Irresistible Lead Magnet Ideas for Coaches | ProductiveandFree

For many coaches starting out, it’s a tall order to get consistent coaching clients.

I mean, how do you get people to hire you (a stranger) and trust you with their life and hard-earned money when they don’t know anything about you yet?

How can they be sure that they’ll get the results and transformations they want?

I know because I’ve had those same thoughts when I started as a coach, too!

I realized that people needed to first know me, like me, trust me, and see me as an expert so I started offering free value in the form of blog posts and lead magnets.

I went on discovery calls and live webinars. I created workbooks, checklists, planner pages, and an eBook. I hosted challenges. I created a VIP resource library. I even had a Facebook group for some time.

It was a lot of work in the beginning but once people realized that I knew what I was talking about, the clients kept coming and I was able to sell out my coaching programs.

Now, I’m not saying that you need to offer all of these lead magnets.

Each type of lead magnet caters to different coaches, industries, and audiences so it’ll be up to you to identify what you want to offer, what your target audience needs from you, and what you want to be known for as a coach in your industry.

In case you’re wondering what a lead magnet is, here’s a quick overview:

A lead magnet is an incentive offered to people, often website visitors, in exchange for their contact information such as their name and email address.

Speaking from experience, lead magnets (and list building in general) can help you:

attract your target audience,
build a relationship with them,
share valuable content to help them,
position yourself as an industry expert,
and ultimately, convert them into clients.

Among the many different types of lead magnets, I’m breaking down the most popular ones I’ve seen in the coaching industry.

Here are 10 irresistible lead magnet ideas for coaches.

1. Discovery Call

A discovery call is an effective lead magnet for coaches because of how powerful an intimate one-on-one conversation can be.

Compared to all the other lead magnet ideas on this list, a discovery call can help you get to know your potential client on a deeper level and vice versa.

You can qualify them personally and determine if they’re a good fit for your coaching program. They can also get to know you as a coach and see if they like your unique coaching style and personality.

Since discovery calls are scheduled in advance, you also get their full, undivided attention anywhere between 10 to 30 minutes.

This makes discovery calls an ideal setting to lay the foundation and build your relationship with your potential client (read: client experience).

They can be honest and open with you while you can show empathy, listen to your potential client, and share how you can help them given their unique situation.

2. Assessment or Quiz

People love to know more about themselves so a quiz or an assessment gives your target audience an opportunity to learn something new about themselves and their situation.

As with all lead magnets, be sure to make the content relevant to your business offer/s.

You could include strategic and more personal inquiries that relate to:

Who they are and what their situation is like
What they’re currently struggling with
What they want or need the most right now
What’s holding them back from achieving or acquiring that
If they’re a right fit for your coaching program

You could then provide the results of the assessment or quiz and highlight the gap between where they are now and where they want to go while strategically positioning your coaching program as a means to help them get there.

3. Checklist or Cheatsheet

Another effective lead magnet is a checklist or cheatsheet since it’s a quick reference guide that is easy to understand or implement.

A checklist or cheatsheet gives your target audience an itemized breakdown of a certain topic and it could include a short list of items, set of reminders, or overview of steps.

You can create a checklist or cheatsheet for just about anything such as a list of:

tips
tools and resources
mindset shifts
journal prompts
quotes or affirmations
positive habits or activities
questions or statements to reflect on

Depending on how valuable the content is, your potential client could then keep or print out your checklist or cheatsheet and reference to it again and again making you an expert or trusted source they know they can turn to.

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4. Workbook

A workbook is a more practical incentive for people to sign up for your email list because it encourages them to take action.

Depending on the content of your workbook, it could help them learn more about a specific topic and “work” through a process, solve a problem, or get a quick win.

To make it even more helpful, consider making your workbook:

PDF-editable - for those who prefer to use their electronic devices
Ink-friendly - for those who prefer to print it out

+ Related post: 9 Tips to Design a Lead Magnet PDF that Converts

5. Roadmap or Framework

If you’re looking to position yourself as an industry expert, a roadmap or framework is a great choice for a lead magnet.

You could give your target audience:

an outline of a process or workflow
a glimpse of your signature coaching framework or formula
an overview of the journey they need to get from point A to point B

Giving them the big picture allows them to think bigger, look past their current situation, and see the next steps they need to take.

And because you’re the one who has shown them their potential and their possible happy ending, they could see you as a trusted guide to help them get there.

Note: A popular option for many coaches is to offer the roadmap, framework, or outline as the free lead magnet and then provide the more detailed how-to with weekly accountability as the coaching program.

6. Challenge

Whether it’s a 5-day challenge, 7-day challenge, 30-day challenge or longer, challenges are highly popular lead magnets especially in the online business space.

A challenge allows you to guide your potential clients through a specific process with daily instructions or prompts, giving them a quick win every day.

Not only does this help increase their engagement as they continue to follow along, but it can also help increase accountability since they’d be motivated to see the challenge through until the end.

A challenge can be as simple as a printable list of daily prompts but you can also make it more elaborate with:

Daily automated emails
A workbook
Video lessons
Guest speakers
A giveaway / contest, or
A Facebook group / membership.

+ Related post: 8 Steps to Create a Challenge (the Simple Way)

7. Webinar

As a coach, you can use a webinar to harness the power of video to teach or inform your potential clients about a topic in a more in-depth manner.

Whether you call it a video tutorial, training, class, masterclass, or workshop, a webinar can help you build the “know, like, and trust” factor because you’re positioning yourself as a teacher or industry expert.

Your webinar lead magnet can be done live or it can be pre-recorded and it can be in any format you like: slideshow with audio, direct-to-camera, or a mix of both.

Since webinars are scheduled events, you’ll have the full attention of your webinar attendees and they can also ask you questions at the end.

8. eBook or Guide

Another popular lead magnet idea for coaches is an eBook or guide.

With this content format, you can provide massive value to your potential clients using strong visuals and in-depth chapters or articles that inform, teach, or entertain them about a topic.

Like workbooks, be sure to consider making your eBook ink-friendly for those who may want to print it out.

9. Access to a Community

If you’re interested in building a community around your coaching business, you could offer access to a Facebook group or membership as your lead magnet.

Having a dedicated space for people to hang out and interact with you and with each other allows you to get to know your target audience more personally and increase the know, like, and trust factor.

You could have daily themes or prompts to encourage engagement within the group. You could even go live to teach or answer frequently asked questions.

On top of the community aspect, you could also offer exclusive resources that only members of that group have access to.

10. Access to a Resource Library

If you’ve created multiple lead magnets for your coaching business, you could offer them all in one place by creating a resource library.

A resource library is typically a password-protected page on your website and you could send people the password after they sign up for your email list.

Not only will the many freebies appeal to your target audience, but you would also benefit from increased website page views since they would keep returning to your website to access all of the content.

Over to You

Offering a lead magnet is one of the most effective things you can do to attract your ideal coaching clients and get booked out as a coach.

Depending on your goals and what your target audience is most interested in, consider these 10 lead magnet ideas for coaches to grow your coaching business: a discovery call, assessment or quiz, checklist or cheatsheet, workbook, roadmap or framework, challenge, webinar, eBook or guide, access to a community, and access to a resource library.