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10 Converting Lead Magnet Ideas for Coaches (+examples)

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Let me guess… You’re looking for lead magnet ideas for coaches that actually get results.

Sound like you?

You’ve come to the right place. In this article, you’ll get ten ideas to boost your conversions and sales in 2024.

Feel free to use this menu to skip ahead:

Okay, let’s get started!

What is a lead magnet? 

A lead magnet is a free resource or offer that’s used to get contact details from people who could eventually become paying clients. The lead magnet offers something valuable in return, such as a blueprint or mini course. 

A recent report found that 50% of marketers who use lead magnets in their email marketing have higher conversion rates than those who don’t, so they’re definitely worth it. 

Wondering what the most popular lead magnet is? 

eBooks. 

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In fact, 27.7% of marketers use them. (And we’ll go into that more in a bit).

Ultimately, your lead magnet should offer your audience a “quick win” that’s highly relevant to their needs AND your offer as a coach. 

So, let’s say you’re a coach who helps people cut sugar out of their diets. 

In that case, you could create a lead magnet about one habit they can build today to eat less sugar.  

Thankfully, offering a lead magnet isn’t complicated. If you already have a website, you can create an opt-in form or pop-up there, like mine:

Screenshot of lead magnet example

You can then include your opt-in form in blog posts and on webpages. 

And if you have business accounts for your coaching on social media, it’s the same deal:

Screenshot of Luisa Zhou instagram profile

The idea here is to use actionable language that makes people want to learn more. 

For example, in my opt-in, I talk about helping people start a profitable business. 

Now you know what a lead magnet is. But what type of lead magnet should you create? Here are 10 ideas.

PDF

What’s a PDF lead magnet? It’s an asset you deliver in PDF format; such as a blueprint or a checklist. 

And here’s the great thing about PDFs: People are short on time, and they want a quick solution to whatever challenge they want you to help them with. 

That’s part of what makes PDFs so valuable: 

In just a few pages, you can outline a strategy to guide people to the kind of “first win” they’re looking for – whether that’s landing their first freelancing client or optimizing their dating profile.

Here are a few different types of content you could include in a PDF:

  • A checklist for creating [blank] 
  • A blueprint to [blank]
  • [#] of recipes/tools/products to [blank]
  • A foolproof strategy to avoid [relevant pain point or challenge]
  • A roadmap to [blank]

Some of my own lead magnets include a PDF that outlines the three biggest mistakes people make when they sell online courses…

Screenshot of lead magnet example

And a 4-step system to help more people find you every day: 

Screenshot of lead magnet example

And at the end of your PDF, include the next step people can take to go even further toward their goals. 

For example, you could encourage them to book a call with you to discuss their progress and what they’re ultimately aiming for. 

Here, the idea is to make it clear that your lead magnet is just the beginning of the value you offer. As a paying client, they’d have access to your time and expertise that could 10x their results. 

eBook

As I mentioned earlier, eBooks are popular lead magnets.

Here’s the thing with eBooks, though…

I’m not a huge fan of eBooks as lead magnets. The thing is: people don’t read them because they tend to include a lot of information. In other words, your subscribers will become overwhelmed and most likely not use your lead magnet at all.

That’s why, if you use an eBook as your lead magnet, you have to find a balance between an eBook that’s so short that it feels incomplete and an eBook that’s so long that you lose your readers halfway through.

So, before you create this type of asset, think about this…

How can you make your eBook as easy to read and implement as possible?

One way is to divide it up into lots of sections with short paragraphs as if you were writing an article. That way, people can skip to the sections that interest them the most. 

And speaking of which, if you’ve already written articles on a particular topic, this is a great place to start writing an eBook. 

You can use your previously-written content as a starting point and fill in any gaps as needed.

Another thing that can help you create a valuable eBook? 

Write as people speak. 

Your eBook isn’t the place to use big fancy words. Your goal is to help people get results, so focus on that. 

If the text is dense or hard to read, it’ll be much more difficult for people to focus on the advice you’re trying to provide.

A few types of eBooks you might use as lead magnets are: 

  • Recipe guides
  • Workbooks 
  • Guidebooks 
  • Research papers 

Once your eBook is ready, though, sharing it isn’t complicated. In fact, you can upload it to WordPress and share the link directly from there.

Video

People love watching video content, so this is a great lead magnet idea to go with. Not sure what topic to choose? 

Think about one specific thing that people want to learn about or struggle with in your niche. 

For example, if you’re a… 

  • Dating coach, you could create a video about the top five mistakes to avoid to make a great first impression. 
  • Coach who helps people nail their personal style, you could talk about what colors to wear based on their skin tone. 
  • Health coach, you could share one, effective ab workout that will help people get results. 

