Every professional marketer knows that lead generation isn’t a walk in the park. It takes a lot of experience, effort, and investment to organize this process and attract the right audience that will turn interest into actual sales. To obtain the desired leads and facilitate the process of generation with minimized expenses, many businesses include lead magnets in their marketing strategy. As experienced email marketers, Flowium’s specialists also admit the efficiency of this practice, and there are quite a few significant reasons for that.
In this article, we’ll look into this matter to give you the answer by providing the proper definition, outlining the main benefits, and specifying the most important qualities. We’ll also present you with the best lead magnet examples to give you a major idea of what you can effectively use in 2026.
What Is a Lead Magnet?
Let’s dive into the topic by starting with the lead magnet’s meaning.
A lead magnet in email marketing is a prominent tool used to generate leads by providing a resource in return for a prospect’s contact details. The main characteristic of this resource is that it is most often free and provides useful and relevant information that encourages engagement and sparks more interest in your product or service. This tool can come in several forms and can be packaged in several ways, from dedicated landing pages to opt-ins via pop-ups/fly-outs.
How Lead Magnet Strategy Works
To make a lead magnet definition easier to understand, let’s look at a particular case of its use and its principles of work. For example, you can see a magnet content pop-up on one of our service pages. As you scroll through, it appears on the right side of the screen to offer you a free consultation with one of our marketing professionals. Such an offer is considered one of the common kinds of lead magnets, as it provides substantial value to the clients in the form of free service that otherwise usually comes at a price. At the same time, we get to grow our email list since the pop-up contains an opt-in form for consultation registration and to showcase our skills as marketers, which might invite clients for further collaboration.
Why You Need Lead Magnets
“If your only lead magnet is a discount, you’re training customers to wait for sales. The best-performing lead magnets educate, solve a problem, or add value before the first purchase even happens.”
Maxime Siebinga
Marketing Manager at Flowium
Often, lead magnets in email marketing are primarily seen as tools for email list growth. In essence, they’re much more than just that. A lead magnet specialist will tell you that they’re strategic assets that can improve almost every aspect of your email marketing efforts, from list building and segmentation to engagement and conversions. Here are the main reasons why you should incorporate these tools into your email campaign strategy.
The primary purpose of this strategy is to incentivize potential customers to provide their email addresses. Since email marketing relies on direct access to an audience’s inbox, having a compelling lead magnet is crucial for growing your email list with individuals genuinely interested in your products or services.
Lead magnets can be tailored to different segments of your audience based on their interests, behaviors, or stages in the customer journey. By offering this type of free resource that speaks to specific subsets of your audience, you can segment your email list more effectively. An audience interested in a discounted offer for pro-level golf clubs will be different than someone who’d opt in for a free guide on golf course etiquette. The customer who is purchasing pro-level golf clubs is at a different stage in their golf career than someone who is just getting started and needs tips on golf course etiquette (they also would most likely opt for the beginner set of golf clubs). You can use that information for segmentation to create more targeted and personalized email campaigns that resonate with each segment.
- Increasing Engagement
A well-crafted lead magnet provides value to your audience, which sets the tone for the type of content they can expect from your emails. This initial exchange helps build trust and credibility, making subscribers more likely to engage with future emails, including newsletters, product updates, and promotional offers.
By offering something of value right from the start, you can improve the conversion rates of your email campaigns. Subscribers who find your free information valuable are more likely to be interested in your paid offerings, making them more receptive to sales pitches and special offers sent via email.
- Enhancing Brand Perception
The quality of the information you offer reflects on your brand. A high-quality, relevant free content not only attracts leads but also enhances your brand’s perception, positioning your business as an authority or thought leader in your industry. This positive perception can lead to higher engagement rates, increased loyalty, and more conversions over time.
- Driving Traffic
Besides building your email list, among the lead magnet benefits is the ability to drive traffic to your website or specific landing pages. Whether it’s to access the provided resource itself or to find more information related to the content, this increased traffic can further boost engagement and provide additional opportunities to convert visitors into customers.
