These days, a lead magnet should be shareable on social media, easy to consume on mobile devices, and compelling enough to stand out in search results. The formats that worked in past years might not hold attention today.
But that’s not a problem — it’s an opportunity.
Brands can experiment with cheat sheets, resource libraries, gated videos, or put a spin on the classic lead magnets in order to meet people where they are today. The key is choosing the right format for your audience and making it easy for them to engage.
If your lead magnets feel outdated, it might be time for a fresh take. I’ll walk you through everything you need to know to craft an irresistible lead magnet.
What Is a Lead Magnet?
A lead magnet is a resource or other item of value that businesses use to collect leads. The business asks the visitor to provide contact information, such as an email address, in exchange for the lead magnet.
The process typically looks something like this:
Lead magnets that actually work offer real value to potential customers. Otherwise they will reject the lead magnet, and this process breaks down.
You might get a few curious leads, sure, but nothing compared to the lead volume you would get if customers saw a clear benefit in the exchange.
To put this another way, in order for a lead magnet to work it has to have real value that is appealing to your audience. If you are missing either one of those aspects, the lead magnet will probably struggle to bring in the type of leads you are hoping for.
Let’s go through both of these important aspects.
What Makes a Lead Magnet Valuable?
In order to convince customers to accept the lead magnet offer, companies typically offer one or more of the following values to customers:
- Expert advice
- Time savings
- Cost savings
- Education or training
- Problem solving
- Early or exclusive access
There is real value in all of these: a dollar saved, a mistake avoided, a skill learned, and so on. In the examples below, I used the same lead magnet format (a checklist) to create headlines for each of the six values identified above:
- The SEO Audit Checklist: What the Pros Check To Boost Rankings (expert advice)
- The Quick-Start SMB Payroll Checklist: Get Set Up in 15 Minutes or Less (time savings)
- The Energy-Saving Checklist: 10 Upgrades To Cut Your Utility Bill in Half (cost savings)
- The Healthy Skin Care Checklist: How to Read Labels and Avoid Harmful Ingredients (education)
- The Complete VoIP Troubleshooting Checklist: Restore Clear Calls Right Now (problem solving)
- The Festival Insider Checklist: Never Miss Early Access to Tickets, Merch, and Perks (early or exclusive access)
It’s the same headline formula for each one, so you should be able to see the basic mechanics: a clear offer that states a concrete value customers will receive from accepting the lead magnet.
I made some assumptions here, such as that small business HR teams want to get payroll set up quickly, people using VoIP services want clear calls, that people managing cybersecurity want to keep their business secure.
You are going to have to make assumptions about what your audience wants, too. It’s not enough to just offer value — the value has to be appealing to the people you’re trying to reach.
What Makes a Lead Magnet Appealing?
The key is making your offer feel relevant, vital, and urgently necessary to potential customers. There’s two easy strategies to accomplish this.
- Hype the benefits of your free resource and make them as clear as possible. Spell out exactly what people will be able to accomplish or attain by accepting the lead magnet offer.
- Emphasize the downsides of not accepting the lead magnet offer. Highlight precisely how people will miss out. Reinforce the risks associated with not completing the task, reaching the goal, or learning the skill promised by the lead magnet.
Every tactical decision you make depends on the specific group of customers you are trying to win over.
To reach your target audience, you have to know what they want. Really dig into that question, and keep going.
What do they need? How do they want to be seen? What problems can you help them solve? What would lessen their stress, save them time, or help them reach a goal?
Answering those questions will help you build a lead magnet that’s attractive to potential future customers.
You can certainly conduct market research, but there are lots of quick ways to define your target audience, what resonates with them, and what they might want in a lead magnet. Some great ways to start building knowledge right away:
- Use search research tools like Google Trends or Answer the Public
- Run polls and surveys of current customers, subscribers, website visitors, etc.
- Review blog comments, reviews, and other user-generated content.
- Analyze competitor messaging, ad strategy, and content marketing
- Mine niche forums, groups, communities, message boards, subreddits, etc.
It’s the internet — shouldn’t be too hard to find people complaining about what a product or a market lacks. What can’t they do? What’s too hard? What’s annoying?
If you can position your lead magnet as a solution to one of these frustrations, it will convert.
A Simple, Real-Life Lead Magnet Example
Let’s look at a conventional lead magnet example that gets the right offer, at the right time, in front of the right customer.
This is a lead magnet that Riddle’s Jewelry placed in their website footer. So, every time someone has scrolled through a page of jewelry, they are met with this proposition:
Provide your email to get exclusive offers. This is about as straightforward and low-tech as a lead magnet gets.
