LEAD MAGNET IDEAS FOR LANDSCAPERS:
What is a Lead Magnet?
By definition, a Lead Magnet is an irresistible offering that consumers will want and will do almost anything, like submit their contact information, to get. A Lead Magnet gives businesses the perfect opportunity to collect information from prospective clients in order to reach out to them later.
Some examples of excellent Lead Magnets include:
- PDF’s containing pertinent information.
- Access to a free webinar or workshop.
- Offering free consultations if you sign up for other services.
- Or, it could be a simple blog post with great information
Lead Magnets Done Right
The problem with a majority of these companies that put me on their mailing list is, they send me information that just isn’t relevant to me and doesn’t provide me any real value. In other words, it’s basically spam.
But lead magnets done right, combined with a proper email campaign, could turn your prospects into raving fans of your business.
In the digital world, it’s widely known that the company that provides an abundance of valuable information to their audience is the company that will win the contracts, every time.
How To Use Lead Magnets to Grow Your Landscaping Business
As I just mentioned, the company that provides an abundance of free information to its audience is the company that will win the contracts. Many business owners feel that the services they provide are proprietary secrets that they don’t want their competition to know about. Or, as in the landscaping industry, we don’t want to show our audience how to do it themselves because this means they won’t hire us to do the job.
Let’s be clear about one thing – There are at least 1,000 videos on the internet for every single question someone might have about landscaping. By providing how-to information, rather in video or a lead magnet format, you are proving yourself or your business as the local expert.
Sure, many homeowners will try to do it on their own, but many might give up halfway through the project and reach out to the company that was willing to provide them the free how-to guide in the first place.
My Own Little Secret
Here’s the secret to providing free information – give them just a little too much information.
Here’s my little secret, I’ve been a digital marketer since 2007. In that time I have written over 1,000 articles and done numerous local workshops and a few webinars. The content that I put out has two objectives, to drive awareness for my business and to provide just enough information to my audience so that they’re slightly overwhelmed with the amount of work they have to do (when it comes to marketing their business), that they just throw their hands up and say, “can I just hire you?.
Yep, that’s the idea behind creating lead magnets – Drive awareness, prove your value, make it look simple and eventually they may just end up calling you to complete or fix the job. Now, you have a client for life.
Lead Magnet Ideas for Landscapers
As you determine which lead magnet to create for your business, think about some of the questions you hear the most from your clients. Or, what do you always see clients trying to do that they eventually give up on and call you? These could be great topics for your “how-to” lead magnet.
Here are a few titles we’ve either used for our own clients in the past or that we’ve seen used effectively by other landscaping businesses;
- Informational – 5 Questions To Ask A Landscaper Before Hiring Them
- Informational – Why You Should Consider a Drought Tolerant Landscape for Your Home
- Informational – What to Consider When Landscaping Your Home Within (city name) City Limits
- Informational – The 5 Biggest Mistakes in Landscape Design
- Informational – The 3 Requirements to Qualify for a Landscape Rebate Program
- How To – How to add $50,000 to the Value of Your Home with Landscaping
- How To – How to Choose the Right Material For Your New Home Deck
- How To – How to Select Concrete Pavers for Your Driveway
- Special Offer – Coupon – Save 50% on Your First Months Lawn Care Maintenance, Sign Up To Download
- Special Offer – Coupon – Free Yard Clean Up with 6 Month Agreement, Sign Up To Download
Be Creative with Your Lead Magnet
These are just a few ideas. You likely know what it is your audience struggles with the most. Don’t just write about something because you’re the expert at it, write it to truly benefit your audience. When you provide real value for your audience, you will likely have a fan for life.
So, You Have Their Email Address, Now What?
Once someone has downloaded your lead magnet, they are now considered to be at the top of your sales funnel. It’s not often that someone downloads a lead magnet then calls you a few days later to hire you for a project. It’s not impossible, but it’s very rare.
Your job now is to help guide them down your sales funnel. Try to get them to take another step towards doing business with you. Don’t ask for a sale right away, see if they will engage with you some other way.
So how do you do this?
This is NOT the right way – Sit down once a week and write a personal email to every single person that downloaded your lead magnet and ask them to take advantage of your newest special offer.
Don’t worry, this is not how I suggest handling your new leads.
This IS the right way If your lead-generating campaign is successful – , and you have several people downloading your lead magnet, I strongly suggest implementing a marketing automation campaign. Marketing automation will send emails to your new leads at intervals you specify, often called a drip campaign. You can set your marketing automation campaign to send out 2 emails or 20 emails over a period of time.
As I mentioned before, you want to make sure that your emails are providing true value. Don’t just continuously send your prospects emails to get them to sign up for a service. Instead, send them tips and ideas for improving their own landscape. Or maybe allow them to download another lead magnet directly from the email.
Most of all, provide valuable information to your prospects. When they see what you are willing to provide for free, they will be excited to see what you provide when you’re their own landscaper.
Article by Phil Fisk
CEO, Core6.Marketing
831-789-9320
