Consider this: you dedicate a lot of time and effort to grow your online visibility and drive traffic to your website. But what happens after people land on it?
If you’ve been struggling to encourage engagement from your website visitors, integrating lead magnets into your website can be a game-changer. Before your online visitors book a coaching session or sign up for your program, they want to be sure it would add value to their life.
And that’s where lead magnets come in, providing a fantastic way to showcase your expertise without requiring prospective clients to commit to anything. A handy icebreaker, in other words.
If you’re keen on expanding your coaching impact and attracting ideal coaching clients, this guide will give you actionable ideas you can start implementing right away – even if you have never done this before.
What is a lead magnet?
A lead magnet, sometimes called “gated content”, is a valuable free offer you provide to your target audience in exchange for their contact information, usually an email address. Your website visitors submit a download form and get immediate access to your resource. At the same time, you get a new qualified lead in your email database.
We’ll explore different types and ideas for lead magnets for coaches below, but a quick example of a lead magnet for a coach is a webinar that you co-hosted, an eBook you’ve written or a worksheet you use with your clients during coaching sessions.
The golden rule for every lead magnet
Provide genuine value. This is the most important quality for any piece of content you produce, but especially so for lead magnets, because people usually decide to submit the lead magnet form within a few seconds. That’s why you need to showcase the value of your content right in the title.
So the golden rule is to dedicate your resources to creating engaging and valuable content that provides helpful information, answers questions, and addresses pain points. When people get real value from your lead magnet, they’re one step closer to signing up for your coaching program.
10 lead magnet ideas for coaches
1. Webinars and video content
The digital landscape may be discovering new content formats to engage the audience, but the video remains the top-performing content format people crave. According to the GetResponse survey, video lead magnets have the highest conversion rate of 24.2%:
Source: Best Lead Magnets for Lead Generation: 2020 Study Report
Webinars and live video series are incredibly effective precisely because they offer a real-time human interaction that other lead magnets formats like cheat sheets or templates lack. You can pack each webinar with value by answering specific questions from your audience and sharing your knowledge. They are also the best format for helping you show your unique coaching style.
Moreover, you can repurpose each webinar and embrace the true spirit of a digital creator. Here are a few ideas.
Convert the webinar into a blog post
Use an online transcription tool to convert your webinar into a written format and publish it as an article on your blog. Add links to related content, include it in your email newsletter, share both the recording and the written version with your community, and promote it in your social media campaigns – the opportunities to enhance your marketing strategy are endless.
Use generative AI to create multiple video clips
A tool like opus.pro enables you to create viral clips from long-form videos which you can repeatedly share with your community to satisfy their need for the video format.
Top webinar tool to explore
- Restream for live streaming
2. The Wheel of Life exercise
You’re probably using the Wheel of Life tool (or a similar exercise) in your coaching business to identify your client’s pain points and track their progress over time.
Wheel of Life can easily become one of your most popular lead magnets, if you do it right. Here are some tips to include in your strategy:
- Create a popup that would take your website visitors to the landing page with the Wheel of Life exercise. That way, it’s easier for them to submit it.
- Keep it short. For example, the upcoach free Wheel of Life tool only has 10 questions that people can rate in under 30 seconds (although they’re welcome to take more time and contemplate them, or skip some questions).
- Follow up with potential clients after they have submitted the Wheel of Life questionnaire to offer feedback and help.
Top Wheel of Life tools to explore
- upcoach Wheel of Life (free)
- OptinMonster for popups
3. Free discovery call or coaching session
This could be the most valuable resource for your prospective clients and a source of qualified leads for your coaching business.
Most coaches usually offer 15 to 30-minute free discovery calls and this is a perfect lead magnet to show your unique coaching style, answer questions about your coaching programs, and get valuable insights about your (hopefully) future clients.
While prospective clients will appreciate the personalized experience, it can sometimes be challenging for you as a coach to integrate free discovery calls into your busy schedule. However, free consultation remains one of the most powerful lead magnets for capturing interest, so it’s well worth the effort.
