/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
-
Lead magnet title = ad hook. Treat title like an ad — specific, hooky, high-CTR.
-
Delivery speed matters. Instant or under-2-min. Delay kills trust + open rate.
-
Consumable in 15 min. Bigger isn't better. Faster-to-win = higher conversion downstream.
-
One mechanism, teased not taught. Lead magnet gives enough to hook, not enough to solve alone. Full solve = core offer.
-
Bridge-to-offer in last 10%. Every lead magnet ends with natural next-step CTA.
-
Design matters 30%. Pretty > ugly but content > design. Don't over-invest in design.
-
A/B test titles. 30% → 50% opt-in rate swing from title alone.
-
Segment on opt-in. Capture intent indicator (role, stage, goal) — informs downstream content.
-
Refresh quarterly. Lead magnets decay — same topic reframed every 3-6 months.
-
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
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.