- Facilitating Market Research
The process of creating and offering lead magnets can serve as a form of market research. By monitoring which resource performs best, you can gain insights into your audience’s preferences, challenges, and needs, allowing you to refine your products, services, and marketing strategies. You can use different integrations and plugins to track views, downloads, and other activities to know what strategy works the most effectively.
Lead Magnet Marketing Statistics
Knowing what lead magnets are and thinking through the tactics of their use is an essential part of your overall digital marketing strategy. The statistics can only prove the overall importance of incorporating this tactic. Let’s take a look at some of the significant stats.
- According to the 2024 report by Email Vendor Selection, 55% of landing page submissions come from lead magnets.
- The report by Webinarcare states that lead magnets have been shown to increase conversion rates by 50% among marketers who utilize them to drive signups.
- The same report indicates that they are used in campaigns by a majority of marketers, yet 40% say they don’t use them at all.
- Monetary value lead magnets yield the highest conversion rates, according to 12.3% of B2C marketers and 8.4% of B2B marketers (WebinarCare report).
- According to Backlinko, offering this type of free resource can increase conversions by up to 785%.
Best Lead Magnet Ideas and Types
We’ll use the statistics provided by GetResponse’s report to determine the most effective solutions that you should turn your attention to. All these lead magnet types can be customized to meet your unique audience and goals and are useful for obtaining leads at different phases of the customer journey.
Video Lead Magnet Ideas
With the help of video content, potential leads can be drawn in and engaged with by using video lead magnets. According to the said study, 24.4% of marketers who used this type admitted the growth of conversion rates.
The most common video resource types are the following:
- Explainer video (highlights a particular product, service, or business idea);
- Tutorial (instructional video);
- Webinar (insights on a relevant topic);
- Case study video (successful projects and testimonials from previous clients);
- Interviews and Q&As (communication with industry experts);
- Product demo (product or service demonstration);
- Teaser or trailer (promotion of upcoming products or events).
Regarding the duration of video content, the vast majority of participants (73%) reported that short-form content, such as fast tutorials, video snippets, or video samples, had the highest conversion rates. Merely 27% of respondents stated that long-form video content, such as webinars, recordings, or online conferences, produced greater results.
On our YouTube channel, you can find all sorts of useful videos, tutorials, and guides that’ll help you keep up with email marketing advancements.
Text-Based Ideas for Lead Magnets
Written content is the main tool used by text-based lead magnets to draw in and interest potential leads. The main deal is to provide your audience with material that is valuable, relevant, and easy to read. Among the lead magnet ideas, this type has scored second in terms of conversion rates, with 22.8% of marketers noting the growth.
The best lead magnet ideas in written form are the following:
- eBook (55.9% of marketers say that eBook samples have the highest conversion rate as a short-form text-based lead magnet);
- Guides (67.2% of marketers note that guides have the highest conversion rate among long-form written lead magnets);
- Checklists;
- Reports;
- Newsletters;
- Whitepapers;
- Email courses.
In terms of the content length, we can see the same tendency as with the video duration. According to 58.6% of marketers, their short written material in the form of newsletters, checklists, or sample ebooks had the highest conversion rates. For 41.4% of respondents who chose this type of lead magnet, long-form written content (manuals or reports) produced the best results.
Visual Types of Lead Magnets
Infographics, pictures, and other visual components can be used to draw in and interact with possible leads. Increase the engagement, memorability, and shareability of your content by adding visual components. According to the statistics, this lead magnet type can help you increase conversions by 11.8%.
The lead magnets ideas in this form can include:
- Infographics;
- Calendars;
- Planners;
- Slide decks and presentations;
- Printables;
- Cheatsheets;
- Visual guides and blueprints;
- Memes (for younger target audiences).
Best Lead Magnet Ideas with Tools and Templates
Giving access to special tools and useful templates is one of the strategic lead magnet types. In terms of popularity and conversions, it goes toe-to-toe with visual types, providing a rise by the same 11.8%. By providing these options for free, you let your leads get acquainted with the product or service and encourage them to get advanced features and become paying clients.
The ideas can be the following:
- Free trial access to software functionality;
- Free services;
- Demo versions of web applications;
- Offline tools;
- Membership programs.
