25 brilliant lead magnet ideas to grow your email list right now

Creating a killer lead magnet is one of the best ways to get more email subscribers. And creating that lead magnet will be easier if you have plenty of lead magnet ideas.

What’s a lead magnet? A lead magnet is something you give people when they subscribe to your email list. It can be anything – an ebook, an email series, or access to a webinar recording. It just needs to be something your subscribers are willing to exchange their email address for. 


The question is, then… what do your ideal subscribers want? 

A lot of people struggle with this. Maybe you struggle with it, too. Or maybe you’re worried that creating a good lead magnet will take too much time. You might doubt that your ideas are any good. Or maybe you’re just out of ideas.

Problem solved: Here are 25 great lead magnet ideas for inspiration. Not only will you get proven ideas from a bunch of different businesses across multiple industries, but you’ll also see how easy creating your lead magnet can be. And once you’re got your lead magnet created and set up, you can start turning visitors into leads — which means all your other marketing efforts will become even more effective.

Food blogger lead magnet ideas

Do you have a blog with recipes, cooking, baking tips, or anything culinary? These popular lead magnet examples are for you:

Recipe ebook – Minimalist Baker

Minimalist Baker gives their subscribers a free ebook with their fan-favorite recipes for joining their email list.

a lead magnet idea for a food blogger recipe ebook

This lead magnet is promoted via a pop-up that shows whenever someone visits their website. It’s a great way to provide instant value, since visitors are coming to them in search of delicious, healthy recipes. And since lead magnets should be aligned with your potential customers’ needs and interests, this makes it an effective lead magnet.

So here’s your take-away idea: What fan-favorite content do you have? Could you make that into a lead magnet?

Exclusive content and recipes – Skinnytaste

You don’t always need to create something big to give your audience a valuable piece of content.

Skinnytaste, a site filled with beautiful food images and healthy recipes, offers exclusive gated content as its lead magnet. This works because of FOMO (fear of missing out). If blog followers don’t subscribe, they’ll miss out on exclusive content and recipes.

example of an email sign-up form with a lead magnet offering free recipes

A free weight-loss cheat sheet – High Carb Hannah

Who wouldn’t give up their email address for a 76-page ebook that teaches them something they’ve been dying to learn?

That’s exactly what Hannah of High Carb Hannah delivers to subscribers for free once they subscribe to her email list. And it’s an awesome lead magnet because it’s incredibly comprehensive and packaged in one, easy-to-follow cheat sheet.

free recipe lead magnet idea for food bloggers

Plant-Based Starter Kit – The Full Helping

If you’ve decided to go vegan, you probably want some expert advice on where to begin. That’s why The Full Helping’s free Plant-Based Starter Kit is something site visitors would gladly exchange their email addresses for.

The image on the form helps people visualize what they’ll receive when they join, which makes this lead magnet sign-up form even more effective.

This form also gives other reasons to subscribe, like getting accessible recipes and links to helpful articles.

sign-up form example to grow your email list with a starter kit

Fitness expert lead magnet ideas

Are you a personal trainer, coach, or fitness expert? Try a lead magnet similar to one of these four examples:

“24 Second Fix” video – Athlean-X

Ever done serious weightlifting? If so, you know that good form is crucial, especially when you’re just getting started.

Fitness Expert Jeff Cavaliere of ATHLEAN-X created a lead magnet video to help his audience correct and avoid a common weightlifting mistake.

fitness video example for a lead magnet that asks people "are you making this mistake?"

By not directly stating what the mistake is, Jeff builds curiosity. He also emphasizes that subscribers can easily fix the mistake with his “24-Second Fix.” By building curiosity and assuring people they can easily fix this mistake, Jeff makes his lead magnet video even more appealing to his audience.

NF Rebellion Starter Kit and free tools – Nerd Fitness

Geared towards nerds who want to get fit, Nerd Fitness is one of the coolest and most unique fitness sites I’ve ever seen.

In their email sign-up form, they promise a free NF Rebellion Starter Kit as well as free tools, downloadable guides, and tactical articles for anyone who signs up. Wow! That’s a lot of stuff.

By offering so much to their new subscribers, they make joining their email newsletter a simple decision.

example of good fitness lead magnet

Deadlift quick-tip guide – Tony Gentilcore

Beyond promising weekly fresh content, Personal Trainer Tony Gentilcore gives subscribers a deadlift quick-tip guide.

Properly executing a deadlift is tough, and very technical, so this guide is a great resource for resolving a common lifting problem. And lead magnets that help solve your audience’s common problems are the most successful.

