12 lead magnet examples that will bring in sales and customers for your solo business

A great lead magnet can help solopreneurs and creators like you build an audience and turn visitors into happy customers.

And if you’re here reading this, you probably want to know what kinds of lead magnets are actually effective. Sure, giving away free stuff is nice. But how does that translate into sales and profits?

You’ve probably also seen other articles online with lists of lead magnet examples and inspiration but still wondered: “OK, but which one of these will work for me?”

For this article, we analyzed 100 of the top-performing lead magnets on Podia. Keep reading to find out:

• 12 examples of lead magnets that are proven to drive subscribers and sales

• Insights from real creators about how they’re using free resources to grow their businesses

• Ideas about how you can adapt these lead magnet examples for your own solo business

By the end of this article, you’ll have a strong shortlist of ideas for your next lead magnet. And you’ll feel confident that you’ve chosen one that works for you and the small business you’re building.

12 lead magnet examples that are proven to drive subscribers and sales

Exchanging a free resource for a website visitor’s email address is a great way to build your email list, but in order for your lead magnet to earn your business money, you also need a system for selling to these new subscribers.

There are two parts to this puzzle.

1. You need a lead magnet idea that attracts your ideal customers into your business.

2. You need follow-up steps to build a relationship with them after they join — and ultimately share your paid products once they know, like, and trust you.

First, we’ll look at 12 examples of effective lead magnets to get ideas for your own business. Remember, this is how you’ll find the right people to sell to later, so think about which idea would be most appealing to your target customer.

In a few minutes, we’ll walk through the system you need to make it profitable.

#1 Free consultation

With a free consultation, your target audience member can book some time to chat with you 1:1, usually over a video call or Zoom. You can share information about your products and services, answer their questions, and see if you’re a good fit to work together.

Brittany Hardy, for example, offers a free 10-minute coffee chat for people who might be interested in booking her website design and marketing services. On this call, Brittany gets to know her prospects and they brainstorm marketing strategies together.

And Felicia Reed also offers a free breakthrough strategy call to help prospective clients see if her services, memberships, and mentorship are a good fit. She customizes the call based on what segment of her audience she’s talking to — photographers and solopreneurs, event planners and organizers, or people interested in her membership.

How to use this lead magnet idea in your business: A free consultation or video call works well for customized services and coaching where you want to make sure you’re a good fit to work together before accepting payment.

To set it up, create a booking calendar with a tool like Calendly or YouCanBookMe. Add your availability and the length of time you’d like each discovery call to be. You can let people sign up in a few different ways:

• Embed your calendar link directly into your website (like Brittany does above)

• When someone signs up for your email list, use Podia’s redirect feature to send them to a separate booking page with your calendar

• Use Podia Email to automatically send a calendar booking link to their inbox after they subscribe to your newsletter

#2 Free ebook lead magnet

For a free ebook lead magnet, you create a digital book (or guide, PDF, file, etc.) about your niche to attract people interested in your topic.

For instance, branding expert Barbara Hobart offers a free 25-page ebook about how branded merchandise can help you get more eyes on your business and add an additional revenue stream, which is an enticing read for her ideal clients.

To get ideas for your ebook, look through the questions people ask you most about your business. Are there any recurring themes that you could answer in a dozen or so pages?

How to use this lead magnet idea in your business: Write out your thoughts about a topic your target audience would be interested in. Keep it simple and specific. You won’t be able to cover everything in your free resource, but you can help your audience members have a quick win.

You can format your ebook using Canva or by simply exporting your Word Doc or Google Doc as a PDF. Then add it to your Podia account as a digital download, set the delivery method to “Free email delivery,” and press publish.

After you’ve helped visitors have that quick win, they’ll be eager to see what other products, services, or courses could help them on their journey. Don’t forget to follow up via email and let them know about everything you offer.

#3 Free course

If courses are more your style, you can also attract an audience by giving away a course for free. You can set up a shorter self-paced course or a time-release drip course to give prospective students a taste of what your full programs are like, and some of the most popular lead magnets on Podia use this format.

PM Coaching uses this method to offer a free certification course. Their lead magnet course has 20 hours of training on how to become a certified CPM, with an upsell to buy additional courses and reference materials.

And Kevin Powell runs a 21-day drip course about responsive layouts and web design. This leads nicely into his paid CSS and design courses but also gives tons of valuable information for free to build trust with his audience.

How to use a free course lead magnet in your business: You can use the Podia course builder to create your free resource, then set the price to “Free.” Free courses typically fall into one of these two formats:

• Free self-paced courses: Give students access to all the modules and lessons at once so they can move through it at their own pace.

• Free drip courses: Give students access to the content slowly over a few days or weeks. In Podia you can release modules on a schedule so people don’t rush through the material and instead get a bite-sized amount of info slowly over time.

Students will be able to sign up for your course without paying anything, and you’ll have their contact information so you can let them know about related courses or additional materials that they might like.

#4 Free sample (or preview of the first chapter of your book or course)

If you sell a larger course or ebook as your primary product, you can give away the first module, page, chapter, or lesson as a free teaser — just like how Amazon lets you see a sample of most books before you purchase.

