What is a Lead Magnet. Examples and meaning

Guillermo Gascón

Lead magnets have become a very important tool in digital marketing strategies. They are the perfect way to attract new users by offering them something of value for free in exchange for contact details such as their email address or telephone number.

This is the first step in a strategy to convert anonymous visitors into potential customers and therefore it is worth doing an in-depth analysis of all the aspects and benefits of working with a good lead magnet.

What is a lead magnet?

In the language of digital marketing, we usually use the word “lead” to refer to a user who has left us their contact details through one of our available channels, demonstrating a certain interest in what we offer.

Ebook lead magnet TheCookies

Lead Magnet TheCookies example

Obtaining leads is an essential step for the sale of certain products or services on the internet and that is why we build mechanisms and processes that allow us to increase the volume of attracting these potential customers. Lead magnets are one of these mechanisms.

We have already seen the meaning of “lead”, and if we put it together with the word “magnet” (magnetic magnet), the pieces begin to fit into our heads.

A Lead Magnet is a free resource that is given to our target audience in exchange for their contact information.

There are many types of lead magnets such as ebooks, webinars, templates, or any other type of free content that provides value to the target audience. We will see some examples later.

What characteristics should a lead magnet have?

A good lead magnet needs certain features:

1- You must be specific and offer a solution to a clear problem. This way we will attract people who are really interested in the topic of our niche.

2- Must be easy to use. The best lead magnets can be consumed or used immediately, without the user having to invest a lot of time or effort.

3- It must be relevant and related to what we sell, so that people come naturally to buy our products or services.

4- It should be easy to get. The process from the moment the user leaves us their email until they access this resource must be very simple and fast.

5- Finally, a good lead magnet must give results that we can measur. This way, we can see if our strategy works or we need to make changes.

How a lead magnet works

Lead magnets obtain information from users usually in a type of page called a Squeeze page.

These are landings aimed at exchanging that valuable resource for the basic contact details of their visitors.

This exchange is carried out through a form integrated into the above-mentioned Squeeze page. These pages are optimized to maximize conversion, presenting the lead magnet in an attractive way and simplifying the registration process.

The effectiveness of all of the above depends a lot on our ability to attract users who are truly interested in what we are offering, something essential for maintaining a high conversion in the long term.

For the lead magnet to be truly useful, it is vital that the content it offers has a minimum of quality and, above all, is relevant to the audience we impact. All of the above will be easier if we can get this resource to solve a specific problem or meet a need of our target audience.

In addition to the content, it is essential that the technical exchange process is smooth and works properly.

This means that the forms must not fail to be used and that the promised resources are actually delivered quickly. We must check the entire process to confirm that users receive the lead magnet and we incorporate their information into our database.

Lead magnet process

How do I turn these leads into customers?

Converting leads into customers requires a personalized follow-up strategy.

The first step after capturing a lead is to start establishing a relationship. Email marketing is essential in this phase, allowing us to send related content that may interest these users and keep us in touch.

These frequent emails increase trust in us on the part of our audience, something that will gradually allow us to introduce services or products into the conversation.

Avoid sending emails that are of no interest or of little value. Purposeless or over-sold communications can be a counterproductive thing that causes us to be low on our list.

One thing that can help us a lot is to segment our lead database based on their interest or the stage in the sales funnel they are in.

In this way, we can personalize each contact much better, knowing that we are only going to impact a specific segment of our list that is interested in the content we are going to send them.

Remember that converting a lead into a customer is not something that happens spontaneously, but rather it is a process that requires patience, dedication and time.

Lead Magnet Process

Types of Lead Magnets

There are several types of lead magnets, each with their own advantages and are designed to be offered at different times in the conversion funnel.

Ebooks and Guides

Lead magnet Ebook example

Ebooks and guides are very popular because they allow us to provide detailed information on specific topics that interest our audience.

They are usually lead magnets that are designed to impact users at a very early stage of the funnel, providing basic information on a topic and starting to connect those concepts with our brand.

They are relatively simple to build and the value of such a lead magnet is fundamentally in the content it includes.

Free Templates and Tools

Lead magnet example Free tool

Free templates and tools have a more practical approach and allow users to execute some actions in a faster or easier way thanks to our resources.

As you can see, they are designed for people who already have certain knowledge of our sector and need help for a certain action.

The level of complexity when creating this type of lead magnet increases by incorporating technical details.

Free online courses and workshops

Example workshop free Lead Magnet course

Free courses and workshops allow us to connect more directly with our audience, since we usually offer our image and the content is shared through video.

This type of lead magnet is usually designed for highly qualified leads who have demonstrated interest in our products or services in some situation.

If you notice, the more we advance in lead magnets, the more technically and content-level complex they become. In this case, setting up a course structure and generating the delivery of the course, is technically already something to which we will have to allocate a lot of resources.

