In this episode of the Market Your Message show, host Jonathan Milligan reads Chapter 12 of his book 'Launch Your Platform.' The chapter focuses on creating lead magnets—a proven strategy for converting visitors into engaged subscribers. Jonathan recounts the history of shredded wheat's marketing success as an example and offers a detailed four-step process: identifying audience struggles, designing a resource to alleviate those pain points, building an appealing delivery mechanism, and promoting the lead magnet effectively. The episode emphasizes the importance of providing value first and avoiding common mistakes.
00:00 Introduction to the Market Your Message Show 00:44 Chapter 12: Create Your First Lead Magnet 01:26 The Power of Lead Magnets 03:10 Steps to Create a High-Converting Lead Magnet 08:46 Common Mistakes and Key Takeaways 09:35 Day 12 Exercise: Designing Your Lead Magnet
In this episode of the Market Your Message show, host Jonathan Milligan reads Chapter 12 of his book 'Launch Your Platform.' The chapter focuses on creating lead magnets—a proven strategy for converting visitors into engaged subscribers. Jonathan recounts the history of shredded wheat's marketing success as an example and offers a detailed four-step process: identifying audience struggles, designing a resource to alleviate those pain points, building an appealing delivery mechanism, and promoting the lead magnet effectively. The episode emphasizes the importance of providing value first and avoiding common mistakes.
00:00 Introduction to the Market Your Message Show 00:44 Chapter 12: Create Your First Lead Magnet 01:26 The Power of Lead Magnets 03:10 Steps to Create a High-Converting Lead Magnet 08:46 Common Mistakes and Key Takeaways 09:35 Day 12 Exercise: Designing Your Lead Magnet
Hello and welcome to the Market Your Message show. I'm your host, Jonathan Milligan, an author of the Your Message Matters book series. We are currently going through book number two in the series called Launch Your Platform, a 21 day launch plan to build your personal brand and share your story online as a writer, coach or speaker. And as a special thanks to you, my podcast listeners, I'm releasing the audio book. One chapter at a time. If you'd like to grab any of the books in the series, just go to platformgrowthbooks. com. Okay. Let's jump in to today's reading.
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Chapter 12. Day 12. Create your first lead magnet. When shredded wheat biscuits first debuted, they faced an uphill climb. The unusual pillow shaped biscuits were tasty and wholesome. However, sales struggled for over three decades. Henry Perky realized the problem wasn't the product itself, but failing to convince consumers to try it. So, Perky devised a bold giveaway. Miniature cereal boxes filled with shredded wheat as free samples. Getting the biscuits literally into people's hands proved the key to unlocking demand. This ingenious taste and see marketing strategy caused sales to explode after 30 years of obscurity.
Perky's creative sample boxes revealed the immense power of lead magnets for growing an audience.
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By offering something enticing in exchange for contact information, you convince website visitors to give you a chance. Otherwise, they might quickly move on. Over a century after lifting shredded wheat out of obscurity, lead magnets remain among the most proven tools for converting strangers into engaged subscribers. This chapter reveals how to create your first lead magnet and put this age old tactic to work, fueling your business's growth.
We'll cover the core components that go into designing irresistible lead magnets.
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Follow these key steps and you too can craft subscriber giveaways that entice visitors to exchange their emails for your compelling content. Day 12, create your first lead magnet. Many businesses just throw up a pop up or ask visitors to subscribe with no incentive. This superficial approach rarely works without offering value. First, people have no reason to opt in. You end up with a tiny list or buying email addresses through ads. Asking for something without providing value comes across as self serving. People today are bombarded with subscription offers. They've grown numb to generic requests. You need to flip the script and make it about the visitor to stand out. Lead magnets shift the focus to delivering an irresistible resource that solves a problem for your audience. The key is to stop thinking about what you want. Email addresses, sales, etc. Instead, obsess over what your audience needs. How can you make their lives better? This simple mindset shift is essential. Once you commit to over delivering value, everything else falls into place.
