No one really wants your lead magnet.
Here’s what they really want instead.
Have you ever visited a website for the first time, maybe found out about a newsletter that sounded interesting, or went to check out a new music artist you’ve been meaning learn more about — only to be met with the ubiquitous “freebie exchange”, aka “lead magnet”?
If you haven’t been exposed to this particular phrase, let me fill you in.
“Lead magnet” is a marketing term for an item or service that a person or business offers potential customers/contacts in exchange for their email address.
What the lead magnet is supposed to do is provide some measure of value in exchange for that all too valuable email address, so that visitors and new subscribers get something upfront and don’t feel so bad about giving up that email address.
What it ends up doing is generating interest from freebie seekers, people that are just on the look out for free stuff that probably aren’t a good fit as part of your audience to begin with.
Since I focus most of my time on emails and newsletters these days (see Email FYI or my Medium profile), I end up thinking of this in terms of the lead magnet to newsletter signup chain, but the same thoughts apply for anyone trying to get subscribers.
