21 Inspiring Lead Magnet Examples for Small Businesses

We’ve already told you how important a lead magnet is for lead generation and getting more subscribers. We even shared seven kinds of lead magnets that convert. Now, let’s take a closer look at 21 lead magnet examples for small business that will help inspire you and increase your lead generation efforts.

As you work on your business’s lead generation efforts, your goal is two-fold:

First, you want to attract good leads. These are people who have a strong interest in the subject matter that you are an expert on and the services or products you offer.

Second, you want to gain their trust. This can be done through digital marketing, which utilizes a combination of content and email marketing strategies.

By accomplishing both these goals, you will establish a direct line of communication with leads through email. This allows you to more effectively and efficiently court them along their path to conversion – the sale!

Here are some great small business lead magnet examples that showcase how effective a tool they can be.

21 Inspiring Lead Magnet Examples for Small Businesses

As you look through the following list of lead magnet examples, take notice of how much variety there is. Every business has its own unique strength and value proposition, and that should be used when creating your lead magnet offerings.

Checklist Lead Magnet Examples

A checklist is a great lead magnet for appealing to almost everyone. Creating a branded printable and clickable download your prospects can use as needed, is incredibly valuable.

Here are some examples of lead magnet checklists:

1. Hubspot has a wealth of marketing-related resources on its website. One such resource is this checklist that helps web designers and anyone else looking to redesign a business website.

2. Suddath has another good example with this office moving checklist. As you can see, all the points in the checklist are included on the landing page. For readers that want a printable copy, they can submit their information and receive the free download.

3. My Wedding has an entire landing page dedicated to this wedding planning to-do list and kit. And since it’s an electronic checklist, it’s something users can use wherever they go and completely customize to their liking.

And of course, you can grab our FREE Blogging checklist that helps turn your blog into a powerful marketing tool! Grab it below (and yes…this is an example!!)

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Template Lead Magnet Examples

With templates, take a look at the items you use within your own business or as you work through client projects. There’s often something you can pull from and repurpose as a lead magnet template or even a sample document that prospects can use as a starting point for themselves.

Here are some examples of lead magnet templates:

4. Goosmann Law Firm has a vast library of free resources available from its library. For the most part, these are guides dedicated to helping clients plan for various legal matters. There is also a demand letter template available.

5. Shopify uses a refund policy generator tool and template as part of its lead generation efforts. To sweeten the deal leads also receive 14 days free of Shopify.

6. Bidsketch is a software that helps businesses create proposals for prospective customers. The very top of the homepage advertises a free sample of a proposal document. This is a great way to sell prospects that want to test it out before purchasing the software.

List Lead Magnet Examples

Whereas a checklist gives your prospects a file they can use to manage processes in their life, lists (or listicles) are an effective way to give them ideas and inspiration. There is nothing to check off here; it’s just a well-composed and succinct list to motivate their efforts and push them in the right direction.

Here are some examples of lead magnet lists:

7. Hubspot has a list of holiday marketing ideas targeted at e-commerce and retail companies. The landing page gives a summary of what’s included in the list, so leads can see that there’s much more than 26 ideas here.

8. Blink and you might miss this one, but Infusionsoft offers a cheat sheet on the sidebar of its resources pages. This one promises “20 Ways to Personalize Automated Emails”.

9. The Marketing Expert website has a pop-up offer for a free list of tips for authors wanting to learn how to market their book. It simply requires a name and email address.

Tool Lead Magnet Examples

While you might assume that tools only make sense for software companies and others already in the business of building digital tools, that’s not the case. Tools ultimately depend on the line of work you’re in as well as what your audience values.

Here are some examples of lead magnet tools:

10. Elaine Froese is a Farm Family coach. She provides anyone who comes to her site a free Farm Family Toolkit, which is a collection of planning tools they can use on their farm for succession planning and better communication.

11. The first time anyone attempts to use CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer tool, they are prompted to log in. This doesn’t require any purchase of services either; it’s simply so one can gain access to the headline-analyzing tool.

12. Melyssa Griffin’s toolkit comes in the form of a 20-page workbook for business owners that want assistance building their business plan. The workbook will guide them through the process while actively engaging them through each step.

Digital Guides / eBook Lead Magnet Examples

The purpose of a digital guide such as an eBook, white paper, case study, research report, etc., is to educate and inform prospects and current customers on a relevant topic. To make the most impact, guides should include custom information or research you’ve gathered and that presents valuable insights readers won’t get anywhere else.

Here are some examples of lead magnet digital guides:

13. Major tourism hubs (e.g., cities, amusement parks, etc.) offer free travel guides to visitors to help them plan and prepare for an upcoming trip. Visit Orlando has a good example of one of these that includes insider tips, special offers, area maps, and more.

14. Epson has published this restaurant experience white paper on its website. As the landing page explains, it’s a thorough guide that walks restaurant owners through the customer journey.

15. Walker Sands is a marketing and PR organization that does a lot of research and then packages it up into custom reports and guides. This particular one is a 2018 Future of Retail Study.

Educational Video Lead Magnet Examples

We use a lot of video in content marketing because that’s what audiences want. They want information delivered quickly and conveniently, and video does a great job of that.

However, not every video you create should be given away for free. For those of you who are comfortable in front of the camera and want to take advantage of this opportunity, there are a number of ways to use educational video to attract leads.

Here are some examples of lead magnet video:

16. Lithium has developed a series dedicated to the customer experience. A replay of each episode in the series is available from a promotional landing page that breaks down what prospects will learn from it.

17. WP Elevation conducts regular live training webinars for both its clients as well as interested prospects. Everyone is invited to attend, but only those who provide their email address are given access to the event. As a bonus, WP Elevation throws in a free infographic.

18. Marie Forleo’s website takes a slightly different approach to educational lead magnets. In this case, she offers free audio training for anyone interested in building the life of their dreams.

Discount/Demo Lead Magnet Examples

Finally, we have discounts and free demos used as lead magnets. These aren’t the same as discount codes that are provided on e-commerce websites that anyone can get ahold of. Nor are they the same as embedded videos that give prospects a chance to see inside the platform before making a purchase. With these, leads are incentivized to dig deeper and try their hand at the product or service before committing to it.

Here are some examples of lead magnet discounts and demos:

19. Marketo is a marketing platform that offers video explainers of its services packaged up with an in-depth demo that covers all areas of the platform.

20. Salesforce goes all in with this completely free trial of its Sales solution. There’s no signing up for a demo or conversation with a sales rep. Instead, prospects get a trial period to use it and decide if it’s right.

21. If you’re wondering how a discount would work in this case, take a look at what GrubHub does. When someone enters the website, they receive a pop-up message that offers a discount in exchange for referring a friend.

Getting your lead magnet in front of prospects is simple enough in execution, as you can see by the examples we’ve shared. However, a good lead generation strategy takes into account not only how to get more subscribers for your small business, but also how to give leads something truly valuable in exchange.

You’ll need to get strategic about what content you’ll offer to ensure that you are drawing in the right type of prospects but also how you’ll nurture them to become lifelong customers. Keep this in mind as you work on building your own lead magnet and the follow-up that comes after.