newsletters vs lead magnets

Do you need a lead magnet to start an email newsletter?

Nope.

But will it help you get subscribers faster?

You betcha.

Case in point:

I recently launched a low-dollar ad campaign on Facebook and Instagram to get newsletter subscribers…

- One ad set has ads that focus on my lead magnet
- The other focuses strictly on the newsletter itself

Here are the results:

As you can see…

The cost-per-lead (CPL) in both is quite reasonable.

Yet the lead magnet ad set is generating leads for half the cost of the newsletter ad set on the exact same spend.

So it’s clear the lead magnet is outperforming.

Now, these ads are more likely to attract freebie seekers with no intention of actually doing anything with the information I provide…

But given the difference in CPL, I’ll stick with ‘em for now.

If you don’t have a lead magnet yet…

And you’re hungry for more newsletter subscribers…

My recommendation is:

Identify a small tactical problem you can solve in a short guide or video.

Then build your lead magnet around that.

In my case, I went with “how to start an email newsletter.”

“Start” being the operative word…

Because the goal isn’t to overwhelm subscribers with everything you know upfront…

It’s to fully solve a single problem…

That creates a need to solve the next problem…

Thereby whetting their appetite for more.

Make sense?

That’s all I got for ya today.

Happy Friday 🤘

Jim Hamilton