Top tool to explore
- Zoom for quick calls on both desktop and mobile devices
4. Free habit tracker
This is a great lead magnet idea for any coach who is interested in boosting accountability and completion rates for their coaching programs. If you give your target audience a free resource to keep track of their commitments and stay motivated, you can easily stay on top of their minds.
While many coaches use Excel templates to help clients track habits, you can take this a step further and offer your audience an app they can use on mobile devices, so it’s easy and fun to stay committed.
For example, the upcoach platform provides a built-in habit tracker which your clients can share with others (for example, as part of your group coaching program).
Top habit tracker tool
5. Podcast subscription
According to eMarketer, there are 464.7M podcast listeners globally and this number will only grow in the coming years. Podcasting has already turned into a multi-billion dollar industry and it’s a perfect opportunity for every coach to generate qualified leads and keep their community engaged and active. Imagine the volume of valuable information you can provide in a 20 to 30-minute episode.
All in all, a podcast is a powerful lead magnet to enhance your coaching service without putting too much strain on your resources.
Top podcast tool
- Redcircle for podcast hosting and distribution
6. eBook
an eBook is another popular lead magnet idea you can explore. Depending on your coaching niche, you can create a step-by-step process, selection of facts and resources on a given topic, or practical highlights from your coaching experience.
A high-quality eBook takes time and resources to put together, but if you aim at evergreen content, you can attract leads with it for months to come. As always, keep it packed with valuable information that your potential clients can relate to.
Top eBook creation tool
- Canva ( 1,000+ eBook templates)
7. Free cheat sheet
In this digital day and age, we all love handy shortcuts, tips and tricks to get things done faster. This is what makes every free cheat sheet such an effective lead magnet idea.
Depending on your coaching niche, you can pick your target audience’s most common challenges to create a cheat sheet tailored to solve them.
For example, a life coach can create a lifeline app to help potential clients keep track of life-changing events and milestones. A business coach can create a vision board template to help their clients embrace the CEO mindset.
Top cheat sheet creation tool
- Google Docs and Google Sheets
- upcoach Lifeline app (coming soon!)
8. Mini courses
One of the best lead magnets for coaches are mini courses. This could be a condensed version of your coaching program or course that prospective clients can check out, if they hesitate about committing to the entire program.
A mini course is a great lead generation tool for your digital marketing strategy because it’s usually relatively easy to put together (you can repurpose your existing program). The juiciest parts can remain gated untill your leads sign up for your coaching program or course. You can combine video and written content to create a free lead magnet your audience will appreciate.
9. Newsletter opt-in
Email marketing is not going anywhere and growing your email list should be one of the priorities for your digital marketing strategy. Newsletter opt-in is one of those evergreen lead magnet ideas for coaches that are both easy to implement and effective.
When planning your newsletter and email marketing calendar, keep in mind that some of the most engaging formats are:
- a weekly or monthly curation of new educational resources across the Web (new podcast episodes, webinars, documentaries, blogs, guides, etc.)
- a roundup of upcoming events your target audience might be interested in and would likely attend
Top newsletter tools
- OptinMonster for opt-in popups
- Mailchimp email marketing software for campaign and list management
10. Masterclasses
Masterclasses are not to be confused with webinars. They follow a similar format but webinars usually offer a broader, high-level overview of the topic (great for the awareness stage), while masterclasses dive deep into a highly specific topic.
So keep in mind that for a masterclass to be an effective lead magnet, you need to share highly accurate and detailed step-by-step processes about the given topic. Ultimately, get ready for a value-packed how-to session with your audience and expect tricky questions as some of the attendees might be familiar with the topic.
Top masterclass tool
Wrapping up
As a coach, you have so many marketing tools at your disposal: your community, website, landing pages, content marketing, Facebook groups, paid ads, email marketing, live events, and everything in between. It can be challenging to connect the dots between them and that’s where lead magnets come in.
They help you move your potential clients between different stages in their journey, showcase the value of your coaching business and unveil your personality as a coach.
Over to you! Give it a go and start creating effective lead magnets for your audience to step up your digital marketing and lead generation game.
