Mar 9, 2023

5 ways to optimize your lead magnet

By Wes Kao

Co-founder of Maven

Summary

There’s a reason why lead magnets continue to be popular in marketing: they work. Here’s a breakdown on why they work & how to optimize yours 👇

First, what is a lead magnet? A lead magnet is a free resource you offer in exchange for a prospective customer’s email address. Lead magnets are powerful tools for course creators because they give your prospective student a free taste of what you offer. It derisks the opportunity to learn from you and shows your credibility.

For example: If you’re targeting sales reps, you might offer a call script they can use right away. If you’re targeting UX designers, you might offer a Figma template. If you’re selling a course about content marketing, you might offer a social calendar template.

Here are 5 tips to keep in mind as you create your lead magnet:

✅ 1. Offer something people would be shocked you’re giving for free

Your lead magnet should solve a specific problem for your prospective customer. It can come in many forms—a webinar, worksheet, template, 1:1 call, etc. The reaction you want your target customer to have is: “Yes, I need this. If their free stuff is this good, their paid stuff must be insane.”

✅ 2. Use a visual

Visuals communicate the “vibe” of who you are and what your offer is about. You don’t need to design anything fancy. A simple screenshot of the resource will do. In this example, the instructor shows a clean and simple screenshot of their guide.

✅ 3. Show your credibility

Folks may land on your page but have no idea who you are. So, give them a quick sense of your credibility in a few words. When they read your track record, your lead magnet will feel like even more of a steal.

✅ 4. Paint a picture of the problem that your lead magnet solves

There’s an ongoing debate about long vs short copy on landing pages. Both can be effective. But, you don’t need 5,000 words to sell a free resource. So keep it simple.

✅ 5. Put one call-to-action (CTA) on the page

Optimize for getting prospective students to give you their email instantly. Don’t make them read too much or think too hard. Don’t link out to other pages. In the example below, the only CTA is to download an Excel model template. A financial analyst will think, “Yes please–I want to see this spreadsheet.”

Luckily, Maven’s new lead magnet tool already optimizes the page for you by incorporating these best practices. For more examples and instructions on how to use lead magnets on Maven, check out this article.

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