Maria Ebenezer does this with her event staffing training manual. Prospective customers can download a free page of the manual to make sure it’s the right fit, in exchange for providing their contact information.

How to build a free sample lead magnet for your business: This is a great option if you already have a course, ebook, or product made because there’s no extra work for you. Give away the first bit of the product you’ve already created to hook your audience members and show them what it’s like to learn with you.

Here’s how to set this up in Podia:

• Free ebook sample: Download the chapter you’d like to share for free as a new PDF. Upload it as a new digital download and set the payment to free email delivery. Make sure to add a link where they can purchase the full version in the PDF, and in an automated email that runs after they’ve received their sample.

• Free course preview: If you have a course in Podia, you can set a lesson to be previewable. This way people can see just a peek of what’s inside but also see the names of other modules/lessons to get excited about what’s to come.

#5 Templates

Templates are tools that your audience can customize and use to reach their goals faster. Social media templates, Canva templates, Lightroom presets, Notion templates, email copy templates, and website templates are lead-generation tools we see frequently, and they can be irresistible to audience members.

For instance, Marie Drouvin offers a free Podia guide and Notion template to help visitors build beautiful Podia websites. This is the perfect tie-in to her paid courses about Podia and Notion, and her premium done-for-you services.

Shana Showers from BizyBee gives prospects a free email marketing template to send, plus subject line ideas, tech suggestions, and Canva templates. Since she works with other business owners, these free templates and pieces of content can help them take care of their content marketing faster.

And Signature Edits shares free Lightroom preset templates that lead perfectly into their paid preset packs.

How to use free templates in your business: Templates can be a good lead magnet idea if your target audience is other entrepreneurs or service providers, or if you help people use technology like Notion, Lightroom, Trello, or Excel.

Saving people time is a great way to build trust and make them wonder, what else could this business teach me?

#6 Workbooks, worksheets, calendars, trackers

Another option is to give your new leads something they can use and customize. This could be a workbook or worksheet with questions, a coloring sheet they can fill in, a calendar with a fun design or relevant information, or trackers to help them reach their goals.

Dani Bruflodt from Thyme is Honey has tons of habit trackers and calendars available for free on her site, and she also offers paid full versions that go more in depth.

And Michelle Parks has a fillable “Plan Your Course” workbook that clients can download for free to get ideas for their courses. This addresses one of her audience’s main pain points of feeling overwhelmed by the course creation process and leads nicely into her paid course planning bundle and services.

How to use free worksheets and workbooks in your business: If you have a bigger course or paid product, is there a workbook, worksheet, or tracker that would go well with it? Give away the tracker for free so people can see what kinds of things they’ll learn.

As always, you can set this up in Podia by uploading your digital download and setting it to “Free email delivery.”

#7 Cheat sheets

A cheat sheet is usually a 1–2 page quick resource that teaches your target audience member something new with just a glance. Think measurement conversions, verb charts, keyboard commands, industry acronyms, and other fast, helpful wins.

MartaInSpanish has a Spanish language cheat sheet for beginners available for free. This is a great first step to point people toward her paid Spanish ebooks and courses.

Giglio Designs shares Figma Cheat Sheets with keyboard shortcuts for design students and professionals, which works as a nice precursor to their ultimate guide to Figma course.

And Tiger Spreadsheet Solutions has an Excel Cheatsheet mini course that includes a PDF with 21 Excel formulas, a video tutorial, and an Excel video training tool — which would attract the attention of prospective consulting clients and students.

How to use cheat sheet freebies in your business: If you’re teaching something technical, you can show your expertise and help audience members learn something new very fast with a cheat sheet.

The best free tools are ones they can pull out often, use, and think “Wow, I’m so glad [your business] made this.”

#8 Checklists

Checklists are simple and easy to put together, but they can have big results for your new visitors. Think about a goal or outcome your subscriber wants to achieve and work backwards to list out the steps it takes to get there. Your checklist can be a PDF, spreadsheet, or infographic — whatever makes most sense for your product.

Brave New Teaching, for example, has a back-to-school checklist with daily and weekly tasks for teachers. It covers everything from outfits, meals, and classroom priorities to help teachers feel confident on the first day back.

And Anne Boccato combines a checklist with a template in her Packing Lists Airtable Template. This document is reusable so subscribers can use it as much as they like.

How to use checklists in your business: Helping your customer figure out how to do something (like prepare for the new school year or pack for a trip) is a simple way to give a quick win and share your expertise.

You can include this checklist with your paid products and give away the checklist on its own as a free lead magnet. Just remember to include a CTA to check out the paid product within the PDF itself.

#9 Case study

With a case study, you share a real-life example that provides value to your audience member. It can be something you experienced and what you learned from it, or a story about someone who worked with you and what happened after you helped them. You can also take third-party examples to illustrate helpful lessons about what works and what doesn’t in your industry.

For instance, the Delforge Group provides a free case study about a mystery shop that went wrong. In this case study, they went to a business as a mystery shopper and noted areas of improvement for the client. They share detailed notes so that every business can learn from the experience, without having to hire a mystery shopper themselves. But in addition to providing valuable insights, they also demonstrate step by step how helpful their services can be.

