all, head over to Amazon’s Kindle Books.

For several reasons, I recommend you search for Kindle Books, rather than printed books:

1. Kindle books are delivered and consumed in digital format. And your lead magnet will most likely be in a digital format, as well.

2. The Kindle store is ideal because there are so many different topics and titles available. Many of which will appeal to your target audience.

3. If someone is buying a Kindle book, there’s a good chance they're somewhat tech-savvy and used to buying things online.

Finding information on topics people are willing to pay for is simple.

Just look at the left-hand sidebar, and you’ll see a list of categories. Click the main category, and a number of sub-categories will appear.

Continue to drill down until you find the category that best fits your target audience.

Once you find the right category, you should see a list of results.

Next, go to the top-right drop-down menu and sort the results by the average customer review. This will show you the top-rated results in that category.

Take a close look at the books, how much they’re charging, who the authors are, and reviews people are leaving.

Doing this provides you valuable insights and information you can use in your quest to find the best topic for your new lead magnet.

Step 5 - See what content your competitors sell on their websites

If your business isn't well-established, you may want to take a look at the kinds of products your competitors are selling on their websites.

Look at products at different price levels. Take a special look at the lower-priced information products they’re offering.

For example, a competitor may be selling an ebook on How To Write High-Ranking Blog Articles and they may charge $20.00, $30.00 or more for this kind of content.

Digital Marketer sells playbooks, workshops and courses on their website, and currently charge $27 for a playbook and up to $495 for an online course.

If you see that an ebook (playbook, in this case) sells for $27.00, you may want to create a lead magnet with equal, or better content you can offer for free in exchange for a prospect’s email and other contact information.

If you impress people with your free lead magnet, they may think, “Wow, if this company’s free content is this good, their paid products must be even better.”

And if these people decide to eventually buy something, there’s a good chance it’ll be from you.

Although making money selling digital content can be a nice source of revenue, if you’re looking to generate leads and build a sizable email list, giving away quality content for free has proven to be a highly-effective tactic.

Leading companies like Hubspot have created a wide range of eBooks, templates, and other resources. Obviously, Hubspot could sell many of these resources for $20.00, or more, but they prefer to offer them as gated lead magnets and content upgrades.

In most cases, when you try to download one of Hubspot’s ebooks, a pop-up form asks for your full name, email, and sometimes, other business-related information that helps their team qualify you as a lead.

While some companies choose to sell their content, others like Hubspot prefer to give it away as lead magnets and content upgrades. This is because Hubspot’s main business is selling software, not content.

Again, it’s good idea to study what kind of content and tools your competitors are selling and giving away for free.

Take note of the titles and topics they're actively promoting. This kind of information will help you generate a stream of ideas and, of course, you’ll see plenty of lead magnet examples.

Step 6 – Search for paid training that targets your niche

When done correctly, a lead magnet solves a specific problem the buyer persona and target audience is currently experiencing.

In essence, you’re creating a mini-course that helps people solve that specific problem.

And that’s why during the research and planning phase, it’s good to see what kind of paid online courses are available for your niche.

The first place to look for online courses is:  

Udemy

At Udemy, you can find free and paid courses on just about any topic.

There’s also Udemy For Business. You may want to look there if your lead magnet will target businesspeople.

Once you find a list of courses in your category, sort search results by popularity. Doing this will show the courses that are high-in-demand.

You can also see the number of students each course has, along with the course’s ratings.

Note that many course creators offer their courses for free, or at a low price.

In other words, they’re using Udemy’s platform to build an audience and for lead generation purposes. Depending on your type of business, you may want to use Udemy to build a following and generate additional leads.

Another good place to search for online courses is:

Skillshare

Skillshare describes itself as an online learning community for creative and intellectually curious people. It offers courses on topics like illustration, design, video photography, freelancing, to name a few.

Skillshare has thousands of courses and millions of members. That makes it a great place to get ideas and a feel for what the market wants.

