20+ Lead Magnet Ideas and Examples

Out of all the strategies you can implement to market your business and build your email list, one of the most effective is to offer a lead magnet.

By definition, a lead magnet is an incentive offered to people, often website visitors, in exchange for their contact information such as their name and email address.

A lead magnet is usually made available through a landing page and its goal is to provide incredible value so that it attracts visitors (hence, the word “magnet”) and captures them as subscribers or leads.

Once you have a list of people who signed up for your lead magnet, you can then email them updates about your business, tell them about your promotions, or simply share helpful information that’ll eventually turn them into customers or clients.

There are several different kinds of lead magnets you can create and offer depending on your business or blog but here are 21 lead magnet examples and ideas to help you start brainstorming.

1. Discount or Coupon Code

One of the most effective ways to encourage a visitor to subscribe is to offer a discount. Since a visitor on a shop page is already interested in shopping, a discount will only sweeten the deal and make sure you’re able to email them about updates and future offers.

Magnolia | Lead Magnet Example

2. Free Shipping or Delivery

Similar to a discount, offering free shipping is also appealing to people because it’s essentially free money. For a visitor who is already interested in purchasing from your shop, it’ll only seem logical to get free shipping too.

H&M | Lead Magnet Example

3. Email Newsletter

Free updates, insider tidbits, or VIP exclusives are attractive to fans of a business particularly if there’s an exclusivity factor. Plus, a lot of people simply don’t want to miss out on news, deals, or offers from their favorite brands.

Anthropologie | Lead Magnet Example

4. Free Trial

Another effective way to encourage people to sign up is to offer a free trial period of a program, software, or app. The idea is to give them a taste of your product or service to not only encourage them to become a customer or client, but also to capture their contact information to stay in touch with them.

Netflix | Lead Magnet Example

5. Quiz or Assessment

It seems people love to know more about themselves so a quiz or an assessment gives a visitor an opportunity to learn something new about themselves and identify with a certain group, category, or label.

Jenna Kutcher | Lead Magnet Example

6. Worksheet or Workbook

A worksheet or workbook is a more practical incentive for people to sign up because they can learn more about a specific topic and “work” through a process. It can also be helpful to have pages they can physically print out that are filled with prompts, questions, or diagrams.

Elle and Company Design | Lead Magnet Example

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7. Workflow or Roadmap

A workflow or roadmap provides a step-by-step outline that guides a subscriber through a complex topic. You can even offer an outline as your free lead magnet and then provide the more detailed how-to as your paid offer.

The Membership Guys | Lead Magnet Example

8. Tutorial

With a tutorial, training, class, masterclass, workshop, or webinar, you can use the power of video to teach or inform your subscribers about a topic in a more in-depth manner.

Depending on which format you use (slideshow with audio, direct-to-camera, or a mix of both), a training can also help build the “know, like, and trust” factor since they’ll see your face, hear your voice, and connect with you on a deeper level.

Entrepreneur On Fire | Lead Magnet Example

9. Course or Mini Course

Compared to a single lesson, a course or mini course includes a series of training lessons that guides subscribers through more complex topics. This type of lead magnet can be used to really show off your expertise and provide incredible value to your subscribers at the same time.

A course or mini course is usually offered through an email sequence with each email sent one day after another or through lesson modules which are made available inside a course platform page or stand-alone gated website.

Smart Passive Income | Lead Magnet Example

10. Challenge

Whether it’s 5 days, 7 days, 30 days, or longer, challenges are highly popular lead magnets especially in the online business space. It can be as simple as giving out a checklist of prompts or a list of tips that subscribers can follow each day. Alternatively, you can make it more elaborate with daily emails, workbooks, video lessons, a giveaway/contest, and a membership/community.

Simple Green Smoothies | Lead Magnet Example

+ Related post: 8 Steps to Create a Challenge (the Simple Way)

11. eBook or Ultimate Guide

Another popular lead magnet is an eBook or ultimate guide. With this content format, you can provide massive value to your subscribers through in-depth explanations and strong visuals that inform, teach, or entertain them about a topic.

A Pair and a Spare | Lead Magnet Example

+ Related post: 8 Steps to Grow Your Email List Fast with an Ebook Lead Magnet

12. Report

Reports also provide incredible value to subscribers since it contains information that you can seldom find elsewhere or can be difficult to put together. You can create and share a report about industry trends, noteworthy statistics, or even your company’s performance.

Convertkit | Lead Magnet Example

13. Checklist, Cheatsheet, or Roundup

Another popular lead magnet is a checklist, cheatsheet, or roundup since it’s an itemized breakdown about a topic and it’s easy to digest or implement. You can create one about almost anything such as tips, tools, resources, items, ideas, activities, prompts, quotes, or questions.

Productive and Free | Lead Magnet Example

14. Template, Script, or Swipe File

To help your subscribers save time or overcome something they’re struggling with (ex. copywriting or design), you can offer templates, scripts, or swipe files as your lead magnet.

These provide quick win for them since it’s all “done-for-you” and they can immediately customize it, implement it, and get results. Common examples are email scripts, social media graphics, planning printables, and brand collateral.

Betty Means Business | Lead Magnet Example

15. Spreadsheet

Similar to templates, spreadsheets are also valuable lead magnets because these are quick and easy “plug-and-play” solutions for data. You can offer spreadsheets to subscribers looking to organize, track, or calculate specific data using a CSV file, Google Sheets, Ms Excel, or Numbers.

HubSpot | Lead Magnet Example

16. Access to a Resource Library

If you find yourself creating multiple lead magnets and content upgrades for your business, you could just offer them all in one place by creating a resource library.

You would typically create a password-protected page on your website and simply send the password to the subscriber upon signing up.

Not only will this massive amount of freebies appeal to your subscribers, but you would also benefit from increased page views since they would keep returning to your website to access all of the content.

Just a Girl and Her Blog | Lead Magnet Example

17. Access to a Community

If you’re interested in building a community around your business, you could offer access to a community, group, or membership as a lead magnet.

Not only will this create exclusivity but you’ll also be able to more closely monitor the activity within the group compared to a group that is immediately open to everyone. On top of the community aspect, you could also offer resources that only members of that group have access to.

Copyblogger | Lead Magnet Example

18. Access to an Online Summit or Event

This is an appealing lead magnet because of how timely, focused, and exclusive an online summit or event is. Subscribers can typically hear from a panel of experts, get discounts from sponsors, and take advantage of an opportunity to network with other people in the same industry.

19. Waiting List

A straightforward way to get leads is to create a waiting list of people looking to join your program, buy your product, or book your services.

You can use a waiting list not only to gauge interest in an offer, but also to generate hype and exclusivity for when you launch.

Marie Forleo’s B-School | Lead Magnet Example

20. Recipes

If your business revolves around food or the food industry, recipes can prove to be an appealing lead magnet especially since a visitor on your site is already interested in food, cooking, or eating anyway.

Epicurious | Lead Magnet Example

21. Design Assets

Since design is an integral part of branding and marketing, there’ll always be a demand for high-quality design assets and branding elements especially if they’re free. Some examples include photos, fonts, graphics, templates, and themes.

Creative Market | Lead Magnet Example

Conclusion

Offering a valuable lead magnet is one of the most effective things you can do to grow your business. Depending on your goals and what your target audience is most interested in, consider these 21 lead magnet examples and ideas to market your business and build your email list.

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