So, you have created a lead magnet. You have created a tempting offer that will keep potential customers connected with your business.
Congratulations are in order! But wait…the hard part has only just begun.
You need to go out with your new bait and hook some subscribers.
So what’s next?
You’ve got some steps ahead of you to release your lead magnet out into the world.
- Let the world know it exists. This is when you get to encourage people to opt-in to your list. You can do this by placing a signup form on your site and creating a dedicated page that people land on from social media networks and other sources.
- Make good on your promise: Once you give people the ability to opt-in, you need to have a system in place that ensures they get the promised gift—and as soon as possible.
- Circle back with your new subscribers: Of course, you will want to follow up with your new subscribers. Otherwise, what’s the point?
This step is the most important, but it’s also really complicated as it’s highly dependent on technology.
And it doesn’t help that there are gazillion ways to go about it.
In this post, I’ll help simplify the process by listing the steps you need to take from a high level. The specific technical details depend on the systems you use.
Set up email marketing software
If you haven’t done so already, this is the time to set up your email marketing system. There are dozens of providers you could choose from. Options include the very popular MailChimp, which offers a free package for lists of fewer than 2,000 subscribers, and the much more expensive as well as sophisticated, such as Keap (Formerly InfusionSoft).
Create signup forms and landing pages
Your signup forms and landing pages have an important job to do. They promote your offer and provide the way people are going to sign up to your list and in return receive the free offer.
From a technology point of view, you’ve got options here. You can simply embed the signup form provided by the email marketing software on your website or use dedicated 3rd party solutions such as LeadPages.
I use and recommend Thrive Leads for creating opt-in forms, and Thrive Content Builder for building landing pages.
Signup forms come in different shapes and formats. A few popular ways are described below. I encourage you to try more than one format and see which one works best.
Here are some common types:
- Widget bar opt-in form: Your site visitors may or may notice this form—it won’t pop up at them or interrupt what they’re reading. It stands off to the side, passively hoping to get viewed.
- Lightbox or popup opt-in: If you absolutely want your offer to get seen, this is the way to go. It’s best for people who are new to your site.
- Ribbon type form: Like the widget bar, this is another subtle way to attract leads. Your offer will sit above the page, and it won’t disrupt your readers while they’re reading (for that reason, though, it may not get noticed either).
- Scroll mat: Grab your new visitors’ attention right way, by setting up a welcome overlay over the main page of your site. It’ll go into effect soon after they access your site for the first time.
- In-line and post footer: Give engaged visitors a reason to stick around, with teasers related to what they’re reading carefully placed between paragraphs.
If you want to dig deeper and understand when to use each type, I recommend you read this article: A Beginner’s Guide to Choosing the Perfect Opt-in Form Type
Integrate your signup forms with your email marketing software
This is an important step that makes sure everyone who fills out your signup forms will actually be added to the right email list within the email marketing system.
It usually involves grabbing an API key (a very long string of characters) from the email marketing software and placing it in a field in the signup forms tool. It’s easier than it sounds!
Add the “thank you” page
Now comes time to show your appreciation—and present the next steps for your new subscribers. You’ve got to set this up before you start making your enticing offers.
They’ll receive this message immediately after submitting their information in your form, which is on its way to your email marketing program. The point is to let them know what to expect next.
You can take the lazy route and go for the standard confirmation message your email marketing system will set up for you. But it is a much better practice to create your own page—customize it to look like it’s coming from you. Let them know what you’ll be providing them in the weeks ahead and clue them into your other offerings that they may not know about.
Below you can see a typical thank-you page:
Other information you can include on the thank you page:
You can give out more information than the example above. Consider:
- Promoting a discount on one of our main products
- Inviting subscribers to an upcoming webinar
- Sharing your social media buttons for other ways to connect with you
Upload and store your lead magnet online
It very likely took you awhile to develop your lead magnet, but your new subscribers are going to want it INSTANTLY. If your lead magnet is a downloadable file, it needs to uploaded and stored online so your subscribers can easily download it without any technical issues.
You could store the file on your own website, through DropBox, Google Drive, or Amazon S3.
Set up the process on the email marketing software side
Here’s the part where you’ll be making good on your promise. Set up an email for sending your subscribers your lead magnet. Spend time working on a subject line that will be noticed—such as Your 5-week checklist to a cleaner house is here. Be sure to fill in the “from” field with your name or company name. If you chose a decent email program, you could also personalize each message with the subscriber’s name so that it feels like a one-on-one discussion.
Very important: Be sure to include a link to your lead magnet, a way to contact you or access your site, and a “stay tuned” signoff. You want to let them know you’ll be following up, that this work (your advice, training, or tips to improve their life, career, etc.) will be ongoing. You want to keep the conversation going.
Test everything to make sure it all works
The worst thing you can do? Do all this work and fail at getting your lead magnet into people’s hands. So test out all these steps—the emails, the landing page, and the uploaded lead magnet. Try it on a few emails and have your employees or friends try it out too. Be sure the whole process is smooth before going live.
Lead magnets are useful for forging connections with prospects who can benefit from what you have to offer. Everything you do to get the lead magnet into their hands will have an effect on whether you are able to keep their attention—and their relationship with you.
Need help?
In Spot On Digital Marketing we implement this kind of systems every day. We will be delighted to help you to.
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Resources used in preparing this article:
http://www.optimizepress.com/how-to-create-deliver-free-digital-downloads/
https://moreniche.com/news/affiliate/building-profitable-subscriber-list-part-3-ask-opt/