Webinar and Demo

Lead Magnet Webinar and demo example

Examples of lead magnets

Let's give way to some examples of real lead magnets that could capture our data:

I'm Like - Nuria Coll

The Soycomocomo website offers you everything you need to take care of your health: advice, podcasts, online courses and consultation with experts. Nuria Coll and her team teach you to be healthier and in this case, the proposal is a webinar on diet and immunity.

  • **Lead magnet type: ** Webinar
  • **Required data: ** Name and email
Webinar Nuria Coll Soycomocomo

InstaClubHub - Brock Johnson

Discover the 25 most effective viral hooks to capture attention on Instagram with InstaClubHub, co-founded by Chalene Johnson, bestselling author, and Brock Johnson, the “King of Reels”.

  • **Lead magnet type: ** Downloadable list type
  • **Required data: ** First name, last name, email and telephone number.
InstaClubHub Brock Johnson Example

Scalable Sales - Javi Consuegra

Learn to sell more and better with Javi Consuegra. Discover how to attract quality clients for your digital agency on a recurring basis.

  • **Lead magnet type: ** Masterclass
  • **Required data: ** Name and email
Lead Magnet Example Javier Consuegra

Membership Workshop - Magí Pons

Learn to stop selling time for money with Magí Pons. Discover how memberships can be your digital salary and increase your income with less effort.

  • **Lead magnet type: ** Workshop
  • **Required data: ** Name and email
Lead Magnet Magí Pons Workshop Memberships

Evaluation management ebook - Doctoralia

This eBook teaches health specialists to manage and take advantage of their patients' opinions on the Internet to improve their online reputation and promote their practice or clinic.

  • **Lead magnet type: ** Ebook
  • **Required data: ** Name, surname, email, telephone number, profession and country.
Lead Magnet Doctoralia example

The most important thing is that the lead magnet is really useful and of quality, to ensure that leads have a positive first impression of your brand. The purpose of a lead magnet is not only to attract leads but also to start a long-term relationship. Therefore, the relevance and quality of the lead magnet are fundamental to its success.

How to create a lead magnet that works?

Creating an efficient lead magnet starts with an in-depth understanding of our target audience, their needs and pain points. Once we have this information, we can design content that offers real, practical and effective solutions.

This would be a simplified process for creating a Lead Magnet:

  1. **Brain storming: ** make a list of those problems and needs that your target audience has and think about how you could help them quickly and simply on any of these points.
  2. **Analyze your available resources: ** it's important to adapt the lead magnet to our possibilities, because we won't always be able to do a course, a webinar or create an ebook.
  3. Creation process: we need to provide content that is useful, practical and solves at least part of the problem that led the user to your Lead Magnet.
  4. Linking: The content must be related to our products or services, so that we are really attracting an audience potentially interested in what we sell.
  5. Design: The design of the Lead Magnet must be attractive and easy to consume. There's no need to get obsessed either, you can improve this section progressively and not delay its launch.
  6. **Delivery: ** make sure you offer a delivery of your lead magnet through a secure and functional platform. The user must be able to quickly access the resource and we must be able to access their contact details. There can be no fault here.

Remember that the objective of the Lead Magnet is to capture potential customers and convert them into leads, so it must be of the best possible quality and attract the audience you are looking for.

Lead magnets in the sales funnel

Lead magnets are very important in converting sales and often act as the first point of contact between the prospective customer and the sales funnel.

The sales funnel or conversion is the path that a potential customer takes, from the first contact with our brand to the possible purchase or final contract.

The delivery of this resource for free greatly reduces user friction when leaving us their contact details and for this reason they are so used in the initial part of the funnel.

Lead Magnet in the sales funnel

Lead magnets play a vital role in these sales funnels, helping to guide the lead from the awareness stage to the purchase decision. Through the delivery of these resources, it is possible to educate and build a relationship of trust with the lead, positioning our brand as the best option when they are ready to buy.

Unlike another form of lead capture, this strategy not only increases the volume of potential customers but also improves the quality of these contacts, since they have shown prior interest in registering for a specific problem that we solve and that we can cover in an expanded way later with products or services.

In short, a good lead magnet in the conversion funnel can make the difference between simply attracting an audience and converting them into loyal customers.

Portada del autor

Soy cofundador de TheCookies Agency, empresa de desarrollo web especializada en proyectos de captación de leads, donde doy servicios de consultoría SEO, optimización Web y optimización para motores de búsqueda, liderando el equipo de este área.

Gestionando clientes desde 2015, me declaro un apasionado del marketing digital y vivo con entusiasmo los proyectos en los que trabajamos.

Autor de uno de los primeros podcast sobre SEO "holaseo" y creador de contenido en diferentes canales como YouTube o Twitter.

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