funnels-lead-magnet

# Funnels Lead Magnet - Top-of-Funnel Bait

> *"A lead magnet is a promise the rest of the funnel has to keep."*

This skill designs **Rung 0** of The Ascension Ladder - the free asset that converts cold or warm traffic into an email subscriber. Most lead magnets fail not because they're bad assets but because they're mismatched to the audience's awareness level, or because they over-promise at the opt-in stage and under-deliver at the magnet itself.

## When to Use

Trigger phrases: "design my lead magnet", "lead magnet", "opt-in offer", "what should my freebie be", "bait piece", "free PDF guide", "quiz funnel", `/funnel lead-magnet <topic>`.

Use when:
- The user has traffic but no opt-in mechanism, or the existing one is converting below benchmark
- The user is starting from scratch and needs to pick the right magnet format for their audience
- A magnet is converting fine on opt-in but downstream nurture-to-sale conversion is dead (likely magnet/audience mismatch)
- The user wants to test a quiz/calculator/audit format vs their existing PDF

Do NOT use for:
- Designing the *page* that sells the magnet (use `convert-lead-magnet-page` or `convert-squeeze-page`)
- Designing the tripwire offer below the magnet (use `funnels-tripwire`)
- Designing the email nurture sequence after opt-in (use `funnels-story-drip`)
- Auditing an existing opt-in URL (use `market-funnel <url>`)

## Inputs

1. **Audience** - the One Person, with their awareness level (Schwartz Levels 1–5)
2. **Source of traffic** - cold ads / warm email / affiliate / organic / referral
3. **Downstream offer** - what the magnet leads to (tripwire? core? high-ticket call?)
4. **Existing assets** - anything the user already has that can be repurposed (recordings, swipe files, audits, blog content)
5. **Capacity** - can the user produce + maintain the magnet over time? (Discovery calls have a capacity ceiling.)

## Lead Magnet Taxonomy (16 types with benchmarks)

Each entry: opt-in benchmark, best-fit awareness level, downstream offer fit, production cost.

| Magnet | Opt-in rate | Best for awareness level | Downstream fit | Production cost |
|--------|-------------|-------------------------|----------------|-----------------|
| **PDF guide / ebook** | 10–25% | L2–L3 (problem/solution-aware) | Tripwire / core offer | Med (10–40 hrs) |
| **Checklist** | 20–40% | L2 (problem-aware) | Tripwire / core | Low (3–10 hrs) |
| **Template** | 25–45% | L3–L4 (solution/product-aware doers) | Core / premium | Low–Med |
| **Swipe file** | 25–45% | L3–L4 (copywriters, marketers) | Core / premium | Low (assemble existing) |
| **Mini-course (email)** | 15–35% | L1–L3 (any) | Tripwire / core | Med (write 5–7 emails) |
| **Mini-course (video)** | 15–30% | L2–L3 | Core / high-ticket call | High (record 3–7 videos) |
| **Challenge (5-day, 30-day)** | 30–60% | L2–L3 | Core / premium | High (live delivery) |
| **Quiz** | 35–60% | Any (segments by result) | Personalized to result | High (build + branching) |
| **Free trial (SaaS)** | 5–15% | L4 (product-aware) | Core subscription | Low (existing SaaS) |
| **Free + shipping** | 5–15% | L3–L4 | Tripwire upsell at order form | Med (physical fulfillment) |
| **Sample chapter** | 15–30% | L2–L3 | Book / course | Low (excerpt existing) |
| **Calculator** | 25–50% | L3–L4 (data-driven) | High-ticket call / premium | High (build calculator) |
| **Audit / scorecard** | 20–40% | L3–L4 (B2B services) | Discovery call / high-ticket | Med–High |
| **Discovery call (no-cost)** | 1–5% | L4–L5 (most-aware) | High-ticket only | High (capacity-limited) |
| **Video training (30–60 min)** | 15–30% | L2–L3 | Core / webinar | Med–High |
| **Cheat sheet** | 25–45% | L2–L3 (technical / quick-reference) | Tripwire / core | Low |

**Selection rule:** match magnet effort to buyer's awareness level. Unaware/problem-aware buyers want low-commitment, fast-win magnets (checklists, cheat sheets). Product-aware buyers will commit to higher-friction magnets (audits, discovery calls).

## The Magnet-Naming Pattern

The name is 80% of the opt-in rate. Generic names ("Free Newsletter") collapse opt-in below 5%. Specific names ("47-Headline Swipe File") routinely opt-in 25–45%.

**Wayland naming pattern:** *The [Specific Number] [Outcome-Noun] [Format]*

Examples (strong):
- *The 47-Headline Conversion Vault* (number + outcome + format)
- *The 30-Day Sales-Page Sprint Checklist* (timeframe + outcome + format)
- *The 7-Question Offer Audit* (number + outcome + format)
- *The 12-Email Nurture Swipe Pack* (number + outcome + format)

Examples (weak):
- *Free Marketing Guide* - no specificity
- *Subscribe to my newsletter* - no outcome
- *The Ultimate Resource* - vague + cliche
- *Get Started PDF* - no outcome, no number

## The 24-Hour Win Rule

*The 24-hour-win principle (Wayland synthesis from Halbert bait-piece tradition + Hormozi time-delay lever).* The magnet must produce a real, measurable, reportable win for the buyer within 24 hours of opt-in. Magnets that take >7 days to produce value are too far from the conversion moment to drive trust.

The win doesn't need to be the *full* outcome - just a small, concrete, "I did the thing and got the result" moment. A checklist that someone uses in 10 minutes. A template that they fill out in an hour. A calculator that gives them a number they didn't have. A cheat sheet they reference once.

If the magnet's promise requires >7 days of work to realize, it's not a lead magnet - it's a course. Different rung.

## The Anti-Bait Rule

The magnet's promise must be *kept*. Over-promising at the opt-in stage and under-delivering at the magnet kills downstream conversion. The buyer's first interaction with you is the magnet - if it disappoints, no nurture sequence saves it.

**Anti-bait test:** *"If I subscribed for this magnet, would I tell a friend it was actually as good as the headline promised?"* If no, redesign the magnet OR weaken the headline.

## Workflow

### Phase 0 - Confirm inputs

- Lock the