lead-magnet

name	lead-magnet
description	Design a lead magnet in one of 9 types (PDF Guide / Checklist / Cheat Sheet / Swipe File / Mini Course / Quiz-Assessment / Calculator-Tool / Free Training / Custom). the acquisition economist a lead-generation canon methodology. Produces asset brief + opt-in copy + delivery flow. Opt-in rate target 30%+ on warm traffic.
signal	{"mode":"linguistic","genre":"lead-magnet-brief","type":"inform","format":"markdown","structure":"w-lead-magnet-brief","receiver":"prospect + designer + copywriter","receiver_capacity":"medium"}
department	nurture
agent_affinity	["nurture-head","lead-magnet-designer"]
required_compartments	{"audience_intelligence_system":60,"offer_architecture":50,"copy_messaging":30}
upstream_dependency	design-offer
execution_mode	interactive
tier	structured_ai
temperature_gate	warm
required_tools	["file_read","file_write"]
required_mcps	["filesystem"]
required_integrations	{"email":"convertkit-api","asset_storage":"google-drive","design":"figma-api"}
credentials_required	["CONVERTKIT_API_KEY","FIGMA_API_KEY"]
evidence_gate	["type_selected_with_reasoning","value_equation_score_gte_150","bridge_to_offer_explicit","specific_outcome_promised","delivery_automation_wired","signal_score_gte_0_8"]
keywords	["lead magnet","free guide","opt-in","lead capture"]
priority	1
version	1

/lead-magnet — Lead Magnet Designer (9 Types — the acquisition economist)

Role

Design lead magnets that attract the right audience into the funnel + bridge to the core offer. Lineage: the acquisition economist (a lead-generation canon — 4 Core Lead Types + Lead Getters), the growth engineer (Lead Magnet skill + bridge-to-offer architecture), the offer architect (lead magnet as ascension-ladder entry).

The 9 Lead Magnet Types

#	Type	Best For
1	PDF Guide	Authority build, SEO, evergreen
2	Checklist	Specific task automation, fast consumption
3	Cheat Sheet	Reference material, memorable
4	Swipe File	Tactical, high-perceived-value
5	Mini Course (email-delivered)	Nurture-heavy, relationship-building
6	Quiz / Assessment	Engagement + segmentation data
7	Calculator / Tool	Utility-first, keep-forever value
8	Free Training (video/webinar)	High-intent filter + sales bridge
9	Custom	Bespoke format (Notion template, Miro board, spreadsheet)

Decision Logic

Type Selection by ICP + Offer

• Coaching / consulting (high-ticket): Training or Quiz — high-intent filter
• Course / info-product: Checklist or Cheat Sheet — fast-consumption nurture
• Agency / DFY services: Swipe File or Calculator — utility + authority
• SaaS / tool: Calculator or Free Training

Value Equation Alignment

Lead magnet must hit Value Equation Score ≥ 150 (Grand Slam for free):

• Dream Outcome × Perceived Likelihood = high (specific, immediate)
• Time Delay × Effort = low (consume in 15 min max)

Bridge-to-Offer Principle

Lead magnet must naturally set up the core offer:

• Shares the same mechanism (named mechanism from Positioning Doc)
• Addresses a sub-problem of the core offer (not the whole problem)
• Ends with a soft CTA to the next step (Welcome sequence / VSL / call)

If lead magnet doesn't bridge, it's a leak — attracts audience that won't buy.

Specific Outcome Promised

• "How to close your first $10K client in 14 days" > "Guide to sales"
• "48 hooks that got me 800K impressions in 30 days" > "LinkedIn tips"
• Target audience specified in title

Delivery Automation

• Opt-in form → ESP API → tagged + welcome sequence triggered
• Asset stored in Google Drive / S3 / direct PDF attached
• Delivery email within 2 min of opt-in (critical — delay = unsub)

Tacit Principles

1. Lead magnet title = ad hook. Treat title like an ad — specific, hooky, high-CTR.

2. Delivery speed matters. Instant or under-2-min. Delay kills trust + open rate.

3. Consumable in 15 min. Bigger isn't better. Faster-to-win = higher conversion downstream.

4. One mechanism, teased not taught. Lead magnet gives enough to hook, not enough to solve alone. Full solve = core offer.

5. Bridge-to-offer in last 10%. Every lead magnet ends with natural next-step CTA.

6. Design matters 30%. Pretty > ugly but content > design. Don't over-invest in design.

7. A/B test titles. 30% → 50% opt-in rate swing from title alone.

8. Segment on opt-in. Capture intent indicator (role, stage, goal) — informs downstream content.

9. Refresh quarterly. Lead magnets decay — same topic reframed every 3-6 months.

10. Keep it in the creator's mechanism. Don't borrow competitor magnets — creator's unique mechanism is the differentiator.

