Lead Magnet Funnel

Need more leads and customers? Of course, you do.

Leads are the backbone of your business. The more leads you can get, the more products and services you can sell.

That’s the reason why you need a Lead Magnet Funnel (AKA Lead Funnel).

In this guide, we will dive deep into Lead Magnet Funnels. We’ll cover everything from A to Z:

• What exactly is a Lead Magnet Funnel, and how does it work?
• A step-by-step walkthrough of the five crucial parts: lead magnet, squeeze page, thank you page, and follow-up.
• Why is each component vital to your success? (Ignore them at your peril!)
• Most common mistakes you should avoid.

In fact, this is the exact strategy that I used to generate over 1000 leads last month.

Ready to start building a list of prospects who are itching to buy from you?

Let’s go dive in!

What Is A Lead Magnet Funnel?

A Lead Magnet Funnel (Or Lead Funnel) is a type of lead generation funnel designed to attract leads, build trust, grow a list of leads and customers, foster relationships with your list, convert leads into customers, recoup your ad costs, provide additional opportunities for customers to work with you, and guide customers up your value ladder.

At its core, the sales funnel begins with a free offer—a lead magnet (or bait) in exchange for the visitor’s email address. This could be a complimentary report, contest entry, or other enticing offer.

Once you’ve captured a lead’s email, they’re added to your mailing list.

This is where the real magic happens. You can now nurture these leads with targeted content, building trust and demonstrating your expertise over time.

 It’s an effective way to grow a loyal audience and market products or services over time.

The main goal is to create a large, engaged email list for cost-effective, long-term marketing. This strategy adapts well to changing technology and user behavior, making it a valuable tool for sustainable business growth.

How Does A Lead Magnet Funnel Works?

To illustrate how a lead magnet works, I’d love to share with you an example of a Lead Magnet Funnel

As a marketer always hungry for new strategies, I was browsing Optinmonster.com one lazy afternoon when a pop-up caught my eye:

“12 Proven Ways To Convert Abandoning Visitors Into Subscribers”

My curiosity was instantly piqued.

I realized this was a lead magnet in action—a free offering designed to attract ideal customers like me and provide value in exchange for an email address.

I couldn’t resist. “What are these 12 proven ways?” I wondered.

“How can I unlock the highest conversion revenue from each of my website visitors?” The possibilities made my marketer’s heart race.

The form was beautifully simple:

• A headline that spoke directly to a problem I faced
• A description filled with hooks that fueled my curiosity
• A promise of free, valuable information

All I had to do was enter my name and email address. It seemed like a fair trade – I wanted information, and Optinmonster wanted a way to connect with me.

After submitting my details, I was whisked away to a thank you page. True to their word, Optinmonster provided me with the promised ebook, instantly building trust by fulfilling their end of the bargain.

But they didn’t stop there – they sweetened the deal with a 20% coupon code for their services.

I wasn’t ready to purchase yet, so I closed the tab.

But wait! An exit pop-up appeared, tempting me with an even better offer of up to 35% off.

While I didn’t buy anything that day, I realized the lead magnet funnel’s beauty had already worked its magic on me.

Optinmonster now had my email address, opening a channel to build a relationship with me through email marketing. From that point on, they could:

• Promote their products and services to me
• Share valuable content that might interest me
• Offer me special promotions

All for free, directly to my inbox.

Here’s the entire process of Optin Monster’s Lead Magnet Funnel:

1. Opt-in: Pop-up offers free valuable content (“12 Proven Ways To Convert Abandoning Visitors Into Subscribers”) in exchange for the visitor’s name and email address.
2. Thank You Page: Delivers promised ebook, offers 20% coupon for Optinmonster services, and provides access instructions.
3. Exit Pop-up: Triggered when a visitor attempts to leave, offering a better deal (up to 35% off) as a final attempt to capture interest or make a sale.
4. Follow-up Campaign: Uses collected email to send targeted emails, providing value, building relationships, and promoting products/services over time.

