An email list is a super weapon for any creator.
It allows you to generate revenue on demand and makes your business ‘algorithm-proof.’
But growing your email list isn’t just about the traffic you bring to your opt-in page. It’s also about the lead magnet you’re offering.
A great lead magnet can double the number of people who sign up for your list overnight.
The problem is that most lead magnets are dead boring and make most of your visitors jump off before handing over their contact info.
Instead, what if your opt-in page would make your visitors fill out the “enter your email” box faster than a slice of New York cheesecake?
You can create such a lead magnet this weekend without locking yourself in the basement.
Let’s see how.
Step 0: Understand the Secrets of a Great Lead Magnet
To attract the right fish, you need the right bait.
A lead magnet isn’t just some downloadable PDF you slap together in a fit of creative genius.
Nope.
A top-tier lead magnet is something your ideal customer can consume in, let’s say, the time it takes to chug a cup of coffee. Five minutes or less. They don’t have time for your 50-page e-book to decipher your “ultimate guide to something complicated.”
Instead, they want something they can quickly absorb and say, “Wow, this is brilliant! I need more of this in my life!”
Why is quick consumption so crucial? Because it solves an immediate problem. Imagine you’re parched. You’d prefer someone hand you a glass of water now rather than direct you to a well three miles away, right? Instant relief is compelling; it keeps people coming back for more.
A smashing lead magnet is quick to consume and solves a problem faster than you can say, “Bob’s your uncle.”
Step 1: Start with this
Before sitting down at your keyboard and starting to type, hold on.
You might want to fill your email list by going broad and general. And that’s the huge mistake.
It’s not about the numbers. But about the quality.
Who wants an email list full of disengaged tire-kickers?
Great lead magnets start with a north star: your ideal dream customer. The one who’s going to spend thousands of dollars with you over the next couple of years.
To attract that fish, think laser beam, not floodlight. You need to focus on one type of person, like a cat eyeing a mouse.
Say your expertise is in personal finance. Your ideal customer isn’t “anyone who has money.” Nah, it’s “mid-level managers in their 40s who are sick of living paycheck to paycheck.”
Can you feel the specificity?
If you want to cut through the noise, your message needs to be as intimate as a handwritten letter, making the reader feel like you’re talking to them and only them (even though it will go out to thousands of people).
Make it personal.
Step 2: Uncover a bleeding neck
Nobody wants to sign up for a damn newsletter.
Instead, people crave solutions to painful problems (bleeding necks).
The second question you need to answer about your ideal prospect is this: What’s the most painful problem your target audience is experiencing right NOW?
Most times, the biggest pain point is glaringly obvious. It’s like a neon sign in a dark alley; you can’t miss it.
Continuing with our personal finance example for mid-level managers in their 40s.
What’s their number one headache? Retirement planning?
Nah.
It’s getting through the month without scrounging for pennies.
It’s as clear as day.
Need some inspiration? Use ChatGPT to do some market research by using this prompt:
Act as my market research assistant.
My target audience is {{ADD SOME SPECIFICS RIGHT HERE}}
Please give me 5 specific strong emotional problems they're currently dealing with that keep them up at night.As an example, I help creators build a powerful note-taking system to create their personal knowledge library at their fingertips to create better content faster.
My lead magnet solves a simple problem: stop taking notes that you don’t engage with.
Pick a simple problem and solve it.
Step 3: Provide a fast food solution
You’ve pinpointed that crippling problem your ideal customer is facing.
Now, roll up those sleeves; it’s time to be the hero they’ve been waiting for. But hey, don’t get all Shakespearean. You don’t have to solve their entire life’s problem in one go.
A quick win will do.
In the case of our financially distraught mid-level manager, a quick win could be as simple as a budgeting method that frees up an extra $200 a month. That’s grocery money. It gives them breathing room, and more importantly, it cements your status as a wizard in their eyes.
Why?
Because you’ve shown you can solve their problem. You’re not all talk; you’re the real deal.
Deliver a quick win. It turns skeptics into believers and opens the door for deeper solutions down the line.
Step 4: Ship it in 5 minutes
You’ve the quick win.
Now, don’t make the mistake everybody else is doing: Don’t bury it in a 100-slide PowerPoint or 75-page ebook!
Who has the time to sift through that?
Seriously, think of your solution like fast food — it should be easily digestible and instantly satisfying.
A great way to deliver your lead magnet? A simple email.
Why do I love emails? Because they’re like a whisper in someone’s ear, direct and intimate. The moment your ideal customer opens that email: Boom! They should find their quick win.
No right-click right and save as. No hoops, no frills.
Think of it as handing them a cold homemade lemonade on a hot day — refreshing, simple, no bottle opener needed.
They can read it on their phone during a coffee break and implement it before dinner.
That’s it.
Stop missing out on leads — create your lead magnet this weekend.