The concepts of fair exchange and reciprocity are older than any email-based digital marketing campaign - but there’s still a lot of wisdom to be gained from them. Today, we marketers can harness this for our own leads through lead magnets.

What’s in it for your leads?

Lead magnets are used throughout any modern digital marketing campaign. They are the foundation of what keeps your content marketing strategy going and are one of the best ways to increase subscribers, leads and ultimately revenue.

If you have been struggling to discover a good lead magnet or even battle to generate leads - look no further than this blog post. We’ll explain what a lead magnet is and even give you fifty different ideals for highly effective lead magnets in the B2B market.

What is a lead magnet?

Before we get started on the kinds of lead magnets that you may wish to try out for your own marketing efforts, it may prove helpful to explain exactly what a lead magnet is.

A lead magnet is an incentive you offer to potential customers in exchange for their email address, contact information or any other value they may possess. Lead magnets usually take the form of content such as white papers, research reports, eBooks, videos, webinars or other downloadable resources.

Why should you use a lead magnet?

If you expect to get value from your prospective customers in any way, shape or form you need a lead magnet. This value doesn’t necessarily have to take the form of money but can include useful data or contact information like filling out a survey, an email address or reviews.

The fact of the matter is any kind of information or action you would like from anyone has value - even to them. Email addresses, for example, are quite personal and are not just given around freely. You have to offer something in exchange to earn that email address.

That’s where lead magnets come in. If you can offer something compelling in exchange for something you want from your prospective customers, you will have a far greater chance of receiving it.

What makes a good lead magnet?

There are 7 common elements that most good lead magnets have in common:

• It solves a problem
• It promises a quick win
• It is specific
• It is quick and easy to understand
• It has high value for your customers
• It is instantly accessible
• It demonstrates your value

Most effective B2B lead magnets examples

Here are a few of the lead magnets we personally have found useful in the past for the B2B sector. All of these kinds of lead magnets hit the above criteria, so feel free to use whatever fits well for your business and current needs.

1. Product Demos

A clear, comprehensive walkthrough of your product with an in-depth overview can entice prospective customers who are already interested in your product. A complete demonstration will also enable you to make first-contact and form a stronger bond.

2. Webinars

By their very nature, webinars offer value, are centred around a specific task and position you as an expert on the topic. The fact that you have to take down details to send the invite link makes this lead magnet that much more convincing. 

3. Educational Videos

Some people just prefer to consume content at their own pace. This is where educational videos shine. As a bonus, these videos can be reused, cut into teasers or even gifs for their promotion.

4. White papers and eBooks

The classical lead magnet is a resilient force for a reason. Whitepapers and eBooks explore specific topics extensively, can be quickly accessed and demonstrates your knowledge.

5. Free Consultations

A free consultation enables you to identify and prioritise highly-qualified prospects while potential leads can have their concerns addressed and learn more from an industry expert, one-on-one. However, it should be noted that this approach is more expensive, involves higher friction and is less scalable.

6. Newsletters

Newsletters are a great tactic for long-term nurturing and client retention. They keep you relevant with your leads and promote a healthy, steady relationship with them. For your leads, they offer insight and helpful links every time they open one.

7. Case Studies

Case studies frame you as an expert problem solver and may include a problem that your leads could identify with - enticing them to give up their details to discover how someone else had the problem resolved.

8. Free Tools

Tools can take a while to develop but reap the rewards ten-fold. Tools that evaluate web pages, company performance, economic desire and more can all be beneficial for companies. Hubspot’s marketing grader is a great example of this tactic in action. After entering your website’s URL and email address, the tool generates a report on how you can improve your website.

9. Quizzes

Quizzes aren’t just for consumers - you can host quizzes challenging potential leads on their aptitude for certain subjects and activities related to their business. You’d be surprised at the amount of interactivity and engagement that can be generated with a B2B quiz, and once a user has taken one, they’ll more than likely be willing to hand over their email address to receive their results.

10. Surveys

Comparing a company’s performance with their peers via answering a survey is a great way to generate interest, gain contacts and harvest data all at the same time.

11. Mini-Courses

By targeting one of your customer persona’s main challenges, creating a mini-course helps you position yourself as a source of answers and generate engagement.

12. Discounts

Discounts have been a staple of the B2C world for quite some time but could be just as effective in the B2B world. Making visitors have to ‘work’ for the discount by entering their email address is interesting, and provides a powerful incentive for information. 

13. Cheatsheets

Many customers come for your expertise - but a cheat sheet is a handy reference that could leave them wanting a more in-depth explanation or expansion on the ideas contained in it.

