If you want to grow your audience, build an email list, and generate sales, have you considered using lead magnets?

Lead magnets are free resources that offer value to your website visitors in exchange for their information. Rather than trying to convince them to give you their email address, it’s easier to push them with a valuable freebie. With 63 percent of marketers saying their biggest content challenge is generating leads, it’s crucial to develop a strategy that grows your brand and keeps visitors happy.

Why use a lead magnet?

If you’re on the fence about whether your website needs a lead magnet, consider why businesses use them in the first place. For new or small businesses especially, it’s more challenging to grow a following and build an email list when your audience is small. Lead magnets work to attract a larger audience and help your brand achieve its goals.

When a new visitor browses your website, they’re not keen on handing you their information right away. Lead magnets show them that you’re willing to give them value for free if they give you their information. It’s a fair bargain, and therefore, it persuades them to join your email list.

It’s easier to show off what you know and garner an expert reputation when you offer lead magnets. Use them to entertain, educate, and build a community for your audience that pushes them down the sales funnel.

A quality lead magnet should:

  • Demonstrate your expertise
  • Offer valuable content to your audience
  • Provide solutions to pain points
  • Easy to access or instantly download
  • Produces quick results

If you want to grow your email list, let’s look at six different lead magnet ideas you can use on your website.

1. Videos

There are so many things you can do with video, the options are endless. Your audience will love it, too. Video content is 50 times likelier to drive organic search results than static content, making it more favorable to your visitors. If you can take video and use it to offer value, then you’ll grow your email list in no time.

You can take a blog post and turn it into a video for a more interactive, personalized experience. Create a short video series to turn a broad topic into a specific one. This grabs users’ attention and prolongs engagement.

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2. Checklists

If you have blog posts on your website that you can turn into helpful checklists, these are a great lead magnet to offer. For instructional and step-by-step posts especially, it’s easier for visitors to follow along with a checklist that ensures they have everything they need. They’re also easy to create.

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3. Webinars

A webinar is an online seminar similar to a class that teaches viewers something new and goes into depth about a specific topic. Because they use urgency, they attract more viewers and urge them to sign up before it’s too late. Or, you could offer a pre-recorded webinar as your lead magnet so it’s available to anyone who signs up.

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4. Ebooks

If you create an ebook, you need to make sure your audience is going to consume it. Because they have more information that requires the full attention of the reader, it might take more convincing for users to convert. You can turn it into a mini ebook so it’s easier to digest. Make sure you emphasize its benefits to readers so they feel more inclined to opt in.

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5. Email series

You’re already on your way to building your email list, so why not use email as your lead magnet content? If you want to dive deeper into a broad topic, creating an email series sends the information straight to your subscribers’ inboxes. It’s easy to break the information down into smaller segments when you can send them through separate emails.

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6. Discounts

If you run an ecommerce store, what more could your customers want than an opportunity to save money? For new visitors especially, they feel enticed to opt into your offer when they know they’re getting a good deal out of it. Offering discounts and promo codes is a great way to move customers through the sales funnel, build your email list, and improve customer retention.

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Your turn

There are endless ways you can use lead magnets to grow your business. Building an email list is essential if your brand is going to expand, and using the right methods determines how fast you’re able to do so. If you offer value to your audience, you’re sure to grow a healthy, profitable email list in no time.