Most marketers know all about Lead Magnets. These are the freebies that may appear on a website, where the user exchanges their contact information for something that is valuable to them. From the marketer’s perspective, anyone who downloads the lead magnet clearly has interest in the subject matter, and can definitely be considered a lead.

Even from the early days of the web – think 1994 – marketers knew that a brochure website was not helpful. When I put KPMG online in that year, I came up with “Tax Tip of the Day”: give us your email address, and we’ll send you a tax tip each and every day. Value was exchanged.

Today, Lead Magnets are used for B2B, B2C, for products, and for services. They are usually part of a sophisticated marketing program… yet so many marketers still only use the venerable ebook as a lead magnet. Yet there are so many creative options; here are nine:

Infographics: This is a graphical “explainer” that conveys information on a specific topic.
White papers: Years ago these were 30-50 page research-based deep-dive documents that definitively explored a specific topic. Today most white papers are 4-8 page not-as-deep-dives on a topic. The thinking is that if more is needed, then the prospect should engage/purchase the service or product.
ebooks: Yes, these are still being used, but not as effectively as they could be. eBooks are usually a highly-formatted document, of between 16-100 pages. Unfortunately, many ebooks are too light on content, use excessively large font sizes, and have the opposite of the intended effect. (Of course, others are excellent.) If you’re going to use an eBook, a great question is “would someone actually pay for this?” If the answer is uncertain, then up the quality.
Audit/Self-assessments: These are usually quizzes where users can answer questions, and then based on the answers, understand the severity of their issue. The best audits are done online, and the data is collected and used for future follow-up.
Webinar: Webinars and webinar replays are not usually considered Lead Magnets, but if the content is compelling enough, they can function as one. They also have the benefit of allowing a prospect to see you in action, and interact with you.
Mini-course: This is a series of emails, sometimes accompanied by videos that impart a valued skill to the recipient. These often will be “dripped” to the recipient using marketing automation software, on a weekly basis. The advantage of a mini-course is that the recipient can test-drive the experience with you before actually signing a contract.
Templates: Templates can be Excel, Powerpoint, or Word. They can be flow-charts, example emails, or anything. The idea is that the template set will both save the recipient time, while also exposing them to best practices… and to you.
Calendars: This is an iCal or ics file that a user can “subscribe” to, and overlays its contents on the users calendar. This can contain tips, event dates, or other information.
Implementation guides: An implementation guide answers the question of “how to”, rather than “what” or “why”. It can be as simple as a list of bullets, or a PDF.

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