laneimageconsulting| Create a simple freebie to get your email list full of potential dream clients |
| Let’s start at the beginning. |
| What is a lead magnet, and why do you need one? If you’ve been in business for any length of time, you should set up an email list so that you’re not solely reliant on your social media accounts to bring in paying clients. We’ve all seen recent social media outages that have made it impossible for people to post to their accounts and communicate with their audience, meaning sales are negatively affected.The likes of Facebook, LinkedIn and friends are so big they can do what they want. They can decide on a whim to shut down your accounts or introduce charges, so you have to pay to play. Putting all your eggs into one social media basket is not sustainable in the long term. That’s why I suggest that you also build an email list by creating a lead magnet.A lead magnet is a freebie that you design and make available to potential clients in exchange for their email addresses. You usually have a space for people to sign up for your newsletter on your website, and in return, they receive the freebie as a download. If you don’t have a website yet, you can create a landing page where people can sign up and get the download instead. All you need is one piece of software, Mailerlite, that’s completely free to use until you have 1,000 people signed up or are sending out over 12,000 emails every month. There are some common mistakes that stylists make when creating lead magnets. |
| 1) Lead magnets that are too generic I fell into this trap when I created my first lead magnet on ‘how to weed out your wardrobe’. It could apply to ANYONE. It’s also the same thing I see so many other stylists creating. The result was I got no one signing up. 😥As I explained in last week’s newsletter, we’re operating in a red ocean as image consultants and personal stylists. There are thousands of others all doing the same thing, and so to find a steady stream of clients, we must stand out and do our marketing differently. That includes when we create lead magnets too.It’s all about getting super-specific. You need to know exactly what your ideal client wants and needs and create a lead magnet that delivers a quick win for them.A style personality quiz is another freebie that I see all the time. OK, maybe you will get some sign-ups with this one because many people are interested in learning about style, but how many of these people have more than just passing curiosity? When you create a lead magnet, you want to attract the attention of people with much more than random, casual interest. You want to find the people with the specific problem that you can solve and get them to stick around and read your emails, not unsubscribe as soon as they’ve got the quiz results.If your lead magnet is too generic, that’s precisely what will happen. People will lose interest and unsubscribe; then, your mind monkeys will kick in. You’ll feel bad because people are unsubscribing. You’ll doubt whether your newsletters are any good and not want to bother anyone, so stop sending them altogether.Focusing on your ideal client’s needs and creating something specifically for them ensures that everyone you get on your list wants to be there, stays there, and keeps your mindset strong and positive. It’s a win-win!If you haven’t done it already, take my ideal client challenge. Then take a look at your social media posts. Which ones get the best engagement from your ideal clients? Are there any patterns that give you clues on the type of freebie that you can create to help them? |
| 2) Lead magnets that encourage people to buy services you don’t really want to offer We’ve all offered (or sometimes still offer) at least one service that we don’t like as much as others. I used to provide wardrobe edits, but being honest with you, I didn’t enjoy them. I thought they were a real pain! So, why then did I create a lead magnet that related to them? 🤷♀️🤷♀️🤷♀️If there is a service that you don’t enjoy offering, don’t create a lead magnet that links to it! Why would you continue trying to sell something you don’t love? I know it’s easy for me to say that when I don’t struggle to find clients anymore, but the more you focus on things you don’t enjoy, the harder your work becomes and the harder it is to keep up your efforts to find clients.If you stop with the energy-sapping work, concentrate on what truly makes your soul sing and create lead magnets that tie in with it, then your work will be a joy and effortless to market. Stopping the stuff you don’t enjoy also leaves you open to more of the work you do enjoy coming in to take its place. |
| 3) Lead magnets that are too long or complicated Everybody is pushed for time these days. Attention spans are low, and so people don’t want solutions to be long and complicated. Besides, you don’t have the time to spend recreating War and Peace when you’ve got many other businesses activities to do and clients to support! Keep your lead magnet short, simple and easy to read. |
| 4) Thinking that lead magnets will bring instant sales Wouldn’t that be lovely?! Sadly, it’s just a dream.People rarely, if ever, make a purchase as soon as they’ve downloaded your lead magnet. It’s widely reported that you need seven different touchpoints with a lead before they become a paying client. Therefore, a lead magnet is just a small part of your overall marketing strategy, which is a long game.When people sign up to your mailing list to download your freebie, they’re permitting you to keep in touch with them. The purpose of a lead magnet is to widen your audience, attracting new people. Regularly emailing your list helps nurture relationships, and as people get to know, like, and trust you, they will ultimately buy from you. |
| OK, so now you know about some of the things to avoid when creating your lead magnet. If you want my step-by-step guidance as you create your own simple, unique lead magnet, sign up for my Lead Magnet Challenge now. We start on 30 November, and after three days in the challenge group, your lead magnet will be ready for sharing with your ideal client. Numbers are limited so I can give in-depth support, so be quick! |
