HOW TO SET UP A LEAD MAGNET
With so much uncertainty about social platforms, there’s a renewed emphasis on having your own email list of people who are interested in hearing from you. Gaining their contact details can involve some enticement, which is why you might want to offer a lead magnet in return for their contact details. This article covers:
- What a lead magnet is
- How to set up a lead magnet, so people who signed up receive it
- What to do once you have people on your email list
WHAT ARE LEAD MAGNETS?
A lead magnet is a downloadable and free ‘something’ that is enticing enough for someone to want to share their contact details in return for receiving it. It can be anything from an ebook, checklist, masterclass, mini-course to a discount code or template.
If you’ve ever visited a clothing store website and noticed a pop-up window offering a discount code in return for your name and email address, that’s an example of a lead magnet. It’s also the simplest lead magnet – a text code.
Most lead magnets take one of two forms: a downloadable PDF or a link. The link might be to a download, like audio files, a webinar or free mini-course.
HOW DOES THE LEAD MAGNET / CONTACT DETAILS EXCHANGE HAPPEN?
You use a third party – an email service provider (ESP) – to make the exchange between the contact details and the lead magnet and manage your email list. An ESP is different to, say, gmail, which manages 1:1 exchanges between you and others. An ESP manages your marketing emails, many of which may be automated.
One of the automations that ESPs do so well is helping you add people to an email list with an online form. Once someone has submitted their details, the ESP automatically sends an email to that person’s email address, to check that it’s a ‘live’ email. When that person clicks a link to confirm they want to receive emails from you – and your lead magnet – the ESP emails the person with a link or PDF download. All of this happens on repeat, once you’ve set it up.
HOW DO I FIND AN ESP?
There are many companies offering this service. Some of my favourites when you’re doing this for the first time include Kit, MailerLite and MailChimp. All three (at the time of writing) offer free services for a limited number of contacts, so you can start without spending anything if you don’t have a budget. Kit (the one I use) currently has a free offer with up to 1000 contacts and one automation.
I HAVE PEOPLE ON MY LIST: NOW WHAT?
Take care of them! Imagine that you’ve invited them to a party: you’d want them to know what to expect, where the drinks and the facilities are and perhaps some of their favourite nibbles. What this looks like in terms of an email list is a welcome sequence: a series of emails with details about you and your business / blog and what they can expect from you. Do you write every week, every day (yes, some people do that) or monthly? What do you typically include? Are you different to what they could be expecting?
There are also non-automated emails called broadcasts, where you email all or some of the people on your list and it goes out once. There are many other kinds of automated email sequences, but the welcome sequence and broadcasts are enough to get you started! Don’t be scared to email your list at least monthly, so they remember who you are and why they signed up for your emails. Keep a running list of things you could share, so you’re never stuck for ideas.
I found that having a set email format helps enormously. My weekly broadcast email has two or three points in it, with headings, so it’s easy to scan and read. It covers social platform updates, latest blog posts, new products and useful advice and includes rewritten versions of social posts. Having it structured like this means that when I sit down to write the newsletter on a Wednesday, I have a fair idea what to write about.