Last week I compared your website to a 24/7 networking event where the goal is to collect business cards from qualified prospects and then follow up to convert those leads into sales. But first and foremost, you need to collect those business cards!
On your website, that means you need what we call a Lead Magnet. A Lead Magnet is a valuable free report, a demo, a video, a webinar, or a tool that you can give away in exchange for prospects’ contact information. On our homepage you’ll see one of our Lead Magnets is the Internet Marketing Survival Guide. Plus, we also offer a free SEO checklist and an AdWords checklist to collect as many “business cards” as we can from qualified prospects.
As you can imagine, the more Lead Magnets you can offer on your site, the more likely you are to generate leads from your website. It’s like the difference between fishing with just one pole and one type of bait, versus 4 poles with 4 different types of bait. Clearly, the boat with 4 poles has a better chance of catching more fish.
So with that in mind, let’s get down to business and walk through the 3 key elements of a Lead Magnet. By the end of this article, you’ll know what you need to do in order to transform your website from a brochure into a lead generation tool.
1. Magnetic Headline
The most important element of a Lead Magnet is the headline. Without a compelling, or magnetic, headline you’ll never generate any leads because your website visitors will ignore the free offer. For example, lots of businesses have a “free newsletter” form somewhere on the website, but that is NOT a Lead Magnet. Your prospects are not surfing around online looking for an email newsletter to subscribe to.
The best Lead Magnet for your business obviously depends on whom you’re targeting. If you sell appliances, then a “Consumer’s Guide to Buying Home Appliances” would be a magnetic headline. Another idea would be a report about the “5 Things You Must Know Before Buying Your Next Appliance.” Both examples would only be attractive to someone interested in buying appliances, which is exactly whom you’d be targeting.
Once you have your headline, then it’s time to create the Lead Magnet.
2. Useful & Accurate Information
Once your prospect requests your Lead Magnet, then you absolutely must deliver what you promised. The best headline in the world will generate leads, but if your report is not full of useful and accurate information, then all of those prospects will be disappointed. That’s not a good way to start your relationship!
So if you make a strong promise in your headline, then you need to back it up with solid information. Or if you provide a free demo or tool, then it better make a great first impression. This should be obvious, but it’s important to keep this in mind and don’t skimp on any free offers on your website.
3. Pre-sell Your Product or Service
The goal of your Lead Magnet is to ultimately generate sales, not just leads. That’s why your Lead Magnet should position your product or service as the next logical step. Again, let’s use the “5 Things You Must Know Before Buying Your Next Appliance” example.
And let’s assume your business offers some of the best trade-in prices for old appliances versus all of the competitors. In this case, one of the 5 things should be to ask the appliance store how much they will offer for the old appliance. Plus, this gives you an opportunity to highlight one of your competitive advantages and offer a free appraisal to start the buying process. See how the information pre-sells the business and gets the prospect taking the next step to make a purchase?
So if you already have a free offer on your site, then take a look and make sure you have all 3 of these Lead Magnet elements. And if you don’t have anything like this yet, then make it a priority this month. Every day that goes by without a Lead Magnet on your website, means you’re losing out on leads and sales!
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