Email is still the most valuable marketing channel, with an average ROI of $38 for every dollar spent. However, growing an engaged email list isn’t easy; It takes finding, nurturing, enticing, and converting. While it’s a process, it’s certainly worth the effort.
There are a number of ways to build your valuable email list, however, nothing quite compares to having a high-quality lead magnet. Today, lead magnet dominates the marketing industry. They’re quite popular because they actually work. Every business seems to have at least one lead magnet. If you think you should follow suit, now is the time.
In this post, we’ll provide you with 5 effective lead magnet ideas that’ll help grow your sales pipeline. But before we dive into it, let’s understand the basics of lead magnets first.
Lead Magnet: What Is It?
“Lead magnets are the free content given out to your website visitors in return for their personal contact information that will help you build your email list.”
A lead magnet refers to an incentive or offers that marketers provide to potential customers in exchange for their contact information. In most instances, companies ask for the email address of their visitors. Lead magnets usually provide downloadable content, including free video, whitepaper, eBook, report, PDF checklist, etc.
Why Are Lead Magnets Essential?
As a B2B marketer, your priority is to grow your email lists and generate as many leads as possible. However, you know very well that generating leads isn’t that simple. Also, an email address is a personal thing and no one will give it right away if they aren’t getting anything of value in return. Your job as a marketer is to provide them with an enticing offer that will prompt them to do so. When you have an attractive lead magnet in place, the process becomes much easier.
For instance, if you have a blog post on marketing strategies to boost your small business, you can ask people to subscribe to your email list at the end of the post to receive any latest “updates.”
Or you can simply ask their email address to receive free downloadable content, detailing how these tips helped a small business in real-life. It’s obvious that the second option will garner more email signups in comparison to the former one.
Now that you are aware of why lead magnets are essential, let’s dive into the five effective B2B lead magnet tips you can use to boost your sales pipeline:
1. Webinars:
Webinars are the new black in the marketing world. More and more companies are starting to use webinars to garner qualified leads. This is because webinars are the best way to offer value to your prospects.
61 percent of markers make use of webinars as a tactic in their B2B content marketing strategy.
An important thing to remember when it comes to webinars is to make sure it’s engaging and interactive to your audience. Remember that it’s for them and not your brand. Your webinar will more likely be a success if you can provide relevant interactions to your audience. You can grow your subscribers with webinars via the registration form. Additionally, you can keep a show note or an audio or video recording of the webinar to promote it again for those who may have missed it.
2. Free Trials
For service-based entrepreneurs or services, providing free demos or free trials is another effective way to garner organic leads. It is quite common among SaaS companies to offer free demos and trials in order to generate leads.
Often, prospective customers who sign up for a free demo show that they are interested in what you have to offer.
3. Free Downloadables
Almost every marketer uses downloadables as their lead magnet. Ebooks, toolkits, checklists, planners, templates, buyer’s guides, and white papers are some popular B2B lead magnets marketers offer their prospects.
Providing free downloadable content can help improve your trustworthiness, especially for those who have very little knowledge about your brand. However, a large part of whether these downloadables will convert depends on what your potential buyers prefer.
4. Quizzes
For digital prospects with a very short attention span, it is worth considering interactive content that’ll make your users engage more. Moreover, quiz lead magnets are cost-effective and quite popular. Quizzes are a great way to add more personality to your content marketing and break the routineness of static content.
People love quizzes because they have educational value and entertainment.
5. Content Upgrades
Content upgrades are more like bonus content that companies offer to their website visitors. It’s kind of similar to the content your prospect is consuming. They are essentially downloadables but more-value packed.
Unlike ebook lead magnets, this lead generation strategy is more targeted. Also, remember to offer content that’s relevant to what your visitor is consuming. Content upgrades are valuable assets that can help in growing your email list.
Finally, here are a few important points to remember:
- If the lead magnet you offer doesn’t help in solving a real problem your customer has or if it doesn’t give them what they need, it won’t work.
- Your lead magnet needs to offer one quick win.
- Don’t craft generic lead magnets. You need to be more specific about what your lead magnet offers. This will help you generate leads.
- Your lead magnets should be able to demonstrate your UVP ( Unique Value Proposition) or expertise.
- Make sure that you offer a lead magnet that can be accessed instantly. Consumers love instant gratification.
Bottom Line
There are plenty of ideas when it comes to crafting effective B2B lead magnets. The success of your lead magnets doesn’t depend entirely on the content type you are offering. More importantly, you need to understand your target audience and then tailor lead magnets that suit them well.
A lead magnet that has high perceived value and is specific will make it much easier for prospects to exchange their contact information. Finally, remember to make your content easy-to-consume, practical, and concise to ensure that your leads convert.
lead magnet – DepositPhotos