If your new lead magnet is going to target creative-minded people, you’ll find a wealth of information in this vibrant online learning community.

Discover by Teachable

Teachable is an all-in-one platform that enables experts of all types to create and sell online courses. Unlike other platforms, Teachable allows for a higher level of personalization when it comes to setting up an online school.

Online learning is growing so fast, Teachable recently launched its own marketplace where creators can sell their courses. This, of course, can be another source of information and inspiration when you’re looking for the ideas you need to create a lead magnet targeting your audience.

You may notice that a lot of the courses on Discover by Teachable tend to be higher-priced than courses offered on other platforms. This is because many influential creators use Teachable’s platform to host the premium courses they sell on their websites.

You should be able to uncover some excellent content ideas here, and I recommend you also visit the websites of the course creators to make sure they cater to the same audience as you.

Step 7 - Craft your unique value proposition (UVP)

After you’ve decided who you’re going to target, and which problem you’re going to help them solve, it’s time to craft your unique value proposition.

An effective value proposition offers something your buyer persona truly wants or needs. Instead of creating something you “think” people want, find out exactly “what” they need and give it to them.

I once heard this saying, “Amateurs try to convince people to buy water. Professionals sell water to people in the desert.”

In other words, if you’ve already done the strategic work to know exactly who your target audience is and what they need, in advance, getting them to opt-in for your lead magnet should be a smooth, seamless experience.

Of course, you still need to communicate in a clear, relevant, and concise way, exactly what’s in it for them if you want people to exchange their contact information for your new lead magnet or content upgrade.

That’s why you need to develop a strong value proposition.

A winning UVP clearly communicates a compelling reason to accept your offer. The number of subscribers, leads, and sales it ultimately generates will depend on how much relevant value you promise and deliver to the people you're targeting.

To develop a strong value proposition, just follow these steps:

1. Identify a problem or pain point your audience is experiencing
2. Define which specific benefits your lead magnet will give them
3. Explain why these benefits are valuable to them
4. Connect this value to the audience’s problem
5. Show how your solution is different (and better) than other options

The good news is, a lead magnet’s value proposition is a conversion factor you can control. Just remember to find a relevant problem people in your target audience need to overcome. Make a concise promise and deliver an actionable solution to that problem.

The faster you help them get a win, the better.

Examples of Unique Value Propositions (UVPs)

ActiveCampaign

Here’s a great example of a straightforward, easy-to-understand UVP.

It clearly differentiates what ActiveCampaign does when compared to run-of-the-mill email marketing tools by positioning its platform as “Customer Experience Automation,” in the pre-headline.

In the main headline, AC makes a powerful promise by saying “Do more than automate your email - activate your entire customer experience.”

The subheadline reinforces that promise when it says “ActiveCampaign gives you the email marketing, marketing automation, and CRM tools you need to create incredible customer experiences.”

Then, they give the visitor an opportunity to start a free trial.

I love ActiveCampaign’s UVP because it has zero fluff or ambiguity.

They make a clear, elegant proposition tailored to marketers and teams that want to combine email, marketing automation and CRM to take their customer experience and conversions to the next level.

Shopify

Here’s another example of a straight-to-the-point value proposition.

The company’s headline makes a simple offer “Create your eCommerce store with Shopify.”

After that, the subhead takes advantage of social validation by saying “Trusted by over 1,000,000 businesses worldwide.”

This powerful statement is followed by an offer to “Start free trial.”

I think we can agree that when you’re the undisputed market leader like Shopify, you don’t need to try too hard to make a great value proposition.

The sheer power of Shopify’s brand, plus massive social proof is more than enough to nudge people to take the first step in the conversion process.

Zapier

In the example below, Zapier makes a simple, yet compelling promise “Connect your apps and automate workflows.”

The subheadline calls out their target audience with “Easy automation for busy people.”

And they reinforce their UVP by clearly stating the benefits users will get  “Zapier moves info between your web apps automatically, so you can focus on your most important work.”

Finally, they offer the website visitor a chance to “Get Started Free.”

