As with "diversified" investment portfolios, it's complicated.
In this episode of Craft on Tap, Stephen and Faustin discuss the evolution of lead magnets, from HubSpot's original flywheel approach to today's more confusing, pinball machine-type of buyer journey. They detail how to align your lead magnets to your audience and offer RIA-specific examples that convert.
👇 Watch the full discussion below:
Co-Founder Stephen Beach & Strategist Faustin Weber discuss lead magnets.
Craft on Tap Ep 18 Podcast Takeaways & Summary
Key Takeaways:
- The Lead Magnet is the Conversion Tool: A lead magnet is something for which a prospect will exchange their contact information, allowing them to convert into a lead in your CRM.
- The Buyer's Journey is Now a Pinball Machine: Marketing is no longer a simple, linear funnel; prospects now require 20, 30, or 40 touchpoints across multiple channels (social, email, website) before they are willing to share their information.
- Align Your Offer to the Stage of the Journey: A prospect who is just browsing YouTube (creating awareness) requires a different lead magnet than one who is actively searching for an advisor (capturing demand).
- Transparency is the New Approach: Inbound marketing is about "marketing with a magnet instead of marketing with a hammer" by providing valuable content and allowing people to do their own research and come to their own conclusions.
- Don't Expect Immediate Discovery Calls: The real value of a lead magnet is building your audience and getting prospects into your nurture system for long-term relationship development, as lead generation on demand does not work in the wealth management space.
Podcast Summary: The Evolution of the Lead Magnet
The concept of the lead magnet was championed by HubSpot 10 to 15 years ago as a pillar of the inbound marketing approach, which worked best for B2B marketing when it first kicked off. This strategy is encapsulated by HubSpot's flywheel: attracting potential prospects, engaging or converting them, and then delighting them.
In the initial "attract" phase, engaging content draws in a prospect (e.g., a blog article or social post). The "engage" phase uses a call to action to offer a valuable, premium content offer (the lead magnet) in exchange for their contact information on a landing page. Finally, the "delight" phase involves continuing to provide exceptional service so clients become brand evangelists, providing referrals that get attracted, convert, and continue the flywheel.
Today, the process is far more complex. Prospects are much less willing to share their information, having become skeptical of being bombarded with emails and understanding the value exchange better than they did 5 to 10 years ago. Google's use of AI Overviews further complicates things by often keeping searches on Google, reducing the likelihood of a prospect clicking into an article that might lead to a lead magnet.
The modern buying journey is less a linear funnel and more like a pinball machine, where a prospect is ping ponged all over the place across various channels before converting. This means it often requires 20, 30, or 40 touchpoints before a lead is ready to share their contact information.
Matching Your Offer to the Audience
To be effective, a firm's lead magnet must be aligned with the prospect's stage in the buying journey. There are three key stages to consider:
- Browsing: A person casually watching content on YouTube or scrolling TikTok. The goal is simply awareness and attention capture. You cannot ask for more than that at this stage.
- Researching/Seeking Information: Someone actively looking for educational information, such as tax strategies for a business owner or how taxes change in retirement.
- Actively Looking for an Advisor: A person searching for an advisor near them or actively seeking a financial planner.
Lead magnets should align with the content topic (e.g., a retirement checklist on a retirement article) and the format of the platform (e.g., an on-demand video series as a lead magnet for a YouTube video viewer).
Lead Magnet Examples That Convert
When considering the format, firms should think about their specific audience. A younger, high-earning tech professional may scoff at a traditional checklist, while a pre-retiree might actually prefer a downloadable PDF or an on-demand webinar.
Examples that have worked for financial advisory firms:
- Checklists: These are simple, easy to create, and can clarify complex topics. Niche checklists—such as a "Retirement Checklist for Pharmacists" or a "Checklist for Hiring a Financial Advisor if you have Stock Options"—can differentiate your firm.
- Quizzes: Interactive tools like Typeform or Outgrow can be very effective for the target audience in their mid-thirties to early forties. They allow for quick engagement and provide the firm with valuable insight into the prospect's financial thinking. Fidelity uses quizzes such as "Am I Ready for Retirement?"
- Guides/White Papers: A nice branded PDF, such as a "Guide for a Company Going Through an IPO," can be repurposed across multiple similar clients and has been very successful.
- Calculators: An interactive calculator, such as one that calculates total net worth and asset concentration for a corporate executive, can differentiate a firm by providing a more interactive and specific solution to a challenge.
What NOT to Do and How to Promote
The biggest mistake is the ubiquitous, often poorly branded, and unstrategic "Sign up for our newsletter" pop-up that immediately appears upon visiting a website. Beware: This approach can harm the firm's brand reputation and annoy both prospects and current clients. Popups can be used, but only when triggered strategically (e.g., after a visitor spends 45 seconds or visits seven pages) and when the copy is compelling.
When promoting a lead magnet, consider using the jab, jab, jab, hook methodology. The "jabs" are educational, helpful content, and the "hook" is the ask for their information in exchange for the lead magnet.
Effective promotion ideas include:
- Spotlight it in your newsletter.
- Put it in your social media link tree (Instagram/LinkedIn).
- Send it to relevant people in your sales pipeline.
- Use conversion ads on platforms like Instagram to build awareness.
- Add it to your email signature and YouTube descriptions.
- Strategically promote it on relevant pages of your website.
Ultimately, firms must set realistic expectations. A lead magnet download is not a discovery call; it is an entry point to a long-term nurturing relationship. The real value is getting them in your system so you can continue to build your audience and nurture them until they are ready to engage.
Shameless plug for Craft on Tap
Lead magnets can still be a powerful tool for RIAs, but success requires a more strategic approach that focuses on audience alignment, precise timing, and setting realistic expectations.
This conversation is only a starting point. For ongoing insights and practical strategies for RIA growth, listen to the new Craft on Tap marketing podcast. Available now, wherever you find your podcasts. Ready to chat? Get in Touch
Listen to Craft on Tap, Growth Marketing for RIAs:
