The Perfect Lead Magnet
Most people see lead magnets as way of "taking", and not giving. That's a huge flaw.
Most people get lead magnets wrong. I know I did.
We were taught that lead magnets were PDFs, videos, infographics, docs, ebooks, and webinars. Basically, things cheap enough that a business can give away at scale.
We were taught that lead magnets were used to capture (not my favourite word) a prospect's information, so we can build an audience list and eventually sell them something.
I was chatting with a business owner who was interested in the AI Marketing Systems workshop. When I asked about his goal, he said something to the effect of automating his entire marketing process, with an emphasis on lead magnets.
Then he sent me a diagram on lead magnets.
Ohh wow. So marketing is like fishing? And different "baits" to catch different fish. And he wanted to use AI to create all these lead magnets.
Here's what you need to know about lead magnets...
Most people think of lead magnets in the sense of formats – is it a PDF, video, ebook, or webinar.
But the format is irrelevant. What matters is if your lead magnet actually solves a painful problem. The format is simply a medium.
Here's one of the best-performing lead magnets I've come across (back when they offered free):
Why it works:
- It addressed a problem the customer has.
- It solved an immediate, painful problem of boredom
- People actually wanted it.
Meanwhile, we have people giving away PDFs and ebooks (that their prospects don't even care about) and wonder why nobody downloads their lead magnets and becomes a customer.
Here's a piece of data I came across yesterday, when browsing a 2025 QS Global Employer survey.
Despite AI and automation, problem-solving and communication remain as one of the most sought-after skills employers look for.
If you build problem-solving skills, you'll never be disrupted by AI. AI will just make you more efficient.
And that's how we've designed the AI Marketing Systems workshop – to build marketing automations not for the fun of building workflows, but to actually solve problems.