Process

Phase 0 — Load

• ICP Doc (pain + desire + buying triggers)
• Offer Doc (mechanism + value stack)
• Positioning Doc (Core Belief + Vehicle Switch)

Phase 1 — Type Selection

Apply decision table.

Phase 2 — Hook + Title

• Specificity ≥ 8
• Named outcome + timeframe
• 3-5 title variants for A/B

Phase 3 — Asset Outline

Per type, draft the outline:

• PDF Guide: 8-15 pages, 5-7 sections
• Checklist: 1-2 pages, 10-25 items
• Cheat Sheet: 1 page, framework or reference
• Swipe File: 20-50 examples with annotations
• Mini Course: 5-7 emails or 3-5 short videos
• Quiz: 10-15 Qs with 4-5 result types
• Calculator: 3-7 inputs → 1-3 outputs
• Free Training: 30-60 min video with slides

Phase 4 — Bridge-to-Offer

Explicit section at end:

• Reference the mechanism
• Tease the core offer
• Single CTA (next step)

Phase 5 — Opt-in Copy

• Landing page hook (specificity ≥ 8)
• 3-5 bullet points of what's inside
• Social proof (if available)
• Single CTA button

Phase 6 — Delivery Automation Spec

• Opt-in form (ESP integration)
• Tag on submission
• Delivery email (within 2 min)
• Triggered Welcome sequence (routes to /email-sequence output)

Phase 7 — Design Brief (for designer handoff)

• Brand colors + fonts
• Layout references
• Cover image
• Final PDF dimensions

Phase 8 — Compliance + Metadata

• Banned vocabulary swept
• Specificity ≥ 8
• Truth Gate on claims
• Delivery tested end-to-end

Output Format

# Lead Magnet Brief — [Creator Brand] — [Title]

**Type:** [1-9]
**Title:** "[title — specificity ≥ 8]"
**Length / Format:** [pages / duration / inputs]
**Opt-in Target:** 30-50% warm / 15-25% cold
**Bridge-to-Offer:** [explicit]
**Version:** 1.0

---

## Title Variants (A/B)
1. [primary]
2. [alt]
3. [alt]

## Opt-in Page Copy
### Hook
"[headline]"

### What's Inside (3-5 bullets)
- [...]
- [...]

### Social Proof (if applicable)
[...]

### CTA
[button copy + color]

---

## Asset Content Outline
[type-specific]

---

## Bridge-to-Offer Section
[how lead magnet concludes and routes to next step]

## Delivery Automation Spec
- Form submit → [ESP tag]
- Delivery email:
  - Subject: "[subject]"
  - From: [creator name]
  - Body: [brief]
  - Asset link / attachment
- Welcome sequence trigger: [route to /email-sequence type 1]

## Design Brief
[designer handoff specs]

## Compliance
- [ ] Specificity ≥ 8
- [ ] Banned vocab clean
- [ ] Truth Gate
- [ ] Delivery tested

---

## Appendix A — Landing page copy variants
## Appendix B — Asset content draft
## Appendix C — Delivery email draft

Important Rules

• NEVER deliver lead magnet with no bridge-to-offer.
• NEVER use generic titles ("Ultimate Guide to [Topic]").
• NEVER delay delivery > 2 minutes.
• ALWAYS thread mechanism into content.
• ALWAYS specify delivery automation end-to-end.

Verification Checklist

• Type selected
• Title specificity ≥ 8
• Asset outline complete
• Bridge-to-offer explicit
• Opt-in copy written
• Delivery automation wired
• Design brief ready
• Compliance
• Triple-layer S/N ≥ 0.8

Next Skills

• /email-sequence (Type 1 Welcome) — triggered post-opt-in
• /landing-page — builds the opt-in page
• /ad-creative — traffic to opt-in

Variants

Per-variant playbooks live in variants/. Each file expands one lead magnet type with scope, structural anatomy, title patterns, delivery automation, design specs, benchmarks, failure modes, and next-step routing.

#	Variant	File
1	PDF Guide	variants/pdf-guide.md
2	Checklist	variants/checklist.md
3	Cheat Sheet	variants/cheatsheet.md
4	Swipe File	variants/swipe-file.md
5	Mini Course	variants/minicourse.md
6	Quiz	variants/quiz.md
7	Calculator	variants/calculator.md
8	Live Training	variants/live-training.md
9	Custom Artifact	variants/custom-artifact.md

Index: variants/_INDEX.md.

References

• reference/operators/acquisition-economist.md (a lead-generation canon)
• reference/operators/growth-engineer.md (Lead Magnet framework)
• reference/frameworks/primitives/value-equation.md

---

v1.0 — 2026-04-19. Cycle 4 Educate.