You know what a lead magnet is – something given away for free in exchange for an email address. You join their list, you get their free report / video / book / software etc.
I recently ran across a lead magnet that blew my mind. And I didn’t even realize I was being set up to join a list – or that it WAS a lead magnet – until I was hooked like a prize fish at the end of this master marketer’s line.
Here’s what happened:
I was on this marketer’s site when a headline caught my eye. This was a headline you might find on a book or a paid product – in fact, if it had been a book, I probably would have bought it on the spot. It promised a big benefit and had a curiosity element to it that immediately got my interest.
The headline was on an article and I started reading it. It was giving me methods to accomplish a certain task, but it was doing it in story form. I didn’t even realize until later that it was telling me what to do, but not how to do it. And the story was captivating, as good as any fiction you might read.
I was fully engrossed in the story when it was about to come to a climax and it suddenly – stopped.
It just stopped. There was no more to read. I was left hanging. But of course, there was a subscription form, and a note that said only subscribers of this website would be given the secret information contained at the end of the story.
Yes, I filled out the form. By that point, I would have paid money to get the rest of the story.
I’ve purposely kept this vague because it’s probably not a good idea to copy this marketer’s story. What he wrote works for him and his site. What will work for you and your site is likely to be far different.
But what I can tell you is that no matter who your audience is, they love stories.
And if you can weave the information they want inside of that story and insert a cliffhanger point that compels them to join your list, then I suspect a very high percentage of people who read the beginning of your story will subscribe to your newsletter.
Be sure to have a title so good, people would pay for a book with that title, even if you didn’t give them a book description.
Keep the story intriguing and entertaining, while giving the lessons promised.
And in the portion they read prior to subscribing, only give them the secrets of what to do, not how to do it.
For that, along with the story ending, they’ll need to join your list. 😉
