A lead magnet is an incentive, or “bribe”, to convince an individual to give you their contact information.

You see lead magnets everywhere online in the form of discounts, contests, eBooks, checklists, video courses, etc.

But, lead magnets don’t exist solely online. Think about all of those “member” cards you have on your keyring for grocery stores, gas stations, and department stores. They offer you “points” in exchange for your contact information.

Think about store specific credit cards. Every time I walk into a Target, I’m offered one of their credit cards in exchange for 5% off all of my purchases.

Obviously, as a business owner / marketer – having either a points card or credit card that tracks your customers’ purchasing behavior would be phenomenal. You could tailor your marketing efforts incredibly effectively.

Some kind of card that tracks purchases would be an ideal lead magnet; however, those options might not be practical for your business. In this article I’ll address several lead magnet ideas you can use in your business.

A Lead Magnet Has Three Parts

I’m not going to go into too much detail in this section, I just want to point out the fact that a lead magnet is more than having a simple little giveaway.

You will also need a page, or a section on your page that does a great job promoting your lead magnet and collecting the contact information. This type of page is often referred to as a landing page.

You will also need traffic to your landing page and lead magnet. Traffic can be generated any number of ways and without it, your lead magnet will not be successful.

To summarize, a lead magnet is made up of:

  • The giveaway (coupon, eBook, checklist, course, trial, etc)
  • The landing page (to promote the giveaway and collect the contact info)
  • The traffic (from advertising)

These Days…

Back in the good ‘ol days (like 2 years ago), the bigger your lead magnet – the better. It used to be that a 200 page eBook was better than a 100 page eBook, which was obviously better than a measly 50 page eBook.

However, over time, people came to realize that they weren't even reading a 10 page eBook, much less a 200 page one. So, they stopped giving up their contact information in exchange for such massive eBooks.

These days, “quick answers” work best.

A single coupon, a 1 page checklist, and a 5 minute video tend to outperform a 200 page eBook.

This is great news for you, the lead magnet creator! Now, you don’t have to worry about compiling a massive lead magnet!

7 Lead Magnet Examples

Below are 7 lead magnet examples. Of course this list is not all inclusive, but it should help you get started.

1. Coupon / Discount

A coupon can drive people to your store, and/or to make a purchase. A coupon can be the deciding factor between someone going to your store or one of your competitors.

For example, if someone searches “ecig coupon chester va” – and you have a coupon readily available – you’ll get that customer AND their contact info.

I recommend every physical store, that sells a commodity, to have a coupon available and don’t hesitate to pay to advertise that lead magnet in order to get ahead of your competitors.

2. Checklist / Step-list

A checklist can be a great lead magnet, if there is some sort of process that can by systematized and helpful to your audience.

For example, if listing a product on Amazon, there are certain steps one has to go through every time to list their product. There’s the title, description, pictures, etc.

Offering people a checklist or step-by-step instructions can help them accomplish the task they set out to perform.

3. eBook

Even though I “bashed” eBooks a few paragraphs ago – they can still work as lead magnets. It simply depends on what your audience wants.

One tip, if you decide to go the eBook route – break it into small sections, and make each section independent of the others.

For example, if you have an eBook about fly fishing – one section could be about flies, one about equipment, and one about locations. This way, a reader can quickly find the answer they're looking for without having to read a massive eBook.

4. Contest / Raffle Entry

You see these all the time and they’re self explanatory, so I won’t go into much detail here.

The good part about these; however, is they can go viral. For example, in order to enter the contest, you must give up your contact information AND share the contest!

5. Free Trial

Free trials can work wonderfully.

For example, many SaaS companies give free month long trials to their software.

Also, gyms are another prime example of a business giving a free month long membership – heck, I just had one!

6. Video Course

Video courses and the online learning market are booming right now. If you’re able to offer a video course that teaches someone, something to make their job easier – it can be a successful lead magnet.

7. Notification of Future Products

Some people enjoy being on the cutting edge and having the latest and greatest. They’re more than willing to give up their contact information in exchange for being notified when a product is launched.

For example, my wife wants a FitBit. However, the color she wants has not been released – guess what – we’re on their email list waiting to be notified when the color is launched.

Bonus Examples! (Updated 28JUN2016)

This post was first published 10 FEB 2015 and it's become one of the more popular posts on my site.

Being that's it's old in Internet years and popular, I felt it was due for a bit of an update … here goes!

8. Webinars

Webinars are essentially online seminars that both teach and sell to its attendants. This make them a great choice – the attendants learn something and you make money!

You can also automate webinars which enables you to record them once to be used again and again.

While there are many webinar strategies out there, one of the best ones is the Perfect Webinar by Russell Brunson. You can learn more about it here; however, the full version costs a few bucks.

9. Flowcharts / Frameworks

I hate to say this, but people are lazy and if something's hard – they won't do it.

If you're able to give an individual step-by-step directions in a logical flow, they'll eat it up!

My favorite flowchart software is draw.io. It's free, web based, and syncs nicely with Google Drive.

10. Mind Maps

Similar to flowcharts, mind maps are a simple way to visually organize information.

They tend to be 1-page and loaded with great information that can be quickly and easily consumed.

Below you'll find a video on how to make one from scratch in about 20 minutes!

How To Create A Great Lead Magnet FAST (from scratch!)

Tools Used:

Closing Tips:

Developing a lead magnet doesn't have to be too time consuming or difficult. It’s not a “the bigger the better” type of thing. For example, a 100 page eBook – might not do as well as a one page checklist.

So, here are a few tips to set you up for success:

  • Be specific. This is referring to both the lead magnet and the results.
    • Bad Example: 50 page eBook called, “Learn To Be A Champion Cyclist”
    • Good Example: 1 page checklist called, “8 Steps To Breaking 60 Minutes In The 40k”
  • Delivers immediate gratification. People want answers to their problems now. They don’t want to have to wait for the answer. Think of a way to keep it short and sweet, so they’re immediately fulfilled and have a direction to go in.
    • Obviously, breaking 60 minutes in a 40k bike race will require months of hard training; however, the 1 page checklist will immediately provide the direction for someone to go in.
  • One Promise. Keep it simple. This follows with the previous bullets – you don’t have to create the bible on bike racing. You don’t have to address nutrition, clothing, training plans, bike setups, etc.
    • The lead magnet should provide one answer to one problem.