[00:03] Welcome to this week’s episode of The Engaging Marketeer. Today, I want to talk about a common issue in digital marketing: why businesses often fail to get results despite investing in SEO, email marketing, social media, Facebook ads, or Google ads.
Here’s the problem: businesses focus on sending traffic to their websites, and they often succeed at that. However, they don’t get sales, leads, or inquiries. Why? Because their websites aren’t converting.
[00:49] When I started in this industry back in the ’90s, things were very different. There weren’t many websites, and if you had one, you stood out. For example, if you were a joiner or woodworker and had a website, you were often the only option for people searching online. Fast forward to today, and the landscape has completely changed.
If you’re looking for an accountant or financial adviser, there are hundreds of millions of options online. The question is: why would someone choose you? The answer lies in making your website compelling, and sadly, most websites fail to do that.
[01:51] Today’s users don’t want to call or email you. They definitely don’t want you calling them because they fear being sold to. What they want is the knowledge in your head—your expertise, your solutions to their problems. They’re looking for immediate solutions and that dopamine hit of feeling like their problems are solved, even though they often aren’t.
[02:51] This is where the concept of a lead magnet comes in. If you’ve been listening to this podcast, you’ve probably heard me talk about lead magnets before. A lead magnet is a free resource that provides value to your audience in exchange for their contact details.
If you don’t have a lead magnet on your website, you’re missing a massive opportunity. Let me share some examples of how effective lead magnets can be.
[03:47] We work with many clients on SEO, email marketing, and Facebook ads, but the key is ensuring the traffic converts. If your marketing efforts don’t result in sales or leads, you’re wasting money.
One client we worked with runs a local entertainment website listing restaurants, bars, clubs, and tourist attractions. Businesses pay them to advertise, and the site drives traffic to those advertisers. The issue? The client wasn’t collecting any customer data.
[05:19] They had a “Subscribe to our Newsletter” box on their website for 14 months. In that time, only 151 people signed up, despite the site attracting thousands of visitors every month. That’s a shockingly low conversion rate.
We replaced the generic newsletter subscription with a branded Christmas events calendar—a two-page PDF that included times for Christmas markets, light switch-ons, and other festive activities. To download the calendar, visitors had to provide their name and email address and agree to sign up for the newsletter.
[08:02] The result? In just two weeks, nearly 600 people signed up. That’s four times the number they had in the previous 14 months. By offering something their audience genuinely wanted, the client built a valuable database of leads.
[09:25] This approach works for any industry. For example, I created a “Visitor Inviter Guide” for BNI members, which included strategies to get people to networking events. The guide, titled “How to Be the Top Visitor Inviter in Your BNI Chapter,” has been downloaded over 1,500 times by BNI members worldwide.
This lead magnet has not only driven traffic to my website but also helped build connections and even brought in new clients.
[15:06] A key advantage of lead magnets is that they generate genuine leads—no spam or irrelevant inquiries. Every contact is someone genuinely interested in your offering.
[16:06] If you don’t have a lead magnet on your website, now’s the time to create one. It should address a specific problem your target audience faces and promise a valuable solution. Remember, people won’t download something generic like “Our Guide to the 2024 Budget.” Instead, offer something actionable and enticing, like “10 Ways to Pay Less Tax While Staying Out of Prison.”
[17:41] The title, cover, and landing page are critical. They need to clearly communicate the benefits of downloading your lead magnet. Once you have their contact information, you can follow up with email sequences, newsletters, or even phone calls.
[18:42] If you need help creating a lead magnet, reach out to us. We’re happy to provide free advice and ideas tailored to your business. But whatever you do, don’t invest in SEO, Facebook ads, or Google ads without a lead magnet. Without it, you’re wasting your marketing budget.
Thanks for listening to this week’s episode of The Engaging Marketeer. I’ll catch you on the next podcast.