Best Lead Magnet Ideas for Lead Generation? (Real Examples)

Do you want to generate leads from people interested in working with you who will likely buy your products and services?

Then a lead magnet is a must.

After testing almost every kind of lead magnet imaginable, I am going to go over what a lead magnet is, what makes a good lead magnet, and the 8 best lead magnet ideas you can implement in your business today so that you can start generating those leads and begin to work with your dream clients!

I’ll also include the best lead magnet that I’ve found generates the best quality leads for my clients (hint: it’s number one on this list).

Let’s jump in.

Quick Summary

In case you are in a rush, here are the best lead magnet ideas:

A Video Sales Letter (VSL)
Webinar
Automated Webinar
Quick Start Guides
Free demo/Free trial
Templates
Video FAQs
Online Course

A lead magnet can only be as successful as the digital marketing strategy you build around it. If you want to get your lead magnets in front of your dream clients, watch my free masterclass, where I show you exactly how to do just that.

What is a lead magnet? And what makes a good one?

As a business, your sole focus is to provide value.

However, people nowadays do not want to wait until after purchasing to find out whether your products or services are valuable. So, you need to offer value upfront.

That is where a lead magnet comes into play. You are offering a free resource that shows your potential customers that you know what you’re talking about and that you can solve a big problem for them. After all, people love free stuff.

But what makes a good lead magnet?

Good lead magnets should offer value upfront, show your target audience that you’re an expert, and solve a problem for them.

The unspoken message of an excellent lead magnet says, “I care about your pain point, and I’m here to solve it”; a poor lead magnet says, “Give me your money.”

In other words, the messaging around your lead magnet matters more than the format. That said, some lead magnet ideas are better than others.

What are the best lead magnet ideas?

1. A Video Sales Letter (VSL)

We live in an age where on-demand video content rules above all else. No longer do people want to wait for a certain day and time to watch something. They want to watch something right NOW. That is why a video sales letter (VSL) can be your marketing strategy’s most successful lead magnet idea.

A VSL uses direct marketing in the form of a short, instantly accessible video to tell potential customers who you are and why your business is a good fit for them.

Even though your VSL is direct, you should still aim to offer real value to your potential customers to give them a reason to listen to you.

A good VSL will:

Explain how you solve a problem
Go through alternative solutions to solve this problem
Explain why your solution is better than those alternative solutions

A VSL can work for a multitude of industries. However, I’ve found it to work particularly well for clients looking to get more high-quality sales appointments each month.

Want to see a real-life example of a VSL lead magnet in action?

Check out my free masterclass training, which explains exactly how a video sales letter works in more detail. And as a bonus, you’ll see my VSL in action to give you a real-life example of how it all works.

Pros

The best lead magnet idea for generating leads
It’s often shorter and more to the point compared to webinars
Video is a lot more engaging than written content-based lead magnets
It both generates leads and converts leads into appointments in clients
Has a much higher conversion rate compared to other lead magnet ideas

Cons

Is ineffective if messaging isn’t clear
Is ineffective if no real value is offered

To learn how to create your own video sales letter lead magnet and promote it to your ideal clients, watch out my free masterclass training here.

2. Live webinars

Now and then, you will hear people say, “Webinars are dead.” This couldn’t be further from the truth.

If I had written this article five years ago, I would have suggested webinars as the top of all lead magnet examples. Now, people favor on-demand content. But this doesn’t mean webinars are dead.

As a lead magnet idea, a webinar is essentially a presentation or workshop that helps virtually. It is an event that you would invite people to sign up for. Webinars are usually interactive and engaging, and potential customers win over as they leave having learned something they can see results from immediately.

Webinars are very successful lead magnet ideas because they allow you to interact with your dream clients in real time; nothing beats real-time interaction for building trust.

However, webinars can be very time-consuming. And, if you constantly have to host them, you may become stressed.

Live Webinar Pros

High-quality lead magnets that provide value to leads
Highly interactive allowing you to engage and answer questions from the audience
Builds trust faster than written lead magnets

Live Webinar Cons

More time-consuming to manage compared to other lead magnets
It is more technologically complicated to run compared to other lead magnets
Usually doesn’t get straight to the point compared to video sales letter lead magnets

If you want to see a good way to promote any type of lead magnet – check out ‘Step 4’ of my free masterclass training.

