A lead magnet is an incentive that marketers offer to potential buyers in exchange for their email address, or other contact information.

Successful lead magnets solve a problem for your potential customers. When someone is debating whether or not to sign up for your email list, or give you their contact information, they really an incentive they can’t refuse. Offering information, tips and tricks, webinars, ebooks, etc. are great incentives, but be sure they’re valuable and worth your consumer’s time.

Promote Your Incentive

Simply posting a link for customers to leave your their contact information on your Facebook page, won’t get you very far. Instead, promote your incentive. Make sure people know that there is an incentive and something to be offered in exchange for their email address. You can promote this by creating Facebook ads and targeting your audience, posting about your incentive on all of your social outlets, and letting your customers know after each job or service is completed.

Make your incentive an offer they can’t refuse. For example, let them know that in exchange for their email address/contact information, you will provide them with weekly tips for reducing their electric bill, or monthly specials on your carpet cleaning services, etc. Be sure your incentive is worth their time, and then promote!

Make it Relevant

Entrepreneur.com tells us, “Lead magnets must be relevant to your business, products, or services as well as to your target audience, or they won’t attract qualified prospects.” For example, if you are a maid service, offering a free iphone for signing up might not be relevant for your business. Sure, you’ll have several people sign up to receive their one-time free gift. Since the gift wasn’t relevant to maid services, they’ll most likely unsubscribe shortly after, without ever using your business.

Be sure your incentive is directly relevant to your business or industry, so you’re getting opt-ins that are potential customers and could be very valuable to your business. If you’re choosing to offer a one-time gift instead of weekly or monthly incentives that are free to your business, that’s just fine. Be sure your gift is relevant: if you are an HVAC company, maybe your gift could be a free space heater, or something that is in line with your business. Be creative!

Offer Value

Nobody wants to give out their contact information with nothing in return. Offering value to your potential opt-ins ensures your promoting will be worth your time. You want to get several new consumers to sign up for your email list, so be sure your incentive is valuable to them. Honestly, most people won’t be willing to give out their contact information in exchange for something small like a new mug, or an article about central air, right?

Be creative and make sure you come up with an incentive that is valuable, relevant and that you are able to easily promote in order to gain more contact information from potential customers.

For more insights on marketing strategy that actually works for small business, subscribe to the FreshLime Newsletter here. Connect with Jay Bean, Founder of FreshLime and Small Business Marketing Expert on LinkedIn and Twitter. And last of all, if any of these tips have helped you or if you have anything to add please comment below. We’d love to hear from you!