lead-magnets

Works out what to give away in exchange for an email address — what form it takes, how much of it people see before handing one over, and the page that offers it.

WHEN TO USE

SCOPE

USE FOR

Pick a lead magnet format and buyer stage instead of defaulting to an ebook.
Decide whether to fully gate, partially gate, or leave a lead magnet ungated.
Structure a lead magnet landing page from headline through FAQ.
Plan an A/B test on a lead magnet's headline, format, or gate level.

NOT FOR

Does not cover interactive tools like calculators or graders — that's the free-tools skill.

This is a saved copy of the skill's SKILL.md instructions. It may differ from the upstream file or the version you install.

In this document (12)

Lead Magnets

You are an expert in lead magnet strategy. Your goal is to help plan lead magnets that capture emails, generate qualified leads, and naturally lead to product adoption.

Before Planning

Check for product marketing context first: If .agents/product-marketing.md exists (or .claude/product-marketing.md, or the legacy product-marketing-context.md filename, in older setups), read it before asking questions. Use that context and only ask for information not already covered or specific to this task.

Gather this context (ask if not provided):

1. Business Context

What does the company do?
Who is the ideal customer?
What problems does your product solve?

2. Current Lead Generation

How do you currently capture leads?
What lead magnets or offers do you have?
What's your current conversion rate on email capture?

3. Content Assets

What existing content could be repurposed? (blog posts, guides, data)
What expertise can you package?
What templates or tools do you use internally?

4. Goals

Primary goal: email list growth, lead quality, product education?
Target audience stage: awareness, consideration, or decision?
Timeline and resource constraints?

Lead Magnet Principles

1. Solve a Specific Problem

Address one clear pain point, not a broad topic
"How to write cold emails that get replies" > "Marketing guide"

2. Match the Buyer Stage

Awareness leads need education
Consideration leads need comparison and evaluation
Decision leads need implementation help

3. High Perceived Value, Low Time Investment

Should look like it's worth paying for
Consumable in under 30 minutes (ideally under 10)
Immediate, actionable takeaway

4. Natural Path to Product

Solves a problem your product also solves
Creates awareness of a gap your product fills
Demonstrates your expertise in the space

5. Easy to Consume

One clear format (don't mix ebook + video + spreadsheet)
Works on mobile
No special software required

Lead Magnet Types

Type	Best For	Effort	Time to Create
Checklist	Quick wins, process steps	Low	1-2 hours
Cheat sheet	Reference material, shortcuts	Low	2-4 hours
Template (doc/spreadsheet/Notion)	Repeatable processes, workflows	Low-Med	2-8 hours
Swipe file	Inspiration, examples	Medium	4-8 hours
Ebook/guide	Deep education, authority	High	1-3 weeks
Mini-course (email)	Education + nurture	Medium	1-2 weeks
Mini-course (video)	Education + personality	High	2-4 weeks
Quiz/assessment	Segmentation, engagement	Medium	1-2 weeks
Webinar	Authority, live engagement	Medium	1 week prep
Resource library	Ongoing value, return visits	High	Ongoing
Free trial/community access	Product experience	Varies	Varies

For detailed creation guidance per format: See references/format-guide.md

Matching Lead Magnets to Buyer Stage

Awareness Stage

Goal: Educate on the problem. Attract people who don't know you yet.

Format	Example
Checklist	"10-Point Website Audit Checklist"
Cheat sheet	"SEO Cheat Sheet for Beginners"
Ebook/guide	"The Complete Guide to Email Marketing"
Quiz	"What Type of Marketer Are You?"

Consideration Stage

Goal: Help evaluate solutions. Build trust and demonstrate expertise.

Format	Example
Comparison template	"CRM Comparison Spreadsheet"
Assessment	"Marketing Maturity Assessment"
Case study collection	"5 Companies That 3x'd Their Pipeline"
Webinar	"How to Choose the Right Analytics Tool"

Decision Stage

Goal: Help implement. Remove friction to purchase.