Best Lead Magnets with Monetary Value
These are incentives or offers that offer prospective leads a direct cash benefit. The rewards motivate people to do tasks, such as joining a mailing list, making a purchase, or reaching a target conversion rate. The GetResponse report shows that using this strategy can help you grow the conversion rate by 10.5%.
The most popular monetary value ideas are listed below:
- Discounts and coupons;
- Cashback;
- Free samples;
- Gift cards and vouchers;
- Special offers for subscribers;
- Referral programs;
- Bundle deals.
Interactive Lead Magnets
Instead of promoting passive consumption, interactive lead magnets stimulate active engagement from potential clients. They can help you improve conversions by 7.9%. Moreover, they can bring you more valuable insights about your audience that can be used for better segmentation.
Businesses often use the following ideas for their interactive lead magnets:
- Quizzes;
- Assessments;
- 1:1 meetings;
- Calculators;
- Interactive eBooks;
- Games and challenges;
- Interactive webinars and workshops.
Audio Lead Magnet Ideas
Out of all lead magnet ideas, the audio type is considered less effective; however, it still contributes to the overall digital marketing strategy, resulting in a 6.1% increase in conversion growth. Additionally, the audio format enables you to deliver highly informative content while maintaining optimal site performance, thanks to its smaller file size compared to video.
The following audio content is considered to be the most popular:
- Podcast;
- Audio courses;
- AudioBooks;
- Recorded webinars or interviews;
- Recorded testimonials.
Flowium regularly updates our podcast series, where our experts discuss the most recent trends, popular technologies in email marketing, and many other interesting things. Don’t forget to check it out.
Best Lead Magnet Examples from Real Brands
Free Audit Offer from Flowium
Type: Free tools and services
Goal: Service and collaboration offer, list building
Flowium offers a quick self-audit for the owners of Klaviyo accounts that will allow them to analyze their performance and find ways for improvement. It is a free tool lead magnet example that can provide valuable insights for people who seek to grow their email revenue. First, the offer comes up in the form of a pop-up that appears when you scroll through our blog articles. The pop-up has a simple description and a CTA that leads you to a landing page with a more detailed explanation of the offer.
On the landing page, the first thing you see is a form that you need to fill out to start the check-up. It will take you to a questionnaire that our clients complete to receive an audit report on their current account state, along with recommendations from our professionals. Overall, the whole process is very straightforward and takes up to 15 minutes while providing substantial benefits and insights to our clients and prospects.
After you type your address in the form, we add you to our email list to send you more valuable information and announcements. This lead magnet also serves as a brief introduction to our services, since we offer comprehensive email marketing audits with more advanced reports. You can request this service for free.
Free Marketing Webinar from Shopify
Type: Video
Goal: Engagement
Shopify knows how to make high-quality resources that will interest ecommerce businesses. The platform regularly launches educational content for its users and uses it as a magnet for leads. In this lead magnet example, we can see them promoting their free webinar aimed to help clients grow sales. We found it in the form of a banner on one of the marketing article pages. The registration button takes you to another page when you find the content.
The page has a short description of the training course and the webinar they offer to watch. This format differs from other examples of lead magnets because it actually doesn’t require you to register by entering your email address. You can watch the content right after clicking on the “Watch webinar” button. In the video, you can see that Shopify not only shares tips on marketing but also uses them to promote the platform’s capabilities.
Calendar With Email Content Ideas from Flowium
Type: Visual lead magnet
Goal: Improving brand perception
Another type of gated content that we use is visual. This lead magnet example contains a calendar template available to download from our email content calendar article. Unlike our previous example, the goal of this one aims at solidifying our reputation as a professional email marketing agency rather than list building. When you click on the link, you can start downloading the template right away, no opt-in required. By offering this magnet content, we simply want to express our genuine willingness to share useful resources not just with our clients but with everyone who seeks to improve their marketing efforts. Our team is always happy to help you optimize your strategies by giving tons of free educational content and valuable insights through our podcast series, YouTube channel, and various freebies.