Remember to find the problem your target persona is experiencing.

Like Zapier, clearly state the specific benefits your lead magnet delivers. Articulate what makes those benefits valuable to the persona, while linking this value to the persona’s problem.

Finally, show how your solution is better than other options, and ask them to take a specific action like “Download Free Playbook Now.”

Step 8 - Choose what type of lead magnet you’re going to offer

If you’ve followed the steps shown above, you have a good idea of what kind of lead magnet you can create and promote.

However, if for some reason you haven’t decided yet, here’s a list of lead magnet ideas to get you going.

Note: If you’re an experienced marketer you've probably seen many of these ideas before, but the list will help remind you of what’s possible.

Plus, there’s a simple reason these types of lead magnets get used so often.

They work!

Download list of lead magnet ideas (PDF)

There ya go!

Now you have plenty of lead magnet ideas to get you started. No excuses :)

Keep these key points in mind when deciding which type of lead magnet you’re going to offer and during the process of creating it:

1. Keep it simple: Complicated lead magnets are usually ineffective. Make yours simple, easy-to-consume, and loaded with value.

2. Solve one important problem for your target persona: Promise and help them achieve a quick win. When you do this, you’ll build trust and move the prospect to the next step in the buying cycle.

3. Leverage your strengths:  If you’re a talented graphic designer, create an amazing infographic. If you’re a good speaker or presenter, maybe a how-to audio or video would work well? If you’re a good writer, perhaps a written ebook, playbook, or manifesto would be the best choice for you?

The important thing is to get started as quickly as you can.

Look at it this way. If you're still undecided, just choose the lead magnet type you feel most comfortable creating. And make it happen!

The sooner you start promoting your lead magnet, the faster you’ll start attracting more email subscribers and qualified leads who become paying customers.

Step 9 - Create your lead magnet

Very good. You’ve completed the strategic planning phase.

Now it’s time to put your head down and do the actual work of crafting your new lead magnet or content upgrade.

As you move forward, keep in mind who it’s for and the value proposition you’re going to promise these people.

As long as you remember those two things and follow the guidelines I’m giving you in this guide, the process of creating your lead magnet should stay on track and be easy to execute.

Step 10 - Give your lead magnet a compelling title

While creating your lead magnet, I suggest that you give it a “working title.” However, it’s important to stay flexible and let the title evolve as your lead magnet evolves.

By the time you’re done, you’ll have an excellent title. A compelling title that accurately represents the value your lead magnet will deliver to your target audience.

You should take a similar approach to crafting a headline for a broadcast email or blog post. When done right, the title of your lead magnet will attract the right kind of leads and drive a lot more sign-ups.

If you’re an experienced copywriter, you’re already used to writing multiple titles before choosing which one you finally promote. I suggest you do the same when it comes to crafting a title for your lead magnet.

Craft 15 to 20 titles that would grab your ideal customer's attention and highlight the most valuable benefit your lead magnet delivers.

If you need more help writing headlines, I recommend you check out CoSchedule’s headline tool. Not only will it help you come up with a better headline, it'll make you a better copywriter.

If you’d like to go deeper and sharpen your headline writing chops, check out this free resource, offered by Copyblogger. It’ll help you refine your copywriting skills. I promise.

Step 11 - Launch faster by using lead magnet templates

If you’re in the mood to create your new lead magnet step-by-step from scratch, go for it.

On the other hand, if you’re pressed for time, take advantage of the following tools and professionally-designed lead magnet templates.

ConvertFlow

You’re creating a lead magnet because you want to get more leads and build a list of email subscribers. Well, ConvertFlow is all about lead generation. And conversion, of course.

It offers people like you a variety of free lead magnet templates you can launch in just a few minutes. Even if you’re technically-challenged :)

Best of all, you can get access to most of these templates and even impressive landing pages using ConvertFlow’s free plan.

Usually, when you think of a lead magnet, you think of an ebook, case study, or white paper delivered as a PDF file.

