5 steps to creating magnets for generating leads online

The lead magnet is the most important part of the online lead generation or list-building process.

Without a great lead magnet, it’s challenging to start or grow the most important part of your business: your contact list.

So what is a lead magnet?

Very simply, it’s an irresistible bribe that gives a specific piece of value to a prospect in exchange for their contact information, which is usually their name and email address.

What’s the only goal of the lead magnet?

The goal of the lead magnet is simple: convert traffic into leads.

The great thing about lead magnets is that they’re fun to create and force you to really get inside the mind of your prospect.

Here are the steps to get going with your lead magnet:

1. Know your target audience

To create an effective lead magnet, you have to know what challenges your clients have or will encounter somewhere along the homebuying or selling process.

It’s easy to waste precious digital ad dollars and doubt the effectiveness of lead magnets if you don’t laser focus your effort at this step.

Here’s a list of the top market segments that real estate agents are currently targeting with their digital marketing dollars.

• First-time homebuyers
• Homeowners moving up
• Homeowners scaling back
• Luxury homebuyers
• Facebook users with a divorced relationship status

2. Make a big promise

Now that you have identified your target market, your ability to generate leads is directly tied to the promise you make.

• You must attempt to enter a conversation that’s already going on in the mind of your prospects
• What are their concerns, fears and problems?
• What is the one big promise you can make and deliver on?

As a real estate agent, you have the ability to add real value to their life.

Let’s review an example we created for one of our agents, who had a 62-year-old couple that wanted to buy a lakefront property in Northern Michigan on Torch Lake.

At the time, prospective buyers were concerned that property values were still going down in Northern Michigan.

As a result, the lead magnet promise would go something like this:

“This two-page detailed Northern Michigan lake front property report will list four of the most sought-after areas that have seen an increase in home value.

The report includes links to our 3-D virtual home tours, which also feature audio descriptions of these lake front areas with pros and cons listed for each one.”

Your ability to generate leads with a lead magnet is directly tied to your promise.

You know what they don’t, and they’ll be happy to give you their contact information if you’re giving them tremendous stand-alone value with your lead magnet.

3. Create ultra-specific lead magnets that are easily consumed

The lead magnet must be easily consumable, and because it’s most likely your first interaction with the prospect, your lead magnet must also be ultra-specific.

You can’t offer a 200-page book or a seven-day course on homebuying or selling vacation properties.

Think more along the lines of a two-page PDF that has checklists and bullet points that provide instant gratification.

This lead magnet should also have your logo, head shot and contact information along with links back to other relevant content on your blog or Facebook page.

It should also contain linked social media images to make it super simple to share the lead magnet with friends and family members. One lead can become multiple leads, which is the essence of list building and generating your own prospects.

4. Acceptable lead magnet formats

Once you have identified your target audience and made a big promise to them, it’s time to deliver the magnet.

There are several effective delivery formats. Here’s a few of our agents’ favorites:

• Cheat sheets
• Blueprints
• Video training
• Quiz or survey with a valuable giveaway
• Handouts
• Specific neighborhood buying guides
• Specific property type selling guides

The best lead magnets will never be vague or general. They have to be laser-focused and offer a hyper-specific solution to a known buying or selling challenge.

As Ty Webb (Chevy Chase) told his caddy, Danny, in “Caddy Shack,” “Let me give you a little advice … be the ball.”

Know your client, deliver highly valuable and easily consumable lead magnets, and prospects will beat a path on to your list.

To help you do that, I’ve created a “7-point lead magnet checklist,” and you can download that here.

Blaise Dietz is the co-founder of US Agent Coach. Follow him in Facebook and Twitter.

Email Blaise Dietz.