← the shelf
Since I used advertising to launch my gyms at full capacity I thought, maybe, I could “launch” other people’s gyms to full capacity, too. I called the company Gym Launch. Original, I know. My offer was simple. I’ll fill your gym in 30 days for free. You pay nothing. I pay for everything. I sell new members and keep the first 6 weeks of membership fees as payment. You get everything else. If I don’t fill your gym, I don’t make money. You spend nothing either way. It was an easy offer to sell. I’d fly out. Turn on my lead machine. Work the leads. Then sell the leads. Except, instead of selling them into my gym, I’d sell them into whatever gym I was camped at for the month. Every month I’d go to a new gym. Rinse and repeat. It worked.
All eight gyms we planned to launch said yes to licensing the launch materials instead. In a single day, I collected $60,000 selling something with zero cost to fulfill.
“So after I call those leads, I’ll start running ads. I’ll post our success stories in a few gym groups to get leads from there. And I’ll also tell the gyms I’ll pay $2000 cash for any gym they send that signs up. That gives us ad leads, content leads, and referral leads.”
a lead is a person you can contact. That’s all. If you bought a list of emails, those are leads. If you get contact information from a website or database, those are leads. The numbers in your phone are leads. People on the street are leads. If you can contact them, they are leads. But what I came to realize was - leads alone aren’t enough. We want engaged leads: people who *show* interest in the stuff you sell. If
A lead magnet is a complete solution to a narrow problem. It’s typically a lower-cost or free offer to see who is interested in your stuff. And, once solved, it reveals another problem solved by your core offer. This is important because leads interested in lower-cost or free offers now are more likely to buy a related higher-cost offer later. Think of it like salty pretzels at a bar. If somebody eats the pretzels, they’ll get thirsty and order a drink.
The pretzels have a cost, but when done right, the drink revenue covers the cost of the pretzels and nets a profit. So your lead magnet should be valuable enough on its own that you could charge for it. And, after they get it, they should want more of what you offer. This gets them one step closer to buying your stuff. A person who pays with their time now is more likely to pay with their money later.
Seven Steps To Creating an Effective Lead Magnet Step 1: Figure out the problem you want to solve and who to solve it for Step 2: Figure out how to solve it Step 3: Figure out how to deliver it Step 4: Test what to name it Step 5: Make it easy to consume Step 6: Make it darn good Step 7: Make it easy for them to tell you they want more
We start by picking a problem that’s narrow and meaningful. Then, solve it. And, like we just learned, when we solve one problem, a new problem reveals itself. Here comes the important part- if we can solve that new problem with our core offer, we’ve got a winner. This is because we solve this new problem in exchange for money. That’s it. Don’t overthink it.
Step 2: Figure out how to solve it There are three types of lead magnets and each offers a different type of solution. First, if your audience has a problem they don’t know about, your lead magnet would make them aware of it. Second, you could solve a recurring problem for a short amount of time with a sample or trial of your core offer. Third, you can give them one step in a multi- step process that solves a bigger problem. All three solve one problem and reveal others. So your three types are: 1) Reveal Problems, 2) Samples and Trials, and 3) One Step Of A Multi-Step Process.
Reveal Their Problem. Think “diagnosis.” These lead magnets work great when they reveal problems that get worse the longer you wait.
Step 3: Figure out how to deliver it
I’ll show you what I’ve done to attract gym owners using each lead magnet type. Software: You give them a tool. If you have a spreadsheet, calculator, or small software, your technology does a job for them. Ex: I give away a spreadsheet or dashboard that gives a gym owner all their relevant business stats, compares them to industry averages, then gives them a rank. Information: You teach them something. Courses, lessons, interviews with experts, keynote presentations, live events, mistakes and pitfalls, hacks/tips, etc. Anything they can learn from. Ex: I give away a mini course for gyms on how to write an ad. Services: You do work for free. Adjust their back. Perform a website audit. Apply the first layer of garage sealant. Transform their video into an ebook. Etc. Ex: I run gym owner’s ads for free for thirty days. Physical Products: You give them something they can hold in their hands. A posture assessment chart, a supplement, a small bottle of garage door sealant, boxing gloves to get boxing gym leads, etc. Ex: I sell a book for gym owners called Gym Launch Secrets. With three different types of lead magnets and four ways to deliver them, that’s up to twelve lead magnets that solve a single narrow problem. So many magnets, so little time!
Action Step: As a thought exercise, think of a lead magnet and then a version of it for each delivery method. You always can, I promise. Then, pick how to deliver your lead magnet.
The three things you’ll want to test are the headline, the image(s), and the subheadline, in that order. The headline is the most important. So if you only test one thing, test that.
Action Step: Test. If people engage in droves, you’ve got a winner. And if you have any following at all, you can run polls like these. You don’t need a lot of votes to get a directional idea. If you can’t do that, make a post on every platform and ask people to respond with a ‘1’ or a ‘2’, then count ‘em up. If you still can’t even do that, then just message people and ask. There’s always a way, and this is one of the highest leverage things you can do with your time - make sure how you package it gets engagement and you give yourself a big head start. Bonus Points: If people respond to the poll and ask when they can get their hands on it, you have a mega winner.