14. Checklists

People love checklists because they provide structure and direction. Companies can easily make use of a checklist when attempting to replicate the success of another company or services that they would make use of.

15. Templates

Templates are time-saving tools that you could create for your prospective leads. Once you have created it, businesses may download it just to compare notes to your approach and will be willing to offer their email addresses in exchange.

16. LinkedIn groups

Creating a network of like-minded professionals and offering access to it is a powerful way to make people feel successful and supported. Starting and moderating a member’s only group around a certain topic also gives you the authoritative presence on a topic of conversation or business.

17. Swipe Files

Swipe files are similar to templates but do not require the prospective lead to fill in any of their own details. They can simply copy and paste the content, making it much more appealing for less invested leads.

18. Scripts

Scripts for salespeople or support agents can be of immense value to companies who are trying to grow or retain their client-base. 

19. Toolkits

A collection of tools that you find helpful is, in its own right, a useful resource to offer others seeking your expertise. It helps position your company as a professional source of solutions and as an experienced player in the industry. As a bonus, many of these solution-providers may offer you affiliate deals.

20. Resource Lists

Lists of resources are huge time savers for those who want to find the best and most useful content and resources for their needs. A shortlist with resources that you think would be helpful and a quick review of each can save companies hundreds of hours of research, trial and error.

21. Calendars

Calendars centred around specific subjects and important dates throughout the year may prove useful and appealing for companies with interests in those specific subjects.

22. Planners

A planner is similar to calendars but instead focus on a set of events set off by the prospective lead rather than the time of the year. Planners can help those who need guidance and structure to accomplish tasks such as content marketing or lead nurturing.

23. Calculators

If your users have to work out certain numbers such as the value of customers or service, why not create a calculator and gate it as a lead magnet. The calculator will no doubt cause interest and save time for those who test it.

24. Generators

Generators are often used by people who need to create something quickly or are looking for inspiration. This happens more often than one would expect, and are useful every time. HubSpot has a useful blog topic generator on their site which could easily serve as a lead magnet if they wanted to.

25. Gated Blog Posts

Blog posts that are half-gated towards the conclusion are powerful as well as easy to create because it uses your existing content. Gating the second half of a long blog post can net you the contact details of curious parties.

26. Research Papers

Research papers on a particular topic your users care about will always generate interest and provide incentive, especially if the research is conducted by a respected authority. 

27. Infographics

An entertaining infographic helps people share ideas and visualise concepts far better than a wall of text can. While they may not be the most in-depth piece of content, they can still be appealing enough to capture leads.

28. Email Courses

Email courses don’t require a lot of creation outside of the emails themselves and a few handy links that you can include to other resources. This makes it easy to create while still offering value to your leads.

29. State of the Industry Reports

This is basically the same thing as a report but focuses on fresh, new industry trends and innovative approaches. Many B2B businesses find success and interest through this lead magnet.

30. Predictions

Predictions are always interesting to read, and they offer you a chance to position yourself as a leader in your industry. Make some predictions about your industry or product and publish them as a downloadable lead magnet to generate leads quickly.

31. Recording and Highlights

If you’re presenting live webinars, you can repurpose the content to use as a lead magnet for those who would like to review or even potential leads who did not attend the webinar.

32. Waiting and Wish Lists

Do you have an unreleased product or service? If there is sufficient interest in it, people will be willing to give up their contact details to be informed about its progress and when it is released.

33. Free Trial Service

Prospective leads who are interested in your product or service will be enticed by figuring out what your service is. Instead of trying to explain it to them, why not offer them a free trial or taster, such as an audit or consultancy session,  in exchange for their email address?

34. Product Catalogues

As your product range develops, many leads may want to find out more about the products you offer. They may even wish to be contacted as soon as the new offers are available. This is where product catalogues come in, which can be updated (and sent) with every season.

35. Thought Leadership Pieces/Interviews

Leaders of a company or industry are always sought-after for their vision and interpretation of recent events and trends. Gating this content and offering it to subscribers or users can generate an incentive to share more from their own side and help you gather more leads.

Attract more leads with better magnets

Lead magnets are undoubtedly a critical element in content marketing and thus a central aspect of digital marketing. By finding the right magnets to use for your own industry and business you will empower yourself to generate more leads, more often and with greater effect. 

If you would like assistance with generating quality leads, consider Demodia. We have decades of experience with lead generation and lead magnet creation for a wide array of industries. Contact Demodia today and gain access to the potential your prospective leads offer your business.