Avoid these common lead magnet mistakes

Avoid These 7 Common Lead Magnet Mistakes

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In a recent lead magnet ideas post, I shared a number of lead magnet ideas for your website.

When assisting clients with their marketing, I am regularly asked my opinion on their e-mail marketing methods. As you can no doubt imagine, I see lots of lead magnet ideas and in this article I am going to share with you 7 commonly made lead magnet errors that I often observe.

Before I get started, I feel that it’s important to firstly consider what is a lead magnet and what is its purpose. I feel that it is something along these lines..

A lead magnet is something small and valuable that helps a specific market solve a specific problem.

It’s about providing value to your prospects before asking for their money.

I suggest keeping this in mind whilst visualising your ideal client because it will help put it into context for you. Now, on to some of the mistakes I often see …

1) Your Lead Magnet Doesn’t Give Your Prospect A Quick Win

Remember that your prospect is looking for a solution to a problem they face right now. So make certain that your lead magnet includes something that gives them the opportunity to achieve a quick win immediately!

They need to make a small win or get a proof of concept from whatever you provide. Otherwise whatever you provide will probably get a quick scan only to be deleted or filed away never to be seen again.

Something like ‘How to Tune Your Guitar in 2 Minutes’ certainly sounds more enticing and suggestive of a quick win than simply ‘How to Tune Your Guitar’.

2) Promising General Knowledge Instead of Specific Results

Your lead magnet needs to be highly appealing to your ideal prospect so it’s important to get highly specific. Otherwise they won’t be interested.

So for example a lead magnet with a title such as ‘5 Things to Know Before Hiring a Contractor’ sounds like a general blog post.

However ‘5 Insider Secrets to Hiring Out Your Bathroom Remodel’ is far more specific and intriguing.

Remember, specific and actionable results.

3) Your Lead Magnet Is in the Wrong Format For Your Prospects

Consider carefully what format is likely to resonate best with your ideal client. You’ve got plenty of options to consider including:-

So for example, if your ideal client is a busy mum then she is unlikely to find the time to sit down and listen to and participate in your two hour webinar.

4) There Is Insufficient Overlap With Your Paid Services

Your goal with your lead magnet is to find prospects for your products or services right? Well it’s important to ensure that your lead magnet has a good overlap with whatever your paid service is.

You are aiming to move your prospect, who does not know you to the point of being your perfect customer wanting to work or buy from you. So it needs to be closely aligned with whatever you offer and charge for.

You must ensure that your products and services are the logical next step or your e-mail list will end up filled with people who will not be interested in what you are eventually selling. 

I suggest checking out this excellent article from Alt Agency which provides further suggestions and examples.

5) Your Lead Magnet Is Too Promotional

As shared earlier, your lead magnet needs to wow your prospects and get them that all important quick win. They will then value you and value you as someone who knows their stuff.

Being too promotional with your lead magnet will turn them off and now isn’t the right time. Keep in mind that your lead magnet is not intended to be an advertisement or brochure about your services.

You can always follow a webinar or video training they have viewed with a statement such as “If you want further help, feel free to book a one-to-one session with us.”

6) There is No Next Step Planned

I suggest whilst planning your lead magnet that you have a clear plan and welcome email series in place. This will provide the opportunity to build a relationship with and nurture your prospects.

There are differing opinions on how often to send ongoing emails but it’s important to do this. Otherwise they are likely to forget who you are and are less likely to open your emails and buy from you.

7) Your Lead Magnet is Too Lengthy

Including too much within your lead magnet can make your prospects feel overwhelmed. This is likely to result in them never looking at it again.

This means that you’ve missed your opportunity to build a relationship with them. Keep it specific and highly actionable.

I hope you’ve found these tips helpful and they help you to craft a highly effective lead magnet for use on your website.

Have you found a particular type of lead magnet effective? Please let me know in the comments.

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