But in reality, different industries use different kinds of lead magnets to achieve their conversion goals.

For example, eCommerce sites typically offer a discount coupon or code to get people to enter their email, so they can move them to the next step in the buying process.

Consultants and agencies may offer a free consultation or strategy session. While enterprise software companies may offer a live demo for the people involved in making a purchase decision.

Other companies offer access to a pre-recorded or live webinar where people need to enter their contact information to register for the webinar.

One of the good things about ConvertFlow is it gives you a wide range of possible lead magnet options, along with the ability to promote your offer throughout your website and blog.

While you may be planning to craft a 50+ page manifesto on How Zen Meditation Can Save The Planet, I recommend you launch some sort of call-to-action on your site that can start collecting emails immediately.

In just a few minutes, you could put up something like an opportunity to get on a waiting list or sign up to receive weekly newsletter tips. Or, you could create a simple quiz or survey that collects people’s email addresses.

The key is to get a CTA up and published on your site quickly, so you can start building your email list as soon as possible.

Combining Convertflow with an email marketing service like Aweber ActiveCampaign, Mailchimp, or whichever service you use is the fastest way to launch CTAs and build your list.

In other words, you don’t need to wait until you’ve finished your full-length lead magnet to start generating new leads and subscribers.

Click here for access to ConvertFlow’s free lead magnet templates.

Canva

Canva is another great tool that lets you create a wide range of professional-quality designs.

It’s easy-to-use and you can get started at no cost.

When it comes to free lead magnet templates, Canva gives you plenty of options.

With a few clicks, it’ll let you create attractive reports, infographics, newsletters, coupons, presentations, worksheets, and more.

Another thing Canva lets you do is to create social media graphics you can use to promote your lead magnet and other offers across multiple channels.

And with Canva’s ever-growing collection of templates and stock images, just about anyone can create professional-looking designs without being a designer.

Creative Market

Creative Market is an online marketplace where you can buy ready-to-use design content from independent creators around the world.

You’ll find numerous lead magnet templates and content upgrades you can customize using tools like Canva, Photoshop, InDesign, Powerpoint, Keynote, and others.

Most templates are reasonably-priced and typically run from $20 to $50 dollars for a personal or commercial license. Click here to see what kind of lead magnet templates you can buy.

Productive And Free

Productive And Free is a small, yet high-quality source of what they dub “strategic time-saving templates for business owners, coaches, and bloggers.”

Although Productive And Free’s selection is small when compared to huge marketplaces like Creative Market, their templates are well-designed with branding and conversion in mind.

You can buy nice templates for ebooks, workbooks, slide decks, and more. Prices for individual templates and bundles range from $30 to $50 dollars. Click to check them out.

Envato Elements

Envato Elements is a site where you can pay a monthly subscription and get access to an almost unlimited supply of digital assets, including photos, fonts, graphics, add-ons, website, and lead magnet templates, and presentations, as well as other resources and services.

Envato offers different pricing plans depending on your design needs.

Designrr

If you’re looking for a software that helps you create lead magnets by repurposing content, Designrr could be the right solution for you.

Designrr lets you turn blog posts, podcasts, videos, and PDFs into ebooks, dynamic flipbooks, transcripts, and web pages, so you can increase traffic and leads. Learn more here.

Step 12 - Create a visual representation of your lead magnet

Once you’ve moved through the lead magnet production process, it’s time to shift into the promotional phase.

If you’re looking to achieve a high return on the time and effort you’ve invested in creating your new lead magnet, you’ll want to create a compelling visual representation of what you’re offering.

Most people are visually-oriented, and if you can show potential leads and subscribers what they’ll be getting, more of them will be open to giving you their email address in exchange for the resource you’re offering.

Call-to-action without visual representation of the lead magnet
Call-to-action with visual representation of the lead magnet

So ask yourself, which version of the pop-up is more persuasive?

Which one would motivate you to enter your email address?

Most people would agree that the version with the picture of the cover of The Conversion Marketing Playbook For Agencies is more compelling than the version without the book cover.