And yet — this lead magnet draws the exact crowd the online retailer desires: people looking for bargains on jewelry. Every new subscriber from this magnet is a warm lead Riddle’s can nurture with email offers.
16 High-Converting Lead Magnet Examples and Ideas
Here are 16 lead magnet ideas that I think will start you in the right direction. Put your own personal spin on each one and make it new for your audience.
In this list, I included all the tried-and-true lead magnets along with some newer methods that brands are using. Feel free to be daring and try something new — but you certainly don’t have to. The most cutting-edge companies are still using e-books and webinars to generate super high-intent leads.
1. Cheat Sheets
This is a spin on the checklist lead magnet that promises to help you accomplish a specific goal as fast as possible.
Cheat sheets are the barebones steps required to learn a skill, solve a problem, make a sensible purchase, and so on. The value promised by a cheat sheet is that beginners can shortcut past 100s of hours actually learning and just do the thing they want to do.
Consider this cheatsheet that Nextool founder Jafar Najafov posted to 𝕏:
This isn’t a guide at all. There is no background on AI models, how they work, or general strategic advice. It’s a no-frills way to get what you need from the latest version of a popular AI tool.
Cheat sheets work as lead magnets especially well in technical areas where beginners face a steep learning curve trying to accomplish tasks or make decisions. This includes software, AI, SQL, and SEO, but also construction, personal finance, self-care, and more.
2. Slide Decks
I’m seeing more slide decks being turned into lead magnets these days. Actual slide decks from past presentations are repurposed to create lead magnets. Typically, these are PDFs vs the actual slides — you can go either way.
B2B marketer Dave Gerhardt shared on 𝕏 that he had repackaged a deck from a presentation he gave the year before as a lead magnet. That switch resulted in more than 400 new subscribers in the first 24 hours. Typical new signups were in the range 30-50 per day.
A brief exchange he had in the thread shows underscores both the ease and potential benefits of using a slide deck lead magnet format.
It took him no effort at all to create the lead magnet. He’d put in the hard work already to create the presentation. All he had to do was turn the deck into a PDF, switch up the CTAs, and he was off to the races.
If you have slides from presentations that really resonated with a live audience, you could do well by sprucing them up and presenting them as a lead magnet to your digital audience.
3. Resource Libraries
Packaging a selection of your best content as a resource library and gating it for subscribers only is a great way to magnify the perceived value of the lead-magnet. It’s not just one e-book or checklist — it’s a full library of content that usually includes PDFs, templates, tools, and newsletter updates.
Olympic medalist and entrepreneur Andrea Bolder has a dedicated page of “Freebies” on her site that contains a giant resource library from female business owners looking to build financial freedom.
There are dozens of digital downloads, Canva templates, kits for creating viral content, planners, and more.
By offering her audience free access to her resource library, Bolder has created a passive source of new potential buyers who are interested in what she has to offer.
4. Checklists
Checklists are a phenomenal time-saver for people that want to fully complete a task. Checklists work especially well when your target audience needs to accomplish something they are unfamiliar with.
Think about “101 Things to Check Before Driving Your Car Away From the Dealership” or “The Ultimate Pre-Baby Checklist.”
In both these cases, there’s clear value. Most people aren’t mechanics and appreciate a full checklist to help them audit the vehicle they are about to buy. Similarly new parents don’t know exactly what they need to be prepared to take care of a newborn.
This type of lead magnet can work across many industries and verticals. Plus, it’s easy to create and distribute as a free download to email opt-ins.
5. Podcasts
Subscriber-only podcast content is a major lever that content creators use to sway low-intent listeners into giving their contact information.
There are all sorts of ways to position this type of lead magnet. You can offer early access to episodes, which is important to some audiences. Others will be persuaded by bonus content, extended conversations, backstage moments, or unedited clips.
Some creators release their most recent two podcasts and gate the rest. Others allow listeners to tune into the first half of the show for free.
I would also provide transcripts of podcasts on the episode pages. From an SEO perspective, it’s tons of original content on a topic in your niche — perfect — you are giving your podcast a chance to rank for keywords you care about.
Also consider adding easy-to-copy highlights from the episode that are short enough to work in social media posts. Make it as easy as possible for other users to share the podcast with other potential subscribers.
6. E-books
This is the classic tried-and-true lead magnet idea. Most people are familiar with e-books and, more importantly, they assume that e-books will contain better quality content than what they can find in blog posts and forums.
So, if they care about the topic of your e-book or the problems it promises to help them solve, people will happily exchange contact info to get it.
