20+ Examples of Lead Magnets: Ultimate Idea Library for B2B

You're probably familiar with the term "lead magnet". 

It's an incentive for someone to give you their email address in exchange for a free item or service.

That can be anything from a trial subscription to a consult, a newsletter, or any other piece of content.

To promote these lead magnets and generate leads, businesses create calls to action on their websites.

At some point, you’ve probably come across a CTA section you just couldn't ignore. 

Have you ever wondered if there’s a secret behind its effectiveness? A secret sauce?

Could be the design, the copy, or the offer.

So, in this post, we’re going to analyze 5 examples of effective lead gen sections. We’ll discuss the lead magnet, why it works, and then review the CTA section itself. 

Then you can apply the findings and create your very own CTA that’s impossible to resist.

What are lead magnets?

In marketing, a lead magnet refers to an offer given in return for contact information.

Think of all the times you were asked to leave your email before accessing something for free. For example, you might have provided your email to get resources, free trials, free consults, product demos, tools, newsletters …

The list goes on. You can turn almost anything into a lead magnet. 

You must, however, provide value to your customers. Even though the lead magnet is free in a financial sense, they are still paying for it with their contact information.

Why do businesses use lead magnets?

Attracting and acquiring customers is a major challenge for businesses. Especially in times when the market is saturated, there’s plenty of content, ads, and selling. That’s why you should differentiate yourself from others by going the extra mile. Lead magnets are one of the ways to provide value upfront. It's an additional touch point in the customer journey that's beneficial for both sides. The customer receives content, product, or service that's relevant and useful. And on the other hand, you obtain their contact information. With lead magnets, you also show your authority in your field. This impacts your credibility and how your customers view you. They can basically test out your expertise before committing.

So in short, businesses use lead magnets to capture interested leads. Then they run nurturing programs to convert them into paying customers.

Examples of lead magnets

Next, we are going to take a look at 27 examples of lead magnets.

We’ve grouped them into seven categories, including:

• toolkits and resources
• product demos, trials, and consults
• estimation tools
• tools and quizzes
• email content
• online events and courses and 
• other lead magnets

Toolkits and resources

As Bill Gates once said, “Content is king”. Indeed, if you want to attract and keep your prospects engaged, you need to offer them valuable content. 

One of the best ways to do that and guarantee yourself their email is by providing toolkits and resources. You can choose from a number of different content types, such as ebooks, whitepapers, case studies, industry trends and predictions, checklists, templates …

They all share one thing - they’re connected to the target audience’s interests. They contain content that will resonate with them, enable them to achieve their business goals, or help them learn and grow.

1. Ebooks

Ebooks are digital versions of traditional books. They offer in-depth content on a particular topic.

They are a great choice when you have expert knowledge on a matter and the content goes beyond a blog post. 

2. Whitepaper

Investopedia defines a whitepaper as “an informational document issued by a company or not-for-profit organization to promote or highlight the features of a solution, product, or service”.

So basically, businesses use whitepapers to promote their products or services by describing a problem and providing a solution. Or by describing the technical features of their products. The whitepaper is a factual and persuasive document and shows the business’ authority on a particular topic. The purpose is, simply put, to influence the buyer’s decision.

3. Case study

Businesses use case studies to show their success stories. They examine real-life business scenarios. For instance, how they’ve helped their customers address a certain challenge or solve a problem. Or how they’ve executed their own project.

In the case study, they analyze the problem in detail and describe the steps they took to overcome it successfully. They present how their efforts resulted in a tangible impact on their customers.

It’s a great way to show your expertise and build trust with your customers.

4. Industry trends and predictions

It's one of the best ways to add value to your customers. 

Conduct research to identify the direction trends are heading. Then prepare a report to summarize the results.

As a result, you’ll help them stay on top of the latest developments and show that you understand their industry inside out.

5. Checklists

Checklists are lists of required items, to-do tasks, or points to consider. Their purpose is to outline the steps needed to complete a process. 

In a nutshell, they make it easy to stay on track and keep things organized. 

6. Templates

A template is a premade sample that can be used as a guide to make something. Templates are a great way to help your customers design, write or create.

So use your expertise and prepare a document that will boost their creation process.

7. Catalogs/brochures

If you have catalogs and brochures for your products you can use them as lead magnets. 

However, you have to check if it makes sense to do so. Determine if it’s better to have it accessible for everyone to download it. Or to segment people by asking for an email before downloading.

Product demos, trials, and consults

Before purchasing, your customers might need more information about your product. Or a visual presentation of it.

That’s why product demonstrations are an excellent way to educate and persuade them. Businesses either have prerecorded or online demos led by a sales representative. 

Providing a free trial is another way to encourage your customers to try out your product. For complex products as well as for services, you can offer a free consultation.

