Jeremy McGilvrey Shares The 3 Essential Elements of High-Converting Lead Magnets
If you have ever spent any time lurking in the digital marketing community, one of the most commonly used phrases is ‘lead generation’. This is the practice of gathering as many subscribers to your email list as possible (also known as ‘leads’) so that you can follow-up with them, and market your products and services to them. While some businesses struggle to generate leads consistently, the ones who are successful at it have a secret weapon up their sleeves. That secret weapon is the lead magnet. It is a value-based piece of content (i.e. your offer) you provide to your potential customers in exchange for their email address. Why does it work so well, you may ask? It establishes a relationship of trust between you and your customer through a small commitment. They might not be ready to buy your product when they visit your website for the very first time. However, they’ll be willing to view your free content and receive value in exchange for providing their email address.
With a potential customer turned into a lead, now you have the opportunity to provide additional value to them. Through the power of email marketing, you can continue to help your customers out and further demonstrate how your products and services can help them. People often needs several reminders and ‘nudges’ before they’re finally convinced to take the leap and buy what you’re selling. Like the old saying goes, “The fortune is in the follow-up.”
But what are the common elements behind the most successful, high-converting lead magnets that allows them to be effective day in and day out? Why is it that some lead magnets work while others fail to generate any leads at all? I spoke with sales funnel expert Jeremy McGilvrey, who has created and tested every type of lead magnet under the sun. After some extensive research and testing, he discovered that there are 3 essential elements which are common amongst every single lead magnet that effortlessly generates new leads. Jeremy was kind enough to share them with us:
1. THEY ARE SPECIFIC
Do you have a full and comprehensive understanding of who your target customer is? Do you know what specific problems they want to solve (or desires they want to achieve)? Does your lead magnet allow your prospect to achieve just ONE super-specific thing? These are the types of questions that Jeremy says you need to be asking yourself when creating and reviewing your lead magnet.
“Specificity sells and generalities fail. People are going to leave your website if you offer something that promises to achieve multiple things, or things that aren’t really relevant to them. As a matter of fact, it’s often the simplest lead magnets that tend to be the most effective,” says Jeremy. He continued, “You’re not promising the entire world to your customers - you’re just promising that you can help them achieve one specific outcome that they stay awake at night thinking about.”
2. THEY ARE VALUABLE
This should seem fairly obvious, but it is so important that it’s worth repeating. Your lead magnet needs to actually provide VALUE to your potential customer. Merely looking pretty won’t cut it in the cutthroat world of online business, as your customers will just go to your competitors instead. Jeremy McGilvrey belief is that your free content should be better that everyone’s paid stuff, and that’s a useful belief to hold when creating your lead magnet. Here’s how Jeremy sees it: “If your FREE content provides amazing value to your customers, just imagine how good the PAID stuff must be!”
When you successfully provide value that makes a meaningful difference in the lives of your customers, you’re no longer just some average Joe with a website. You are now perceived as an expert authority in your field who knows what they are talking about. People will begin to look to you for your guidance and advice, and even pay you huge sums of money to help them achieve exactly what they want.
3. THEY ARE DIGESTIBLE
“Like it or not, your customers want results RIGHT NOW. They don’t want to slog through 400-page books or 8-week online courses to get what they are looking for. Therefore, it’s crucial for your lead magnet to be something that’s instantly accessible, short to read and easy to implement into action. You want to make things as ridiculously easy for your prospect as possible, removing any complexities or vague explanations that may otherwise get in the way,” Jeremy said when I asked him how long lead magnets should be.
If you get stuck, Jeremy suggests you ask yourself this: “Would a 10-year old be able to take my lead magnet, understand it perfectly the very first time they read it, implement it and see the results right away?” The more work your prospect has to put in to access your lead magnet or put it into action, the lower your conversions are going to be. Keep it simple and don’t over think it!
GO FORTH AND GENERATE LEADS
These elements are common amongst successful lead magnets in all target demographics and all industries. When it comes to generating leads year-round with a few extremely effective lead magnets, Jeremy says that there are no accidents. Everything happens for a reason, and he shared 3 key reasons for why some lead magnets are really good at doing what they’re built to do. The ball is now in your court - learn more about your target market, figure out how you can help with one specific thing, create a lead magnet that helps them rapidly do so, and publish it on your website. Now that you have the information in your hands, it’s all up to you to make it happen. Best of luck!
