How to Create a Lead Magnet PDF in 5 Steps (+ Templates)
Lead generation is the process of engaging potential customers and nurturing them so you can turn them into customers. A lead magnet strengthens your lead generation process while helping you to get valuable information about potential leads and engage them in a way that they will buy from you.
A lead magnet is a PDF or other type of downloadable content that you offer to your subscribers in exchange for their contact information.
In this article, we’ll show you how to create a lead magnet PDF in five steps. Make sure you stick to the end, we have some great templates for you.
What Is A Lead Magnet, and Why Do You Need One
A lead magnet is a tool that you use in your marketing strategy to collect information about potential customers in exchange for providing value. A lead magnet could be a worksheet, white papers, a guide, an eBook, a checklist, a template, trial subscriptions, email newsletters, a product demo video, etc.
The lead magnet should solve a problem or meet a need that your target audience has. It convinces your audience to give you their contact information.
How to Create A Lead Magnet PDF In 5 Steps
Follow this 5 steps guide to create a lead magnet that engages your potential or current customers.
Step 1: Plan Your Lead Magnet
Identify your goals, first
Every inbound lead generation strategy needs well-defined goals. Work on identifying the goals that you want to achieve with your lead magnet.
The first step to planning your lead magnet is to identify your goals. The goals could be improving brand awareness, growing your email list, increasing customer engagement, introducing a new product, etc.
Other reasons could be acquiring backlinks or increasing brand identity.
Work through the customer pain points as you plan your lead magnet. This will allow you to deliver exactly what your customers look for.
Once you identify your goals, work on the customer persona
Work on the customer persona for the specific lead magnet you are launching. For example, if you have a baby product, the first step is to identify which mothers would be likely to buy the product. If you have an upcoming Black Friday sale, identify what the mothers would like to purchase during Black Friday. Some of the deals they might be interested in could be any of the following;
- Car seat deals
- Stroller deals
- Baby monitor deals
- Baby care deals
- Toy and book deals
But not all mums would be interested, but those who are new moms, or those who are expecting. Thus your specific target audience would be;
- New moms
- Expected moms
- Moms with kids under 5 years of age
The other elements would be their age, income level, likes, dislikes, etc. Mothers with low income might want to purchase pre-loved items, and high-income household mothers would choose to buy new ones. So, be cautious and fine-tune the minor details about your specific target audience.
Format & topic
Choosing the right format and topic is essential for the success of lead management. Do thorough research to finalize the topic, because it can make or break your lead magnet.
Some of the popular lead magnet formats are;
- Whitepaper
- Webinar
- eBook
- Templates
- Product Samples or Trials
- Evaluation
- Real-World Evaluation
- Training Videos
Once you do that, create a lead magnet that will help this specific segment of mothers. A lead magnet could be,
- A guide about how to get the baby dressed for winter
- A webinar around how to keep baby warm in winters
- An eBook about how to quickly put your baby to sleep
- A video about how to keep your baby warm all winter
- A newsletter about your baby’s first winters
- A checklist around cozy baby outfit ideas to keep your baby warm during winters
Step 2: Write the Content
A nicely created lead magnet that contains poor content, or has fluff will never drive engagements. And, therefore it’s important to add content that provides value or knowledge to the customers. You can use it to create content for any topic that covers the above-mentioned aspects, for instance, you may use it for the structuring of custom boxes.
Here are the steps involved in creating content that ensures higher engagement and conversions.
Outline
An outline is crucial. It gives you a roadmap for what you wish to create in your lead magnet. Start with creating an outline, and be specific about what you want to achieve. This is important to keep the focus and stay consistent throughout your lead magnet.
As you create the outline, divide the content into headings, subheadings, and bullet points. It will be easier for the reader to skim through the content and decide if it’s valuable for them.
- Headline – Headlines should be to the point and catchy.
- Subheadings – Elaborate your subheadings in a concise, and short text.
- Images – Add images to give your content a visual outlook. Remember, great visuals are 60,000 times easier to digest than plain text.
- Data – This works particularly if you have a professional audience. Professional audiences tend to rely on data in the decision-making process.
For example, if you are addressing marketers, creating an eBook about ‘5 statistics that show visuals are a must for your marketing strategy,” will work wonders.
- Repurpose your content – A great way to save your time when creating a lead magnet is to repurpose your existing blog posts, it will make the process a lot easier.
- CTA – A call to action in your lead magnet helps the prospect to move ahead in your sales funnel easily. You can add more than a single CTAs to your lead magnet based on its type and format.
Step 3: Design Your Lead Magnet
As you design your lead magnet, pay attention to the various prospects including its color, font of the text, design, and other visuals.
Color psychology plays a crucial role in designing your lead magnet. Here’s a rundown of the various roles of each color.
- Red – It is considered the most powerful color, thus it has a dominant positioning in the market.
- Blue – Blue shows your brand is trustworthy, it gives your customers a softer image of your business.
- Pink – Pink is a sign of excitement and boldness. It sends more of a feminine vibe. The brand that targets women and females of all ages could use this color wisely.
- Green – It represents good health and the environment. Green color gives a pleasing, warm, and inviting feeling.
- Black – Black is a sign of power and elegance, and it gives your brand a bold outlook.
Choose a software
Once you choose the brand colors, it’s time to design your lead magnet.
To make the process easier, you can choose software like Visme. It is an all-in-one tool kit that has different color combinations and drag-and-drop options to create your visuals for the lead magnet. With a visual tool like this, you don’t have to hire a graphic designer. Create attractive visuals to make it interactive, because it’s key to the success of your lead magnet.
Step 4: Download in PDF Format
Your design is ready, and it’s time to get it in the viable format you choose.
Often lead magnets are in PDF format. For example, a worksheet, a guide, or a whitepaper in a PDF format is easy to distribute without altering its specific features. Once you design your lead magnet is ready to go, download it in a PDF format.
Step 5: Distribute & Promote
Leverage all your marketing channels to make the most of your lead magnet. You can distribute and promote to your network, email list, or subscribers. You can also set up your email marketing tools and follow up with your leads. Data proves that if you follow up with a lead within 24 hours, there is a 7x higher chance of a conversion.
Once your lead magnet is ready, you can place it on,
- Landing page
- Homepage
- Email newsletter
- Social media pages
Lead Magnet Templates
The following templates will help you design lead magnets with easy drag-and-drop options and with less effort.
Worksheet – Lead Magnet Template
This worksheet lead magnet is helpful if you have a mobile application development business. It will provide knowledge about your application development services to your target audience.
HR Management Guide – Lead Magnet Template
Use this lead magnet to engage your employees at your organization, and make them feel at home.
Planner – Lead Magnet Template
It will help your clients to plan their social media marketing or social media strategy.
Business Guide – Lead Magnet Template
You can use this lead magnet to help your customers with any business plans that they might have.
Industry Statistics – Lead Magnet Template
Use this template to promote industry-related statistics among your target audience.
Final thoughts
If you don’t have a lead magnet, you’re missing out on a significant opportunity to grow your email list or collect valuable information about your target audience.
A lead magnet will help you quickly and easily grow your list by incentivizing people to sign up to collect personal details that will help you make major business decisions.
You can use templates that are customizable and packed with features to kick-start your lead magnet strategy.
Further reading