3. Automated Webinars

As mentioned above, webinars can be a highly effective lead magnet if done correctly, but they require a lot of time. The good news is that this entire process can be automated.

Once you have done a few successful live webinars, record that content. Once you do this, you can create an automated webinar using technology such as EverWebinar.

What if I still need to do a live webinar because I am just starting?

Let’s say you are an accountant: Get your clients on a training call, solve one of their pain points, ensure they walk away with tangible results, and record the entire thing. There, without having done a live webinar before, you have just created content for your automated webinar.

Again, this is much more time-consuming than, say, a VSL. However, it allows you to reap the benefits of webinars without committing to the labor required for live webinars.

It is important to note that all lead magnet ideas will only be as practical as the digital marketing campaign they are built around. Watch my free masterclass training, where I show you how you can get your webinar in front of your dream clients.

Automated Webinar Pros

As effective as webinars
High perceived value
Moderately efficient to make

Automated Webinar Cons

Time-consuming compared to VSL
Less effective than VSL

4. Quick Start Guides

This article has an overarching message: a lead magnet idea that gives people a quick solution that delivers tangible results in no time is a great lead magnet.

A quick start guide can do just that.

For example, suppose you are a financial advisor looking for retirement leads; you could create a quick start guide that shows your leads the basics of starting to prepare for retirement.

This is a great lead magnet idea because you can create such a guide in no time – it gets people started on their journey, delivers instant results, and shows your clients that you know what you are talking about.

You can even recycle the content of a previous blog post as a quick start and have a valuable lead magnet at your disposal within an hour or so.

This can be either in a video format or text format. I recommend doing it as a video, as people are more likely to consume it.

Free Guide Pros

Easy to create
Effective
Delivers value

Free Guide Cons

Text may not be as effective as video
Less effective than VSL

5. Free demo/Free trials

Apart from a VSL, free demo/trial lead magnets are some of the most effective lead magnet ideas.

As mentioned earlier, people want to try before they buy.

A free demo may also include a free consultation where you can interact one-on-one with your clients and demonstrate firsthand how you can help them, much like a webinar, and potentially handle any objections that may arise immediately. Much the same with a free trial; your potential leads can see for themselves whether your business fits them.

The only downside to this lead magnet idea is that you can waste time and energy on prospects who don’t convert into paying customers. With a VSL, you could essentially offer what a consultation offers.

For more about finding clients that want to work with your business, check out my free masterclass here.

Free Trial Pros

Offers prospects a direct taste of your business
Allows you to handle objections
Generates quality leads

Free Trial Cons

Potential waste of resources
Less effective than VSL

6. Templates

Templates give your target audience an instant bit value they can use immediately to see results. This creates urgency and makes handing over their email seem worth it.

For example, as a freelance digital marketing agency, you know how important LinkedIn can be for finding potential leads. So, as a lead magnet idea, you could draw up LinkedIn message templates for potential clients looking to generate leads on LinkedIn.

Or, to go meta, once you get good enough at building an effective sales funnel or have lead magnet ideas and examples of your own, you can then offer them as lead magnet ideas.

Template Pros

Very easy to make
Takes little time
Offers instant value

Template Cons

Templates need to be good
Clients will need more nurturing

7. Video FAQs

The quickest way you can reach your target audience is by answering frequently asked questions (FAQs) that they may have.

By answering the top 10 questions they may have in just a few words in video format, you can attract leads who will likely be interested in your service. An FAQ video can draw your potential leads in as they desperately look for answers.

The value here is that they watch a video instead of reading endless articles on Google. However, going with this lead magnet idea would mean you need the right video hosting platform. If you host such a video on YouTube, you will likely lose leads.

Video FAQ Pros

Reaches target audience
Can use old blog post content as video content
Saves audience time

Video FAQ Cons

A VSL could do this and more
Loses leads on the wrong hosting platform
It can be too generic

8. Free Online Courses

Online courses are some of the most popular lead magnets you will see online.

Online course lead magnets work well, building an audience base of clients who trust your brand and are eager to buy your services.

