Our question for this week's legal marketers: What's your lead magnet? Lead magnets are marketing tactics such as downloadable content, e-books, checklists, how to's, etc., that get potential clients interested in your organization. Here are some ideas on how you can leverage “lead magnets” to increase sales.

Melanie Brenneman, Edge Legal Marketing, Email: [email protected]

When it comes to lead magnets, it's all about relevance and usefulness. The content has to spark with your target audience or it won't matter what you're sharing. I like to pair a spark with real-world advice and takeaways. For example, a concept like “The latest e-dscovery security challenges,” is general but good. It's even better when paired with active steps someone can take to address them. Of course, one (or more) of those steps will urge the prospect to engage with your company (wink, wink).

When you have the concept and takeaways nailed down, then consider the format. Once you have a good hook, you can use it in multiple complementary ways for lead generation via email, infographics, videos, blog posts, and more. Keep an eye on the performance of campaign you create so you can fine-tune which pieces perform the best. That will help you ID your lead magnet formula for future campaigns.

Christy Burke, Burke & Co., Email: [email protected]

Over the years, many lead magnets have proven effective for my clients in the legal/tech space. Contributed thought leader or tips articles, free educational webinars, whitepapers and contests have all been strong horses. My favorite one, though, is surveys. Surveys can be short—as short as two questions which you can call a “snap poll”—but they can also be much longer. Surveys are great because they provide empirical data that vendors can use to build industry cred and thought leadership.

A survey can be set up easily through SurveyMonkey or equivalent and can be publicized via social media, email and press release/media coverage. Once they are tabulated and analyzed, the survey results provide entry to a wide variety of publicity options for the vendor. Survey results can be rolled into a professional-looking report PDF that people must register to access so you can capture their basics and contact info. The data can be highlighted in a press release, pitched to editors and bloggers for media coverage, and analyzed in thought leadership articles, white papers or blog posts. And you can repeat the same survey each year, calling it your company's “Annual Survey of XYZ” to build brand equity and lasting thought leadership. Quite simply, surveys are the lead magnet gift that keeps on giving.

Valerie Chan, Plat4orm PR, Email: [email protected]

All customers are bombarded with endless content, and all are looking for more personal connections in all areas of their lives, including their work. Customers respond to an emotional, authentic connection, regardless of the marketing platform. Lead magnets can be a good example of that fundamental marketing principle.

Lead magnets (downloadable content, e-books, case studies, webinars, checklists and “How To” guides, etc.) are designed to get prospective clients interested in your organization. But they are only impactful if they resonate with your audience and if they provide potential customers with a compelling reason to buy. Why should a prospect download or consume your content? Does it motivate that person to learn more about your service/product? Does it communicate your expertise as a trusted advisor?

Here's a simple approach to lead magnet creation:

  • Start by listening and really understanding your potential customers' pain points. Design your lead magnets to explain in clear language how your product or service can help resolve those issues.
  • Ask yourself which syndicated channels are appropriate to attract the right people. Which channel is likely to draw individuals who are receptive to your messages and poised to take the next step in learning more?
  • Once you have the right messages, consider where in the purchase funnel those messages are most likely to resonate, and the next steps you want potential customers to take as they proceed further down the funnel. If you're targeting potential customers at the top of the funnel, design the lead magnet to open up a conversation. If you're targeting leads toward the end of the funnel, create the lead magnet to communicate that you have listened to their needs and are helping customers solve specific problems.

Every company wants more customers, sales and revenue, and we are all looking for better ways to push prospects through the purchase funnel to a sale. Yet many companies do not follow the marketing basics that transform a prospective lead into a paying client. By providing relevant content with the right messages in the right channel, you really can provide value to any potential customer and improve your bottom line.

Ed Colandra, Mindful Marketing Solutions, Email: [email protected]

Getting anyone to read or listen to information takes a lot of work. Despite carrying mobile devices that push LIVE audio and video news, with an ever-growing amount of time being spent on looking at apps on those devices, people still want more. They want information—original is better than purely curated, but still, it is information.

If the reader can absorb it quickly and recall anything that would remind them who it was that told them the info, it's a home run. In our industry, we don't have many horse-drawn carriages, playing cute jingles in the background to grab our readers' attention. Instead, we have to have some truly “golden-nuggets” regardless if it is about AI, SharePoint, blockchain, security, or any of the myriad of topics legal technology executives are trying to address and make the best choice about the supplier.

As marketers, we need to put a balance in place for our clients. It's not enough to have those golden nuggets in a variety of formats. What we must have to execute the quid-pro-quo which gives the reader confidence to provide their email address in return for that valuable information. Only two things can cause this to fail. First, abusing the email address. I've literally gotten an email before the PDF finished downloading! Gimme a break! Second, what we (or our client) considers to be a nugget really needs to be vetted for its value. If it's just another cleverly concealed brochure about why one DMS is better than another, it's likely to get worse results that if it wasn't there to begin with.

Just keep it simple. What is it that you have that is truly unique and valuable? How will you go back to the email sender and keep it to something like “We hope you enjoyed the whitepaper you downloaded. We'd really like to hear what you thought. Would you answer a five minute survey on what mattered most or when might be a good time to discuss your feedback?”

Ari Kaplan, Ari Kaplan Advisors, Email: [email protected]

Lead magnets are easiest to generate when repurposed from existing content. For example, read a previously published article into your phone and record to create an audio file that visitors to your site can download. It is the exact same content, but the format makes it a completely new resource for future prospects. You can apply the same approach to converting bullet points from a PowerPoint slide into a more thoughtfully designed tip sheet or infographic, which happens to be my favorite strategy.

Maximize your branding by aligning your end product with your organization's color palette and always include contact information. You can easily get started by reviewing your content portfolio for guidance that may be helpful to your target audience. Regardless of what you create, the goal is to provide a great resource that reflects your brand, capabilities, and commitment to client service.

Cathy Kenton, Legal Vendor Strategies, Email: [email protected]

Lead magnets are a single tactic in an integrated marketing strategy and plan. Like all tactics, establish your metrics before your launch the campaign. You should know the results you expect and measure those expectations against actual results, then modify your plans accordingly.

As the name suggests, lead magnets are used to attract new leads to nurture through a process. Have your nurturing plan in place and use your marketing automation system to trigger next steps and lead scoring, carefully referring leads to your sales team only when they are truly sales-ready.