Even if you don’t recognise the term ‘lead magnet’, I have no doubt that you’ve been magnetised by one in some form or another in the last few days, if not hours.

Almost every type of business is on the hunt for data. Personal data, that they can use to contact you when they want to sell you something. And the days of list buying are over. Most of us HATE being sent emails from unrecognisable businesses; having your email address sold is the pits. So now, companies use a ‘lead magnet’ to collect this data legally and with the address owner’s permission. Most marketeers are after your email address, but it could just as easily be your home address or phone number that they want. A lead magnet is what companies use to attract their dream clients to their business, and as a bribe to entice them to hand over their contact details.

So, if you’ve ever put your card in a bowl to win a prize in the local pub or trade show hall; entered an online personality quiz and submitted your email address to get the results; sent off for a free Coco Pops spoon with your child’s name engraved on the handle (guilty), then you’ve been suckered in by a lead magnet.

In the digital world, the vast majority of lead magnets are free information products. You will, no doubt, have seen them. A lead magnet is usually hosted on the business’s website or on a page hosted by a landing-page provider, such as lead pages. It’ll be called a free ‘guide’, ‘cheat sheet’ or ‘checklist’, for example.

So how do you choose a good lead magnet for your business?

Step 1 – Research

Take a look inside the Facebook and LinkedIn groups where your dream clients hang out. What questions are they asking that you can answer? Which subjects come up time and time again during your sales conversations? If you search on Twitter, which questions are regularly asked about your particular area of expertise?

Create a short list of possible lead magnet topics based on the questions always being asked about your product or service.

Step 2 – Reduce

Reduce your list to one or two ideas. Base your final choices on how well they showcase what you are actually selling. The lead magnet should be a small (tiny!) version of what you want your consumer to buy. So that might be a checklist or cheat sheet that provides details on how you deliver one part of the full service. (I could have made this post into a lead magnet, for example, and I might well do that one day!)

Step 3 – Resolve

Make your final selection by choosing something that will help your dream client resolve a problem that you know is troubling them. Then make your format as brief as possible to help them get your information and the value that you want to deliver as quickly as possible.

Have you been struggling with deciding on a freebie that your business could offer? Get in touch – making these sort of decisions for my clients is what I’m doing day in day out – and it’s what I love doing! Why not take me up on a free half hour marketing review to figure it out? Click here to find out more.