Email marketing is an effective way to keep in touch with your customers and potential customers who have signed-up to receive your news and updates. But what if you don’t have a large contact list? How do you grow your email list?
You may have setup your email marketing application to link to your website to show a form or pop-up to encourage visitors to sign-up to your newsletter list. However, the reality is that most people won’t. How many times have you visited a website then deliberately signed-up to receive someone’s newsletter without knowing exactly what you’re going to receive?
Then consider the number of times you’ve willingly provided your email address in exchange for a free report, ebook, challenge, webinar or email course? You’ve been tempted by a lead magnet.
A lead magnet is typically a free resource, usually a download, offered to a subscriber in return for their contact details. Therefore, a lead magnet is a really great way to build your audience.
Now don’t be concerned about offering some of your content for free. Willingly sharing a small part of your knowledge in this way will show your expertise, build your credibility & increase your fan following & fans are potential customers! Once they are on your contact list, you can email regular news and updates, information and offers.
Do note that individuals receive many emails per day so you need to ensure that you are providing valuable content to ensure your messages are read and the subscriber doesn’t decide to unsubscribe.
The lead magnet process:
prospects are directed to your website, a sign-up form or landing page
these visitors see a summary of your free offer
they agree to provide their email address in exchange for this lead magnet
the new subscriber is automatically added to your contact list
they receive the offered freebie in return
you maintain contact by sending news, updates, offers and other information on a regular basis.
What is the best lead magnet to offer?
A good lead magnet:
– is relevant for the services or products you provide
– is appropriate for your audience, your potential clients
– is of value to the recipient
– is quick and easy to understand and digest
– addresses a specific problem or pain point
– provides an immediate solution or quick win
– answers one question, but leads to further questions
– helps to build ‘know, like and trust’ in you
– includes a clear call to action.
There are many different kinds of lead magnets
| Downloads could include | Online lead magnets could be instant access to | Other ways to collect email addresses could be via |
| ebook or a sample chapter report or white paper checklist or cheat sheet guide or resource list templates & swipe files planner or journaling prompts workbook or spreadsheet infographic or mind map presentation slides printable or design assets recipes or other sector specific information | tutorial video masterclass mini course online challenge fitness workout webinar quiz audio book meditations toolkit | survey assessment & results case study coaching call free trial or demo beta test waiting list discount or coupon access to a community tickets for event |
There are many different tools available to use to create a lead magnet.
Depending upon your preference and that of your target audience, your freebie doesn’t have to be too complex or sophisticated. There are some suggestions of applications to use below, but Google alternatives to suit your skills and operating system:
Text-Based Download:
Write in a Word document, or use Publisher, PowerPoint (or similar equivalent, such as Google Docs) and then save to PDF. Compress the final PDF document to reduce the size so the recipient can download quickly. I use the ‘I Love PDF’ online application to compress, merge and split PDFs.
Graphic Freebie:
Create a visually attractive download in Canva, Stencil, Easil, Beacon or other graphics tool. All online graphic platforms have a great selection of templates to inspire you to start and produce your design.
Screencast Recording:
Create a tutorial by recording actions on your computer screen using ScreenRec or the Google Extensions: Loom or ScreenCastify. Find many other applications to suit your operating system with an internet search.
Video Recording:
Record a video on your smartphone or use your integrated laptop camera. Try Vimeo Create, Lumen5 or Google search for other applications relevant to you.
Audio Recording:
Record audio instructions or meditations etc on your Smartphone or voice recorder integrated in your computer. Just be aware of background noise and use the headphones/mic supplied with your device.
Surveys & Quizzes:
There are a number of online platforms such as SurveyMonkey, Quiz Maker, Typeform and Jotform, or use the options available in Google and MS Office 365 Forms.
A lead magnet really doesn’t have to be a complex time-consuming design with fancy graphics. It will be well-received so-long as it’s easy to read, packed with useful content & appropriate for your audience.
Nancy Benn VA: https://www.nancybenn.com/