E-books are easy to put together. You don’t have to create it from scratch. Consider compiling your most popular blog posts into e-book format. Add a fresh introduction and conclusion, and you have a lead magnet.
7. Webinars
Webinars are great for connecting with prospective leads and customers, developing your company culture, and interacting with your audience.
As a lead magnet, a webinar offers two primary points of value:
- Instruction: Most webinars focus on teaching attendees how to accomplish something. They provide valuable information that participants can apply to their own goals and pain points.
- Incentive: A webinar also usually concludes with a discount code or some other incentive for the participant to make a purchase.
After you run a live webinar, you can turn the recording into a lead-magnet that interested website visitors can view on-demand. A webinar library can quickly become a passive source of warm leads.
8. Mini courses
People will sign up for short courses to gain new skills and learn how to use new tools. This is a tried and tested lead-magnet that will never go out of style.
The example below is a “Generative AI Fundamentals” course from Databricks made up of four short videos and an assessment.
Upon completion of the course, users earn a badge for Generative AI Fundamentals they can share on their LinkedIn profile or resumé. There is a lot to be said for adding that incentive — what person who cares about generative AI wouldn’t want to add Databricks’ endorsement to their resumé?
Courses can be made up of videos, guides, and tutorials — so yes, you may be able to repackage existing content into a course. If you want to put a bit more work in, you can create assessments to help people stay on track, or use an autoresponder to send out an email-based course with homework, progress checks, articles, quizzes, and more.
9. Videos
Video lead magnets are powerful because they are engaging and immersive. People are naturally drawn to videos, which allow you to show your brand’s personality. Videos are an excellent medium for explaining complex ideas quickly, which makes them a reliable way to connect with your audience and keep them interested.
To set up your video lead magnet, consider offering one free video to hook your audience, with the rest gated behind an email sign-up. This strategy helps build trust while providing value upfront.
To make your video lead magnet effective, keep it short and to the point — aim for around 3-5 minutes. Focus on delivering value by addressing a specific problem or need that your audience has. End with a unique call-to-action that invites viewers to sign up for more content.
Put some thought into your video thumbnail — it’s a crucial key to getting people to click. Choose a thumbnail image that clearly represents the content of your video and feels inviting. Ideally, it should include a close-up of the speaker with an expressive face. Don’t ask me why this works, but everyone uses this style thumbnail for a reason.
10. Spreadsheets
I use spreadsheets every day. Do I love them? Absolutely not. But I’m indebted to them because they make my life more organized, functional, and accountable.
I use them daily for project management.
Your prospective customers use them, too. Alternatively, if they’re afraid of spreadsheets, they might need someone to set up a spreadsheet for them.
That’s where you come in.
Design a spreadsheet that people in your industry would find useful. Anything that helps people budget, plan, or stay organized is going to be attractive.
Even better: Include a detailed instruction manual for customizing the spreadsheet, such as changing cells’ colors, programming calculations, and more.
11. Toolkits
Think of a toolkit as a lead magnet on steroids. It packages multiple resources into a single asset to create more value.
For example, HubSpot, a longtime leader in the field of lead magnets, offers “Kits” to help users reach specific goals.
For example, the “10x Your LinkedIn Game” Kit includes deep dive research, a profile playbook, and a cheatsheet to get started quickly.
Toolkits like this give you a way to package several related pieces of content and create a lead-magnet that appeals directly to the needs, wants, and dreams of your target audience.
Get creative. There are no rules when it comes to toolkits, so throw lots of ideas out there and see what your audience finds vital.
12. Planners
Planners are one of the oldest lead magnets in the book because people are always on the lookout for one that will help them organize better.
Depending on your audience you may want to offer daily, weekly, or monthly planners, as well as strategic planners for accomplishing a particular goal in your industry.
Planners for weddings, like the one from Basic Invite pictured above, can be extremely helpful for people going through an unfamiliar experience.
Same with planners for tax season or kitchen renovations. All of these lead-magnets attract the exact type of potential future customer you want. Generic planners, not so much.
Consider offering a planner lead magnet as both a free printable download and a digital PDF file that users can fill in on their computers.
13. Calculators
Some lead magnet ideas take more work than others. Calculators aren’t particularly complicated, but they require coding skills and an affinity for math.
It’s up to you whether to use the calculator as a traditional lead magnet, where people have to sign up to use it. I saw some companies offering limited versions of their calculator for free, and full versions upon signup.
I also saw some calculators that were completely free, no signup necessary. This CPM calculator from Upwork is a good example of this type. It’s completely free to use, but as soon as you submit your numbers, a highly-targeted offer to “Browse Projects” appears below the results.
