Start with one specific buyer and one problem
Write a sentence: "This is for a [role] at a [type of company] who needs to [solve one problem] this month." If you cannot finish the sentence, the magnet is not ready to be built.
A magnet called "The complete guide to marketing" has no buyer. A magnet called "A one page checklist to audit your contact form before you spend on ads" has one. Narrow beats big.
Match the offer to how aware they are
Buyers arrive at different points, and each point needs a different offer.
- Problem aware: they feel the pain but have not named a solution. Give a diagnostic, a self-assessment or a benchmark.
- Solution aware: they know the kind of fix they want. Give a template, a comparison sheet or a worked example.
- Product aware: they know you and are weighing the decision. Give a sample, a trial, a checklist for evaluating vendors, or a short consultation.
Put the problem aware magnet on top of the funnel pages, such as blog posts. Put the product aware offer on pricing and comparison pages.
Choose a format that gives a quick result
The best formats do something for the reader in ten minutes. A calculator that shows what a missed lead costs. A template they can copy into their own system. A swipe file of ten emails that worked for you. A scorecard with a result at the end.
Long ebooks are the weakest format. People download them and rarely read them. If you have a good long guide, cut it down to the one page that carries the value and offer that.
Make the promise concrete
State the outcome and the time: "Copy the email sequence we use to follow up with trial users in five minutes." Avoid "ultimate", "complete" and "essential". Use numbers where you honestly have them.
Name the format in the button too. "Get the template" beats "Submit" because it repeats the promise.
Put it where the reader already is
Place the magnet inside the article that discusses the same problem, at the point where the reader has just seen why it matters. A pricing page magnet and a blog magnet should never be the same file.
Tie each one to a page on your site that already gets traffic. Pop-ups and remarketing covers placement when you use a pop-up.
Build the delivery and the first follow-up
Deliver the file immediately, by email and on the thank-you page. Then send one message two days later asking whether it was useful and offering a related next step: a short call, a related guide, a reply to ask a question.
Tools like Kit, Mailchimp or HubSpot can send the sequence automatically. Tag each lead with the magnet they downloaded, so sales knows what they care about.
Use a qualifying signal, not only a download
A download is interest, not intent. Add one cheap qualifier in the form, such as company size or the biggest challenge, in a dropdown. Or score the lead by what they do next: opening the follow-up, visiting the pricing page, replying. Send only the warm ones to a person. You can refine the signals later with Forms that convert.
Common mistakes
- Making a magnet for everybody and attracting nobody.
- Offering a gift that has nothing to do with what you sell.
- Burying the value in forty pages.
- Delivering the file and never following up.
- Judging the magnet by number of downloads instead of leads who became conversations.
How you know it works
Track three numbers for each magnet: visitors who saw it, downloads, and downloads that became qualified conversations within 60 days. A good magnet may have a modest download rate and a high share of qualified leads. When sales asks for more of a particular magnet, you have found one that works. Review the numbers each quarter, as described in Refresh lead magnets quarterly.
