Lead Magnets and How to Choose Them

The effective use of lead magnets can be an essential part of successfully marketing your business. Yet, with so many different kinds to choose from, it can be difficult to decide on which to pursue. Some may find that articles or reports are their most successful magnet, while others see better results from videos or podcasts. While you may hope for a one-size-fits-all lead magnet that will work in every circumstance, the truth of the matter is that some truly are better than others. The first step to determining which are the best fit for your company is understanding what exactly a lead magnet is meant to achieve.

The ultimate goal of a lead magnet should be to open a dialogue between you and your prospective clients, in which you lead them into pursuing business with you. It should not only make you visible to your prospect but encourage them to make themselves visible to you as well. Whatever your lead magnet offers, it must be something that will pique prospects’ interests enough that they’re willing to exchange a piece of their own information to receive it. This being the case, having a clear sense of who your target market is and what information will engage them will be your most valuable asset.

Using your target market as a guide, you can make better judgements about what kind of magnet will be most effective, as well as what content will be most appealing to your audience. From a method standpoint, younger target markets are more likely to be engaged by things like Instagram posts or YouTube videos. Meanwhile, a more professional target market might respond more favorably to things like reports on raw market data. In any case, your magnet should be one that is appealing to your target market and, ideally, available to them in a format or location already familiar to them. On the content side, your lead magnet should be offering information that is as much relevant to the target market’s interests and goals as it is to your business and the services or products you offer. The most attractive thing you can offer a prospect is information that they are already looking for, and that information will always be infinitely more compelling than obvious sales material.

A great method for determining the content of a lead magnet is asking yourself what a prospect might be searching on Google when looking for a product or service like your own. For example, if your business is real estate, your prospects are likely to be searching for things like housing prices in the local area or particular market trends. In response, your lead magnet might be a report on housing market data from the area for the previous year. The prospect is drawn in by the information being offered and will often happily give an email address to receive it.