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 most best quality leads for 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
Cons
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 is presentation or workshop that helps virtually as an event that you would invite people to sign up for. They are usually interactive and engaging and win over potential customers as they leave from it 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
Live Webinar Cons
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 much time. The good news is 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
Automated Webinar Cons
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
Free Guide Cons
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 that don’t convert into paying customers. And, with 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
Free Trial Cons
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 lead magnet ideas and examples of your own, you can then offer them as a lead magnet idea…
Template Pros
Template Cons
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 are likely to be interested in your service. A FAQs 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
Video FAQ Cons
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 that 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 because 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 to them.
Using a VSL, achieve better results in a shorter time while delivering the same objective of an online course.
Free Online Course Pros
Free Online CourseCons
In Conclusion
In conjunction with an overall marketing campaign, having a lead magnet is a must for reaching a target audience of people that are interested in working with you.
By offering free tools, you incentivize your potential leads to exchange their emails for valuable content that gets them results.
Not all lead magnets may fit your business – some may work for you, 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
Ashley Davis (or ‘Ash’ for short) is the CEO & Founder of Skyline Social. For over 15 years, he has been helping business owners with lead generation. Ash specializes in helping businesses get high-quality leads, appointments and clients each month in an automated, scalable and profitable way. You can watch his free Masterclass training to learn more.