What makes someone hand over an email address?
A lead magnet works when it solves one problem the buyer has right now, at the stage they are at. Someone six months out from a renovation wants to know what it will cost and what to ask a builder, and a newsletter sign-up promises neither. The best ones are quick to use, specific to your trade and your town, and lead naturally to the thing you sell.
It is fine if the guide helps people who never buy from you. The aim is to be the business they remember when they are ready.
What is a kitchen renovator's price guide worth? (example figures)
A kitchen renovator in Canberra spends $1,500 a month on Meta ads offering a free guide: what a kitchen renovation costs in Canberra, by size and finish, with the questions to ask before signing anything. The guide brings 150 downloads in a month, $10 each. An email sequence over eight weeks follows, with a finished-kitchen story, a "what goes wrong" story and an offer of a free measure and design consult.
| Ads to the guide | Ads straight to "Book a quote" (the month before) | |
|---|---|---|
| Ad spend | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| Leads | 150 downloads | 6 quote requests |
| Measures booked within 8 weeks | 12 | 6 |
| Kitchens won | 4 | 1 |
| Revenue at $32,000 a kitchen | $128,000 | $32,000 |
| Ad cost per kitchen won | $375 | $1,500 |
Most of the 150 will not renovate this year. The guide keeps the renovator in their inbox until some of them do, and the list is still worth something next year.
What does the Spam Act ask of you?
The Spam Act 2003, enforced by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), sets the rules for every email that follows. You need consent: someone who downloads a guide from a form that says they will also get your emails has given it, while someone whose address you found online has not. Each email must say clearly who it is from. And each needs a working unsubscribe link, with requests acted on within five working days. A form that is plain about what follows makes all of it easy.
Why do so many downloads never turn into customers?
Usually because nothing happens next. A guide that sits in an inbox with no follow-up is a cost, not a lead. The other usual causes are a magnet so broad it attracts people who will never buy (a free e-book of "home inspiration"), a guide that never points to your service, and a follow-up so pushy it earns unsubscribes. Plan the emails before you write the guide, and judge it on booked quotes, which are the number that pays. The entry on qualified leads covers telling the two apart.
Can CoraVision follow a lead magnet from the ad to the enquiry?
Yes: once Meta and Google Analytics 4 are connected, CoraVision reads each ad set's spend and results every night, along with the key events on your site, such as the guide download and the quote request. Whether a measure turns into a kitchen lives in your own records, and the average sale Cora asks for in the onboarding call is what turns those counts into dollars. For the emails in between, Mabel is CoraVision's Mailchimp specialist and Kai its Klaviyo specialist, and their CoraVersity lessons teach the set-up on whichever of the two you use.
Questions
What are good lead magnet ideas for a service business?
A price guide for your town, a checklist for before the job, a sheet of questions to ask before hiring, a simple calculator, or a free assessment. The best source of ideas is the questions people already ask you on the phone before they buy.
Is a lead magnet worth it for an emergency trade?
Rarely. Someone locked out of their house wants a locksmith on the way, and for urgent work the phone number is the only lead magnet that counts. Lead magnets suit big, considered purchases where the decision takes weeks or months.