I think we can all agree that in order to have a thriving wellness practice you need a steady stream of patients – am I right?
But, where are you supposed to find these patients??
Is it by…
- Posting on social media 7 days a week?
- Starting a podcast with top-tier guests?
- Sharing valuable blog posts twice a month?
All great ideas, but I’ve got something more foundational to share today!
In order to create a thriving wellness business, you need an effective lead generation strategy.
Now, don’t let the fancy marketing terms scare you off! As a longtime clinician & business owner myself, I understand how overwhelming online marketing can be, but we’re going to break this down into digestible nuggets today.
A lead generation strategy is nothing more than a reliable (and repeatable) way to attract ideal clients to your practice. And one of the easiest ways to get started is to create something called a “lead magnet”.
So, What in The World is a “Lead Magnet”?
Well, we’ve got “lead” + “magnet”…
First off, a “lead” refers to a person who has an interest in your services, or a potential patient. Simple as that.
While I don’t necessarily like referring to human beings in marketing terms, for the simplicity of this article, I’ll refer to these potential patients as “leads”. 🙂
As I’m sure you could’ve guessed, then, a lead magnet is something that’s going to magnetize (pull) people towards your business. It’s basically a sales pipeline.
Typically, a lead magnet helps you generate new leads by sharing a valuable & free piece of content in exchange for a person’s contact information.
This curious person is then funneled into your email list, where you can begin cultivating a meaningful relationship, and ultimately sell your services over time.
Wahoo – exactly what we’re after! 👏
Creating Your First Lead Magnet.
So, how do you go about creating one of these magical sales tools for your practice?
Step 1: Pick The Right Topic!
This is probably the most important step, because we want a *strategic* lead magnet. One that will generate high-quality leads – people who are actually a great fit to work with you.
And… it can’t just be any piece of boring content.
It’s got to be scroll-stopping. Think about it – your lead magnet needs to be enticing enough to grab someone’s attention online, and convince them to fork over their email address to a complete stranger.
So, ask yourself:
- What really excites your current patients?
- What would your ideal client love to know?
- How can you give people a quick win, for free?
Pro Tip: Chances are, you see many different types of patients, but as you’re designing your lead magnet, try to focus on what type of client you’d like to see more of. Because remember, you’re in charge of this ship! If you love helping people with a specific problem, create your lead magnet that offers helpful information on that specific topic!
Step 2: Pick The Right Delivery Method
Once you’ve got your topic nailed down, it’s time to decide how you’re going to deliver this information to prospective patients.
Options include:
- a downloadable guide (PDF)
- a live webinar
- a series of pre-recorded videos
- Or, even a quiz hosted on your website
We’ll break these down further in a moment.
But my advice?
Choose a format that either:
a.) you’ll enjoy creating, or
b.) feels easy to you!
Pro Tip: More is not always better! Nobody is going to read a 50-page e-book. You want to make your content digestible & easy to consume. If you’re going for a downloadable guide, stick to 5 pages or less. If you’re going for a mini video series, keep each video under 10 minutes.
Step 3: Produce Your Content
Now that you’ve got a great topic picked out, and you know how you’re going to deliver it, it’s time to start creating!
You’ve got two options here: (1) go the DIY route, or (2) hire some help.
If you’re looking to create a downloadable guide, there are lots of free templates (e.g. www.canva.com), or you can hire a designer to create a more elevated look & feel. Copywriters are also great to help with writing.
Either way you go – I have faith in you, my friend! 🙌
Types of Lead Magnets.
One thing I loooove about lead magnets (which I think you’ll love to) is that there’s variety & you can switch things up as your business evolves. If you try something this quarter, and don’t get as much interest as you had hoped, try something new in a few months.
Now we’re going to jump into each of the lead magnet types mentioned earlier:
1. Digital Quiz
A quiz is one of the highest converting lead magnets.
People LOVE a good quiz! Don’t you? A quiz is fun, quick, easy, and most importantly, helpful (or insightful) in some way.
Some examples include:
- Which meal planning strategy will be most successful for you?
- What’s the best morning routine for your personality type?
- What home remedy do you need now?
Interact is an easy quiz-building platform I recommend to practitioners, but there are many others you can choose from, too.
2. Downloadable PDF Guides
This is one of the easiest types of lead magnets to create yourself. It’s a simple way to provide valuable information to your potential patient, and a nice way to introduce them to your brand (as long as it’s put together nicely).
🌟Pro-Tip: Don’t start from scratch – pick a high-performing blog, email, or social media post and expand the content from there.
Some examples include:
- My Proven 4-Step Process for Clearing Hormonal Acne
- My Top 10 Foods to Eat Each Week For Better Gut Health
- The Ultimate Guide to Detoxifying Your Home
- Six Important Signs You Might Have Mold Poisoning
And, consider adding a checklist… I think we can all relate to that satisfying feeling of crossing an item off our “to-do” list. 😂
As mentioned earlier, Canva is a great place to design a PDF guide, and the basic version is free! Whether you choose to upgrade or not, every business owner should have Canva in their life if you ask me 😉
3. Recipe Book
As a health & wellness practitioner, I know you have some delicious, healthy recipes lying around. 😉 In fact, you probably already share them with your patients.
People love recipes! Here are some ideas:
- The Ultimate Bone Broth Recipe Guide
- Protein-Packed 5-Minute Smoothies
- Make-Ahead Breakfasts On-The-Go
Whatever type of recipe book you choose, just make sure they’re highly relevant to your audience – as always! If you specialize in gut health, go for the ultimate bone broth guide, and take the opportunity to explain why bone broth is so amazing for gut health!
4. Video
If you don’t mind getting in front of the camera, this is perfect for you because people love video!
If you plan on offering a live masterclass, be sure to record it so you can reuse the recording as your lead magnet moving forward.
If you are pre-recording your video (as opposed to offering it live), consider “chunking” your topic into 3 digestible sections like we talked about earlier. Once people drop their email address into the form on your website or landing page, you can have the video links sent out automatically over the course of a week. This is something you would set up through your email service provider such as Active Campaign or Convert Kit.
Don’t Miss This Important Step…
If you’ve made it this far, you now know how to create a lead magnet! High-five, friend! ✋
But now what?
It’s time to start promoting it so people know it’s available!
So how exactly do you do this?
Start by adding it to your website with an “opt-in form”. This is just a fancy way of referring to a form that allows prospective patients to enter their contact information in exchange for the free goods. Best practice is to generate the form through your email service provider, and then “embed” that on your website using a small snippet of “embed code” provided by your email service provider.
Next, you’ll want to set up an automation or “workflow” within your email service provider (ESP) that automatically sends your lead magnet to anyone who has entered their information in that form. Most often, this looks like a pre-written email that is sent out with a link to the content. Be sure to use friendly welcoming language in this email, but it’s okay to keep it brief!
And finally, you need to actually market this new freebie, because you didn’t do all this work for nothing! Make your freebie known to your audience by promoting it on social media every week, mentioning it at the end of your blog posts, and shouting it from rooftops. 😉
Remember: The whole purpose of your lead magnet is to funnel interested folks to your email list, where you can go on to build deeper connections. So, we want to make this easy to find online.
Lead Generation Strategy Made Simple.
You made it all the way to the end friend – nice work 😉
Speaking from experience here… don’t let yourself think too much on this. Instead, put a plan into motion 💪
If you have questions, we’d love to hear from you! 🙂
