Girl, you’ve got some rock-solid ideas, a super exciting side hustle, and some massive goals for the future. But like 99% of entrepreneurs, you’ve hit a road-block….finding new LEADS.

You know that if you could just get more eyes on your product or service, they would love what you have to offer. But you just can’t seem to get anyone’s attention these days.

That is why you need a Lead Magnet

Lead magnets have been my secret weapon to exploding my email list, audience, and influence.

What Is A Lead Magnet?

Just like name suggestions, a lead magnet is a small give-a-way, freebie, or hugely discounted item that draws in new clients like a magnet. It’s something you are going to give away in exchange for their attention and coveted space in their inbox.

Instead of ‘selling’ you let the huge value you build into your lead magnet do the selling for you. For example, a lead magnet could be a free e-book that informs or educates your target audience on something you also offer a service for. The longer format of the e-book lets you tell your story, PLUS gives them more value than just a social media post or Facebook Ad could.

It’s your chance to have new eyes know, like and trust you, without random Dm’ing or cold calling. A lead magnet contains some of your industry secrets and enough juicy info so that people simply can't resist. They will happily give you their email address in exchange for your great incentive.

That is the power of a lead magnet.

Why You NEED a Lead Magnet

1. To Build An Email List:

Top entrepreneurs have always said: “The magic is in the email list” and they couldn’t be more bang on. Sure, you might have a lit Instagram account and a huge following on Facebook, but what happens if/when those platforms aren’t cool anymore?

Let’s say you just spent 5 full years building an Instagram account. You've gotten it to 50k followers, but then the people over at Insta pull the plug. Gasp! If you haven’t been curating a list of your audience’s email addresses, you’ve now lost their attention forever. Scary right?

Having a lead magnet gives you an easy way to transition those social media followers into email list subscribers.

Before I started using lead magnets to grow my list, I only had around 500 subscribers. These were people who had signed up to receive updates on my blog, but many of them were friends and family. (Many of which who were not really my target market…sorry aunt Betsy.)

When I finally started offering a super-valuable lead magnet, I grew that list to over 5000 in just 30 DAYS! Not only did my list explode, but these were all super targeted new subscribers, all interested in what I had to say. There is no amount of advertising I could have purchased that would have gotten me 5000 targeted, excited and eager new leads.

2. Because ‘Subscribe To My Mailing List’ is so 2009:

Unless you are one of the top 100 blogs on the internet, hundreds of people probably aren’t using the ‘subscribe to my updates’ button on your website, are they? It’s just too vague for a reader to want to leave their super confidential ‘best’ email address. What they really want is something valuable in exchange. Pro marketers have said that offering a lead magnet instead of just asking people to subscribe gets up to 800x’s better conversion. Those are some stats that will make any Boss Babe drool.

3. To Stand Out In The Crowd

Listen, if you have the email addresses of super-targeted people and you are using them to authentically communicate and offering constant value – you are going to stand out from the crowd. The people you are emailing are going to know you more intimately than everyone else they follow on social media. Because they see you in their inbox weekly, you're going to come to mind whenever they think of an expert in your field. You will always be top of mind. And that my dear is the secret sauce to exploding your influence.

Examples Of Lead Magnets

There are dozens of different lead magnets you can create to attract new clients faster than Chris Hemsworth’s abs. Here are just a few examples:

E-book

You can create an ebook that demonstrates your expertise, is high value and will give the readers something they can apply for quick success (leaving them wanting more!)

E-Book Example:

You are an online vegan nutritionist offering meal planning consultations, guided support and custom vegan recipes. You could make a free e-book that gives people “Easy 3-day weekend vegan meal plan” or “5 insanely easy vegan lunch ideas”. This will help give the readers instant results that will have them wondering what signing up for your full plans must be like!

Checklist

Create a checklist that will instantly solve a problem in a super niche category. This should be a hyper-useful tool that someone just needs to get their hands on.

