7 Proven Lead Magnet Ideas for Agencies in 2021

As an agency owner you constantly have to drive new leads. Lead magnets are a great tactic to generate new email subscribers which you can turn into sales opportunities for your agency.

In this short guide we've gathered the best ideas of lead magnets for agencies.

What are lead magnets (and why they're important)

Lead magnets are incentives that agency owners can create on their website in order to grow their email list.

For example, free services (free audits, free reviews, free reports), digital downloads (e-books, templates, checklists) which are then offered in exchange for the email address of the visitor.

Once visitors enter their email address, they're sent the download or resource immediately, and usually get added as contact in an email auto-responder with nurturing emails.

In that email sequence they can then learn more about the services of your agency, the clients you've helped, or simply learn more about the problems they want to get solved.

Why are lead magnets important?

Not every visitor is ready to purchase your services.

Most visitors do not know about you, or simply do not know they have a problem that need to be solved. Lead magnets are a great way to capture the interest of your leads, and further nurture them into clients for your agency.

The goal of your lead magnet is thus to educate visitors and lead them to your solution.

What makes a great lead magnet?

Lead magnets are not new. They have been used by digital marketers for years so it's important to get a few things right in order to make them effective.

Here are a few best practices to make a great lead magnet:

• Make it relevant
  
  Your lead magnet needs to solve a problem that is relevant for your target market. Make sure to know who your ideal customer is and offer a resource or service that is compelling enough for them to leave their email address.
  
  Tip: To get lead magnet ideas, search on Quora, Reddit, and Facebook groups about questions your target audience is usually asking.
  
• Come up with a catchy title and CTA
  
  The next step is to create a catchy title for your lead magnet. You want your title to be 1) Relevant 2) Enticing 3) Specific
  
  For example: "The Complete Guide to SEO for Agencies in 2021" or "50 marketing ideas"
  
  Tip: Using numbers is a great way to get specific about what your lead magnet comprises.
  
  
• Create good visuals
  
  Next, focus on good visuals. Good visuals will help you catch the attention of your visitors and result in more downloads.
  
  You can create visuals yourself on Canva or find a freelance designer to get them done for you.
  
  Tip: Use your own branding in your visuals
  
• Promote your lead magnet correctly
  
  In other words: Don't ruin the experience of visitors visiting your website.
  
  There's nothing more annoying than a website filled with popups which interrupt the visitor attention when scrolling or reading.
  
  Instead, embed your lead magnet into one of your blog articles, or create a popup that appears on the side bar of your agency website.
  
  Here's a great example from YesOptimist:
  
  

• Tip: You can also create a resource section on your agency website
  

• Don't be spammy
  
  Your visitors trust you with their email address. They certainly do not want to be spammed endlessly.
  
  The best way is to tell them upfront the frequency at which you'll send them emails. .
  
  Tip: Send a welcome email after visitors get added to the list with content you'll send in the future and at which frequency.
  
  
• Bonus: Add social proof
  
  Finally, adding social proof is a great way to get more email subscribers for your lead magnets. Social proof creates trust and gives an extra kick:
  
  Here's a great example from WPBuffs:
  
  

Lead magnet ideas for agencies

Here are some proven lead magnet ideas for your agencies:

1. Ebook and guides

One of the most common lead magnet ideas is to create an e-book with useful content for your target customers.

You probably have had a ton of learnings running your agency or problems.

Here's an example from Autogrow, a marketing agency:

2. Case studies

Another good example of lead magnet for agencies are case studies.

Since you're providing a service, showing the results you got for clients in a similar industry (and how) is a very compelling way to capture the email of your visitors.

Here's an example from WPBuffs:

3. Free templates

Templates are a fantastic way to get email addresses of your visitors as well.

Here's an example from Koala Rank, a content writing agency which created a dedicated resources section on their website:

4. Free report or estimate

Another lead generation idea is to do a free review or free report.

Let's say you run a SEO agency, you could offer a free report with problems that usually slow a website down. As a website owner, I'd definitely love to know this!

Here's an example from Youbiquity a SEO agency:

What I really love with this lead magnet is that they also put a "preview" of what the report could look like.

Or in this case, Fix Runner created a "free estimate" https://www.fixrunner.com/get-a-free-estimate/

5. Free checklist

Another effective lead magnet idea for agencies is to offer a free checklist.

For example, Fix My Site which offers a Wordpress speed optimization service created a free checklist with tips:

6. Mini course or training

Free courses and trainings are another great way to capture the interest of your visitors.

Bean Ninjas is an ecommerce accounting firm with clients in Australia, USA and Europe. They've created various free trainings (Xero trainings as well as financial reporting trainings).

Some other ideas: You can also create a mini email course, video trainings, or events

7. Free consultation

Sleek, an incorporation service in Singapore offers a free, no engagement consultation which is a great way to collect leads as well:

Frequently asked questions

How to create a lead magnet?

The easiest way to create a lead magnet is to create a PDF. You can use Google Docs or Google Slides and save it as PDF and use an email auto-responder tool such as Drip, GetResponse, or Active Campaign to capture emails and send your PDF to your visitors.

Can I have multiple lead magnets on my agency website?

Definitely! You could have for example a free consultation, create a resource centre, as well as create case studies and ebooks that you can plug in your blog posts.

How to find lead magnet ideas?

Look for problems that your target market experiences. You can search for questions on Quora, Reddit, and Facebook groups.

Where on your website should you add on your lead magnet?

One of the best ways to promote your lead magnet is to add it to your blog posts or create a dedicated resource section on your website.

What is a great title for your lead magnet?

Make it catchy and specific. For example "7 mistakes that slow your Wordpress website" or "The Complete Collection of SEO resources for Agencies"

What are the best tools to create a lead magnet?

You can use tools such as Canva, Google Docs, or Google Slides to create your content. To get the emails you can use tools such as Drip, Active Campaign, or GetResponse. You can also build popups with Sumo or get a bar HelloBar to catch the attention of your visitors.