Lead magnets go by many different names in the business community. Freebie and Opt-In Offer are two of the more common ones you’ll see used. To your potential clients, it is a free bonus they get, but they have to give their email address to receive it.
For you, however, lead magnets attract leads like moths to a flame, hence the name lead magnet.
So what makes good lead magnets? First, you need to know what your goal is. Are you trying to attract new dog walking clients or clients with new puppies? Once you know what your goal is, you should create weekly content and a lead magnet designed to help you achieve that goal. Click Here for more information on content marketing.
Why You Need Lead Magnets
Let’s say you want to attract more puppy clients. Maybe you love puppies, or spring is coming, and you know that there’s often an influx of new puppy owners around that time. Whatever the reason, you can start by writing or recording puppy based content. New pet owners will search the internet to find puppy advice and potentially find your article.
The first step is that they find your website, but if they read your article and leave, you have no way of reaching them, so you remain puppyless.
How Lead Magnets Work
While they’re reading your article, they will see that you are offering them a freebie relevant to their situation- such as a new puppy guide! Excited at the idea of a free guide to help them with their new friend, they click the prompt to type in their email address so that you can deliver their puppy guide right to their inbox. Now you have a way to contact them so you can nurture the relationship, turning them into paying clients; therefore, meeting your goal.
BAM! It’s that simple. Everybody wins! They get free stuff, and you get an email for a potential client.
Ideas for Lead Magnets
Resource List: A Handy Reference
A Resource List is just that, a list of resources. It can be anything that could be useful to your potential client. You could create a list of pet care products, a list of websites with valuable pet information, your favorite pet foods, or even travel essentials for your pet. These are just a few examples. Create a beautiful graphic and have fun with it.
Quick Start Guide: Kickstart Their Adventures
A Quick Start Guide is more in-depth than a Resource List and should be on a specific task someone is trying to accomplish. An example of this is the new puppy guide that we mentioned in the video. We named our guide “What to Expect When You’re Expecting a Puppy” in a riff off the baby book of a similar name. It’s funny, and people like funny things. If you like this idea, you can download the template and use it as your own.
Cheat Sheet: Easy to Read Road Maps
So, if the Quick Start Guide is an in-depth resource to accomplish a specific thing, the cheat sheet is all that information at a glance. Could you do a Quick Start Guide on potty training for your dog? Sure. But it would be better as a cheat sheet, a 1-2 page PDF that a potential client can reference at a glance without having to do too much in-depth reading.
They’re stressed enough trying to get their dog to not pee on their carpets, so they need answers fast! Cheat sheets also work well as a reminder of what you learned in a more intense Guide or Article and can be included with them, or as a separate file for when they want a reminder!
Checklist: Step by Step Breakdown
We, humans, love our lists, sometimes a little too much. But when you’re trying to make sure you didn’t forget anything, nothing beats a checklist. A checklist can be a lifesaver for people who are getting ready to move, go on a trip with their pet, or bring a new pet into their life. You don’t want to bring your new cat home and realize you bought the cat box but forgot to get a litter scoop too! It’s always the little things you forget, so a checklist helps!
Ultimate Guide: Everything They Need
These are the intense ones! This one will take some work on your part, but it will be so worth it. Not only will you learn a lot, but all your clients, new and old, will benefit from this. Make a book highlighting all the pet-friendly places in your service area. Talk about different pet industry businesses, the veterinarian services offered in your area, the groomers, kennels, animal shelters, pet-friendly parks and trails, pet-friendly restaurants, even pet-friendly hotels in case of emergencies. The more professional the presentation, the more impressed people will be. But this is some SERIOUS value you’re offering to a pet owner, and they won’t forget who did it for them, so use proper business branding.
Contact List: Link People in Your Network
As a small business owner, it’s good to know other business owners in your community and establish a referral-based relationship with them.
If you are part of a local small business networking group like LeTip or BNI, giving other members referrals is expected.
Creating a contact list of all your preferred businesses can be an opportunity for you to refer clients to other people in your network but can also give something of value to your potential clients.
If you aren’t a member of one of these networking groups, consider it. If that’s not plausible, try reaching out to other service providers in your area to form a connection with them. As a small business, your community’s support is invaluable. We should all work together to build each other up, and this may seem simple, but it works!