 You get the idea…

Just make sure that whatever you choose is super relevant to your target audience. 

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Think about how your video can help your prospective clients take a step towards the bigger goal they need your help attaining

After all, they’re coming to you with a challenge, and your job is to show them that you have the solution. 

Because ultimately? 

THAT’S what they want from you. 

They’re not concerned about how pretty your lead magnet is or what fonts you use. 

Those are a part of your business, but remember: They’re not the most important thing. 

The most important thing is showing your audience that you can take them from A (where they are) to B (where they want to go).

And the good thing about video content is that, if you’ve done a livestream about a particular topic, there’s no reason why it should go to waste. 

You can repackage and share it with prospective clients as your lead magnet. 

All you have to do is upload it to a video-sharing platform like YouTube or Vimeo, add the link to your marketing content, and you’ll be good to go.

Audio

Audio is another powerful lead magnet idea. And one reason for that is because people spend a lot of time on the go. 

And with audio, they can use that time to learn things that’ll help them reach their goals – whether they’re driving to work, walking, or in a doctor’s waiting room. 

This is a highly engaging content format, too. For example, 36% have made a lifestyle change because of a podcast. 55% have made a purchase based on a podcast ad, which indicates that audio audiences are open to learning about paid offers through audio. 

Wondering what you should share in audio format?

Here, it’s the same deal as with any other lead magnet: You want to offer value with a relevant quick win. 

So, for example, you could provide an exclusive podcast episode that’s only available to email subscribers. 

A few other audio lead magnet ideas include: 

  • A guided morning meditation for [blank]
  • A strategy lesson to [blank]
  • A manifestation mantra for [blank] 
  • An example coaching call for people who want to achieve [blank]

Remember to segment into the next step of your sales funnel at a few points throughout your audio recording. For example, promote your sales calls or get people to sign up for a free masterclass to learn the full strategy of what you offer. 

And once it’s ready, you can upload your audio lead magnet to WordPress and share the link from there.

Webinar

Webinars or masterclasses are basically a sales presentation of what you offer as a coach. 

They’re typically 30-60 minutes long, and the idea here is to show the “what” – the what is the offer you sell. At the end of your webinar you then sell the “how” or how you help your clients achieve the goal they want.  

For example, if you’re a health coach, you’d show people the overview of your strategy for cutting out sugar in the next month. 

Your paid coaching then walks them through the specific steps.

Are webinars effective, though? Let’s look at a few stats:

  • The conversion rate for webinar landing pages can surpass 50%
  • The quality of leads coming through webinars is “above average,” according to over half of marketers 
  • 95% of marketers say webinars improve their marketing performance

I personally love webinars – they’re a key part of a great sales funnel. You can bet that those who sign up and watch a webinar are interested in what you have to offer. Your webinar helps them get to know you, build trust, and decide whether your offer is for them or not. 

Okay, so webinars work. But how do you set them up?

There are great tools you can use, like EverWebinar. This tool helps you automate your webinar delivery so that people can watch it on a set date or on demand. 

And if you need more guidance, I talk about the lessons I learned from personally making over $1 million in webinar sales here:

Mini-course

Mini-courses are a way to give your prospective clients a taste of what they could gain from working with you. 

So, as with any other lead magnet, you want to give people a specific result with your course. And no matter what that is, make sure it’s something your ideal clients are actually interested in.

However, make sure you don’t make your audience feel like your course covers everything. In that case, they might think they have everything they need and not realize there’s much more they need to learn to get the results they want. 

You can increase how valuable your mini-course appears in your potential clients’ eyes by showing the price you’d typically charge for it, like “$200 value.”

For example, a few course ideas are a…

  • Series of ab workouts 
  • Course that shows people how to create better visuals for Instagram
  • Course that teaches one strategy for figuring out your dream job

Not sure how to create an online course people actually WANT to sign up for? 

Most importantly, make the goal of your course clear – to achieve the first milestone of whatever bigger goal your audience wants to achieve. Then, create bite-sized lessons that are easy to implement. 

You can deliver your course as audio, video, emails that are automatically sent out over a period of time, or PDF files. 

I cover this topic in depth right here.

You can upload your mini-course on WordPress, a course platform like Teachable, or YouTube. 

Quiz

Quizzes are a popular lead magnet idea to get more email signups. 

Here, the idea is to ask people questions about a relevant topic that matters to them. 

For example, if you’re a body image coach, you could have a quiz that helps people pinpoint how they should dress based on their body type to look their best. 

And then at the end, offer to send the quiz results to their email. The quiz result is the “win.”

Why is this effective?