What Are the Benefits Of Lead Magnet Funnels?

A Lead Magnet Funnel offers several key benefits for businesses and marketers:

• Rapidly grows your email list: A well-crafted valuable lead magnet attracts potential customers like a magnet. It’s an irresistible free offer that pulls in leads and expands your subscriber base FAST.
• Qualifies leads automatically: You attract people genuinely interested in your niche by offering a specific, valuable resource. This pre-qualifies leads, saving you time and marketing dollars.
• Builds trust and credibility: Providing high-quality free content shows expertise and generosity. This builds trust with potential customers, making them more likely to buy from you later.
• Boosts conversions: Lead magnets warm up cold traffic. By nurturing leads with valuable content, you increase the chances they’ll convert into paying customers.
• Provides valuable data: As leads opt-in, you gather crucial information about your audience. This data helps you tailor future marketing efforts for maximum impact.
• Cost-effective marketing: Once set up, a lead magnet funnel works 24/7 to attract and nurture leads automatically. It’s a low-cost way to generate qualified prospects consistently.
• Enhances customer segmentation: Different lead magnets can attract various customer types, allowing you to segment your audience effectively for targeted marketing campaigns.

Want to skyrocket your marketing ROI? A well-designed Lead Magnet Funnel is your secret weapon. It attracts, qualifies, and nurtures leads on autopilot, setting the stage for explosive business growth.

How To Build A Lead Magnet Funnel? (Step-by-Step)

Step #1: Create A Lead Magnet

First, you need to create a Lead Magnet to attract your audience and guide them towards your goal.

In addition to email marketing, many marketers are now leading people to subscribe to their SMS or Facebook Chatbot.

However, I recommend focusing on building your email list.

It’s super easy to manage and cost-effective, and it lets you personalize content based on your subscribers’ interests and behaviors.

We create lead magnets because they build trust by offering free value.

When prospects receive something useful without charge, they’re more likely to seek additional information and eventually become customers.

The FASTEST way to create a lead magnet quickly is through information products. It could be:

• Ebook or whitepaper
• Cheat sheet or checklist
• Video tutorial or webinar
• Template or toolkit

But if you’ve never done it before, it may be SCARY.

You might be thinking, “I don’t even know how to create something”, “How am I going to create a lead magnet?” or “I don’t know how to write a book!”

In fact, creating a lead magnet is not as complicated as it seems.

If you have no idea about creating a lead magnet for your business, don’t worry.

Another way to obtain content is by using PLR (Private Label Rights) content.

This is the simplest method to acquire courses, presentations, reports, ebooks, products, and coaching programs without having to write anything from scratch.

You can download them from websites like Plr.me, rebrand them, give them away as lead magnets, or sell them at any price or place you want.

Register for the PLR Funnels webinar demo here to discover how SIMPLE It Is TO use PLR  and Launch your sales funnel in 15 minutes or less (even if you have little or no marketing skills)

No matter how you build your lead magnet and the format you choose. Keep these important tips in mind:

• Make it useful: Your lead magnet should solve a problem for your target audience. Think about what they need help with.
• Keep it simple: Don’t spend too much time making one perfect lead magnet. Instead, create several quick and easy ones. This way, you can see what your audience likes best.
• Add a hook: Include something interesting that makes people curious. This “hook” will make them want to give you their email address to learn more.
• Address pain points: Most people decide to avoid pain rather than gain pleasure. Focus on how your lead magnet can help solve a problem or make life easier for your audience.
• Create multiple options: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Different lead magnets increase your chances of attracting more people to your email list.

Remember, the goal is to provide value and build trust with your audience. By following these tips, you’ll create lead magnets that people want and find helpful.

Step #2: Build A Squeeze Page: Exchange Lead Magnet For Email Address

A squeeze page is a specialized landing page designed to capture email addresses in exchange for a valuable offer, known as a lead magnet. This page is a gateway, compelling visitors to provide their email addresses to access the desired content.

