Think about your site and the content within it. Can you identify the most compelling content your firm produces that is bringing visitors to your site? Is that content serving as a way for prospects to further engage with your firm in a pre-buying manner? In addition, is there a way to capture visitors and prospects consuming this content, allowing you to convert them and turn them into a lead that you can nurture over time?
That’s where a lead magnet comes in. A lead magnet can be a very powerful resource for your firm’s site, and may single-handedly bring more traffic to your site than all of your other content combined (think of the 80-20 rule). A lead magnet also serves as a point-of-conversion, allowing you to capture information on prospects and begin to nurture them from a lead development perspective. But first, let’s back up and better define what a lead magnet is.
What is a Lead Magnet?
A lead magnet is a useful and practical resource that attracts a visitor or prospect to your site and then provides a way to capture them as a lead. The best lead magnets showcase a firm’s expertise and are easy for prospects to consume and quickly gain value from. Lead magnets usually have more substance than a blog post or article and provide significant, practical insights that someone can use to help them on the job, or with making business decisions. By gating this resource behind a form, lead magnets also provide a way to capture information on visitors and prospects because they are willing to provide their information to gain access to your valuable content.
Examples of Lead Magnets
While there are no set parameters for what can serve as a lead magnet, they are often delivered in a more dynamic way than a simple blog post or article. Examples of effective lead magnets include:
- A helpful guide in the form of an eBook. See Sales Benchmark Index’s Promoted to VP of Sales eBook
- An interactive tool for benchmarking against industry averages. See the National Center for the Middle Market’s Performance Benchmarking Tool
- A research report that dives deeper into a topic in the industry, providing useful insight and practical application. See PGAV Destinations’ Releasing Wild Success Reserach Report
Getting the Most From a Lead Magnet
To get the most out of a lead magnet, it should be heavily promoted on your site as your flagship piece of work to draw visitors and potential clients to your website. Make sure it is not buried on your site, or only available by downloading a PDF, which will render it impossible to find through search. Having a section of HTML text to tease your lead magnet and give an overview of what’s included will make it much easier to find through search. Also providing a way for visitors to find content related to your lead magnet will draw them further into your site, rather than having them only consume your lead magnet and leave without further engagement.
In addition, gating your lead magnet behind a form allows you to capture information on the visitors and prospects downloading your resource, essentially, “converting” them. While gating your lead magnet is a great way to convert leads, you first need to assess the resource you’re gating and make sure it will be perceived as valuable enough for someone to want to provide you with their information. If you’re going to gate your content, make sure it really is valuable content that aligns with information a client really finds useful. And, make sure the content behind the form really is what’s promised. Otherwise, you’re going to end up with some very unenthused and frustrated web visitors. For more information on conversions, read:
- Managing Conversions on Your Professional Service Firm’s Website
- How (Not) to Get Leads Through Your Website
- Bring it Full Circle and Manage Your Lead Conversions
Closing Thoughts
While lead magnets do take careful consideration and a substantial amount of time to develop, they can be the most powerful assets on your firm’s website. If executed and managed properly, the effort required to develop a lead magnet will be worth it in the number of visitors attracted to your site and potential leads generated for your firm.