Format	Example
Template	"Ready-to-Use Sales Email Templates"
Free trial	"14-Day Free Trial"
Implementation guide	"Migration Checklist: Switch in 30 Minutes"
ROI calculator	"Calculate Your Savings" (→ see free-tools)

Gating Strategy

Gating Options

Approach	When to Use	Trade-off
Full gate	High-value content, bottom-funnel	Max capture, lower reach
Partial gate	Preview + full version	Balance of reach and capture
Ungated + optional	Top-funnel education	Max reach, lower capture
Content upgrade	Blog post + bonus	Contextual, high-intent

What to Ask For

Email only — highest conversion, lowest friction
Email + name — enables personalization, slight friction increase
Email + company/role — better lead qualification, more friction
Multi-field — only for high-value offers (webinars, demos)

Rule of thumb: Ask for the minimum needed. Every extra field reduces conversion by 5-10%.

How to Frame the Exchange

Make the value obvious: "Get the full 25-page guide free"
Show a preview: table of contents, first page, sample results
Add social proof: "Downloaded by 5,000+ marketers"
Reduce risk: "No spam. Unsubscribe anytime."

For form optimization: See cro skill For popup implementation: See popups skill

Landing Page & Delivery

Landing Page Structure

Headline — Clear benefit: what they'll get and why it matters
Preview/mockup — Visual of the lead magnet (cover, screenshot, sample page)
What's inside — 3-5 bullet points of key takeaways
Social proof — Download count, testimonials, logos
Form — Minimal fields, clear CTA button
FAQ — Address hesitations (Is it really free? What format?)

For landing page optimization: See cro skill

Delivery Methods

Method	Pros	Cons
Instant download	Immediate gratification	No email verification
Email delivery	Verifies email, starts relationship	Slight delay
Thank you page + email	Best of both—instant access + email copy	Slightly more complex
Drip delivery	Builds habit, multiple touchpoints	Only for courses/series

Thank You Page Optimization

Don't waste the thank you page. After they've converted:

Confirm delivery ("Check your inbox")
Offer a next step (book a demo, start trial, join community)
Share on social (pre-written tweet/post)
Recommend related content

Promotion & Distribution

Blog CTAs & Content Upgrades

Add relevant CTAs within blog posts (inline, end-of-post)
Create post-specific content upgrades (bonus checklist for a how-to post)
Content upgrades convert 2-5x better than generic sidebar CTAs

Exit-Intent & Popups

Trigger on exit intent or scroll depth
Match the popup offer to the page content
See popups for implementation

Social Media

Share snippets and teasers from the lead magnet
Create carousel posts from key points
Use the lead magnet as the CTA in your bio/profile
See social for social strategy

Paid Promotion

Facebook/Instagram lead ads for top-funnel lead magnets
Google Ads for high-intent lead magnets (templates, tools)
LinkedIn for B2B lead magnets
Retarget blog visitors with lead magnet ads
See ads for campaign strategy

Partner Co-Promotion

Cross-promote with complementary brands
Guest webinars with partner audiences
Include in partner newsletters
Bundle in resource collections

Measuring Success

Key Metrics

Metric	What It Tells You	Benchmark
Landing page conversion rate	Offer attractiveness	20-40% (warm traffic), 5-15% (cold)
Cost per lead	Acquisition efficiency	Varies by channel and industry
Lead-to-customer rate	Lead quality	1-5% (B2B), varies widely
Email engagement	Content relevance	30-50% open, 2-5% click
Time to conversion	Nurture effectiveness	Track by lead magnet source

For detailed benchmarks by format and industry: See references/benchmarks.md

A/B Testing Ideas

Headline: Benefit-focused vs. curiosity-driven
Format: Checklist vs. guide on same topic
Gate level: Full gate vs. partial preview
Form fields: Email-only vs. email + name
CTA copy: "Download Free Guide" vs. "Get Your Copy"
Delivery: Instant download vs. email delivery

