Are people not downloading your lead magnet or freebie? Or is your opt-in attracting the wrong type of people, i.e. those who you don’t really want to work with?

That can be pretty frustrating, especially when you have spent lots of time crafting what you believed was the perfect opt-in.

But all is not lost, here are 5 reasons why your lead magnet may not be converting, plus some troubleshooting tips for how to fix these common mistakes.

1. Non-attention-grabbing title

This is one of the most common mistakes that people make with their opt-in, and why your lead magnet may not be converting.

A catchy title is MUST if you want people to download your lead magnet because there is such a huge amount of content online these days.

Use words and triggers that will catch the eye of your ideal client as they are scrolling through their online feed.

Here are a few techniques you can use to make your title stand out and make it more click-worthy:

• Using numbers (e.g. 5 easy… , 3 top tips…, 7 ways…)

• Use words that imply usefulness (e.g. Your 3 step plan…, How to…, A guide for…)

• Including words to describe your target market (e.g. …for female entrepreneurs, …that small business owners will love, …for busy mums)

2. Too much information on your landing page

A landing page (or a squeeze page) is where people will visit to subscribe for your opt-in.

If your landing page has way too much copy on it people will get distracted and leave the page before opting in.

To fix this, review your landing page content and if needs be cut it back to just the essential information.

An ideal landing page will consist of the following:

• A headline

• An image

• A short description, and

• A button.

Top tip: Do not have any other links on your landing page that could take your visitor elsewhere. If you do want them to take further action, you can do this on your Thank You page. For more tips on your landing page, read this blog .

3. You’re attracting the wrong audience

It’s all well and good getting 100 new subscribers to your email list, but if they are not your ideal clients then they will not be engaged and are not going to convert to paying customers!

Spend some time thinking about your ideal client. Who do you / would you love to work with? The more that you know about your ideal clients the better you will be able to write your messaging to speak to them.

• Create a customer avatar – get specific (i.e. age, gender, marital status, likes, motivations…)

• Identify your ideal client’s main struggles / pain points

• How does your product or service provide a solution to their problem?

Need to do more work on your target audience? Download my guide for attracting your ideal client .  

4. No follow up email sequence

Are your audience clear on what the next steps are when they download your freebie?

I understand that just getting your lead magnet together might feel like a huge effort in itself, but if you skip the step of a follow up email sequence, you are missing out on the chance to build real trust with your new subscriber.

Your email nurture sequence should be designed to help subscribers learn about your business and how you can serve them. Let them know how they can work with you!

Write an email sequence of between 3 and 5 emails as a follow up to them opting in to be delivered every 1 – 2 days. After that continue to engage with a regular newsletter. Put a call to action in every email – e.g. join our community, book a discovery call, sign up for our 3 day challenge.

5. People don’t know it’s there!

“Build it, they will come” … NO!

Without letting your audience know it is there, you will get no traffic to your landing page, and hence you will not get any subscribers for your freebie.

You have to shout about your lead magnet in the same way you would any of your paid for products or services! And you must talk about it regularly!

Promote it on:

• Social media posts

• Instagram stories

• A link in your social media bios

• Facebook groups (if allowed by admin)

• Blog posts

• Your website

• At events

While it can take a little time to create a lead magnet and get it converting, I can tell you from experience it is time very well spent!

An engaged email list is a wonderful asset for your business as you will always have a warm audience to market to.