Anyone who is interested in calculating CPM (which stands for cost-per-mille, i.e. the cost of one thousand ad impressions) could likely be interested in hiring a freelance digital marketer, one of Upworks core talent pools. And of course Upwork tailors the projects they offer based on the budget and target CPM that users have plugged in.
I saw that other brands gated their calculators, or only allowed limited features to people who didn’t subscribe. You could easily package a calculator like that as a lead magnet for your prospects to download.
Just make sure it’s truly useful and that it works as advertised. You don’t want to collect email addresses from leads who later send you angry emails about the calculator’s “uselessness” or “failure to work.”
14. Guides
If you can offer guides that help people solve unfamiliar problems, they will gladly share their email address.
Consider this guide from The Wanderlover called the Travel Influencer Handbook. It’s meant for aspiring trendsetters who want to know exactly how to turn their love of exploration into the career of their dreams.
It’s relevant to the site’s audience, has a unique headline, and incorporates a great call to action (CTA). This is very persuasive.
Elsewhere on the page, they do a good job using images and copywriting that sell the dream and handle objections people have about actually signing up. There are always good reasons to say “No,” and you should speak back to those concerns.
15. Infographics
I don’t have to tell you that infographics are everywhere. As an asset, they can drive engagement on a website, shares on social media, and help your brand immediately differentiate itself from others.
By all means, release infographics for free. But you can also stockpile a few to use as lead magnets.
One strategy would be to share an appealing portion of the infographic, a teaser, and require an email signup to see the full thing.
Another tactic, seen here on Venngage, is to let people edit the infographic like a template.
The lead magnet is just a single button that leads to a signup page. If people like the infographic and want to use it for themselves, all they need to do is register and it’s theirs.
16. PDFs
We all have different preferences for consuming information online. Here on Crazy Egg and on my personal blog, my posts tend to range from 2,500 to more than 30,000 words.
Many of my readers can’t consume an entire blog post in one sitting. That’s why it’s often beneficial to allow people to download your content in PDF format. They can save it for reading later.
PDF lead magnets are a staple of the travel guide industry, where the audience wants to get information they can download and access whether they have cell service or not. Free Travel Guides, for example, offers both a downloadable PDF and printed guides by mail.
It’s a short, sweet offer with all of the focus on the FREE brochure. People often plan their trips months in advance. Providing an actual PDF doc is valuable to someone who wants to do their research in advance of travelling.
How to Create a Lead Magnet in 6 Steps
So far we have focused on strategy and marketing of creating lead magnets. In this section, I want to focus on the operations side of getting a lead magnet published and integrated into your lead capture system.
Here are the essential steps:
- Create the lead magnet content: Choose a format (checklist, quiz, video, etc.) and design it professionally with clear branding. Remember to format and optimize for delivery by converting docs to PDF, optimizing images, ensuring all assets are mobile-friendly
- Set up a landing page: Create a simple, high-converting landing page with a strong headline, bullet points outlining the value, and an email capture form (via Mailchimp, HubSpot, etc.).
- Automate lead collection and delivery
Connect the form to an email marketing tool and set up an automated sequence. The first email should deliver the lead magnet, while follow-ups can provide additional value or introduce related offers. - Publish and test: Embed the landing page on your website or blog and test the full sign-up process, including form submission, email delivery, and download access. Ensure everything works smoothly on mobile.
- Drive traffic to the lead magnet: Use website pop-ups, banners, social media (organic and paid), and email newsletters to drive traffic. Paid ads can help target the right audience very effectively.
- Monitor and optimize: Track sign-ups, email open rates, and engagement. A/B test different headlines, CTAs, or page layouts, and refine your approach based on performance data.
In the short term, your lead magnet will function as a passive source of warm leads for your business. Refining your offer over time is important, as is creating new offers, as the tastes and needs of your target audience evolve.
The Importance of Testing your Lead Magnets
A/B testing your lead magnets can help you determine which ones produce the most leads. This is an empirical way to test performance and make sure that you really are maximizing the number of high-intent leads that a particular magnet is bringing in.
An A/B test presents two identical pages of your website to the same number of visitors. You change just one variable on those otherwise identical pages, such as the type of lead magnet.
For instance, you might have one landing page that advertises a free e-book and another that advertises a free checklist.
Over time, as more and more people sign up for your email list based on your lead magnet, you’ll figure out which magnet is more attractive. For instance, if 30 percent more people download the checklist than the e-book, you can be pretty confident that your audience finds the e-book more compelling.