Lead Quality Signals

Good lead magnet attracted quality leads if:

Higher-than-average email engagement
Leads progress to trial/demo at expected rates
Low unsubscribe rate after delivery
Leads match ICP demographics

Output Format

When creating a lead magnet strategy, provide:

1. Lead Magnet Recommendation

Format and topic
Target buyer stage
Why this format for this audience
Estimated creation effort

2. Content Outline

Key sections/components
Length and scope
What makes it unique or valuable

3. Gating & Capture Plan

What to gate and how
Form fields
Landing page structure

4. Distribution Plan

Promotion channels
Content upgrade opportunities
Paid amplification (if applicable)

5. Measurement Plan

KPIs and targets
What to A/B test first

Task-Specific Questions

What existing content or expertise could you turn into a lead magnet?
Where does your audience spend time online?
What's the most common question prospects ask before buying?
Do you have an email nurture sequence set up for new leads?
What's your budget for design and promotion?

Related Skills

free-tools: For interactive tools as lead magnets (calculators, graders, quizzes)
copywriting: For writing the lead magnet content itself
emails: For nurture sequences after lead capture
cro: For optimizing lead magnet landing pages
popups: For popup-based lead capture
cro: For optimizing capture forms
content-strategy: For content planning and topic selection
analytics: For measuring lead magnet performance
ads: For paid promotion of lead magnets
social: For social media promotion

This skill ships inside the Marketing Skills for AI Agents plugin.

Install just this skill

Run this outside your AI tool, using Node.js 22.20.0 or newer. Skills CLI 1.7.2 skips skill selection; prompts cancel installation without an interactive terminal. If choosing Project when asked about installation scope, open your project's folder before running this.

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Skills CLI 1.7.2 sends install data to skills.sh by default, including the source, skill names, target tools and file details; GitHub sources are reported only when GitHub confirms the repository is public, while other remote sources can also be reported. Confirmed-public GitHub sources also trigger a security-audit request. Before installing, set the environment variable DO_NOT_TRACK=1 or DISABLE_TELEMETRY=1 to disable both.

npx skills add coreyhaines31/marketingskills --skill "lead-magnets" --full-depth

After installing for Claude Code, open it in the installation project if you chose Project; Global makes the skill available across projects on this computer. Once Claude Code loads the skill, its description helps Claude decide when to use it.

If installation created a top-level skills folder that did not exist when your Claude Code session started, run /reload-skills in that session. Run it again after later changes in that folder.

Install the whole plugin

This route installs the Marketing Skills for AI Agents plugin package selected for your AI tool.

Add the marketplace, then install the plugin

Type both lines inside a Claude Code session, not at your shell prompt. They add Corey's marketplace, which is this repository, and the marketing-skills plugin, with all 50 skills.

/plugin marketplace add coreyhaines31/marketingskills

02
```
/plugin install marketing-skills
```

Installation and loading

The second line opens the plugin's details; Claude Code installs it once you pick one of the install options shown.

Good to know

/plugin does not work in Claude Code on the web, GitHub Actions or other non-interactive setups. For those, Corey gives a shell form: claude plugin marketplace add coreyhaines31/marketingskills, then claude plugin install marketing-skills@marketingskills.

Add the marketplace, then pick the plugin in Codex

Run the first line in your terminal to add Corey's marketplace, which is this repository. Then start a Codex session, type /plugins and select marketing-skills to install all 50 skills. To get new releases later, run codex plugin marketplace upgrade.

codex plugin marketplace add coreyhaines31/marketingskills

02
```
/plugins
```

Open plugin page ↗

What's inside

Files included with this skill.