Here is a proven four step process for creating high converting lead magnets. Step one, identify one of your audience's main struggles. Research your target audience deeply. You need to understand their world and what keeps them up at night. Talk to real people in your audience. If possible, look for common themes and online groups, analyze the questions they are asking. Identify their top frustrations. Get clear on the specifics of their struggles. Don't just go with a surface level issue. Dig deeper to find their biggest pain points. It's like when Steve Jobs returned to Apple in the late 1990s. At first, it seemed like Apple just needed some new products to get back on track. But as Jobs dug deeper, he realized the real problem was Apple had lost its innovative soul. The company was fragmented and lacked vision. Jobs had to rebuild Apple's culture from the ground up around design and making the best products possible. You need to be an investigative journalist, digging into the real story. Keep asking why until you uncover the root of their struggles. The more painful their problems, the better. Your lead magnet can swoop in as the savior to resolve those issues. Step 2. Design a resource to relieve their pain. Now, create something that will help your audience with that core struggle. It could be a guide, checklist, resource list, video training. The format matters far less than the value you deliver. Aim to over deliver on solutions to their biggest problems. Go above and beyond what they expect. Pack your lead magnet with as much helpful content as possible. You might be thinking, if I give it all away, I won't have anything to sell. First, you will have plenty more to teach people in your paid offerings than you think. Second, think about a lead magnet being the aspirin and the paid product the ongoing prescription. A lead magnet is like a sample dose of aspirin. It provides immediate relief for someone's pain point, but the effects wear off. Your paid products and coaching are more like an ongoing prescription and treatment plan from a doctor. The aspirin sample shows people that you know how to help alleviate their headaches. It builds trust and social proof that you can provide solutions, just like a doctor does when they provide medical advice. and prescription medications for long term health. However, one or two aspirin can only do so much. The headache will inevitably come back until the underlying cause is addressed. That's why people seek out doctors for an expert diagnosis, long term treatment plan, and access to powerful medications. Your paid products give people access to your deepest insights and expertise so they can fully solve their pain points for good. The lead magnet aspirin gives them a glimpse that more powerful solutions are available through working with you, but they need to commit to an ongoing coaching or training program to fully and permanently get rid of those headaches. The lead magnet gets them in the door by establishing you as someone who can help your paid products, seal the deal. They deliver lasting transformation through personal attention. And access to you over time, step three, build the delivery mechanism. You've created an incredibly valuable resource, but the packaging matters tremendously for lead magnet success. An intriguing title that speaks directly to the audience's struggle can pique their interest. The overview copy needs to clearly explain the benefits. So they can't resist signing up. Formatting is key. Make sure it's visually appealing and scannable with bullets, headings, and spacing. Poor design undermines perceived value. As billionaire entrepreneur, Richard Branson said, make something 100 people love, not 1 million people kind of like. Lead magnets work when they delight a niche audience. So polish the delivery for your target demographic. Include only the most essential elements on each page. Remove any fluff. Streamline the experience for fast consumption. Finally, make sure collecting emails is seamless. Don't hide it behind a pop up, embed it elegantly into the download process. The easier you make opting in, the more leads you'll generate. With an irresistible title, compelling copy, and easy opt in, your lead magnet will convert visitors into subscribers all day long. Step four. Showcase your lead magnet prominently. The most effective place to feature your lead magnet is at the front and center of your homepage. Make it obvious right in the prime above the fold space. You want it to catch your site visitors attention immediately. In addition, include links and links. And mentions of the lead magnet in all new content you produce across channels. Add a prominently displayed signup form or link in every blog post, podcast episode, and video you publish. You can also directly offer your lead magnet to fans on social media. For example, ask people to comment on relevant posts if they would like access to your guide. Template, checklist, et cetera. Then DM them the link to sign up, especially focus on connecting with followers who engage most with your content. Finally, you can amplify your reach rapidly by testing Facebook ads targeted to your ideal customer avatar. Promote the lead magnet content itself rather than a generic ad. This allows you to quickly build an email list with those most interested in your solutions. Mistakes that limit results. Here are common lead magnet mistakes to avoid. Creating a generic ebook with basic tips simply to capture emails. Designing something you personally find useful instead of solving your audience's struggle. Sloppy formatting that undermines perceived value. Hiding it behind a popup without showing value upfront. Promoting at the wrong time or place. Always stay laser focused on your audience's needs and provide massive value. Lead magnets work when they provide extreme value. Identify your audience's struggle and create something to alleviate their pain. Follow the four step process to develop a high converting lead magnet. Promote it where your audience actively seeks solutions. Day 12. Exercise. Create your first lead magnet. Make a list of three to five challenges your audience faces. Design two to three potential lead magnets to address those struggles. Draft a title and overview for each one. Review the drafts and select the best option. Use Canva or Google Docs to create a simple PDF. Remember, you can always improve the design later. What matters most is the valuable content. Day 12 Key Takeaways Shift to a value first mindset focused on your audience's needs. Follow the four step process. Identify struggles. Design a solution. Polish packaging. Promote at the right time and place. Lead magnets work when they alleviate audience pain points. Mistakes happen when the value is misaligned with the audience. Iteration and testing are key to optimization.