In short, by creating and promoting a visual representation of your new lead magnet, you can significantly boost your conversions. The more new leads and subscribers, the better for you and your business.

How to successfully promote your new lead magnet on your website

Congratulations!

You’ve invested time and effort into creating a high-converting lead magnet designed to capture your target audience’s attention and help them solve an important problem they’re facing.

Now, it’s time to start promoting your new lead magnet on your website!

After all, the reason you created a lead magnet is to generate more qualified leads and grow your email subscriber base as fast as possible.

Fortunately, there are some simple and highly-effective ways you can start promoting your offer in a matter of minutes, not days or weeks.

ConvertFlow, for example, lets you create and launch engaging pop-ups and other types of CTAs on your website without having to write a single line of code.

There’s also a wide variety of lead magnet templates you can quickly customize by modifying the text and replacing an image here and there.

Trust me. The templates are a big timer-saver.

In addition to letting you create popups, landing pages, forms, overlays, and more, ConvertFlow lets you display calls-to-action that promote your lead magnets, content upgrades and other offers across your entire website.

Also, if you prefer, you can show CTAs on specific pages, while targeting individual visitors based on who and where they are in the buying process.

And yes. ConvertFlow fully integrates with business tools like MailChimp, ActiveCampaign, Infusionsoft, Hubspot, Shopify, Zapier, and more.

Here’s a handy course that shows you step-by-step how to get started. And it's free!

Creating high-converting popups and other CTAs

Needless to say, once you launch your new lead magnet, you want the people coming to your site to see it and have a chance to sign up to get it.

Launching a popup, or another call-to-action to pages on your website and blog is one of the fastest ways to boost your lead magnet’s conversion rate.

Of course, it’s important to make sure it appears on high-traffic pages like your homepage, service/feature pages, and order pages, but you also want to make sure you’re promoting it to the right people at the right time.

In the next few minutes, you’re going to learn:

How to create high-converting popups or other CTAs to promote your new lead magnet and make sure the right people see them at the right time.

ConvertFlow’s team uses a simple framework called the “Five Ws.”  

You can use this proven framework to craft the right message to promote your lead magnet and show it to the right people at the precise time they need to see it.

Ready?

Okay, here’s how it works.

The Five W Framework

When you’re ready to launch a new pop up or other call-to-action that promotes an offer, ask yourself these questions:

Who do you want to engage?

Why are you engaging them?

What message will engage them?

Where will the message engage them?

When will you engage them?

Now, let’s start with the first question.

1. WHO do you want to engage?

To engage people on your website with the right pop-up, or other onsite messages, it’s good to visualize the kind of person you'll be targeting on your website.

Ask yourself this, “Where’s this person coming from?”

For example, they may have discovered your website through a Google search?

Or they landed on your site from Facebook or some other social media network.

Another possibility is they saw a guest blog post or an ad that led them to your website.

Knowing which sites are referring visitors to your site helps you show CTAs that are relevant to the referring site and are mapped to the visitor’s intent.

If visitors come from a Google search, people may be looking to educate themselves about a product or service they’ve been thinking about buying.

In that case, we’ll assume they need specific information so they can take the next step in the buying process.

It’s also possible they’re looking for information that can help them achieve a specific outcome. If that's the case, you may want to offer them a chance to sign up for your lead magnet.

By engaging visitors with a popup or other onsite message that guides them to the lead magnet or other content they’re looking for, we can move them to the right pages, or to the next phase in your sales funnel.

Another important factor to consider when targeting someone coming to your website is determining who the visitor is:

Are they a new visitor, or a returning visitor?

Are they a subscriber?

Are they already a customer or a user of your product?

Knowing what type of person is visiting your site lets you personalize CTAs and show the right message based on what’s most relevant to that person taking into consideration their current relationship with your business.

This may sound complicated, but a tool like ConvertFlow lets you do this and gives you an array of targeting capabilities that can help you convert more visitors into subscribers. leads, and ultimately, into customers.

