In today’s hyper-saturated market, getting attention from potential buyers, and converting that to sales, is more difficult than it has ever been. There is an ever-growing need to reach out to buyers personally, to make your unique offering clear and target the points that will make them go from potential to converted buyer. Given direct email marketing can have a return on investment of up to 122%, it remains a particularly powerful way to generate sales!
But with savvy consumers increasingly wary of handing over their contact information, and up to 20% of emails not being received, how do you get the information to properly direct your pitches, instead of just shooting out cold emails hoping they hit their target?
What are lead magnets?
This is where lead magnets come in. Lead magnets are simply an offer to potential buyers in exchange for their contact information. Someone who makes an initial commitment through your lead magnet is already interested in your services – and your offering will hopefully convince them to take it further!
A lead magnet can take any number of forms, but to be effective, they must offer something of value to potential buyers.
Popular lead magnets include:
- Something that demonstrates what you are offering in a form that can be taken away and used, like samples, E-books, templates, guidelines, frameworks or cheat sheets. These have been around since the very beginning of online marketing and are particularly popular and easy to set up. However, with around 83% of B2B marketers now using newsletters, the market is heavily saturated, so these leads need to be good to be effective.
- Something that drives immediate sales, like coupons or discounts-on-signup. These are often used to encourage buyers to sign-up for a newsletter or membership account.
- Something that drives engagement with your company in an immediate way, like quizzes, webinars or free trials. Given the buyer has already agreed to give up a substantial amount of their time to see what you’ve got for them, unsurprisingly, these are the most powerful form of lead magnet in terms of
Who should use them?
Almost every marketer or company will find some benefit in using lead magnets.They offer a way to establish an initial and positive relationship with potential buyers, while generating the foundation for future marketing– which is likely to be effective, given you’ve already demonstrated your value. And they work! Targeting leads generates a much higher rate of sales than just outbound marketing (up to 15% compared to under 2%).
However, a word of caution. Lead magnets only work if they offer good enough value. If your lead magnet is underwhelming or unconvincing, then that sale is lost forever.
Why should you try lead magnets?
If you are seeking to increase your access to potential buyers (aren’t we all?), then you should try lead magnets. From the beginner to the more established company, this form of marketing has something to offer for everyone.
