Lead Magnets — Free-to-Paid Conversion Framework

Design lead magnets that attract qualified prospects and convert them to paying customers. Sources: Hormozi ($100M Leads), Funnelytics, BusySeed (500+ clients), LeadsPicker research. All outputs go to workspace/artifacts/.

Use when

• Creating a free resource to capture emails/leads
• Designing a free-to-paid conversion funnel
• Choosing what to give away vs. what to charge for
• Building opt-in pages or gated content
• Planning content marketing that drives revenue (not just traffic)

Don't use when

• Building paid products directly (use pricing-psychology skill instead)
• Writing cold outreach (use cold-outreach skill)
• Creating brand awareness content with no conversion goal
• SEO content that shouldn't be gated

Negative examples

• "Write me a blog post" → No. Blog posts aren't gated lead magnets unless part of a funnel.
• "Help me price my service" → No. That's pricing-psychology.
• "Create a social media post" → No. That's content marketing, not lead capture.

Edge cases

• Free skill on ClawHub → YES. It's a lead magnet for premium bundles/consulting.
• Free trial of SaaS → YES. Trials are lead magnets with built-in conversion mechanics.
• Webinar → YES. Live events are high-converting lead magnets (avg 20-40% attendance, 2-5% conversion to paid).
• Newsletter → Borderline. Only if each issue delivers standalone value. Generic newsletters are not lead magnets.

Hormozi's Lead Magnet Principle

From $100M Leads: A lead magnet solves a specific, narrow problem for free, so well that the prospect thinks: "If the free stuff is this good, the paid stuff must be incredible."

The Critical Rule

Your lead magnet must solve ONE step of a multi-step problem. It provides a quick win but reveals a bigger need that your paid offer addresses.

Example chain:

• Lead magnet: "5 SMS Templates That Book Massage Clients" (free, immediately useful)
• Reveals: "But I still need to automate sending these..." (the gap)
• Paid offer: Full SMS automation service at $149/mo (fills the gap)

What Makes a Lead Magnet Convert

3 Core Principles (Funnelytics):

1. Immediate Value — Must deliver a result they can use NOW. No 30-page PDFs that feel like homework. Quick wins build trust fast.

2. Trust Signals — Include proof: "Used by 500+ agents," testimonials, your real name/photo, specific results. People hesitate without proof.

3. Relevance to Their Current Pain — Match what they're struggling with RIGHT NOW, not what they might need someday. Specificity converts; generality doesn't.

The 7 Lead Magnet Types (Ranked by 2025-26 Effectiveness)