The 5 Key Ingredients of Your Lead Magnet Optin Page

Every online coaching business should have a lead magnet. It is the primary way you will grow your email subscriber list. Gone are the days when someone will just sign up for your newsletter list. There has to be an incentive for someone to want to follow you and/or want to learn more from you. Over the last seven years, we have created eight different lead magnets, some of which have worked and some that haven’t. We are currently testing four different lead magnets right now to generate leads.

So What is a Lead Magnet?

Essentially, a lead magnet is a value packed piece of content that is given away for free, in exchange for your prospect’s email address. It is designed to showcase your expertise and give your ideal clients an introduction to your work, your personality, and the transformation they can expect to receive from you.

The online coaching world is saturated with lead magnets so it is important to be clever and unique when crafting your lead magnet strategy. Here are a few important tips to follow when deciding what to use for your lead magnet.

1. Make sure your lead magnet can be built as a funnel that leads to one of your coaching offers.

For instance, one of our lead magnets is “7 Mistakes Coaches Make When Launching Their Offer (And How to Fix Them)” and this lead magnet introduces our launch management services. Don’t make the mistake of choosing a random lead magnet that has nothing to do with your actual coaching offer. Your lead magnet is your top of funnel offer and should lead your prospects on a journey to your paid offer.

2. Pack with value.

Your prospects don’t want some piece of content that they can get anywhere from Google. Old lead magnets were short little checklists. Today your clients are wanting more bang for their email address. One of our clients recorded a valuable 30 minute webinar to help her clients overcome speaker anxiety. Another client is giving away the entire first chapter of her book.

3. Consider a low-ticket paid resource.

If you have put a lot of work into your lead magnet, there is nothing wrong with charging for your expertise. Consider a $4.95 ebook, a $27 masterclass or even a $1 cheatsheet. When people actually take the time to pull out their wallets and pay for value, they are normally more invested in the transformation.

4. Be unique and engage your prospects with something they haven’t seen before.

I agree there is just about every kind of lead magnet out there. But do some research on your target audience and find a unique angle that others aren’t using. Recently one of my clients introduced a 5-day story challenge – 5 stories on 5 themes in 5 days. It was wildly popular and brought in 2045 new email leads.

The Purpose of Your Lead Magnet Optin Page

Once you’ve decided what your lead magnet is going to be, you will need a page on your website or funnel software that can allow your ideal clients to sign up for your content with their email address.

Sometimes coaches will use simple pop-ups on their website, but I always recommend having an actual landing page to which you can drive organic and paid traffic.

There is nothing wrong with advertising graphics for your lead magnet on your website. As a matter of fact, I highly recommend it. We use graphics at the end of every blog post that links to our lead magnet optin pages. In addition, it is quite common to showcase your lead magnet right underneath your hero section on your homepage.

Here’s an example of an advertising graphic. Note that the CTA buttons lead directly to the lead magnet optin page.

The 5 Key Ingredients for Your Optin Page

When designing your optin page, there are five main ingredients you should include. This is not a page that should contain an abundance of information. The purpose of this page is to give your subscribers enough information to make a decision about whether or not this is a resource they are interested in. But not so much information that they feel overwhelmed.

1. Headline / Subheadline:

You have three seconds to convince your audience that you are going to provide the transformation they want. Your headline is the most prominent and important ingredient to get right. What is the struggle your ideal clients are having and how will this benefit them? Here are some examples of great headlines:

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2. Email optin box:

There must be a place for your users to enter their first name and email address. This optin box is connected to your email marketing software and should automatically capture the email address and auto generate an email welcome series that delivers your lead magnet, while also introducing who you are to your new subscribers.

3. A Photo of Your Lead Magnet:

A picture is everything. It helps your subscribers associate something tangible in a digital world. Make sure the photo is branded and represents what they are going to receive. Here are photos we use for our lead magnets.

4. Benefits of Your Lead Magnet:

Your benefit statements are typically 3-4 outcomes your audience will receive if they actually use your lead magnet. Remember, this is not your “features” (what is inside) but the actual transformations your clients can expect. Study these lead magnet optin pages for examples of benefit driven statements.

5. Your Bio:

Don’t forget this valuable ingredient. Remember, people are often landing on your optin page from some other resource: a social post, an ad, a blog post, a video, etc. They don’t normally have much information about you at this point. You want to build credibility by sharing a bit about yourself. It doesn’t have to be long, but it does need to prove to your audience that you have the expertise to provide them with this value packed piece of content.

So, if you don’t currently have a lead magnet for your coaching business, now is the time to create one. Your email list (not your social following) is your most valuable asset and the only way to build a list of leads is through an effective lead magnet.

Need help strategizing on and setting up your lead magnet funnel? At Amazing OBM, we specialize in funnel building and growing your email list. Reach out for a free consultation and let’s talk about how to get you more leads.

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