---
name: lead-magnets
description: Plan lead magnets (checklists, templates, guides, swipe files) that capture emails and qualify leads. Use when the user says "lead magnet", "gated content", "content upgrade", "opt-in", "freebie", or "what should I give away for emails". Not for interactive tools like calculators and graders: use free-tools. Not for the nurture sequence after capture: use emails. Not for the launch moment itself: use launch.
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: TechTide AI (Alex Cinovoj)
  provenance: rewritten from patterns in an open SaaS marketing skills pack (MIT)
  category: Marketing & Growth
---

# Lead Magnets

A lead magnet trades one specific solved problem for an email address. Specific beats broad, consumable-in-10-minutes beats impressive, and the problem it solves must sit on the road to your product.

## Workflow

1. **Load context.** If `.agents/product-marketing.md` or `.claude/product-marketing.md` exists, read it first. Pin: ideal customer, problems the product solves, existing content worth repurposing, current capture rate, and the primary goal (list growth, lead quality, or product education).
2. **Pick the problem, then the stage.** One pain point, phrased the way buyers phrase it. "How to write cold emails that get replies" beats "Marketing guide". Match format to buyer stage: awareness gets education (checklist, cheat sheet, guide), consideration gets evaluation help (comparison template, assessment, case studies), decision gets implementation help (templates, migration checklist, trial).
3. **Pick the format by effort-to-value.** Checklists and cheat sheets: hours. Templates: hours to a day. Guides and email mini-courses: weeks. Read references/formats-and-benchmarks.md when choosing between formats or setting metric targets. Rule: highest perceived value for the least consumption time, one format only, works on a phone.
4. **Set the gate.** Full gate for high-value bottom-funnel assets. Partial gate (preview free, full version gated) as the default. Content upgrades inside relevant blog posts convert 2-5x better than generic offers. Ask for the minimum: email only unless qualification is the goal, every extra field costs 5-10% conversion.
5. **Design the landing page.** Headline states the benefit, visual mockup of the asset, 3-5 "what's inside" bullets, social proof, minimal form, FAQ for hesitations.
6. **Choose delivery.** Thank-you page plus email copy is the default: instant access and a verified address. Never waste the thank-you page: next step (demo, trial, community), share prompt, related content.
7. **Plan distribution.** Inline blog CTAs and post-specific content upgrades first, then social snippets, then paid only for proven converters. Partner cross-promotion where audiences overlap.
8. **Deliver the standard output.** Recommendation (format, topic, stage, reasoning, effort), content outline, gating and capture plan, distribution plan, measurement plan with the first A/B test.

## Good vs bad

**Bad:** "The Ultimate 80-Page Guide to Digital Marketing", full-gated, five form fields, promoted only in the site footer. High effort, generic topic, captures students and competitors, converts nobody.

**Good:** "Cold email teardown checklist: 12 checks before you hit send", email-only gate, offered as a content upgrade inside the three blog posts about outbound. Two hours to build, captures exactly the people the product serves.

## Verification

Before delivering the plan, test it against the qualification chain: state in one sentence each (a) the specific problem, (b) who has it, (c) how the product continues the story. Expect all three sentences to be concrete and connected. If any sentence goes generic ("helps marketers market better"), the topic is wrong, restart step 2.

## Completion checklist

- [ ] Context loaded, goal pinned
- [ ] One specific problem, phrased in buyer language
- [ ] Format matched to buyer stage and effort budget
- [ ] Gate level and form fields justified
- [ ] Landing page structure specified
- [ ] Delivery method and thank-you page plan set
- [ ] Distribution plan with content upgrades first
- [ ] Measurement plan with targets and first A/B test

Any box unchecked: not done. Fix or say so.

## Footguns

- **Broad-topic bloat.** "Complete guide to X" attracts everyone and qualifies no one. Fix: narrow until the title names a task, not a field.
- **Format stacking.** Ebook plus video plus spreadsheet in one offer confuses consumption and delays shipping. Fix: one format, ship it, iterate.
- **Orphaned captures.** Emails collected with no nurture sequence waiting go cold in a week. Fix: the emails skill's sequence exists before the magnet goes live.
- **Vanity metrics.** Celebrating download counts while lead-to-customer sits at zero. Fix: track magnet-source leads through to trial or demo, judge by that.