1. Demo video

A demo video is a short, informative video that provides an overview of your product.

It's an excellent way to convey how your product works and what it can do for your customers.

2. Interactive demo

Interactive demos are product demonstrations where your customers can have a hands-on experience with your product. 

They can actually try out the product in a testing environment. They get access to its features and functionalities to test out different scenarios. Pretty cool, right?

3. Demo call

A demo call is a meeting where you can present your product live. 

It’s great because you have an opportunity to answer any potential objections your customers may have.

Also, it’s always nice to see that there are actual people behind the brand. People who can help the customer choose what’s best for them.

4. Free trial

Who doesn’t love free trials? Especially those that don’t require your credit card details upfront.

It’s a good idea to give your customers the opportunity to test your product before committing.

5. Free consult

You can offer free consultations to advise your potential customers and help them find the right solution.

This is a great way to show that you're a trustworthy business. And it has the added benefit of helping you build relationships with your potential customers. 

Estimation tools

Some businesses have very complex pricing or features that severely depend on each individual case. So they solve this issue with a price calculator or a configurator. These tools allow the customers to design a custom product, based on their specific needs and preferences.

1. Product pricing and value calculators

Calculating the cost is one of the most essential pieces of information that customers need during the buying process. If your product or service has a lot of variables and the prices are usually custom, you should develop a product pricing calculator that will provide the customer with a personalized estimation.

Also, if the benefits of your product can be calculated, you should consider developing a tool to present the expected results. An example of such tool would be an ROI calculator.

2. Product configurator

The product configurator allows customers to select features and design their products. Most of the time these configurators also calculate the final price of the product, summarizing all the variables.

Tools and quizzes

There's a huge list of tools available online. Among them are calculators, graders, generators, quizzes and assessments that solve different kinds of problems. We're going to take a look at the most common ones below.

1. Calculator

Such calculators help users obtain insights into an industry-specific matter.

2. Graders and audit tools

Numerous tools that help users perform different sorts of analyses and audits are available online. Some of them are completely free and others require contact data to get the results. One example of the latter group is a tool that grades your Google Ads performance.

3. Generator

There are plenty of generator tools available online. You can generate keywords, passwords, copy, blog titles, email signatures … 

4. Quizzes and assessments

These types of lead magnets can be used to give your customers insights on a certain topic. You can help them better understand an issue, make an informed decision or assess their current situation. For instance, the tool in the picture below helps users evaluate their positioning strength and suggests improvements.

Email content

Next, we’ll take a look at three more ideas for capturing leads. This time using email communication as a lead magnet.

1. Newsletter

The classic one. Content delivered straight to your customers’ inbox. 

Since it has been around for some time, the newsletter market has become somewhat saturated. However, when used correctly it can still be a strong marketing asset.

2. Email course

It’s a combination of a newsletter and an online course.

The lessons are basically being sent as a sequence of emails over a period of time.

3. Waitlist

If you are building something new or upgrading an existing product you can try out waitlists. Invite people to leave their emails to get notified once the product is released.

Online events and courses

The way people learn and meet has changed. People are learning and participating in events from the comfort of their homes. 

Today, it’s easier than ever to create online courses or host online events. This is an opportunity for you to connect to your customers and generate new leads.

1. Online events

Online events are a popular way not only for generating leads but also for connecting with your audience. You can share your expert knowledge with them, create discussions or teach them how to solve specific problems.

You can host meetings like webinars, workshops, or conferences.

2. Online courses

Learning programs can also be used as a lead magnet. Share your knowledge to ensure your authority on the subject while generating leads. Also, you can use online courses to teach your audience how to use your product.

Other lead magnets

If you didn’t get inspired by now, don’t worry. We prepared a few bonus ideas for you! 

1. Live chat

Offer your customers real-time support on your website by using live chat. And while you have them on the line, have them send you their emails.

2. Access to a private group

If you have a community, you can use it to attract new customers. Private groups are made for networking and exchanging exclusive information and many people are interested in joining such groups.

3. Resource list

If you have an index of resources, you can use it for your next lead gen campaign. The list can for example include the best influencers in a particular field. Or the most useful online tools for your target audience.

4. Library

The library goes beyond resource lists because in this case, you have to own or distribute the resources and not only link to them. Examples of this can be a library of videos, tools, books, research. Or even a library of online courses.

We hope that our list of the top 20+ lead magnet examples gave you some ideas for your upcoming marketing campaigns. 

Hopefully, it motivated you to create valuable content and engage your audience. The use of lead magnets really gives you an edge when it comes to promoting your business and getting more quality leads. So use them wisely.

P.S. If you are searching for inspiration on lead magnet CTAs, we've prepared 5 examples that drive leads.