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Same repository

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ad-creative
When the user wants to generate, iterate, or scale ad creative — headlines, descriptions, primary text, or full ad variations — for any paid advertising platform. Also use when the user mentions 'ad copy variations,' 'ad creative,' 'generate headlines,' 'RSA headlines,' 'bulk ad copy,' 'ad iterations,' 'creative testing,' 'write me some ads,' 'Facebook ad copy,' 'Google ad headlines,' 'LinkedIn ad text,' 'static ads,' 'ad templates,' 'iMessage ad,' 'chat reveal ad,' 'ChatGPT ad,' 'Apple Notes ad,' 'AirDrop ad,' 'creative strategy,' 'creative roadmap,' 'creative retro,' 'hook writing,' 'creative review page,' 'present ad creative for approval,' 'motion video ad,' 'faceless video ad,' 'UGC ad,' 'greenscreen ad,' 'TikTok/Reels ad format,' 'which ad format to make,' 'Meta ad format tier list,' or 'creative format taxonomy.' Use this whenever someone needs to produce ad copy at scale or iterate on existing ads. For campaign strategy and targeting, see ads. For landing page copy, see copywriting.Read full description
ads
When the user wants help with paid advertising campaigns on Google Ads, Meta (Facebook/Instagram), LinkedIn, Twitter/X, or other ad platforms. Also use when the user mentions 'PPC,' 'paid media,' 'ROAS,' 'CPA,' 'ad campaign,' 'retargeting,' 'audience targeting,' 'Google Ads,' 'Facebook ads,' 'LinkedIn ads,' 'ad budget,' 'cost per click,' 'ad spend,' 'should I run ads,' 'ABM,' 'account-based marketing,' 'B2B ads,' 'lead quality,' 'negative keywords,' 'Performance Max,' 'thought leader ads,' or 'when should I kill an ad.' Use this for campaign strategy, audience targeting, bidding, and optimization. For bulk ad creative generation and iteration, see ad-creative. For landing page optimization, see cro.Read full description
ai-seo
When the user wants to optimize content for AI search engines, get cited by LLMs, or appear in AI-generated answers. Also use when the user mentions 'AI SEO,' 'AEO,' 'GEO,' 'LLMO,' 'answer engine optimization,' 'generative engine optimization,' 'LLM optimization,' 'AI Overviews,' 'optimize for ChatGPT,' 'optimize for Perplexity,' 'AI citations,' 'AI visibility,' 'zero-click search,' 'how do I show up in AI answers,' 'LLM mentions,' 'optimize for Claude/Gemini,' 'llms.txt,' 'llms-full.txt,' 'OKF,' 'Open Knowledge Format,' 'knowledge bundle,' 'agent-readable site,' 'agent readiness,' 'is my site agent-ready,' 'WebMCP,' 'do listicles still work for AI,' 'ChatGPT stopped citing comparison pages,' or 'AI citation format shift.' Use this whenever someone wants their content to be cited or surfaced by AI assistants and AI search engines. For traditional technical and on-page SEO audits, see seo-audit. For structured data implementation, see schema.Read full description
analytics
When the user wants to set up, improve, or audit analytics tracking and measurement. Also use when the user mentions "set up tracking," "GA4," "Google Analytics," "conversion tracking," "event tracking," "UTM parameters," "tag manager," "GTM," "analytics implementation," "tracking plan," "how do I measure this," "track conversions," "Mixpanel," "Segment," "are my events firing," or "analytics isn't working." Use this whenever someone asks how to know if something is working or wants to measure marketing results. For choosing attribution models, comparing multi-touch/MMM/incrementality, or reconciling conflicting numbers across tools, see attribution. For A/B test measurement, see ab-testing.Read full description
aso
When the user wants to audit or optimize an App Store or Google Play listing. Also use when the user mentions 'ASO audit,' 'app store optimization,' 'optimize my app listing,' 'improve app visibility,' 'app store ranking,' 'audit my listing,' 'why aren't people downloading my app,' 'improve my app conversion,' 'keyword optimization for app,' or 'compare my app to competitors.' Use when the user shares an App Store or Google Play URL and wants to improve it.Read full description