LeadMagnetGeniusOne of the biggest mistakes is creating a lead magnet that isn’t closely aligned with whatever product or service you eventually want to sell. It’s easy to get caught up in chasing what’s trendy or gets clicks, but if it doesn’t attract the kind of person who’d buy from you, it’s a wasted effort. For example, imagine you sell a paid 6-week course on personal style, and you create a lead magnet “10 Tips to Save Money on Clothes.” Yes, lots of people want to save money, so you might get many sign-ups – but are they interested in paying for a style course? Possibly not. The motivation that drew them (bargain hunting) is different from the motivation to buy your product (style transformation).
Avoid this by ensuring your lead magnet is a natural “preview” of your paid offering. It should “scrape the surface of the same problem” your paid product or service addresses. If you offer web design services, a relevant lead magnet might be “Homepage Checklist for High-Converting Websites” rather than a generic “Internet Marketing 101” guide. The latter might attract people outside your service’s scope. Always ask: Will someone who wants this freebie likely be interested in what I sell later? If the answer isn’t a confident yes, tweak the topic.
Remember, the goal of a lead magnet is not just to get an email address – it’s to get a qualified lead. A smaller list of highly relevant prospects is far more valuable than a huge list of people who signed up for something unrelated and will never engage further.