While pop-ups, like those used by Optinmonster.com, can be effective for email collection, some users may block them by using adblocker extensions.

To overcome this limitation, marketers often drive traffic directly to squeeze pages.

This approach allows for consistent list growth and enables free marketing to capture leads indefinitely.

As traffic costs increased, we evolved the concept into a lead funnel, adding steps after the initial opt-in to recoup ad spend.

This evolution saw the term “squeeze page” gradually replaced by “landing page.”

A key advantage of squeeze pages is their compatibility with tracking tools like Facebook Pixel, which allows you to create re-targeted ads.

This means that you can track the actions of visitors to your page and use that data to retarget them with relevant ads, increasing the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.

There are 6 key elements in a Squeeze Page:

1. Compelling Headline: A direct, relevant, and persuasive statement that clearly communicates the main benefit.
2. Visual Image/Video: An image or video showcasing the lead magnet’s value.
3. Brief Benefits List: A brief outline of key advantages to reinforce the value proposition.
4. Opt-In Form: A short form, ideally requesting only an email address to minimize friction.
5. Call To Action Button: A visually distinct button with action-oriented copy, e.g., “Get My Free Guide.”
6. Social Proof (Optional): Testimonials or user statistics to build credibility.

For optimal results, maintain a clean, focused design with minimal distractions. Use concise, benefit-driven copy throughout. When appropriate, create a sense of urgency or scarcity. Ensure your messaging aligns with your traffic source to maximize conversions.

Step #3: Thank You Page

The thank you page serves a two-fold purpose:

1. Deliver the lead magnet (thereby building trust and providing value)
2. Offer your lead something to buy that will help them (thereby recouping your ad cost and building your list).

Think about it – when someone gives you their email, they’re probably super pumped to get what you promised. It’s like waiting for a package to arrive – the excitement is real!

Here’s a big no-no: Don’t pull a switcheroo on them. Like saying, “Oh, you want that free thing? Buy this first!” That’s a quick way to lose trust, and we don’t want that!

Instead, be a person of your word. Give them exactly what you promised. It’s that simple!

This image shows Digital Marketer’s thank you page for their lead magnet: Facebook Ad Templates. You can download the templates from the email they send. On this page, they invite you to the “Fill Your Funnel Jumpstart Pack” with a discount of up to 93%.

If you’ve just received their lead magnet, you’re likely interested in receiving more valuable information from them.

The offer of a high-value course at an incredibly low price seems like a no-brainer.

Now, if you’ve got something to sell, that’s cool.

But if you don’t? No worries!

You can use this page to invite them to hang out with you elsewhere – like on your podcast, YouTube channel, TikTok, or Facebook. It’s all about making friends and keeping in touch.

Remember, this page is your chance to start a beautiful friendship. So make it count, be genuine, and most importantly, deliver on your promise.

Easy peasy, right?

Step #4. Follow-up Campaign

Now, let’s discuss the final piece of your lead magnet funnel: the follow-up campaign (or follow-up funnel).

Trust me, it’s not as complicated as it sounds!

Think of it as your personal assistant who NEVER sleeps.

This nifty tool automatically sends messages to your new leads, so you don’t have to sit there typing out individual emails or messages all day. Phew!

Here’s how it works:

1. Emails: As soon as someone joins your list, bam! They get a welcome email with their freebie and maybe something extra. Then, they’ll get another friendly message from you every few days. It’s like magic—you set it up once, and it keeps working for you.
2. Facebook Messages: You know how everyone’s always on Facebook? Well, you can chat with your leads there, too! Add a little checkbox on your sign-up form, and you’re in their Messenger and email.
3. Desktop Notifications: Have you ever seen those little pop-ups in your browser? You can use those too! About 20% of people say yes to these, so it’s another way to stay in touch.
4. Retargeting: This is a fancy way of saying “reminding people about you.” If someone visits your page but doesn’t sign up, you can show them ads later to give them another chance.

