the 1000 perfect fans: find them with ‘Lead magnets’
The word “lead magnet” might sound, to anyone not involved in marketing, as something manipulative…at the least.
That’s too bad, because “lead magnet” really embodies a simple and valuable idea... if one, perhaps, in search of new packaging.
The idea is to put something that is truly valuable or interesting—or best of all, both— into the hands of people who really want it. Then give them the option of connecting with you in email or some other way, and voila...you have a small group of followers that get you, that--if you do your work right--will themselves put it in the hands of others.
They can download it from your website, or a landing page. They can see it on YouTube. They can take the self-test. The choices are unlimited, just takes some brainstorming.
The idea is to put something that is truly valuable or interesting—or best of all, both— into the hands of people who really want it.
The 1000 perfect fans
Manipulative? Nah. Quite the opposite. Consumers of your content win because they get something that is spot on for them. And you can win if they become your evangelists.
Seth Godin, marketer and philosopher, once wrote a post entitled “Reaching the Right People.” In it, he quotes a colleague with this idea about promoting books, but it applies to promoting anything:
“...the few mainstream publishers that promote their books spend $10,000 or more on ads that don’t work. Putting a book into the hands of 1,000 perfect fans may be a far smarter investment.”
The point here is not about giveaways. It’s about the 1,000 perfect fans. Which is one way to describe what Godin calls the “minimum viable audience.” Put that book--your content--into the hands of “the smallest group that could possibly sustain you in your work…”
Because if those fans really are perfect, they will love the book— you know that they are already looking for books like this—and they will share those feelings with people they know. Maybe even forward it to friends or colleagues, or text over the Amazon purchase link. And then the network effect takes over.
Do the work (of user research)
That’s of course, if you— did we mention this yet?— do your work right. That work is the stuff of user research. Finding those 1,000 perfect fans, that minimum viable audience, then getting to know and understand them deeply, that’s the work, and it takes time.
It’s work that requires a clear process, constant experimentation, failing, testing and trying again. It means getting good at finding and talking to people you don’t know yet (our post How to Blog Like Your Users Depend On It will help there).
When you do the work and thoroughly understand and empathize with your audience, you’ll create that “book” that they need and want.
Perfect Audience FAQ
What are good lead magnets?
They are content of any kind that your prospects or followers find truly userful, exciting, or in the best case, both! Examples: something downloadable like a self-test, infographic, ebook, video clip, cool idea.
Do lead magnets still work?
Let’s rephrase the question. Do prospects, website visitors, your followers value content enough to give something for it…their email address, let’s say. Or an honest answer to a survey? Yes, marketers are finding that this is acceptable and valuable to people. But the ante is much higher now that so many people are online, with much higher expectations. We try to fill this blog and website with ideas for quality content, and ways to discover more. Can’t spare the bandwidth? Hungry Monster is ready to create that content for you!
Where can you host a lead magnet?
The short answer: where your users hang out. That can be on your own website, for example on a landing page that you promote with ads or organically. Social media channels like LinkedIn offer their own lead generation ads and other opportunities. A direct email distribution can be a vehicle, especially if it is personalized and authentic.