LeadMagnetGeniusLet’s paint a concrete picture: Suppose you sell an online course called “Watercolor Painting for Beginners – 8 weeks to art confidence.” Here’s one way you could use a lead magnet funnel:
Lead Magnet: You create a free “Watercolor Jumpstart Kit” – it includes a 10-page PDF guide on supplies and basic techniques, plus a link to a 15-minute video of you demonstrating fundamental brush strokes. It’s aimed squarely at beginner painters (your target student). Visitors to your site or Instagram see an ad or link for this kit and sign up.
Delivery: They get an immediate email with the PDF and video link. The email also introduces you as the instructor and expresses excitement about their painting journey. At the end of the PDF, there’s a section that says “Next Steps” with an invite to your upcoming free live webinar “Paint Your First Landscape in 1 Hour.”
Nurture Emails: Two days later, they get an email: “How to Set Up Your Painting Space” with tips (not in the PDF) – establishing more of your expertise. This email also reminds them of the webinar date and how it will help them actually finish a painting. A few days after, another email comes with a short student success story (with pictures) of someone who knew nothing about art but, after your course, is making beautiful paintings. It’s an inspiring story that subtly shows your course results.
Webinar: They attend your live webinar (some won’t – those who don’t, you’ll send a replay link). In the webinar, you genuinely teach how to paint a simple landscape. At the end, you pitch your 8-week course, highlighting that it takes them far beyond this one painting into many techniques, with feedback and a community (your course benefits). You might even offer a webinar-only bonus (like a free one-on-one critique session for those who enroll by tomorrow).
Conversion: Many attendees are excited – they’ve seen you teach twice now (the video and the webinar), used your tips, and they trust you. Some sign up immediately. Those who don’t yet, you send follow-up emails over the next week: one answers common questions (“What if I’m super busy? Our course is self-paced, etc.”), another might offer a last reminder before enrollment closes or bonus expires. People join the course.
Outcome: Over the span of two weeks, your “Watercolor Jumpstart Kit” lead magnet brought in say 500 sign-ups. Out of those, 200 showed up to the webinar, and ultimately 50 purchased the $200 course. That’s a $10,000 revenue generated from one cycle of this funnel. The remaining leads stay on your list for future promotions; some of them might enroll next time you offer the course or perhaps buy an intermediate course later.
As this scenario shows, the lead magnet is the entry point to a larger journey. It’s not just a freebie; it’s the start of your teaching/coaching relationship. By the time you ask for a sale, you’ve given so much value that many prospects feel it’s only fair to reciprocate by buying – and they genuinely want what you’re offering because you’ve proven it works.