Video Answer: Visual Lead Magnets
Do you know what a lot of people like better than reading? Watching videos! If you’re trying to tackle a pet-related problem for your audience, and you’re comfortable in front of the camera, record a video explaining it. Videos are easy for people to consume, but it also builds the know, like, and trust factor quickly. When people see you on video, they will start to feel like they know you. People like to do business with people they know.
Videos work well for questions that come up often, such as how to prevent heatstroke or holiday safety tips for your pets. You’ll get questions like those every year, so you can keep using the same video, which makes it a great time investment!
Audio Files of Your Blog: Let Them Listen
Remember when we mentioned that sometimes people prefer to watch a video? Other people like to listen to audio files because they require less dedicated time. An audio file can be downloaded and listened to while you do something mind-numbing like exercise or cleaning. Nothing saves more time than multitasking. Once you have a blog written, an audio file is super easy. You can record it yourself or hire someone else to do so, often for a reasonable fee.
Live Training: The Personal Touch
A freebie can be something other than a digital product. It can be as simple as one on one time with you, the expert.
They’ll still need to submit their email address to schedule a time to talk with you, but your expert advice may be just what they need. Maybe they are frustrated with a pet’s behavior and need help, or they are bringing home a new pet and need to puppy proof, or even trickier, cat-proof. (Cat owners may snicker now. Like a house is ever cat-proofed.) Signing up to have a consult with you, so you can walk them through everything they need to know and get it for free, that’s like the irresistible icing on the cake.
Quizzes: Curiousity Compels Clicks
There is something addictive about quizzes. We may disagree with the results, but most of us still enjoy them. After going through the questions, and the only thing standing in our way is typing in our email address, most of us would be willing to give it.
Some fun quiz topics you could try are anything from “How well trained is your dog?” to “What kind of pet owner are you?” or “What animal would you be?” Have fun and be creative!
Contests : Friendly Competition
Humans are naturally competitive. Some people can’t resist trying to prove that their furry friend is the best. Those bragging rights are definitely worth an email address- after all, how else can you tell them how adorable their pet is???
Try hosting a Halloween costume contest for pets, or the cutest pet contest, or even a contest for craziest pet videos. People love contests!
Giveaways : Everyone Likes Free Stuff
Giveaways can be a great way to connect with your community. Talk to other local pet businesses such as pet supply stores, pet bakeries, groomers, and vets, and ask if they would be interested in contributing to a giveaway basket.
All the businesses can get some bonus publicity, and one lucky winner gets some cool swag for their pet! It’s a win-win. If your fellow pet industry owners are up for it, they may even advertise the goodie basket to their clients, spreading the word about your business through their networks too. If the other industry owners aren’t willing to contribute, you can simply buy their products and put together a gift basket. $20-50 on a basket that brings in even one client pays for itself quickly!
Recipe Compilations: A Yummy Treat
Concerns about the contents of commercial dog treats aren’t going away. Sometimes, pet owners are looking for simple ways to cut costs. Homemade treats can be just the right solution. This one isn’t as serious as the Ultimate Guide, but it is WAY more fun! Everyone loves food, and pets always want to be involved in the kitchen. Give people a way to make their pets happy and grow their skillset? Yes, please! You don’t even need that many recipes to make a good-sized hand out. Dog treats are a very easily accessible option for these recipe books. Download the Dog Treat Recipe Book shown in the video.
Discounts: A Staple in Lead Magnets
When in doubt, offer a discount. There’s nothing wrong with a discount coupon. Saving money is ALWAYS an appealing option to a potential client. ALWAYS. But that doesn’t mean it’s the ONLY option. After all, we just gave you a dozen other lead magnet ideas.
Creating Lead Magnets
If you’re looking to make some beautiful graphics or even PDF guides, we recommend Canva. It’ll help you make a stunning guide that suits both your brand and the topic. (The best part is that you can use Canva for free!)
When it comes to making videos, we like the free version of DaVinci Resolve16.
If you’re looking to make a quiz for your website, we recommend Bucket.io.
To get you started, we’ve made some ready to go templates for both a Quick Start Guide and a Dog Treat Recipe book. Click Here to Download the templates.
Now That You’ve Got Ideas for Lead Magnets…
Our next article will be all about building a landing page. Creating designated landing pages for your lead magnets is a critical part of the process. PetBrainy will be back next week to help you continue building on this process.
If you haven’t downloaded our FREE Guide on Email List Building For Your Pet Sitting Business, don’t forget to do that now! It’s a handy roadmap to this whole process!
0 Comments