If a person is new to your site, it’s a good idea to segment her by showing a quick survey that can collect basic data on her. Based on her responses, she’ll be shown the lead magnet or other content that can best solve her problem, or help satisfy her specific inquiry.

On the other hand, if this visitor is already an email subscriber, you may want to direct her to specific products or bottom-of-the-funnel content that can move her towards becoming a paying customer.

Let’s imagine the visitor is a subscriber to your newsletter and you know which articles she has read or which videos she has watched.

In this case, you may want your messaging to guide her to products or services based on which content she has already consumed.

On the other hand, if the visitor is an existing lead in your CRM, the onsite message you show could be a form that lets her schedule a consultation, join a webinar, or speak with a sales rep who can answer her questions.

If she’s a free user of your product, a CTA could engage her with a call to action to start a trial of your full product or upgrade to a paid plan.

Knowing the type of person who’s visiting your website is probably the most critical factor in targeting visitors with a message that’s relevant, converts well, and drives people to the next step in your funnel.

2.  WHY are you engaging them?

Once you know who you’ll be targeting on your website, the next question is: “Why are you engaging them?”

If you know that a visitor is stuck on a step in your sales funnel, the reason WHY you’re engaging them is to help move them to the next step.

Let’s say you run an e-commerce store, and the most recent step a visitor took was visiting your product page and adding a product to his cart.

Unfortunately, this visitor abandoned the cart without buying.

In a scenario like this, the reason you should engage this prospect with a popup or other CTA the next time he visits your site is to motivate him to take the next step and complete his order.

Let’s run through a different example.

Let’s imagine you’re targeting a visitor who registered for a webinar but didn’t make a purchase.

The next time she visits your site, a slide-up CTA engages her with an offer to buy your product or to get a special deal if she buys before a specific promotion ends.

Answering the question, why you’re engaging specific visitors helps you clearly define the goal you want those visitors to achieve and lets you create CTAs that align with the visitor’s previous actions on your site.

3. WHAT message will engage them?

Now that we know who your visitors are and why we want to engage them, the next question is: What will be your CTA’s message?

If you have data on visitors, such as what topics they’re interested in, which products they’ve bought, or are interested in buying, you can inject this information into the copy appearing in your onsite messaging.

Think of this message as a follow up to the most recent action the visitor took.

Now, let’s imagine a person read one of your blog posts on how to optimize their website to get more organic traffic.

Perhaps on the next page, or on their next visit, you could show a CTA offering a lead magnet like the “Field Guide to Search Engine Optimization” shown below?

So ask yourself, “What can my CTA say that takes into account what my visitor did last? What would guide them to take the next step?”

Of course, any message should be clear, concise, and have a strong call to action that compels the prospect to take the next logical step.

4. WHERE will you engage them?

After you’ve determined what message you’re going to engage people with next, it’s time to decide where on your site you’re going to engage them.

Are you going to engage people while they’re reading your blog posts?

Are you going to engage visitors while they’re checking out a product page?

Are you going to engage them when they’re exploring your pricing page, or when they first land on your homepage?

Knowing where to engage visitors is essential because the message and goal of your CTA should align with the content people are currently consuming - especially if you want it to be seen as relevant.

For example, if people are visiting your pricing page, promoting a relevant blog post isn’t the best message to show them. Offering more information could divert them from the action you want them to take.

In this case, your CTA could be more effective if it’s designed to help people make a buying decision and overcome any remaining objections they have.

For example, a slide-up CTA on your pricing page could give prospects a chance to schedule a consultation or a live demo where you answer any questions prospects may have and help them make a buying decision.

Taking into account where on your website you’re going to engage visitors also helps identify what type of onsite message you should show them.

5. WHEN will you engage them?

The last question of The Five W Framework is, “When will you engage website visitors?”

Converting visitors with targeted onsite messaging requires more than just knowing whom you’re engaging, why you’re engaging them, and the message you’ll use to engage them. You also have to get the timing right.

