Are you feeling stuck when it comes to figuring out what types of lead magnets you should be creating?

Or frustrated that your existing lead magnets are not getting downloaded and generating enough leads?

Well, you’re definitely not alone!

These are common marketing challenges that many small business owners experience.

So, you’re probably wondering what types of lead magnets you should create, so that you can grow your email list faster with qualified and ready-to-buy leads?

Well, in my experience, three types of lead magnets are perfect for service-based small businesses:

1. A Checklist
2. An Assessment
3. A Guide

What each of these lead magnets has in common is that they can be created quickly and efficiently.

And I want to stress that creating a lead magnet shouldn’t take you weeks (or even a month!).

If it is, then you may be seriously overcomplicating this marketing activity.

Now, before I explain each of these lead magnets and what type of business they are most suitable for, you must consider:

1. What do you want to sell to the people who download your lead magnet? (There must be a link so that you build your list with QUALIFIED leads).

2. What your target market’s most significant pain points, wants, fears or objections are when it comes to your type of services? (You can then use these elements to get your lead magnet to resonate and stand out with your ideal clients).

Once you’ve determined these two things, you can design a lead magnet that will work best for your service-based small business.

So, here are three types of lead magnets that are perfect for a service business:

1. A Checklist Lead Magnet

Everyone loves a great checklist, right!

It saves time, it gives you an easy step-by-step to follow, and it feels great when you can check something off your list.

But what makes them a great type of lead magnet?

Well, checklists are great for people who are stuck and looking for help or advice.

They provide the starting point by telling someone what to do first.

And then what to do next, to complete whatever challenge they are struggling with right now.

Another great thing about a checklist is that it saves your client time.

They won’t have to spend hours researching something themselves trying to figure it all out because you’ve done it for them.

And a checklist also gives your client a sense of accomplishment when they tick each item off the list, which is excellent for building your credibility because they are getting a quick win.

So, if you’re a coach, a consultant, or offer some other type of specialist training or advice, then a checklist is perfect for your type of business.

When it comes to the topic for your lead magnet, consider what’s keeping your client stuck?

Or what process do they not know how to do, or think would be time-consuming to work out?

If you could give them a list of steps that they could follow to help them get unstuck, then they would see a lot of value in that.

My tip here would be to keep your checklist simple and only focus on one end-to-end process that could be achieved by your client in a short amount of time.

An example of this would be my Ultimate Client Onboarding Checklist for Service Businesses.

This checklist doesn’t include every step that someone would follow to find and sign up a new client.

It only includes the process for bringing the new client on after the sale has happened.

Now, you may also be a bit nervous that creating a checklist would give away too much value, and your lead wouldn’t, therefore, need to work with you.

And this is a valid concern.

However, there is a way to create a checklist that leads to your client enquiring to learn more.

And that is, to focus only on WHAT your client needs to do.

You don’t deep-dive into the detail on how to do each step. (That’s what your services are there for!)

2. An Assessment, Quiz, or Health Check Lead Magnet

The next type of lead magnet idea is an assessment, quiz, or health check.

Similar to the one I’ve created here: What’s Stopping You From Finding Your First Clients? Take the Free Quiz and find out!

If you want to keep things simple, these types of lead magnets can be created as downloadable PDFs, with scoring or a Yes / No response for each question.

Alternatively, if you want something a little more interactive, you could also use online technologies to create these as an interactive questionnaire or quiz on your website.

This assessment, quiz, or check-in works as a lead magnet because it helps your potential clients learn more about the challenges they are facing.

And it helps your potential clients to realise that they have a pain point that needs to be solved.

In some ways, the quiz or assessment helps your leads self-qualify for the service solutions you provide.

It’s valuable to your target market because they are now able to articulate their problem and know what to ask for when they come to you for a solution.

So, if your clients know they have a pain point but aren’t quite sure what it may be specifically, then an assessment would work well as a lead magnet.

I’ve seen these work very well for counselling and health and wellness businesses where clients know they aren’t happy or feel unwell but don’t know exactly what’s wrong or the cause.

These lead magnets also work well for businesses with technical expertise, such as accountants or financial advisors.

Many people are unfamiliar with how to manage money or accounts but know enough to recognise when they have financial issues.

Not sure where to start when it comes to marketing your service-based small business? That’s where I can help. Get started by downloading my free Ultimate Marketing Checklist by clicking the button below: 

3. A Guide Lead Magnet

Lastly, a guide is another type of lead magnet that works well for service-based small businesses.

A guide is a simple 5 – 10 page PDF document (at most!) that guides your client on a topic they want to learn more about.

It is NOT a 20-page long eBook!

They are way too long and complicated to create, and they provide too much information at once to your client, who will feel overwhelmed.

A guide lead magnet works well when your client may not know too much about your type of services and is fearful of hiring the wrong person.

Or when they have a lot of negative perceptions around your industry and are worried about getting ripped off.

The guide will be helpful because it provides information that they need to know before making a purchase decision.

If your guide is open, honest, and transparent, it will help you build the all-important trust needed to make sales.

So, if you want to come up with a topic for your guide, then start by considering what:

• More information would my target market want before deciding to buy from me?
• Objections or fears does my target market have around my type of services?
• Negative perceptions does my target market have about my industry?

Once you’ve brainstormed some answers, consider creating a guide to help them overcome these fears, objections, and negative beliefs.

Some guide lead magnet headline examples include:

• 7 Questions to ask before you hire a [your job title], or
• What you need to know about [your services] before you start, or
• How to prepare for your next [your services].

This type of lead magnet generally works well for service businesses that provide a done-for-you service.

For example, a photographer may create a photoshoot preparation guide to attract people who are looking for personal branding photos.

Or a recruiter may create an interview preparation guide to attract and build a list of potential candidates.

When it comes to services like web development and SEO, where clients don’t know much about the technical side of things, you could create a guide that lists the questions someone should ask when they are seeking to hire one of these services.

So, there you have 3 types of lead magnets that are perfect for service-based small businesses.

My other marketing tips for creating a lead magnet include:

• Use an eye-catching headline to encourage more click-throughs
• Promote your lead magnet in as many places as possible
• Use pop-up technology on your site to capture more leads
• Keep your lead magnet simple, actionable, and desirable for your target market

Tired of trying to figure out what you’re missing when it comes to finding clients and making sales in your service business?

Break through the barriers that are holding you back with the support of an MBA-qualified Marketing Coach and Business Mentor who will tailor a 1:1 program specifically for you.

BUSINESS BREAKTHROUGH is my signature 6-month 1:1 Coaching Program for service-based business owners who want to develop the strategy, systems, and structure they need to find clients and make sales so they can stop feeling stuck and start gaining massive momentum in their business.

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