The only issue is that they can take up much time to create. And, if they do not work for your business, you could waste a valuable resource; your time.

Another reason you may want to consider other lead magnet ideas is that many businesses offer online courses, creating offer blindness. In other words, people are so used to seeing this kind of lead magnet that they are subconsciously starting to tune out of it.

Using a VSL, achieve better results in a shorter time while delivering the same objective of an online course.

Free Online Course Pros

Can build trust with your audience

Free Online CourseCons

Takes a lot of resources
May not work in your favor
VSL achieves the same outcome in less time

In Conclusion

Having a lead magnet is a must for reaching a target audience interested in working with you in conjunction with an overall marketing campaign.

By offering free tools, you incentivize your potential leads to exchange their emails for valuable content that gets them results.

Not all lead magnets are suitable for your business—some may work, and some may not. Remember to be patient and test your options to find the best lead magnets for your business.

For more on developing an overall marketing strategy so that your lead magnet becomes a lead-generating machine, you can watch my free masterclass here.

FAQS

What is a lead magnet checklist?

A lead magnet checklist is a valuable incentive that businesses offer to their target audience in exchange for their contact information, such as email addresses, to grow their email list. It is a list of actionable steps or items your audience can follow to achieve a specific outcome.

Creating a lead magnet checklist requires identifying your audience’s pain points and goals and creating a list that addresses them and helps them achieve their goals.

Once someone downloads your checklist, they become a lead, and you can continue to nurture them with relevant content until they become a customer. However, there are other great lead magnets you can consider.

Where should I put my lead magnet?

Your lead magnet should be placed strategically where your target audience will likely see it and be enticed to sign up. Here are a few places to consider:

Landing pages: Create a dedicated landing page for your lead magnet with a clear and compelling call-to-action that encourages visitors to sign up.

Website pop-ups: Use pop-up forms to capture your website visitor’s attention and promote your lead magnet.

Blog posts: Include a call-to-action within your blog posts that leads readers to your lead magnet.

Social media: Promote your lead magnet on your social media platforms with a clear and enticing message encouraging people to sign up.

Email signature: Add a link to your lead magnet in your email signature so that every email you send acts as a downloadable lead magnet as a promotion for it.
Placing your email marketing lead magnet in these strategic locations can increase its visibility and attract more leads to your email list.

How are lead magnets used?

Lead magnets are used as a marketing tool to attract potential customers and grow email lists. In short, lead magnets are an essential part of an effective business lead generation strategy.

They are a valuable incentive businesses offer to their target audience in exchange for their contact information, such as email addresses.

Once a lead magnet is created, it is typically promoted on a website, social media, or other marketing channels to attract the right audience.

When someone downloads the right lead magnet here, they become a lead, and the business can continue to nurture them with relevant content until they become a customer.

Lead magnets can take various forms, including ebooks, checklists, webinars, free trials, and more, and can be customized to address the target audience’s specific needs and pain points.

Can you have multiple lead magnets?

Yes, businesses can have multiple lead magnets. Having multiple lead magnets can be beneficial as it allows you to cater to different segments of your audience and offer a variety of valuable incentives that appeal to their specific interests or pain points.

All your sales funnel lead magnet ideas be designed to address a specific problem or goal and offer a unique solution or value proposition.
This can help you attract a broader range of potential customers and build a more diverse email list.

However, managing your lead magnets effectively ensures your audience is manageable and maintains your brand message.

What are some good lead magnets?

The best lead magnets contain video content, such as webinars and video sales letters. This is because lead magnets with video content will build trust quicker, are more engaging and have a higher chance of getting leads to convert into sales appointments and clients.

Are lead magnets effective?

Yes, lead magnets are very effective at both generating leads and getting leads to convert into clients. However, it’s important to choose the right lead magnet if you want to get the best results from your digital marketing campaign. If you use a good lead magnet, you will be able to grow your business much faster compared to using traditional marketing channels.

Ashley Davis

Ashley Davis (or ‘Ash’ for short) is the CEO & Founder of Skyline Social. For over 15 years, Ash has been helping business owners with lead generation. Ash specializes in helping businesses get high-quality leads, appointments and clients each month with automated digital marketing strategies. Learn more about the author here.