How to use case studies in your business: Case studies are great lead magnets if you offer a service or coaching program. You can do a client case study and success story with one of your previous students to show, rather than tell, the value you bring.

To create your case study, interview a happy client and see what life was like before they worked with you vs. after they joined your program. How did you improve things for them? At the end, clearly point readers to the same service so they can get the results too.

#10 Webinar

A webinar is a live or prerecorded session where you teach something to a group of participants. Usually webinars last 20–45 minutes and listeners get the opportunity to ask questions at the end.

Bex Irvine uses a free Q&A webinar as her lead magnet, and the replay is available as an evergreen resource on her website. By addressing frequently asked questions in her lead magnet, Bex can help a lot of potential clients in a short amount of time and can also share details about other ways to work together.

How to use free webinars in your business: Webinars work well if you have coaching or other 1:1 services since it lets prospective customers see and hear you (virtually) face to face. Podia makes it easy to run your webinar and then add the replay to your product to turn it into an evergreen free lead magnet.

At the end of the webinar, make sure to promote a paid product that’s related or give people additional resources so they can keep learning about you. You can also give webinar participants a coupon or discount code that they can use in your shop as a “Thank you.”

#11 Starter pack bundle

For a starter pack free lead magnet, create a bundle of resources that a beginner in your niche would find useful. The goal here is to bundle together so much value that it’s irresistible to someone interested in your services, and you can include free workbooks, courses, training videos, guides, and other resources they would enjoy.

A great example of this is course creator and instructor Glen Long. He offers a course builder starter pack that includes 100 online course tips, a free video class, and weekly newsletter with advice for new online course creators.

How to use starter pack bundles in your business: A bundle like this works best if you offer a paid product that beginners or newcomers would be interested in. Your starter bundle will set them up with a solid foundation so they’re not so overwhelmed by your bigger paid products, but they also get heaps of value. It could be the jumpstart they need to take the plunge on a paid product.

To set this up, you can use the Podia’s bundle or included products feature and set the price to free. When your subscriber checks out, they’ll get access to all the resources they need to start their journey.

#12 Free email training

With a free email training or email course lead magnet, someone signs up to receive a series of emails over a few days or weeks. These emails teach them how to do something and gradually share helpful information in bite-sized pieces. It also helps keep your business top of mind since your name will be in their inbox every day for several days.

Maria Ebenezer has a free 5-day email training that teaches subscribers how to structure their event staffing agencies. Day one goes out right after sign-up, and the other emails are spaced out over the next five days.

How to use a free email training in your business: You can use the automated campaigns feature in Podia Email to provide five solid days of value and then include an upsell for your paid products at the end.

After the sequence ends, subscribers will stay on your email list. If you make products in the future that they will like, you can use the filters to send them a notification about it or add them to relevant sales funnels.

Now that you’ve got heaps of high-quality lead magnet ideas, the next step is to incorporate these into your business so they drive sales on autopilot. Here’s how to take your perfect lead magnet and turn it into a profit machine.

How to use your lead magnet to grow your sales and business

Remember, your lead magnet isn’t your business. It’s an entry point — a tool to bring people in and introduce them to your work.

Once you’ve captured their attention, there’s still more to do.

Getting more email signups doesn’t magically mean more money. You have to use the email list that you’ve grown with your lead magnet as a tool to share your paid products and offers.

Here’s how to do that:

1. Set up your lead magnet as a free digital download, course, webinar, coaching product, or whatever makes sense for your business. (Learn how to set up a lead magnet in this help doc.)

2. Make a landing page for your lead magnet so you can easily point interested visitors there. You can link to this lead capture landing page in your website header, footer, home page, blog posts, and any other key website pages. (Learn how to build landing pages in this help doc.)

3. Using Podia Email, set up an automated campaign that fires every time someone signs up for that lead magnet. Start with a welcome email that tells people more about your business, then include a few days of resources, and finally, an upsell for a related paid product. (Learn how to build automated campaigns in this help doc.)

4. Start promoting your lead magnet everywhere you have an audience. Create content for your blog, YouTube channel, or social media platforms around this lead magnet and include the CTA to join.

5. Any time you release a paid product related to this lead magnet, send out a broadcast email letting these subscribers know. You can use filters to send an announcement to people who have downloaded your lead magnet in the past since you know they’re already interested in this topic. You can also add these paid products to the automated campaign you built in step 3. (Learn more about audience filters in this help doc.)

Keep following those steps, and your system will grow. Add more content, create more lead magnets, build more paid products, and add them to your campaigns. The more you make, the more you’ll grow, and the more people you’ll get to help.

The right lead magnet with the right system means growth for your online business

Now you have a dozen free lead magnet ideas you can use to jumpstart your creativity and a 5-step system you can use to make those lead magnets bring in sales for your paid products.

The best part is that you can manage everything under one roof in Podia and you don’t have to worry about making a ton of tools talk to each other. Podia houses everything for you so your lead magnets, website, blog, email, products, and everything else are automatically connected.

Start building your best lead magnet yet with a 30-day free trial of Podia. We can’t wait to see what you make.