Tony’s site has a unique writing tone, which he incorporates in his sign-up form and lead magnet. This helps display his personality and may increase email sign-ups because people love personality.

example of an opt-in box for a fitness guide followed up by weekly email newsletters

30-Day Challenge video workout series – Betty Rocker

High-value lead magnets with educational content get the most subscribers. And Betty Rocker’s 30-day workout video content series is definitely very valuable.

Anyone who fills out this form receives 30 emails containing 30 video workouts over 30 days. For those fighting to get fit, this is valuable. And she’s giving it away for free!

Betty Rocker's free fitness challenge is great inspiration for video lead magnet ideas

Plus, she’s able to demonstrate her expertise and teaching abilities throughout the 30 videos, which will make people more likely to purchase one of her paid video courses in the future.

Lead magnet ideas for coaches

Do you offer advice on growing or marketing a business? Are you a relationship or life coach? Check out these examples from other people just like you:

Writing course – Enchanting Marketing

If you don’t want to create a guide or ebook, there’s another simple way to deliver written content to your subscribers: an email course.

Copywriter and Marketing Consultant Henneke Duistermaat of Enchanting Marketing offers a 16-part copywriting email course as her lead magnet. She delivers each lesson in a short, snackable email, and subscribers get all of the lessons in under a month.

an email course being used as a lead magnet where people can get writing tips

An email course is a great way to deliver a valuable lead magnet to your subscribers while establishing a relationship with them in the inbox.

If you want to do an ecourse, use AWeber’s pre-built ecourse template. It’s all set up — just import it into your account and add your content.

Relationship masterclass plus 1:1 bonus session – Lucid Living 

Relationship coach, Bre Wolta, offers a free masterclass plus a free 1:1 session for people who need help managing a toxic relationship. This lead magnet provides subscribers a glimpse of the value Bre offers her potential clients. 

Relationship masterclass plus 1:1 bonus session - lead magnet idea

72-word email template – Smart Business Revolution

Everybody loves something that saves them time and gets big results. And that’s what John Corcoran of Smart Business Revolution promises people who subscribe to his list.

His lead magnet is a “magic email template” that helps people connect with influencers and VIPs. Templates are great lead magnets because they’re easy for your audience to quickly use and get value from.

a template-based lead magnet idea

Your template-based lead magnet could be an email, blog post, or video script template – or even something as simple as a Facebook ad template!

Quizzes and free workshops – Melyssa Griffin

If you have a collection of exclusive, educational resources, they could be the perfect incentive to convince people to subscribe to your email list. Plus, you can use more than one — different lead magnets could appeal to different people.

Melyssa Griffin, a business consultant and online course creator, promotes a quiz to website visitors. Just sign up to get access to a customized path based on your quiz results.

An example of a quiz being used as a lead magnet

She also promotes free video trainings on a range of topics that are designed to attract the attention of her target customers. In order to access the free training, all you have to do is enter your email address.

free training lead magnet

This works well because her audience of entrepreneurs are often business newbies looking for advice on a wide range of business topics. And that’s exactly what she offers – for free!

The Ultimate Guide to Website Traffic for Small Business – Jeff Bullas

Great lead magnets help people solve a problem. Jeff Bullas delivers an ultimate guide to help his audience get more website traffic.

Ultimate guides can be a valuable resource, too. The words “ultimate guide” alone it’s the only information you need to accomplish whatever your goal is. In this case, Bullas wants to help small businesses get more website traffic.

ultimate guide example for a lead magnet

Bonus tip: On the sign-up form for your lead magnet, mention the good results that people can get from your lead magnet. This will increase your sign-up form conversion rates.

Choose between three different lead magnets – Amy Porterfield

So this is cool.

Business Consultant and Marketing Expert Amy Porterfield has lots of options on her website. Visitors can choose between three different lead magnets with three different topics (or download them all!).

example of 3 different lead magnets on a landing page

With three options, people will be more likely to find a lead magnet that aligns with their interests, which means they’ll be more likely to subscribe to her email list.

Because cheat sheets are short and easy to create, you could easily write three of your own cheatsheets and give people options on your site as well.

Author or publisher lead magnet ideas

Have you written a book and you’re wondering how to promote it? Try email marketing. You just need to grow your email audience first. Here are a few lead magnets that help other authors grow their lists:

Wookie coloring sheet – Candace Payne

This one’s unique.

Ever seen the viral Chewbacca mom video? After the crazy success of this video, Candace Payne continues to delight her audience with great content. She even wrote a book called Laugh It Up.

To grow her email audience and promote her book, she uses a creative lead magnet: a Wookie coloring sheet. Her subscribers can join her list and color in her Wookie lead magnet. This fun lead magnet aligns well with the tone and purpose of her website, to bring joy to people’s lives.

fun email list growth

Your lead magnet doesn’t need to be an ebook, guide, or video. It can be something as creative and simple as a coloring sheet!

