Step One of Funnel Creation: Lead Magnet
This is a no-brainer, as traffic is always the key. Without it, even the best converting page will fail. As you are after new leads and customers, your traffic strategy should begin and end with driving visitors into the CVO (Customer Value Optimization) funnel with the Lead Magnet.
Definition: The “Lead Magnet” is an irresistible bribe that gives a specific chunk of value to a prospect in exchange for their contact information – usually an email address. And you have to make it a good value because it is getting harder and harder to separate people from their email addresses due to aggressive marketing practices by other companies.
The Lead Magnet is usually offered on a landing or squeeze page that is optimized to convert even cold traffic into leads, by giving an irresistible offer (more on how to create an irresistible offer in a future training).
The technology is simple. Any decent email software (such as 1AutomationWiz) can build a form where contact information can be entered and saved for your follow-up marketing. If you build your Lead Magnet properly to provide tremendous value it will convert well, even to cold traffic from sources like Facebook.
Lead Magnets will be most effective in your CVO Funnel if they are:
• Relevant to your offers
• Ultra specific
• Priceless
• Easily “consumed” by your audience
The Lead Magnet exists for one purpose: to increase leads. Because the Lead Magnet is at the very top of the CVO Funnel, increasing opt-ins here will pay dividends throughout the rest of the system. The best lead magnets will convert north of 50% of visitors into leads and the highest performing Lead Magnets have one thing in common. Being specific.
Specificity: This is Key to Getting More Leads
What irresistible bribe could you offer in exchange for a prospect’s contact information? This isn’t the time to get cute or silly with an offer. Nor do you need to create something lengthy or complicated. In fact, the more laser-focused your Lead Magnet is the better it will convert. True story.
There are several types of lead magnets:
- Cheat Sheet/Handout
- Toolkit/Resource List
- Video Training
- Software Download/Trial
- Discount/Free Shipping
- Quiz/Survey
- Assessment/Test
- Blind/Sales Material
Reports and Guides are amongst the most common types of Lead Magnets offered by informational marketers. The advantage is that they are usually mostly text and can be delivered digitally (instantly).
Below are some excellent examples of Lead Magnets:
Lead Magnet for free trial for software. Notice it has a simple headline, with a quote underneath and then the CTA (Call To Action) box highlighted in red. No need to have a ton of text. Give them the teaser and then the path to supply what it will take to get the information they need.
Lead Magnet for a Free Report. Another simple lander. A “hero shot” of the report, solid headline and CTA prominent on the lander.
Lead Magnet for a Free ebook. This one gets the “trust factor” moving as an eBook is being pushed and that usually means that you need to get the author some trust with the prospect before they are going to hand over their email address. A professional picture of the author is always solid. A great headline, a hero shot of the book, and a clear cut CTA at the bottom. Solid lander.
Lead Magnet for Marketing Industry Report. I know what you are thinking, “too busy” and feels like “information overload”. You would be correct after seeing the last few landers. The color scheme of the headline is off. Green and dark blue aren’t great colors for headlines. “FREE” should be a strong color like red. The CTA also asks for their first name which will mean fewer leads. Just get their email address. “Personalizing” emails is not as effective as it once was.
Lead Magnet for Time Management Toolkit. The “hero” shot is a little weak in this example. The headline and supporting text gets a little “muddled.” The focus that we placed with the red highlight is the key, but since it is all in the same color, it loses the value it is hoping to convey. The quote is solid.
Lead Magnet to sign up for a health journal and community membership. This is your typical push from InfusionSoft with this type of CTA. Make sure you proofread, proofread, and proofread your landers, as this one has a glaring one. See it?
Ok… this is a HUGE one.
Why do we keep insisting that it is important that the Lead Magnet be quick to consume?
The answer lies in the greater Customer Value Optimization (CVO) process.
Wherever possible, when we are executing a marketing funnel we want to make the next offer in the funnel sequence immediately after making the prior offer.
Generally speaking, it looks like this…
• If a prospect takes the Lead Magnet, we make the Tripwire Offer immediately
• If a prospect takes the Tripwire Offer, we make the Core Offer immediately
• If a prospect takes the Core Offer, we make the Profit Maximizer offer immediately
There is (usually) no better time to make an offer than directly after someone has taken a prior offer. Allow me to throw out a general rule of thumb…
For every 10 people that take an offer, there are 2 people that want more. Mark Joyner calls this marketing to a thirsty crowd. There will always be some who just want more.
This is why it’s important to, if possible, to create a Lead Magnet that can be consumed quickly.
So, for example, this is NOT a good Lead Magnet…
Your prospect doesn’t want a 20-Week E-Course. They want to solve a problem right now. They want an outcome.
It will be 20 weeks before we are able to consume this Lead Magnet. This a perfect example of a lead magnet that you do not want to display.
Resources
You can download the following handouts under the file tab on Facebook SEO Revolution
Lead Magnet Handout
Lead Magnet Worksheet & Checklist
Additional Resources for Opt-in boxes for your Lead Magnets
There are lots of places you can place an opt-in box for your Lead Magnet but here are four places that are easy to implement.