Checklist Example:

Let’s say you are a fashion blogger looking to widen your subscribers. You could create a “Ultimate Summer Vacation Packing Checklist” that jet-setting girls will LOVE to use for their upcoming trip. After they pack the perfect bag, they will keep looking out for your great content in the future and are more likely to stay loyal blog readers.

Calendar

Create a calendar that offers a solution to a problem your target market is having and guides them through day-by-day on how to improve.

Calendar Example:

You might be a social media growth strategist looking to help fellow entrepreneurs grow their accounts. Create a calendar that gives them unique (and engaging!) post ideas each day for an entire month. Once they start seeing their comments and likes grow, you will be top of mind for their next growth step.

Template

Constructing a template lead magnet that helps your audience with a specific need can be a huge incentive. It puts them into the driver's seat of their own success and allows them to take a next step they were previously stuck on.

Template Example:

You are a successful travel blogger who teaches others to start their own travel blog too. You could create a list of free templates that newbie bloggers can use to reach out to hotels, tour companies and tourism boards for collaborations. They now have powerful info that helps them take a step towards their dreams that they couldn’t have otherwise, and they will be hooked on the insider info you have for them.

There are so many other kinds of lead magnets you can create from webinars to challenges, to toolkits, to printables. Anything that is easy to digest, gives the reader a ‘win’ and is super niche, makes an effective lead magnet.

So You Made A Lead Magnet, Now What!?

Once you create a lead magnet you are going to promote the heck out of it! Post on social media about it, multiple times. Get your audience EXCITED about their freebie. You could go live about it, feature it on your Instagram stories, write a blog about it or talk about it on a podcast. Just keep putting it out there over and over.

You will find your audience is much more receptive about a freebie than if you made a post about your services. People love free. However, people love high quality, problem-solving, super helpful free stuff even more.

In exchange for your shiny new lead magnet, you are going to ask for something from them in return. Most likely their email address. Some people, depending on their industry, might ask for something else like having them join a Facebook group.

My 30 Day Example

In my case, I made a free ebook called “10 Ways To Get Out Of Debt And Travel More” which had my best tips on decluttering, downsizing, paying off debt, and affording incredible world travel. I made a social media post promoting my lead magnet, telling my story in a vulnerable and honest way. Then, I talked about the pressure I felt to keep up with the Joneses, credit card debt I had found myself in, and how trapped I was by bills. The post then shared that over the last year I was able to pay off ALL that debt by downsizing and decluttering, and how I was selling 90% of what I owned to travel around the world full time.

I mentioned that my free e-book would walk them through exactly what I did to declutter, get out of debt and create a healthy travel fund.

The post went VIRAL! It had hundreds of comments within the first hour and thousands by the end of the week. Each comment was an interested person wanting to exchange their email address for my life changing e-book.

Over the next 30 days, I continued to re-post that same post all over social media until I was well over 5000 new subscribers.

How To Exchange Your Lead Magnet For Their Email

Find an email list host, make an account, set up your list, and upload the lead magnet. You will need some basic web skills to set up the account for your email list. However, most providers have great help desks. Some popular email list hosts are MailChimp, Aweber, ConvertKit and GetResponse.

These services will let you upload your lead magnet and they deliver it to your email list for you. They will also keep all the email addresses safe and organized. This way, you can keep in contact your subscribers in the future. You can send info about new posts, promotions, and valuable tips to keep the conversation going. Long term this is going to be the place where your email list is housed and where you send out future marketing emails.

Build Your List = Create A Lead Magnet

It’s 2019. If you don’t have a lead magnet to attract new people, you’re missing out on a huge growth hack. Need ideas? Join our tribe of like-minded business women you can bounce ideas off of in our exclusive members-only group.
Just starting to think of becoming an entrepreneur? Get some side hustle ideas and start-up advice on the blog.

written by: Kashlee Kucheran | TravelOffPath|@kashlee_k
photo cred: Victoria Blaire

P.S If you want to hear the story of our CEO Natalie Ellis who is redefining feminism and the female-forward movement behind BossBabe check out our first episode of the BossBabe podcast here.