3 lead magnet ideas for online service based businesses
Using an opt in or lead magnet is a fantastic way to grow an email list for any online business owner. However, a lot of the times, lead magnets get overlooked by online service based businesses who are trying to attract dream clients.
Perhaps you (an online service provider) think an opt in is only something digital product sellers should be using in their marketing strategies, or maybe you simply have no idea what your free offer could even be – whatever your reason may be, my goal is that by the end of this blog post you’ll be left itching to get started at creating a lead magnet of your very own!
Before we dive into the 3 lead magnet ideas you could create as a service based biz, let’s look at some of the benefits of using a free offer as a way to grow your email list:
- A lead magnet helps you gauge your audience’s interest in your offer and helps you to show the value of your services. This is also how you prove to your audience that you know exactly what they need and you have the solution to help them overcome their current struggle.
- A lead magnet allows you to show up as an expert in your niche which builds trust among those who would like to work with you in the future. It also allows you to show them why your service is so important and why they need your help to get to where they want to be.
- A lead magnet is a great way to provide value to your audience which proves to them that you know your stuff, and that you have their best interest at heart. Not only will this nurture your connection with potential dream clients, but it will keep you top of mind when they are looking to hire someone in your niche.
- A lead magnet helps to attract people to your business who are most likely going to hire you for your services, aka your dream clients! There is no point building a list filled with people who are not interested in your offer. A lead magnet preps your audience so that they will naturally want what you’re selling – your awesome services!
Sure, you probably already knew that it was a good list building strategy to use in your business, but what exactly does one send out as an online service provider?
Let’s take a look at 3 lead magnet ideas you can use to grow your email list and attract an audience filled with your dreamy, soulmate clients…
1. A fillable workbook or planner
Using a fillable workbook or planner is a great lead magnet idea for an online service based business, since you can use this as a way to prepare your dream clients for when they start to work with you. Not only does this help your audience overcome a specific pain point, but it also educates them on a topic within your niche that they’ll need to know about when they hire you.
For example, if you are a web designer, your lead magnet could be a home page workbook where your audience would answer specific questions so that the web designer can create the optimum homepage.
This lead magnet will help your dream client get clarity on what they need to prioritize on the homepage, and should they hire you to help them design the website, you’d have already checked off a crucial step before the project process begins!
2. Training in the form of an ebook or video
Education based resources are another way to provide value to your audience, and when packaged as a lead magnet, you cannot go wrong!
Oftentimes as service providers we can forget small details that a client may need extra clarification on to avoid bumps later on in the project process. Offering some sort of training on a specific topic that tend to cause problems during a project, can be highly beneficial to both you and your potential dream client.
For example, if you are an Online Business Manager who uses Trello to manage projects, you may want to educate your audience on how to use Trello so by the time they hire you, they are already familiar with the platform.
Please note that it is of utmost importance that the format you choose for your lead magnet appeals to your audience AND that you are comfortable creating it.
3. A checklist
Seriously, who doesn’t love a good checklist?!
Not only are checklists popular across the board, but they can be incredibly helpful too. PLUS, they’re super easy to create!
A checklist is a simple, yet effective, way to guide your audience through a specific process in your niche that they’d need to complete just before hiring you for your services. Using a checklist as a lead magnet can give your audience much needed clarity, while showcasing the importance of the service you offer – and, why it is better left to the experts, a.k.a. YOU.
For example, if you are a Pinterest Manager, you could create a simple checklist of what your audience needs to do to set up their Pinterest accounts. Once they have set up their account, the next step would be to hire you to manage and grow their profile for the best results.
Remember, your lead magnet should NOT under any circumstances compete with your main offer. But rather, it should compliment your offer so that the logical next step would be to hire you!
3 things you should do to create the PERFECT lead magnet to attract your dream clients:
- Brainstorm steps your dream client would need to take before they hire you for your service, and take careful note of some of the “wins” they would achieve during these steps. The perfect lead magnet would be one that helps them achieve this win and sets up a path for them to book you for your service.
- Take a look at clients you have worked with in the past and think of any issues you experienced at the beginning of the project. What obstacles did your client need to overcome before the project could begin? And how can you create a simple solution to this problem which you can package as a lead magnet?
- Do a recon of what your dream clients are currently struggling with, or better yet, simply ask your clients and audience what it is they need help with in your niche. The trick here is to ask really specific, pointed questions – not vague, open questions that would get many different responses. You could also keep an eye on Facebook Groups or Instagram comments to find what your dream clients are struggling with so that you can create a simple solution for them. Keep in mind that your lead magnet must complement your main offer, help your audience achieve a small win, and set your offer up as the natural next step for them after using the freebie.
Creating and using a lead magnet to grow your email list is just the beginning of building an audience filled with potential dream clients! Now, you need to nurture your list so that your subscribers see you as an expert in your niche and you become their go-to-gal.
Having an email list will do you no good if you are not consistently providing your subscribers with helpful, value-packed content that actually benefits them in some way. And, since they’ve already taken that crucial first step of signing up for your list to get hold of your lead magnet, you KNOW that they are interested in what you have to say.
So now you just need to show up and say it!
However, if you are not careful, this can very quickly slip to the bottom of your priority list when you are so wrapped up with client work – ask me, I know!
This is exactly why I created this awesome resource to help you prepare 2 months of email newsletters to nurture your subscribers into becoming your dream clients…