"When you show a call-to-action can have a significant impact on your conversion rates. Well-timed onsite messages lead to higher conversions. Poorly-timed messages can lead to annoyed visitors."

If a CTA slides up the moment your visitor lands on a web page before they have a chance to get a feel for the content on the page, chances are, they’re going to feel annoyed and close it out.

On the other hand, if your CTA engages visitors as they scroll down a blog article, or while taking the next step to learn more about something that’s relevant to them, you can make nudging visitors to take the next step an enjoyable and seamless experience.

Here's how you can show the right visitor the right message at the right time:

1. Consider the timing of a campaign such as a webinar or a Cyber Monday promotion, and only show CTAs for that campaign during the time that campaign is running.

2. Trigger a slide-in popup when visitors reach a section of your product or services page that qualifies them as being interested enough to learn more about your offer, or about taking the next step.

3. Showing an exit-intent popup that engages visitors who added a product to their shopping cart but are about to abandon your site without buying is a great opportunity to create urgency and offer an incentive to buy now, rather than wait.

A fast, easy way to boost your website conversions

Now that you understand how to use The Five W Framework to engage the right visitors with the right message, there’s another highly-effective tactic you can use to increase the conversion rates of your onsite offers:

Make your popups and other calls-to-action more personal.

The fact is, people prefer to do business with people they know, like, and trust.

That’s why when you’re launching a new CTA on your website, make sure it comes from you, or someone on your team.

Make your message personal. Make it friendly. Make it conversational.

The good news is, ConvertFlow lets you use merge tags in your CTAs.

With merge tags, you can greet returning visitors by name or personalize each message with other information you’ve collected on them.

The truth is, most people don’t like filling out long, boring forms or being interrupted by annoying pop-ups that disrupt their browsing experience.

And that’s why you want to give your onsite messaging a personal touch.

Make sure your CTAs and other messaging are relevant, friendly, and helpful. It'll help you build a relationship with people as they move along their buying journey and through your sales funnel.

Putting the Five Ws to work for you

Remember, if you want to boost the conversion rate of any online offer, engaging the right visitors with the right CTA is one of the surest ways to make it happen.

The Five W Framework is a highly-effective approach to making sure each online offer you launch engages the right visitors, with the right message, at the most appropriate time.

It works wonders for ConvertFlow’s team, and I’m sure it’ll work well for you, too.

For a deeper dive on increasing your conversions and for quick access to professionally-designed landing pages and CTA templates, you can launch in a matter of minutes, check out this funnel guide.

You can do it!

Well, there you go!

Now you have all you need to create a high-converting lead magnet.

As you’ll soon see, a targeted lead magnet can be a powerful tool when it comes to generating new leads and email subscribers that can eventually become customers, investors, partners, and raving fans.

Lead magnets can be used to initiate and build mutually-beneficial relationships that can last years, and in some cases, a lifetime.

Of course, strategizing and creating your lead magnet is only a part of the process. To maximize returns and achieve the growth you’re looking for, you’ll need to get good at promoting and optimizing your lead magnet offer while nurturing relationships with your audience over time.

Sure, it will require an ongoing investment of time and effort, but I promise it’ll be well worth the effort.

If you use the tips, examples, and templates provided in this guide, you can grow your list, and turn a significant percentage of the people coming to your website into loyal customers and revenue.

If you manage your email list intelligently, it has the potential to become one of your most valuable business assets. An asset that can generate thousands, even millions of dollars in the years to come.

That said, we’d like to thank you for checking out this guide, and we’re looking forward to helping you and your team achieve your conversion marketing goals.

If you have any feedback, feel free to leave a comment below.

Any suggestions or insights you’d like to share with our fast-growing community of marketers, would be greatly appreciated.

About the author
Charles Herren
Case Studies Contributor, ConvertFlow
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Charles is a conversion copywriter specializing in case studies and story-driven content. He contributes conversion stories to ConvertFlow and has written for a variety of marketing websites and publications.