Why do I need a Lead Magnet?

If you’ve been in business for an extended period of time and somehow involved in the online world, you’ve heard the term ‘lead magnet’ or ‘opt in’ or something along those lines. You may be wondering what this is all about.

And you might even, unfortunately, think that your business is exempt from this, and therefore you didn’t look too closely at how you could help your business.

That is unfortunate. It’s not the only way to build a mailing list, but it’s certainly quite effective in helping you do it with a very specific audience, rather than just anyone with a pulse.

I’ve heard of business owners buying email lists and just sending an email whenever they feel like it. It may work for a short time until someone reports you for spam and after you pay that hefty fine, you may realize that it’s better to market to people who have given you permission.

However, it’s just my opinion of course.

So why do you need a lead magnet?

1. Permission – I have already alluded to this, but people like to be asked before they sell to them. They don’t like to be bothered and neither do you. Therefore, taking the time to put together a lead magnet is time well spent because it allows people to choose whether or not they want to hear from you.
2. Follow up and relationship building – Most people don’t think they want to buy your stuff right now unless, for whatever reason, they’re particularly desperate. Creating a mailing list allows you to keep track of the people who have given you permission. Permission-based marketing is the best. And also, you can send your message to many people over and over again. You also create friends who care about you and the ones you care about.
3. Understand what they want. It helps you understand people better, and so when you put together marketing materials for your product, you can use language that helps your prospects see how what you offer will really help them.
4. The money is in the list. – You may have heard this before, but it’s true. On average, you can earn $1 for each name on your list and some people earn even more. It becomes a source of security, it’s an asset to build a list of responsive names and then be able to offer them something that really helps them.