How to choose the right lead magnet

Also: The typical B2B website experience

Marketing Qualified
March 22, 2024

Welcome back to Marketing Qualified. We hope you’ve had a fantastic week (we have)! Here are today’s topics:

How to choose the right lead magnet. The different types and the pros and cons of each.
The typical B2B website experience. Want to win? Stop making your website visitors suffer!

🧲 How to choose the right lead magnet.

Lead magnets (aka free content pieces) are a great way to generate top of funnel leads. But choosing the right one and serving it up at the right moment is crucial.

There are pros and cons to each type.

Here’s a breakdown to help you choose the right lead magnet for your next campaign.

1. Template

You provide templates to help solve specific problems, such as pitch deck templates or social media post templates.

Pros

High perceived value. People feel like you’re letting them in on your secrets.
Scalable.

Cons

Templates don’t work for every possible use case. This could cause trust issues with customers.
It adds work to your customers' plates. They must fill in the blanks and complete the template.

2. eBook

Writing an eBook allows you to go deep on a specific topic.

Pros

Popular.
Helps you build authority.

Cons

A lot of research/work.
It takes a long time to create.
Overused. It’s difficult to get noticed.

3. Report/white paper

Your chance to provide proprietary information or data.

Pros

Helps you build authority.
High barrier to entry.
Hard to steal/replicate.

Cons

Take a long time to create.
People generally only skim them.

4. Webinar

Your chance to educate while also showing personality.

Pros

You can directly interact with attendees.
You get the opportunity to pitch people at the end.

Cons

High no-show rate.
Attendees are usually multitasking.
Overused. It’s difficult to get noticed.

5. Email/video series

A mini-course on a specific topic delivered over multiple days.

Pros

Opportunity for many touchpoints.
Scalable.

Cons

Engagement rate. Subject lines and content need to be rock solid. Otherwise, people will ignore it.

6. Free Audit

You analyze your prospect and provide a 1-to-1 piece of custom content.

Pros

Builds trust.
Puts you in direct contact with the prospect. This helps foster a deeper relationship.

Cons

Not scalable!

📰 In the news this week.

⚙️ Meta is forcing expanded audiences for top of funnel optimization.

👍 Tips for conducting a sentiment analysis on social media.

⚠️ Using the 404 page to boost your brand (with examples).

🤝 Here's the best time to hold a meeting.

💰 LinkedIn now allows brands to sponsor any organic post.

😤 The typical B2B website experience.

Here’s the typical experience users have when visiting a B2B website these days:

Land on the homepage.
Grumpily accept all cookies.
Close the chatbot popup.
Dismiss the browser request to see their location.
Read the confusing jargon-filled headline.
Ignore the email signup.
Angrily click “X” on the post-scroll content download pop-up.
Try to remember why they’re there in the first place.
Close out of the browser tab and visit a competitor’s site instead.

If your website feels like this, guess what? You’re missing out on sales!

Stop trying to force visitors to give their personal information before they know anything about you. Stop holding visitors hostage. Stop shoving things in their face. Stop writing a lot of words that don’t actually say anything.

Instead, provide visitors with a great user experience. Explain what you do and why they should care in straightforward language.

Don’t try to force things. Let visitors come to you seeking out the next steps in the buying process.

😂 Marketing meme of the week.

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