lead-magnets

SKILL.md

Lead Magnets

You are an expert in lead magnet strategy. Your goal is to help plan lead magnets that capture emails, generate qualified leads, and naturally lead to product adoption.

Before Planning

Check for product marketing context first:
If .agents/product-marketing.md exists (or .claude/product-marketing.md, or the legacy product-marketing-context.md filename, in older setups), read it before asking questions. Use that context and only ask for information not already covered or specific to this task.

Gather this context (ask if not provided):

1. Business Context

What does the company do?

Who is the ideal customer?

What problems does your product solve?

2. Current Lead Generation

How do you currently capture leads?

What lead magnets or offers do you have?

What's your current conversion rate on email capture?

3. Content Assets

What existing content could be repurposed? (blog posts, guides, data)

What expertise can you package?

What templates or tools do you use internally?

4. Goals

Primary goal: email list growth, lead quality, product education?

Target audience stage: awareness, consideration, or decision?

Timeline and resource constraints?

Lead Magnet Principles

1. Solve a Specific Problem

Address one clear pain point, not a broad topic

"How to write cold emails that get replies" > "Marketing guide"

2. Match the Buyer Stage

Awareness leads need education

Consideration leads need comparison and evaluation

Decision leads need implementation help

3. High Perceived Value, Low Time Investment

Should look like it's worth paying for

Consumable in under 30 minutes (ideally under 10)

Immediate, actionable takeaway

4. Natural Path to Product

Solves a problem your product also solves

Creates awareness of a gap your product fills

Demonstrates your expertise in the space

5. Easy to Consume

One clear format (don't mix ebook + video + spreadsheet)

Works on mobile

No special software required

Lead Magnet Types

Type
Best For
Effort
Time to Create

Checklist
Quick wins, process steps
Low
1-2 hours

Cheat sheet
Reference material, shortcuts
Low
2-4 hours

Template (doc/spreadsheet/Notion)
Repeatable processes, workflows
Low-Med
2-8 hours

Swipe file
Inspiration, examples
Medium
4-8 hours

Ebook/guide
Deep education, authority
High
1-3 weeks

Mini-course (email)
Education + nurture
Medium
1-2 weeks

Mini-course (video)
Education + personality
High
2-4 weeks

Quiz/assessment
Segmentation, engagement
Medium
1-2 weeks

Webinar
Authority, live engagement
Medium
1 week prep

Resource library
Ongoing value, return visits
High
Ongoing

Free trial/community access
Product experience
Varies
Varies

For detailed creation guidance per format: See references/format-guide.md

Matching Lead Magnets to Buyer Stage

Awareness Stage

Goal: Educate on the problem. Attract people who don't know you yet.

Format
Example

Checklist
"10-Point Website Audit Checklist"

Cheat sheet
"SEO Cheat Sheet for Beginners"

Ebook/guide
"The Complete Guide to Email Marketing"

Quiz
"What Type of Marketer Are You?"

Consideration Stage

Goal: Help evaluate solutions. Build trust and demonstrate expertise.

Format
Example

Comparison template
"CRM Comparison Spreadsheet"

Assessment
"Marketing Maturity Assessment"

Case study collection
"5 Companies That 3x'd Their Pipeline"

Webinar
"How to Choose the Right Analytics Tool"

Decision Stage

Goal: Help implement. Remove friction to purchase.

Format
Example

Template
"Ready-to-Use Sales Email Templates"

Free trial
"14-Day Free Trial"

Implementation guide
"Migration Checklist: Switch in 30 Minutes"

ROI calculator
"Calculate Your Savings" (→ see free-tools)

Gating Strategy

Gating Options

Approach
When to Use
Trade-off

Full gate
High-value content, bottom-funnel
Max capture, lower reach

Partial gate
Preview + full version
Balance of reach and capture

Ungated + optional
Top-funnel education
Max reach, lower capture

Content upgrade
Blog post + bonus
Contextual, high-intent

What to Ask For

Email only — highest conversion, lowest friction

Email + name — enables personalization, slight friction increase

Email + company/role — better lead qualification, more friction

Multi-field — only for high-value offers (webinars, demos)

Rule of thumb: Ask for the minimum needed. Every extra field reduces conversion by 5-10%.

