Melanie Duncan – The Perfect Lead Magnet

Melanie Duncan – The Perfect Lead Magnet

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Just For: $70

Have you ever had access to something that was useful to you, but you never used it?

Like that business book everyone was reading. You bought it, but never even cracked the spine.

Or maybe it’s a popular podcast that sounds like it would be fascinating, but you never seem to find the time to tune in.

We all have unique and individual preferences when it comes to the way that we like to experience and consume information. Some people love to watch videos, while others prefer to read. Some listen to podcasts every day at the gym or in the car, and others would rather get lost in a good book while they sweat on the treadmill.

The same goes for the free goodies we download from our favorite sites. Businesses will often offer something for free — an ebook, checklist, video series, email course, coupon, or other incentive — in exchange for your email address. We call this kind of freebie a lead magnet, because it entices people to give us their contact information in exchange for something useful, and become a lead for our business.

But as you may know, some lead magnets are powerfully strong, while others don’t seem to attract any new leads at all.

When it comes to figuring out what your audience wants as a lead magnet, you have to take their unique preferences into account, as well as your strengths and skills, to find the best combination that will entice readers to sign up.

Want to know more? Click here to download this free quiz: What Perfect Lead Magnet Format Should You Create?

After lots of trial and error, I’ve developed a three-part equation for pulling together what your customers want with your unique skills to produce your perfect lead magnet. When you’re trying to figuring out what kind of format to choose, I want you to think: Create Big Possibilities.

• Customer Preferences
• Business Positioning
• Personal Strengths

Figuring out what kind of lead magnet will draw in your ideal customers is about filling in a three part equation: your customer’s preferences, your business’ positioning, and your personal strengths and skills.

CUSTOMER PREFERENCE

Have you ever entered your email address in order to get something free from a website with every intention of using it and then… something gets in the way? Chances are, it wasn’t optimized for your preferences. Of course, every person is unique, but you can make some educated guesses about your customers on average to help you find the perfect fit for them. Use the downloadable quiz to answer the following questions. Ask yourself these questions about your customer preferences:

• How much time is your ideal customer interested in dedicating to consuming your content? Is this a passion of theirs that they enjoy spending time on? Or do they just need a solution – FAST?
• What is their preferred method of learning? Audio, visual, do they love to read? If you don’t know, ASK. See what kinds of content/which of your social media channels have the highest levels of engagement. Are your customers tech savvy or not? Make it easy for them to consume your content.

For example, if your customers are busy moms, they probably aren’t going to have time to read a 40-page ebook. They might prefer a one-page checklist, or a 2-minute video. On the other hand, if your customers have a deep passion for what you teach, they might want longer, more in-depth information. Avid knitters might be willing to read a longer book about knitting tips and tricks. Allfreeknitting.com offers a free ebook of 9 tutorials for beginners, for example. Copyblogger offers a 20-part email course called “Internet Marketing for Smart People,” that delivers heavy value, especially for free.

 

BUSINESS POSITIONING

The perfect lead magnet format isn’t just about your customers, though — it’s also about your business. Your positioning has to do with where you fit into your market, and it should also influence the format of the lead magnet you’re offering.

For example, stylist Hilary Rushford offers a free style challenge every month. Participants get a free calendar of ideas to help them style their outfits, which goes perfectly with Hilary’s positioning that anyone can learn great style — not just stylists and fashionistas.

The site Lime Tree, which offers printables for filofax planners, has a free tutorial on best practices for printing so that everything comes out perfectly — something they are definitely an expert in. Ask yourself these questions about your business positioning:

• How BIG is the problem that you are offering a solution to? Are you going to help them save their marriage? Or are you just helping them figure out how to properly set the table for a dinner party?
• How important is it for your lead magnet to connect and establish an emotional connection with your prospect? Are you a personal brand where it’s critical that they know, like and trust you?

The type of problem you want to solve and how you want to connect with your potential customers will also influence the format of your offering. Video is going to be the best format for establishing a personal connection for heavy hitting topics. But if you’re tackling simpler subjects, or it’s less important that you make that emotional connection, you might decide to go another way.

PERSONAL STRENGTHS AND SKILLS

The final part of this equation is you: your personal strengths and skills. If you’re creating this lead magnet yourself, you need to take into account your own skills and strengths. While you can always hire someone to help you with certain aspects of the product, you want to make sure your own strengths shine through. For example, I love to write and teach, so I mainly do guides and worksheets for my lead magnets, because those showcase my best skills and are the most enjoyable for me to produce. Ask yourself these questions about your personal strengths and skills:

• Do you love to write and get lots of positive feedback on your written words on your blog, email, etc.
• How do you feel about being on video? Is it something that you enjoy, are good at and have the proper equipment to create? (Or does it fill you with dread
• What are you the most likely to go and actually create that will let your strengths shine through?

Here’s the bottom line: if your fear of being on video is going to prevent you from ever creating your lead magnet, then video is not the way to go! You need to choose a format that you can — and will — actually create.

When you put all these thoughts together, are you starting to see a pattern emerge? Is it becoming more clear what format your perfect lead magnet should be?

Be sure to download the free quiz: “What Perfect Lead Magnet Format Should You Create?” to answer these questions and get more insights about how to determine the perfect format for your lead magnet. Click here now.