Since you decided to become a coach, I bet you’ve subscribed for dozens of lead magnets

And, I also bet that most of them were not very enlightening. There’s an art to providing real value without giving away too much for free, and while creating relationships of trust with future clients.

I can share that with you over a few episodes.

The main thing to know is that your downloadable free gift should be UNIQUELY valuable, address a top problem for your audience, and inspire them to follow you.

Those followers can become your future coaching clients. Sounds good right?

Trust me, it’s so much easier to set up a customer journey now where you are attracting and nurturing future clients than it is to chase potential clients when you’re desperate for them.

Let’s talk about why it’s smart for coaches to have a lead magnet and I’ll share 4 powerful questions to test the effectiveness of your lead magnet idea.

Why Do Coaches Need a Leads List?

Having a free downloadable offer and leads list is a strategy to attract likely prospects and then stay in touch. It is ONE automated strategy to share value that only requires a tiny investment of your web visitor – their name and email address. So, it’s a lot more attractive than “Hey sign up for a free call.”

With a lead magnet, you have the opportunity to stay in touch with those interested people with a weekly email for as long as they are still subscribed. Those emails build trust incrementally over time.

It’s true — they can unsubscribe at any time. You actually want people to unsubscribe who are not truly interested. That’s not a rejection of you. It’s simply a choice they make based on what’s right for them at the time. So, don’t sweat that.

Done right, this automated first connection through a lead magnet can build a lot of followers.

I often hear from coaches newly enrolled in my VIP Mentoring program that they’ve been getting emails from me and listening to my podcast episodes for months, sometimes years. That helps them to decide to hire me.

Coaches Need to Create Their Own Network of Potential Clients

By the way, there’s nothing tricky or inauthentic about this attraction process.

It’s not unusual for it to take dozens of messages before your words inspire action — to have a Discovery Call with you or purchase something from you. That’s because people are busy, distracted and bombarded with messages all day long.

Coaches need to create their own network of potential clients and incrementally inspire the most ideal prospects to hire them. That happens naturally by talking about what’s important to your specific audience as it relates to your specific niche.

That may seem obvious and I appreciate your business savvy if you already knew that. I often see coaches just offering a free session, free call or a lead magnet that mostly extolls the value of coaching and doesn’t actually relate to their audience at all. That approach is rarely successful.

Offer Them Something They Know They Want

Let me illustrate a better approach …

As a new coach, what is or was a BIG problem for you?

I know from surveys and experience that the #1 problem for most new coaches is how to decide on and pursue a smart coaching niche they will love. The niche comes before the other big problem of finding enough paying clients.

That’s why my lead magnet is called … 5 Secrets to a Profitable Coaching Niche You’ll Love. Check it out and notice the process surrounding opt-in if choosing your niche is heavy on your mind right now. In any case, you can unsubscribe any time.

For your lead magnet, choose specific challenges your audience is facing that your Signature Program covers.  Episode 292 is about how to Create a High-Ticket Signature Program Your Audience Wants. Your lead magnet can be based on that.

Write your lead magnet in a fresh way with UNIQUE insights your audience can’t find elsewhere. You have to dig deep into your own wisdom and perspectives. And that’s why your ideal potential clients will want to follow you.

And, of course, not everyone on your leads list will hire you. This is also a natural selection process and nothing to fear. Listen to episode #117 called How to Attract ideal Coaching Clients Who Can’t Wait to Work with You.

I feel blessed. All of my ideal clients are finding me through this approach I’m describing. They find me, find my lead magnets or podcast, which is advertised on my guide about the 5 Secrets.

It’s fun! I see someone subscribe and then a bit later some of those people fill out the application to work with me in my VIP Mentoring Program. Then they sign up for a Discovery Call. That’s how I know my systems to connect with ideal clients are working.

I want you to have that going for you.

The 4 Powerful Questions to Test Your Coaching Business Lead Magnet Idea

What is the BIG PROBLEM your lead magnet begins to solve for your coaching audience?

Are they ACTIVELY SEEKING solutions for this problem?

Do you offer UNIQUE insights or tips that they can’t find somewhere else?

Does it PRE-SELL and pre-qualify people into your Signature Coaching Program?

Take a good look at your lead magnet or idea and consider if it’s wholly UNIQUE and shows your brilliance as it relates to your target audience and niche.