“Attract Them with Honey”

How to Create an Irresistible Lead Magnet that Attracts New Donors
Reading Time: 4 minutes

You’ve written your final “ask” email of the year…

You’re tabulating how much you raised this month…

Now it’s time to kick back and enjoy a loooooong break before your next big campaign.

NOT SO FAST!

Just because you aren’t running a giving campaign for a while doesn’t mean you should stop adding new future donors to your email list.

The tricky question is: How do you create a sustainable and effective subscriber acquisition pipeline?

While there are numerous digital marketing strategies you can use to attract new prospective donors, one of the most effective methods is a lead magnet funnel.

What is a lead magnet?

Simply put, it’s what it sounds like: a “magnet” that attracts subscribers into your marketing funnel by giving them free valuable content in exchange for their email address.

Your lead magnet can be educational, entertaining, or anything relevant to both the specific work you do and your primary audience. It can be a downloadable file (PDF, video, etc.), a free app, or something else of value.

Why lead magnets?

Let’s imagine for a second that a new visitor lands on your website. You only give them options to donate, volunteer, or get involved.

They are drawn to your mission but aren’t fully ready to commit their resources, time, or talents just yet…

…aaaaand you lose them.

Here’s the problem. Marketing is like a relationship. You don’t ask someone to marry you when you first meet them. (Or you do, and they likely go running for the hills.)

As you nurture a relationship over time, you build trust, excitement, and affinity. The same is true for your nonprofit as you build relationships with potential supporters.

So for website visitors who are not ready to commit to your primary call-to-action, you need to offer them something they want—for free—in exchange for their contact information.

This lead magnet opt-in is arguably one of the most powerful marketing tools you can implement to turn website visitors into leads you can nurture over time via email.

To be absolutely clear—the purpose here is to get the contact information of someone who is highly likely to become a lifelong donor. Not to get a one-off donation. This brings me to the big picture goals…

Goals of your lead magnet

An effective lead magnet funnel will…

Drive a steady stream of new leads that you can nurture over time via email,
Provide your audience with immediate value, and
Build trust & earn you the right to keep communicating with your audience until they are ready to take the next step with you (e.g., donate to your mission).

Examples of lead magnets

You can accomplish the goals above with different types of lead magnets (e.g., training videos, quizzes, access to an app, downloadable resources, etc.). However, the best lead magnet for your nonprofit depends on your ideal audience’s needs or wants as it relates to your mission.

For example, a foster family support program could provide access to training videos for parents to help children process big emotions.

A summer camp might create a PDF of Bible study lessons that families can incorporate at home.

A marriage ministry might have a quiz titled “How healthy is your marriage?” and send the results in exchange for an email address.

And a school for orphans in a third-world country could share stories of life change.

Don’t underestimate the power of this transaction! This is usually the first transaction visitors take before becoming longtime supporters of your nonprofit.

Share a transformation story

Not sure where to start? Tell stories of impact (psst… businesses call these “case studies”.)

How has your nonprofit made a positive difference in someone else's life? Tell their story of transformation—what life was like before your nonprofit stepped into the picture and what life is like now.

When someone else can testify to the difference you’ve made in their life, you instantly build trust, affinity, and excitement with your ideal partners.

Stay tuned for next week's email. We'll dig into exactly how to structure a lead magnet PDF (page-by-page).

Today's Action:
Block out 30 minutes with your team to brainstorm lead magnets you can provide to first-time visitors.

Look for documents, videos, or other resources you already have that could be repurposed as lead magnets. Imagine you're leading a breakout session at a conference filled with prospective donors. What topic would you teach? What print-out would you want to give them?

If you don’t know where to start, determine a beneficiary with a great impact story that you could feature.

What's Inspiring Us
“True productivity starts with being clear on what we truly want.” —Michael Hyatt

Easier said than done, right? With endless distractions (looking at you, Instagram) and ever-growing checklists, focused work can feel like a myth.

That’s why our team has loved Free to Focus by Michael Hyatt, a guide to building your own customized productivity system to achieve more by doing less. And with a new year starting in T-minus two days, we thought your team could use this too.

Michael offers clear, practical tools for:

✅ Evaluating your schedule
✅ Reducing unnecessary work
✅ Delegating well
✅ Creating morning and evening routines
✅ Automating tasks

If you regularly find yourself putting in more hours but having less to show for it, we would highly recommend adding this book to your 2023 reading list! It’s been a game-changer in building healthier work habits that result in better output.

Next Steps
When you’re ready, here are 2 ways we can help you grow your nonprofit and amplify your mission:

FREE 5-Pillar Marketing Audit Get started with a free call to assess your current marketing and communications. We’ll identify what you need to reach more people and increase your impact on the world.
FREE Website Audit Book a time to tell us about your goals and get your customized website audit of what’s working, what’s not, and what you can do to drive your desired results.