20+ free resources – Self-Publishing School

Chandler Bolt, a best-selling author and online course creator, presents a free online workshop to anyone who subscribes to his list.

During the workshop, he shows people how to become successful authors themselves. This helps him build an email audience for Self-Publishing School, where he sells access to his online courses and his books.

author email list growth example

If you’re a good public speaker, workshops might be the perfect lead magnet.

Top blog posts – The Art of Non-Conformity

Here’s a simple, yet effective, lead magnet example: Send your subscribers a list of your most popular blog posts in your welcome email. You won’t need to create any new content for this lead magnet, and you’ll introduce your subscribers to your blog.

Chris Guillebeau, author and founder of The Art of Non-Conformity, does this on his website sign-up form. Notice the bottom of his form where he writes, “Subscribe now and you’ll get the best posts of all time.”

sign up for the best blog posts example

Ecommerce business lead magnet ideas

Honestly, ecommerce lead magnets are probably the easiest to set up and create, because they’re often product discounts. Check out these real-life examples to get ideas for your own ecommerce lead magnet:

15% off – Magnolia Market

Chip and Joanna Gaines’ online store Magnolia Market sells home goods. They offer 15% off one purchase to anyone who visits their site and subscribes to their email list.

On top of that, their email subscribers will also receive exclusive updates, flash sale emails, and inspiration.

sign up for email to get discount

20% off and free shipping on the first order – Levi

Beyond a product discount, you can also offer free shipping to people who subscribe to your email list.

Levi’s offers both to their site visitors. Check out their simple form and lead magnet below:

new subscriber discount

Free shipping and a chance to win a $1,000 gift card – Sierra Trading Post

You don’t need to limit your ecommerce lead magnets to free shipping and discounts. You can also offer gift cards or free products — whatever your potential customers would want.

Sierra Trading Post gives their subscribers free shipping on their first order, plus a chance to win $1,000.

Free shipping and a chance to win a $1,000 gift card

Travel blogger lead magnet ideas

Love to travel and blog about your trips? Here are some lead magnet ideas you could use to grow your list, too!

Your best content – Nomadic Matt

Believe it or not, email newsletters can be your lead magnet. For example, you could send a weekly educational newsletter or educational automated email series.

simple sign up form

Nomadic Matt sends his subscribers his best blog content through email automation and one-time emails. This serves as his lead magnet.  

Be creative! As long as it’s something free and valuable to your audience, it’s a lead magnet.

Exclusive tips and giveaways – The Blonde Abroad

Similar to Nomadic Matt, The Blonde Abroad gives subscribers exclusive travel content, plus access to top blog posts, when they subscribe.

get email subscribers with giveaways

Photographer lead magnet ideas

Do you have advice you could share with up-and-coming photographers? Take that knowledge and turn it into a lead magnet.

The Essentials of Street Photography ebook – James Maher

New York photographer James Maher created this lead magnet which contains unique content and photos you can’t get anywhere else. He also includes a value of $20 for the ebook, potentially making this lead magnet more desirable to potential clients.

Lead magnet idea for a street photography ebook

YouTuber lead magnet ideas

As a YouTuber, if you want to monetize your video content, you’ll need to increase your views. The best way to do this is by capturing your subscribers’ email addresses so you can email them once a new video is published

Guide to capturing motion in low light situations guide – FroKnowsPhoto

Jared Polin of FroKnowsPhoto uses his lead magnet to address a pain point many new photographers struggle with. He asks his viewers to sign up for his email list, often at the beginning of his most popular videos. He’ll even include a clickable image of his form in his videos, as shown here.

Example of a signup form shown on a YouTube video

Podcaster lead magnet ideas

Looking to grow your podcast audience? These compelling lead magnets helped these podcasters increase their listener base by sending an email once a new podcast was available.

E-book and audiobook download – Ryan Chamberlin

Why work harder, when you can work smarter? Take your existing content and turn it into an ebook and audio download. Ryan Chamberlin took the best stories from previous podcasts and interviews and turned them into a powerful lead magnet his ideal customers would love.

E-book and audiobook download lead magnet idea

Go and create your lead magnet

I hope these 25 examples from other businesses inspired you to create your lead magnet!

Ready to grow your email list with your own lead magnet? Get started with AWeber Free and have all the tools you need to build a loyal audience.

One Comment

  1. Geok Kere Cheong

    1/2/2023 12:36 pm

    This information is really helpful for a beginner newbie like me. Thanks. I need to go over them a few times to decide what is best for my affiliate marketing business. I still got lots to learn to be more confident to put myself out there!
    Much appreciated, gkcheong
    Yes, Happy New Year to You & Team!!