Mystery Discount from Xhibition
Type: Lead magnet with monetary value
Goal: List growth
This lead magnet example from Xhibition perfectly represents how apparel companies can implement this marketing strategy in a straightforward yet engaging way. It currently appears on the brand’s website in the form of a pop-up, starting with a product category choice. When you click on any category, the pop-up changes to a notification about a mystery discount. This is the type of free resource with monetary value since it offers a discount, but the catch is that you don’t know how much you get off the deal. You only find out if you type in your email address to receive the email that will uncover the mystery. We believe that this is a really engaging idea since it ignites curiosity and even FOMO in site visitors (what if they are losing a good deal), so it encourages them to opt in. It also gives the brand more freedom in how big a discount it can offer.
Skincare Regiment Quiz from Annmarie
Type: Interactive lead magnet
Goal: Email list building, personalized offer, product showcase and recommendation
Among other lead magnet examples, this one stands out for its interactivity and multipurpose nature. The skincare brand effectively employs it to not only add contacts to its contact list but also create a personalized offer with its products. You’ll see this resource right on their homepage, displayed as a banner that directs visitors to a special quiz that offers help with building a skincare regimen.
The quiz includes short questions about your skin type, skincare habits, and routine to assess which products from the brand’s assortment fit your needs the most. After you’re through with answering questions, the quiz offers to submit your email address, to which they will send you the result with suitable product lines and skincare tips.
BFCM Checklist from Flowium
Type: Text-based lead magnet
Goal: Email list growth
When Black Friday is approaching, every business needs to get its marketing strategy right to capitalize on the start of the holiday shopping season. Thankfully, for brands that don’t know where to start, Flowium offers a useful checklist with must-have, must-do practices for successful BFCM campaigns. You can download it completely for free after opting in. Our PDF guide is a great text-based lead magnet example.
Free Podcasts from Colour Kristine Talks
Type: Audio lead magnet
Goal:
Businesses of different spheres, service professionals, and influencers who produce some type of audio content can use it to expand their contact lists and promote their brands. From this pop-up from Colour Kristina Talks we see how she uses audio lead magnets exactly for that. The podcast’s host, Kristine, a hair colorist and educator, offers some of her podcast episodes for free to listeners. Clicking the “Listen for free” button takes you to the sign-up section of the website. She can add your email address and contact details to her email list from there. This is an ideal example of a podcast magnet content.
What Makes a Good Lead Magnet
Not just any lead magnet can be great. To achieve the sought-after results, you have to ensure that it complies with the best practices and recognized principles. Let’s take a look at the qualities and characteristics that the best lead magnets should have.
- Solves a problem.
True value is what you need to ensure to get your site visitors interested (reduced pricing, practical recommendations, relevant knowledge, etc.)
- Relevant.
Only when it addresses an actual, pertinent issue for the target audience will it encourage signups.
- Proper CTA.
A strong call to action is what makes a good lead magnet. It should be included in your content to encourage readers to take the intended next action, which could be downloading a resource, joining a webinar, or subscribing to a newsletter.
- Measurable Outcomes.
Ideally, good lead magnets should result in quantifiable outcomes like an increase in leads, sales, or email subscribers.
- Addresses a Particular Audience Segment.
To make your lead magnet more relevant and engaging to a particular audience segment, customize it for that audience segment.
- Simple to Consume.
It should be quick to prepare and not take too long to comprehend. This could indicate that it’s a condensed eBook, checklist, video, or other easily absorbed format.
- The Best Lead Magnet Design and Content.
The information should be well-written, well-designed, and properly presented, even if it is brief, to ensure trust and enhance the perception of your brand.
- Accessible.
Good lead magnets should be downloaded as soon as a person enters their email address.
- Delivers Clear Benefits.
They offer advice and instructions, together with the assurance that they will make a very specific advantage easy to obtain.
