What’s the point of sending emails to people who aren’t even the slightest bit interested in you or your business? Only send emails to interested prospects…
Ever played darts? You step up to the dartboard and try your best to hit a triple twenty, or if you want to show off a bullseye! Darts is a national “sport” and the world champions usually come from the UK.
So why don’t these world champions play with a blindfold on?
Would they have just as good a chance of being world champion if they we throwing the darts blindly?
Of course not, although I do think this approach would make the game much more exciting!
If you’re sending emails to anybody and everybody about you and your business, then you are targeting customers just like that blindfolded dart player.
You need a Lead Magnet.
What the heck is a Lead Magnet?
A Lead Magnet is something that you offer to a prospect in exchange for their highly guarded email address, an irresistible bribe if you like.
But it can’t be free cinema tickets that you offer. It has to be something of great value that is in relation to what your business does.
A Lead Magnet is also known as “Lead Bait”.
Imagine you are going to go fishing. You and ten of your best friends.
You go down to the harbour and when getting on your little boat you all set a competition. The one who catches the most fish wins a prize. You’re all going to the same part of the ocean, on the same boat, with the same fishing rods and at the same time on the same day.
You get back into the harbour and count the fish. Most of you have caught around 4 or 5, but one of your mates has caught 30. What did he do differently?
Used different bait.
He knew the right bait to use for that particular fish in that ocean.
You need to view those fish as your prospects and your mates on that boat as your competitors in your marketplace.
How are you going to ensure that you get those prospects details over your competitors?
That’s where your lead bait comes in, or for the purpose of this, we’ll call it a lead magnet which does the same thing.
Magnetises your prospects just like the bait did to the fish.
Why do I need a Lead Magnet?
Two big reasons.
Firstly, how many people visit your website every month?
Let’s say 1000 people visit your site every month. These aren’t people just surfing the internet for fun, they are people looking for what you and your company provide.
Maybe you’re even sending traffic to your website from Google Adwords or Facebook Ads?
Well, I can tell now that on average a whopping 95% of website visitors leave your site without doing anything. Nothing. No details left, no purchases and no emails sent to you.
So out of your 1000 people that visit your site this month, 950 will disappear without you even knowing about them.
That’s why you need a Lead Magnet.
To add their details to your database.
Ah, database. That’s your second big reason.
The biggest asset in your business is your database of prospects and customers. A database of people who you can target to buy your products and services.
But it needs to be targeted.
Just like that championship dart player, you need to pick your targets to get the best result.
Who would you rather hit with your latest ABC Widget offer?
1000 people, in general, who have never heard of you?
Or 1000 people who have been on your Widget website and downloaded the “Guide to ABC Widgets?”
You should build a database of targeted prospects.
What Could You Use as Your Lead Magnet?
The list is endless for what value you could offer your prospects in exchange for their details. But an important component of choosing your lead magnet is how you’re going to deliver that value. Here are 11 different ways that you could deliver it:
- EBook
- Video Series
- Guide
- Cheat Sheet
- Audio Recording
- Discount Code / Coupon
- Webinar
- Quiz
- Telephone Appointment
- Email Series
- Tools List
Remember it has to add value and position you as someone who knows what they’re talking about!
How to Get Them to Sign Up
You need them to sign up or opt-in for your lead magnet so that you can add their email address to that highly targeted database.
Usual details you ask for are:
- Email Address
- First Name
- Last Name
Some testing has showed us that prospects only want to leave the bare minimum when filling out boxes, so sometimes you’ll see just them asking for an email address.
But, if what you’re offering is truly valuable to the right person, they will give you what you ask for.
Here are some good examples of opt-in boxes.
Now it’s time to get thinking about what you could use for your lead magnet