Because if people have invested even a few minutes to answer a quiz about a topic that interests them, chances are, they’ll want to know the quiz results at the end. 

Just make sure to keep your questions short and relevant so that the quiz stays fun and doesn’t feel like a chore. Also, your quiz should make people curious about the next step – not make them think they now have everything they need. (As we both know, you can’t help people get all the results they want with one quiz, but your audience might not realize that.) 

A few other quiz ideas include quizzes that…

  • Walk people through their financial goals 
  • Assess people’s personalities so that they can understand their strengths as a leader 
  • Help people understand what their career goals are 

Not sure how to build a quiz? Here are a few tools that can help:

Content upgrade

Have a piece of content that is doing well and attracts your ideal clients? 

Or are you guest writing an article or doing a podcast on a bigger platform? 

In that case, you can get more people to sign up to your email list with a content upgrade. A content update is a lead magnet that makes your content easier to use. 

Content upgrades are incredibly effective because you offer something relevant to your content. One content creator reported a 785% increase in opt-ins after implementing a content upgrade. 

For example, if you’re a dating coach and you make a video about how to appear more confident online, your content upgrade might be a free checklist of things to include (and avoid) to improve a dating profile.

People need to sign up to access that content upgrade. 

A few other content upgrade ideas include a: 

  • Workbook
  • Summary of your blog post 
  • Tracker that makes it easier to implement your content 

Here’s a content upgrade I use in my own content – a workbook for people who want to find a profitable coaching niche: 

Screenshot of lead magnet example

However, a content upgrade isn’t an “evergreen” solution. In other words, you can use your content upgrade as a lead magnet only when it’s highly relevant to the thing you share in your content. 

Implementing content upgrades across all your content takes a lot of work. So you will likely get the best return on your efforts by implementing it on your best performing content. 

Challenge

With a challenge, you create a time-limited live event where you help people achieve the result they’re after.

And again, the goal is to give them a preview of how much they would benefit from working with you.

With a challenge, you get the chance to connect with people in real time and use it as a segway to launch your offer, whatever that is. 

For example, I used to do a live challenge called Weekend Empire that helped me sell my courses. 

The offer I sold was a course on how to start a profitable online business. And so my challenge taught people how to take the first steps and get started in a short amount of time.

Every day for five days, I sent out challenges and engaged with people in my Facebook group.

Screenshot of course challenge

The result?

My first challenge ever generated $8,000 in online course sales. I had multiple six and seven-figure launches after that. 

So, yes… challenges can be incredibly effective.

(However, while I used challenges for my course launches, you can also use them to launch your coaching offer.)

What’s the downside of challenges as a lead magnet idea? 

They’re live, which means you have to keep doing them. But the thing is, hosting a challenge just a few times per year can be enough to generate leads and increase interest in your offer.

Strategy session

A strategy session is a no-strings-attached 15-to-20-minute free consultation or coaching call. When people sign up to your email list, they are then directed to a call booking page. (Calendly is an excellent tool for managing your schedule.)

This is a highly effective strategy especially if you’re new to coaching.

You see, at the end of your strategy session, you can ask if your potential client wants to talk more about how you could work together.

If they say yes, you lead them into a free discovery call where you talk more about what their goals are and how your coaching program can help them achieve them.

Your strategy session should have a very specific goal. You share ONE quick win that will help your client move closer to their goal. 

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Typically, you’d help them answer one burning question – while communicating that there is more to learn if they want results. 

For example, a few ideas are: 

  • One mistake they’re making on their social media platforms
  • One habit change they can make to lose weight
  • A quick review of their website 

People talk to you one-on-one and see just how much value they can get on a quick call. That’s why they’re likely to say yes to talking more about working together.

And if you’re new to coaching, this is an effective lead magnet idea to get coaching clients fast and build your reputation. 

Next steps 

So, there you have it! Now you know the most effective lead magnet ideas for coaches to help you get more clients.

Creating effective lead magnets and building your email list is one step you need to take to build your coaching business.

But if you want a sustainable and profitable business, then you need to take the right steps.

What are they?

Get my free blueprint to learn how to build your coaching business: 

Want to Build a 6-Figure Coaching Business So You Can Achieve More Freedom?

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When you sign up, you’ll also receive regular updates on building a successful online business.

Read more:

The Best Marketing Strategies for Coaches 

How to Build a High-Ticket Coaching Funnel

How to Get Coaching Clients

About Luisa Zhou

Luisa Zhou has helped thousands of students build and scale their own profitable online Freedom Business. Fun Fact: She used to work as an engineer for the Space Station and holds a B.S.E. from Princeton. Click here to learn more about Luisa.

Hope you enjoy this blog post.

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