I’ve been musing about lead magnets lately and if they are worth while for my business.  My conclusion is NO.

At present if you visit my site there is no email signup to get a download or drip email course, and this is intentional because lead magnets don’t appear to generated much business for me.

What Are lead Magnets

Lead magnets are free giveaways that a site owner gives you in exchange for your email contact details.

The thinking is that the site owner can build up rapport over a period of time, send out email newsletters proving their expertise, it’s all part of the content marketing dance.

Once trust is established you can ask the site visitor for a sale.

What I’ve Tried

Over the years I’ve tried a number of lead magnets including:

• Simple offer to join my newsletter for updates
• Drip campaigns with email training
• Infographics
• Free site checkups
• Ebooks

The take a large initial investment of time to create but I don’t think I’ve had a return on that time investment with the number of signups which convert into client sales..

Who Downloaded My Lead Magnets Most?

Casual site visitors did not result in huge numbers of email signups whatever I tried.

The people who did download my stuff were existing clients, people who come to me for help already not new clients.  That sounds a little bitter when I reread this, I’m more than happy to provide content for free for my clients, but the real aim of a lead magnet is to bring new people into your sales funnel.

The One Lead Magnet That Did Work

Then it occurred to me, the one lead magnet I have, that has worked consistently over time.  As a result I have gone all in on generating contacts via this and dropping lead magnet freebies.

My lead magnet is providing no obligation quotes.

Why I Didn’t See This As  a Lead Magnet

I was not seeing the act of generating a quote as a lead magnet, rather i was seeing it as the start of the sales process, but after some thought it is a type of lead magnet.

I can capture a persons email address, I can provide value to them with a customised email on how I their issue can be fix t and the cost to do that.. This is not scaleable

like a download or a drip email, it needs an individual touch, I get that, but it’s gotten way better results than my infographic.

It is a self qualifying system, if a site visitor is reading my content and would NOT hire a WordPress developer then they are unlikely to make a request. So my time is spent educating real prospects on my process.

This lead magnet has generated over 6000 signups over the years why fix something that is not broken.

How I Get Leads

I’ve recently added a new theme to my site and it’s sole purpose is to funnel people into my “lead magnet”.  My site  has one call to action, ask for a quote.

I funnel people into that lead magnet with the following CTA (call to actions).

• Home page – two calls to action, details of the services I provide.
• Sidebar – get a no obligation quote widget
• In post ads – after X posts there is a link to y quote page
• Blog post footer, I add a link in each post
• Highlighted menu item, top right

All of these drive people to my WordPress Technical Support page where people are offered a no obligation quote, and a small description on how I have fixed issues like this in the past and how I will fix their problem.

If you are reading this via email or RSS come on over to my home page to see this in action.

Wrap Up – My Musings On Lead Magnets

There are people who swear by the lead magnet model and freebie giveaway, but it has not worked for me. What has your experience been of this highly touted approach to marketing, I would love to know in the comments section.

If you need help with your WordPress site, why not signup for my no obligation quote lead magnet, I’ll send you a price and details on how I can fix your site.

Photo Credit: Mario’s Planet Flickr via Compfight cc