The cool thing is you can mix and match these methods. The more ways you keep in touch, the better your chances of building a great relationship with your lead and converting them into loyal customers.

Lead Magnet Funnel Examples

1. The Small Business Automation Handbook – Keap

In Keap’s ebook “Small Business Automation Handbook,” you’ll learn how to design your customer journey with intention by collecting and organizing leads, educating and converting clients, and creating loyal customers excited to send you new business.

2. The Ultimate Guide to Social Proof Marketing – Adespresso

With Adespresso’s ebook, you will learn how to use social proof in your business to build trust, validate the buying decision, simplify the decision-making process, and gain the customers you deserve!

3. Magnetic Marketing Bootcamp

Attend the 2-day Fast Implementation Magnetic Marketing Bootcamp. You will learn strategies for maximizing your return on marketing dollars and improving customer satisfaction.

Gain a comprehensive understanding of the Magnetic Marketing System and learn how to effectively implement it in your own business.

Measure Lead Magnet Funnel Success: The Key Metrics

Here are some key metrics to measure the success of a lead magnet funnel:

• Opt-in rate: The percentage of visitors who provide their email address in exchange for your lead magnet. A good opt-in rate is typically 20-40%.
• Cost per lead (CPL): How much you’re spending to acquire each new lead through paid advertising.
• Lead quality: Are the leads you’re generating a good fit for your offers? Track metrics like engagement and sales-qualified leads.
• Revenue per lead: How much revenue each lead generates on average over time.
• Email open rates: The percentage of subscribers who open your follow-up emails. Aim for 20-30% or higher.
• Conversion rate: The percentage of leads who take your desired action (e.g. purchasing a product). Even a 1-2% conversion rate can be profitable.
• Unsubscribe rate: The percentage of subscribers who opt-out. Aim to keep this under 1% per email.

Common Mistakes When You Build Lead Magnet Funnel

1. Treating Lead Magnets As Sales Brochures

Picture this: You’re at a party, and someone walks up to you, immediately launching into a sales pitch about their amazing vacuum cleaner. Annoying, right? That’s exactly how your audience feels when your lead magnet is just a thinly veiled sales brochure.

Here’s the deal:

• Your lead magnet should GIVE value, not ASK for a sale
• Focus on solving ONE specific problem for your audience
• Save the hard sell for later in your funnel

Remember, you’re building trust here. Offer genuinely helpful content, and your audience will be far more likely to stick around and eventually buy from you.

This approach benefits your audience and reduces the workload for your sales team, allowing them to focus on closing deals rather than manual tasks.

2. Lack Of A Clear, Defined Promise

Imagine scrolling through your social media feed and seeing an ad that says, “Download our free guide!”

Your first thought is probably, “Guide to what?” Without a clear, defined promise, your lead magnet is about as appealing as mystery meat in a school cafeteria.

To fix this:

• Be specific about what your lead magnet offers
• Use action-oriented language
• Highlight the key benefit or outcome

For example, instead of “Free Marketing Guide”, try “5-Step Blueprint to Double Your Social Media Followers in 30 Days”. See the difference? It’s clear, specific, and promises a tangible result.

3. Not Understanding The Target Audience

Here’s a hard truth: If you don’t know who you’re talking to, you’re essentially shouting into the void. Many marketers create lead magnets based on what THEY think is valuable rather than what their AUDIENCE needs.

To truly connect with your target audience:

• Research their pain points and desires
• Speak their language (ditch the jargon if they’re beginners)
• Address their specific challenges

Think of it like this:

If you’re selling running shoes, a lead magnet about “10 Tips for Marathon Training” will flop if your audience is mostly casual joggers.

Instead, “5 Easy Ways to Make Your Weekend Run More Enjoyable” might be a hit.

Remember, your lead magnet is like a first date. Make a good impression, offer value, and leave them wanting more. Avoid these common mistakes, and you’ll be well on your way to building a lead magnet funnel that actually works!