Sound Bite: How Solopreneurs Can Craft Irresistible Lead Magnets

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Lead magnet effectiveness has evolved significantly as consumer expectations and digital landscapes shift. In the past, solopreneurs could rely on whitepapers and ebooks to capture leads, but with the oversaturation of content, these strategies have lost their edge. Today’s audience seeks more immediate, interactive, and personalized value.

Solopreneurs can no longer depend on static downloads—they need to create engaging, actionable resources that build trust and provide tangible benefits in real time to stand out in an increasingly crowded market.

In this episode, we briefly reflect on the current state of lead generation and disclose what works best for us so that you can apply it to your solo business. Be sure to tune in!

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Being a solopreneur is awesome but it’s not easy. It's hard to get noticed. Most business advice is for bigger companies, and you're all alone...until now. LifeStarr's SoloSuite Intro gives you free education, community, and tools to build a thriving one-person business. 

So, if you are lacking direction, having a hard time generating leads, or are having trouble keeping up with everything you have to do, or even just lonely running a company of one, click here to check out SoloSuite Intro!

Episode Transcript

Carly Ries: 00:00

About a decade ago, it was so easy to get a lead magnet out there. Nobody was really used to filling out forms and to get things for free just by putting in your email. It was so cool. But that was about a decade ago, and times have changed and lead magnets are no longer what they used to be. They can be, but it's much harder to get those downloads, to get those email subscribes that you used to.

Carly Ries: 00:20

So, Joan, I really thought it was important to address lead magnets today. Just a quick conversation between the 2 of us. But if you are trying to figure out what lead magnets you should be creating or why yours aren't working, be sure to tune in to this episode. You're listening to the aspiring solopreneur, the podcast for those just taking the bold step or even just thinking about taking that step into the world of solo My name is Carly Rees, and my co host Joe Rando and I are your guides to navigating this crazy but awesome journey as a company of 1. We take pride in being part of LifeStar, a digital hub dedicated to all aspects of solopreneurship that has empowered and educated countless solopreneurs looking to build a business that resonates with their life's ambitions.

Carly Ries: 01:06

We help people work to live, not live to work. And if you're looking for a get rich quick scheme, this is not the show for you. So if you're eager to gain valuable insights from industry experts on running a business the right way the first time around, or want to learn from the missteps of solopreneurs who've paved the way before you, then stick around. We've got your back because flying solo in business doesn't mean you're alone. Okay.

Carly Ries: 01:29

So before we jump into this episode, I just have to share this new free offer we have called the solo suite starter. Being a solopreneur is awesome, but it's not easy. It's hard to get noticed, and most business advice is for bigger companies, and you're all alone until now. Lifestar's solo suite gives you free education, community, and tools to build a thriving one person business. So if you're lacking direction, having a hard time generating leads, having trouble keeping up with everything you have to do, or even if you're just lonely running a company of 1, be sure to check out Solo Suite starter at lifestar with 2 hours.com and click on products and pricing at the top menu.

Carly Ries: 02:08

It's the first one in the drop down. Again, it's totally free, so check it out at lifestar with 2 hours.com. Click on products and pricing, and it's the first one in the menu. Hope to see you there. So, Joe, a couple weeks ago, we had one of these shorter podcast episodes that addressed content marketing.

Carly Ries: 02:25

We were kind of talking about content marketing as an awareness tool, but also a way to generate leads and all of that. But today, I want to specifically talk about lead magnets and creating them. And I think the thing I wanna point out more than anything is just that lead generation is not what it used to be. Lead magnets is not like, they are not what they used to be. Back in the day, you could put an ebook, a white paper.

Carly Ries: 02:50

Oh my gosh. The number of white papers I have had made, up on next to a form before I download and people are like, this is so cool. All I need to do is put my email address in and I get this white paper. And these days, people are just so jaded. They're like, I don't know how many more forms I can fill out.

Carly Ries: 03:05

I don't wanna give another person my email address to get something for free. And I think the thing that people need to realize is that the lead magnet game has changed and you have to get so granular. You have to understand your audience so so well and think of lead generation in a different way than you used to outside of the white paper ebook realms. Would you agree?

Joe Rando: 03:28

Oh, absolutely. I think the lead, Megan, has to be short and sweet and solve a pain point or address a pain point that is acutely failed by your target market.

Carly Ries: 03:38

And do you mind if I share, like, our top two ways that we get leads now, which is something that I don't think a lot of people Don't figure out?

Joe Rando: 03:44

Anybody. We have

Carly Ries: 03:46

events. We have events.

Joe Rando: 03:48

Events.

Carly Ries: 03:48

We, we don't have white paper. I mean, we I guess, we have our checklist. But the biggest way we get leads is we host 2 events each month, and they're all virtual. And we promote it on LinkedIn. We promote it, LinkedIn is our primary driver, but on this podcast as well, and there are other ways you can get to it, which shameless plug, go to life star with 2 hours.com and click on events, and you can go to one of the upcoming events

Joe Rando: 04:12

For free.

Carly Ries: 04:13

For free. But I I would have never used to think of events as a lead generation tool. And then we've also built a community. And through a community of solopreneurs, we have nearly 600 people in our Facebook group right now. We build trust and people get to know us and they get to know the real us.

Carly Ries: 04:32

And so when we post something like the event or something that would generate even more leads, like, hey, tell your friend. People do it because we've built that trust. Those are very out of the box ways of generating leads compared to the ebook or white paper back in the day. I'm not saying you can't do those, but if you do those, they have to be so specific and so valuable for your audience to want to give their email address, that you just have a little bit more of a an uphill battle. But it doesn't mean you can't do them.