Lead Magnet Best Practices
Flowium’s experts are glad to share our experience and offer you advice for gated content creation. We’ve been actively employing this strategy for many of our projects, so you can rest assured that all the recommendations are tried out in practice and time-tested. Here are some quick tips and points for creating a lead magnet that brings high conversions:
- Ensure you know your audience
When crafting an offer, knowing your audience is crucial. By understanding your audience’s interests, their hobbies, and the lingo they use, you can speak directly to their key needs. This way, you’ll know how to create a lead magnet that appeals to your specific market.
- Consider your audience’s pain points
What obstacles stump your audience? What solutions can you offer that will add value and prompt a response? The example from earlier, a free eBook on golf course etiquette, is going to soothe a pain point of a beginner golfer more than a discounted offer for pro-level golf clubs that a beginner golfer will not be as enthused to invest in (or maybe they will – golfers can be strange). When you address legitimate pain points, your prospects will be more likely to hand over the keys to their inbox.
- Be precise and clear in your offer
Which eBook title sounds more enticing – “How to Become a Pro Golfer” or “How to Break 80 on the Golf Course”? Vague and generic lead magnets fall short because they lack the credibility that specificity brings. In the example, golfers would be better tuned into the lingo of ‘breaking 80’ than ‘how to go pro’. The more precise and tailored your resource is, the better its chances of converting.
- Deliver value right off the bat
When people find your store or service, they’re in the brand researching stage and are not quite ready to pull out their credit card for your highest ticket offer. Providing your prospects with immediate value can significantly boost their trust in you. That’s why lead magnets like eBooks, tutorials, and checklists provide tangible value with minimal effort, low risk, and low cost.
- Ensure easy accessibility
The process for users to access or download your content/offer should be straightforward, requiring as little time, effort, and steps as possible. It should be as easy as opt-in and email delivery. Or, multiple touch points – opt-in, thank you page with the asset, and email delivery.
- Elevate your lead magnet
Imagine this: if your initial experience with a software app is frustrating due to bugs and a poor user interface, or if the first chapter of a book is dull and fails to engage, the likelihood of giving the app another try or continuing the book is low. This concept extends to your lead magnet as well. If it fails to offer real value, don’t anticipate customers returning for more. It is a crucial first impression with a prospect; if it misses the mark, all trust has been lost.
- Bonus tip: Iterate and Refine
The secret to success in creating lead magnets is relentless iteration and refinement. Your headline and imagery can make or break your resource’s appeal. The best approach to uncover what truly resonates is through testing various versions. Test and optimize until you’ve uncovered the perfect recipe for your audience.
Conclusion
One important marketing tactic that companies can employ to locate and attract new clients is lead creation. Now that you know the answer to the question “What are lead magnets?” and the best practices, you can draw in your target market and convert them into paying clients. We hope that this article gives you more understanding of this tool and how important it is to incorporate it into your marketing strategy to grow your list, improve segmentation, and reach better results in general. If you need any assistance from professional email marketers to advance your campaigns, schedule a call with our consultants. We’re always happy to help with your tasks and challenges.
FAQ
- What is the alternative term for a lead magnet?
Another term for a lead magnet is “gated content,” which describes useful content, like webinars or ebooks, that consumers can only access after supplying their contact details, usually their email address, making it a useful tool for lead generation.
- What is a good example of a lead magnet?
Free trials are a popular way to attract new customers, and with good reason. Customers are frequently willing to provide their information when allowed to test a product or service for free.
- Which three qualities are essential to a good lead magnet?
They have three essential features.
– Specifically designed to address a problem.
– Aimed for a certain demographic.
– Provides a (perceived) fast advantage.
- What are the common mistakes in creating lead magnets?
There are several pitfalls that you should avoid to create an effective resource that brings you desired results:
– The length of your lead magnet is excessive. It needs a large time investment, dedication, and resolve to complete, and has an opportunity cost. It has an opportunity cost to you since it takes too long to build.
– It’s too technical, meaning it’s too hard to understand.
– Your information is too generic and doesn’t provide unique value. This means that the user may easily obtain something like that in a dozen other locations without providing an email address.
– It doesn’t address a real issue that your target audience might deal with.
– It doesn’t relate to a problem that the user wants to fix immediately and lacks immediacy.
– It provides a solution that would be too time-consuming to put into practice.