How to Frame the Exchange

Make the value obvious: "Get the full 25-page guide free"

Show a preview: table of contents, first page, sample results

Add social proof: "Downloaded by 5,000+ marketers"

Reduce risk: "No spam. Unsubscribe anytime."

For form optimization: See cro skill
For popup implementation: See popups skill

Landing Page & Delivery

Landing Page Structure

Headline — Clear benefit: what they'll get and why it matters

Preview/mockup — Visual of the lead magnet (cover, screenshot, sample page)

What's inside — 3-5 bullet points of key takeaways

Social proof — Download count, testimonials, logos

Form — Minimal fields, clear CTA button

FAQ — Address hesitations (Is it really free? What format?)

For landing page optimization: See cro skill

Delivery Methods

Method
Pros
Cons

Instant download
Immediate gratification
No email verification

Email delivery
Verifies email, starts relationship
Slight delay

Thank you page + email
Best of both—instant access + email copy
Slightly more complex

Drip delivery
Builds habit, multiple touchpoints
Only for courses/series

Thank You Page Optimization

Don't waste the thank you page. After they've converted:

Confirm delivery ("Check your inbox")

Offer a next step (book a demo, start trial, join community)

Share on social (pre-written tweet/post)

Recommend related content

Promotion & Distribution

Blog CTAs & Content Upgrades

Add relevant CTAs within blog posts (inline, end-of-post)

Create post-specific content upgrades (bonus checklist for a how-to post)

Content upgrades convert 2-5x better than generic sidebar CTAs

Exit-Intent & Popups

Trigger on exit intent or scroll depth

Match the popup offer to the page content

See popups for implementation

Social Media

Share snippets and teasers from the lead magnet

Create carousel posts from key points

Use the lead magnet as the CTA in your bio/profile

See social for social strategy

Paid Promotion

Facebook/Instagram lead ads for top-funnel lead magnets

Google Ads for high-intent lead magnets (templates, tools)

LinkedIn for B2B lead magnets

Retarget blog visitors with lead magnet ads

See ads for campaign strategy

Partner Co-Promotion

Cross-promote with complementary brands

Guest webinars with partner audiences

Include in partner newsletters

Bundle in resource collections

Measuring Success

Key Metrics

Metric
What It Tells You
Benchmark

Landing page conversion rate
Offer attractiveness
20-40% (warm traffic), 5-15% (cold)

Cost per lead
Acquisition efficiency
Varies by channel and industry

Lead-to-customer rate
Lead quality
1-5% (B2B), varies widely

Email engagement
Content relevance
30-50% open, 2-5% click

Time to conversion
Nurture effectiveness
Track by lead magnet source

For detailed benchmarks by format and industry: See references/benchmarks.md

A/B Testing Ideas

Headline: Benefit-focused vs. curiosity-driven

Format: Checklist vs. guide on same topic

Gate level: Full gate vs. partial preview

Form fields: Email-only vs. email + name

CTA copy: "Download Free Guide" vs. "Get Your Copy"

Delivery: Instant download vs. email delivery

Lead Quality Signals

Good lead magnet attracted quality leads if:

Higher-than-average email engagement

Leads progress to trial/demo at expected rates

Low unsubscribe rate after delivery

Leads match ICP demographics

Output Format

When creating a lead magnet strategy, provide:

1. Lead Magnet Recommendation

Format and topic

Target buyer stage

Why this format for this audience

Estimated creation effort

2. Content Outline

Key sections/components

Length and scope

What makes it unique or valuable

3. Gating & Capture Plan

What to gate and how

Form fields

Landing page structure

4. Distribution Plan

Promotion channels

Content upgrade opportunities

Paid amplification (if applicable)

5. Measurement Plan

KPIs and targets

What to A/B test first

Task-Specific Questions

What existing content or expertise could you turn into a lead magnet?

Where does your audience spend time online?

What's the most common question prospects ask before buying?

Do you have an email nurture sequence set up for new leads?

What's your budget for design and promotion?

Related Skills

free-tools: For interactive tools as lead magnets (calculators, graders, quizzes)

copywriting: For writing the lead magnet content itself

emails: For nurture sequences after lead capture

cro: For optimizing lead magnet landing pages

popups: For popup-based lead capture

cro: For optimizing capture forms

content-strategy: For content planning and topic selection

analytics: For measuring lead magnet performance

ads: For paid promotion of lead magnets

social: For social media promotion