Carly Ries: 05:02

It just you have to change your thinking.

Joe Rando: 05:04

And I think we it's important to point out, this is that's what this is all about is capturing that email address. You know? And then you get these people that say, I got a 1000000 followers on Instagram. Why do I need to get their email address? And the answer is because and I've seen this literally happen to people.

Joe Rando: 05:20

All of a sudden, your account gets gets suspended on Instagram because of some perceived whatever, or you get hacked and and they do something bad. But, you know, even if you don't do something bad and then you've got nobody to appeal to because there's nobody to speak to, and your 1,000,000 followers are now basically in the ether. So getting those email addresses into your CRM, your customer relationship management system that, of course, you have is magic, and so you really need to do that. And it's great if you have a 1,000,000 followers on Instagram or Facebook or LinkedIn, but you don't own them. You don't own them until you have those email addresses.

Carly Ries: 05:55

But, Joe, another thing, just since we're talking about solopreneurs, can I give my top tip for lead generation right now that's not Absolutely?

Joe Rando: 06:02

I want it too.

Carly Ries: 06:03

Because we have a bigger audience. Network. Get face to face with people. Connect with your audience or connect with your personal contacts and reach out to them to let them know what they're doing. If you're a solopreneur, you might not need 500 clients or customers.

Carly Ries: 06:18

You might need 5. Yeah. 3 to 5 to make a living each month. And so why are you putting a ton of time and effort into an ebook when you could go down to your local coffee shop and meet some people there and boom, get a new client that way. I think people forget in the digital age that old school tactics work really well, and people like getting that personal one on one time.

Carly Ries: 06:40

So from a lead magnet standpoint, you be the magnet and attract people around you.

Joe Rando: 06:47

Yeah. I mean, that's you know, especially, like, coaches and and things that, you know, you can give away a free, you know, a free introductory session or something as a as a lead magnet. Say, you know, well, you know, it's been a half an hour with you. We'll walk through and look at your problems and, no charge. Then if you like it, maybe we, you know, sign up.

Joe Rando: 07:05

But, yeah, that could be a lead magnet. I mean, some lead magnets can be sent through the actual snail mail. But you don't get an email address then. But if you got their their physical address, I suppose that's something. Yeah.

Joe Rando: 07:16

And, So

Carly Ries: 07:17

I just I think people have gotten so and I'm I'm guilty of this as well since I'm a, quote, unquote, trade marketer. I don't even know if that's a but since marketing is my career, I tend to be very and, like, just go by the books. And then I take a step back, and I'm like, this makes no sense for what I'm doing. I'm just doing what I was taught. So if you're like that, if you're reading marketing books right now, listening to marketing podcast, and you're just taking notes and think it applies to you, really take a step back and say, does this apply to me, or am I just doing this because I think I should?

Carly Ries: 07:49

It's like my uncle. He's wonderful, but he was starting a new business, and he's great at his craft. He's just not a marketer. And he was like, I need to be on Facebook. I need to be on x.

Carly Ries: 07:58

I need to do this. And I was like and he was like, well, because you need to be on everything, so he'll see you. And I'm like, no. You don't. Just because you're told that you should do that doesn't mean you should.

Carly Ries: 08:08

So I think understand your audience and understand yourself is the golden ticket lead magnet success.

Joe Rando: 08:14

And I think that brings up a really important point, which is that a lot of these marketing best practices, marketing books, marketing, you know, concepts are really designed for big companies. And solopreneurs, you know, you've got to find that 20% of the thing that's gonna give you the 80% of the results because you don't have time for 100% of that. You know, you've got to split your time. You're a solopreneur. And so exactly what you're saying, Carly, is, you know, figure out about what makes sense for you and, more importantly, what makes sense for the people you're trying to attract.

Joe Rando: 08:47

You know, if you do wood carving of, I don't know, Americana stuff. And there's, you know, these Facebook groups that are into this kind of thing. That's where you want to be. You don't need to then be on X, you know, posting out to the world. And it just it just doesn't make any sense.

Joe Rando: 09:05

You need to find where your tribe is and put your time in there. And one other thing before we stop here, I think it's really important you can create the greatest lead magnet ever. People sometimes don't do well, and it's a critical mistake, is you have to basically make it blindingly clear how to opt in for that. So what we're saying is calls to action on your website, you know, in the menu header, in the text, you know, multiple times. You know, set up a meeting with me, get get my checklist, but get it in there with big, bold buttons repeatedly on your site so people don't have to think about how they get your lead magnet.

Carly Ries: 09:48

Gotta promote those magnets if you have them.

Joe Rando: 09:50

Yeah. Yeah. Definitely.

Carly Ries: 09:52

Well, folks, that I think is all we have for our little sound bite today. As usual, please give us a 5 star review. Subscribe on YouTube. Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. We have a blast putting these on for you, so we love that support.

Carly Ries: 10:06

But we will see you on Tuesday with another guest interview on the aspiring solopreneur. Talk to you soon.

Joe Rando: 10:12

Bye.

Carly Ries: 10:16

You may be going solo in business, but that doesn't mean you're alone. In fact, millions of people are in your shoes, running a one person business and figuring it out as they go. So why not connect with them and learn from each other's successes and failures? At LifeStar, we're creating a one person business community where you can go to meet and get advice from other solopreneurs. Be sure to join in on the conversations at community.lifestar.com.

Carly Ries: 10:39

That's community.life star with 2 r's.com.