The Best Lead Magnets for Beginner Knowledge-Based Business Owners
Discover the best lead magnets for new knowledge-based business owners that will help you grow your email list, learn about your audience, and sell more of your offers.
There are so many different types of lead magnets out there: digital downloads, pdfs, roadmaps, mini-courses, free workshops/classes, webinars, challenges, etc.
When you are first starting your online knowledge-based business, it can be a challenge to find your people and get them to trust you enough to give you their email address. Especially, if they have never heard of you.
That is why you need an attractive lead magnet that will get absolute strangers to say yes to you and join your email newsletter.
“I can send emails to specific personality types in the format that they would best receive it! This is gold!”
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What do strangers look for in a lead magnet or freebie?
I can tell you what attracts me and gets me to give my email address to perfect strangers:
I will always say yes to a lead magnet that speaks to me and my problems directly. The more niche the freebie, the better!
I will also say yes to lead magnets that won’t take me a lot of time or effort to consume.
And finally, I will say yes to any template that lets me get a sneak peek into someone else’s life, job, or business.
I’ve identified three lead magnet types that I’ve used in my own business (or have experienced consuming from someone else) that are perfect for business owners who are just getting started or just beginning to put effort into growing their email list.
#1 A personality quiz
People love personality quizzes. Remember BuzzFeed? That was their whole thing!
“Which classic ice cream flavor are you?”
“Which Disney princess are you?”
“Which interior design style matches your personality?”
Also, most of the people in your audience or the people who will want to learn from you and your knowledge-based business are very much into personal development and self-awareness.
Like me! 🙋🏾♀️
Yes; I know my enneagram (5), Myers-Briggs (INFJ), Clifton Strengths (Maximizer), and DISC (Conscientious) results. And if you know of another assessment, send it my way!
So, when I learned from Linda Sidhu on the Cubicle to CEO podcast hosted by Ellen Yin that I could create a personality quiz for my business, I was sold!
I worked with Linda in her Quiz Lab program to create my very first quiz, The Academic Entrepreneur’s Personality Quiz to help academic side hustlers use their academic teaching style as an asset in their business and the results were epic:
People were beyond excited to sign up! (Yay for more email list subscribers and qualified leads!)
People who take my quiz go through my super chill (not pressure-y) sales funnel that sells my Semester-Proof Business Course. (Yay for more sales!)
Through the email sequence that Linda helped me create, my audience was able to learn more about me and my business. (Yay for building know, like, and trust!)
I learned so much about my audience. In the quiz, I integrated market research questions. So now I know exactly what my audience is struggling with and how to help them.
I know my audience’s personality types (based on the DISC assessment) as well as how they make buying decisions. So I can send emails to specific personality types in the format that they would best receive it! This is gold!
This is why quizzes are on the top of my list for the best lead magnet for a beginner knowledge-based business owners.
Now, I will be transparent and let you know that I don’t believe that I could have built such an amazing quiz on my own. There was way more strategy behind the process than I initially realized.
So, if you decide to create a quiz for your lead magnet, you can definitely do it on your own! However, I would recommend learning from an expert like Linda. She will either create the quiz for you through her done-for-you service or she’ll walk you through the process step by step in her Quiz Lab program.
If you’re curious about my Quiz Lab experience, check out my case study for the program.
Learn more about how to use personality quizzes in Linda’s episode of the Cubicle to CEO podcast!
#2 A template or swipe file
I have said “yes” to so many templates and swipe files! Mostly because I’m curious about how other people are doing what I’m doing or what I aspire to do.
The key: The more specific the template/swipe file the better!
Here are some examples of templates that I’ve used as a lead magnet as well as examples that I’ve signed up for or paid for:
Grad School Toolkit - a set of Trello templates designed to help grad students stay organized and productive
Perfect Podcast Pitch - a plug and play podcast pitch template that helps you get interviewed on podcasts (This is a paid offer.)
Social Media Content Calendar - a Trello board template to help you plan and organize your social media content
I really like this option as a first lead magnet because it’s so easy to create. You likely already have it created and are using it for yourself.
So think about who you are and how you connect with your audience. Is there something you’ve mastered that they’d love to get a sneak peek of?
Create a template for it or give them the exact document that you use. Also, you might be tempted to sell it. If it’s super juicy and valuable; you can always sell it. But if your goal is to get people on your email list to sell a bigger offer; you might want to give it away for free (aka in exchange for email addresses).
#3 An email course or challenge
I love this option! Especially if your people are readers and perhaps are slow action-takers when it comes to making a buying decision.
An email course or email challenge is a great way to show off your teaching style and give your potential clients and customers a quick win at their own pace.
The nice thing about emails is that your people can revisit the content whenever they want through the search feature in Gmail.
Pro-Tip: Create some accountability so that your future clients actually finish your email course or challenge. Maybe they could submit their results to you to be registered for a group call to learn more about your bigger offer.
Here are some examples of email courses and challenges as lead magnets:
The Well-Paid Thought Leader - a monthly newsletter and discussion series for people who want to support their thought leadership with income each month
Commit to Knit - a 30-day mindful knitting challenge to beat stress and cultivate calm
Jump Start into Beauty Supply Challenge - a 5-day challenge for aspiring beauty supply store owners
Ready to start building your email list?
To start building your email list with a lead magnet, you need an email management tool. My favorite is Covertkit. Please note that I am an affiliate for Convertkit, so at no additional cost to you, I will receive a small commission for referring anyone to a paid Convertkit plan.
I love how Convertkit makes it so easy to create offers for free or to sell them. As well as email the people who have signed up for your freebies and digital products within the same platform with a click of a button.
Convertkit has also written a blog post sharing 11 lead magnets examples created on their platform that their users have built to grow their email list.
I’ve used Convertkit since I first started my business in 2017 back when they didn’t haven’t free or inexpensive plans. Now you can use Convertkit for free with my affiliate link!
What is going to be your first (or next) lead magnet to build your email list with more qualified leads and bring in more sales for your business?
