Have you ever created a lead magnet ——> that didn’t actually attract leads?

C’mon lead magnet, freebie, opt-in, whatever you want to call it…

What is a lead magnet? It is a free piece of valuable content that attracts potential clients to your business, often in return for an email address.

To create a lead magnet that not only does its job, but is irresistible to dream clients, use the elements below as a 9-point audit.

1| Your Lead Magnet Must Attract The RIGHT People

As you describe and name your lead magnet aim to attract the right people. Your landing page, the verbiage that you use, even the actual name that you give the lead magnet should appeal to the person that you have deemed as your ideal client. Not only should it appeal to your ideal client, but it should also speak to where they are at in their journey, and feel as if you are speaking directly to them. The more specific to your dream clients the better, so your lead magnet acts as a filter, repelling anyone who isn’t a dream client.

2| It Should Leave A Great First Impression

When a potential client downloads your lead magnet, they should feel as if they received something incredible! It should look and feel professional and be written in such a way that they feel that they learned something that will truly help them further their business. You do NOT want this potential client to walk away feeling as if they wasted their time downloading something that has no relevance to their goals.

3| Promises One Specific End Result

This free content that you are providing to your potential client should not promise a myriad of results. It should speak to one particular pain point and provide a solution to that one problem. You don’t want to be too vague with the solution you are providing because again, you want your lead magnet to actually help them.

4| Quickly Consumable

Your lead magnet should not be a manifesto that takes hours to consume. It should be a quick read or quick activity that takes only minutes to consume. Occasionally a longer read can lead to downloads, but your client will likely not read the entire thing and they won’t get the full value. Rather than risking them not consuming your content and therefore diminishing the value, keep it short, sweet, and actionable.

5| Gives Immediate Gratification

You want to answer some questions, provide an “Aha!” moment or two, and provide takeaways right away. After your lead reads the content, they should be able to see the value immediately and feel as if they received a quick win through something they can implement NOW.

6| Moves Your Lead Along The Buyer’s Cycle

The lead magnet should help the buyer to see that there is a solution to a problem that they are having AND that YOU can be a part of that solution. This will help to move them farther along the buyer’s cycle by building credibility and bringing them closer to your paid services.

7| Perceived To Be High In Value

You don’t necessarily need to put a true dollar amount to the offer that you are handing out, but it should be perceived as being something high value that your potential clients are getting for the low, low price of free. There should be a result and therefore provides a return on the investment of their time in taking action on the provided solution. You want them to see the value in what you provided for free, and leave them wondering what your paid services could do for them.

8| Builds Credibility

In this quick win, you want your lead to see that you know what you are talking about. You are demonstrating your credibility and showing off your expertise. This lead magnet should give your audience a taste of what you have to offer and let them see that you are worth investing time and money in later.

9| Is In Alignment With The Services That You Offer

You don’t want to develop a lead magnet that solves a pain point in one area, only to later offer services that address another area. For instance, if you offer services in social media management and web design, and your lead magnet is the 15 Things You Should Check Before Hiring a Website Designer, don’t follow it up with your social media services. Instead, have lead magnets that naturally lead to your services.

Do you have a lead magnet? If you do, does it check off all the of the criteria to make it highly effective? If not, what do you need to change?