Most lead magnets I see in the wild leave much to be desired. They’re too vague, too complicated, or they're too much effort for the reader.

When I started building my latest newsletter, Creator Diaries, I wanted to take a different approach: I studied what actually worked. 

I signed up for dozens of newsletters, dissected their best-performing magnets, and paid attention to what made me click, stay, and trust.

I found clear patterns — and some surprising lessons most people miss.

In this guide, you’ll learn what separates a forgettable freebie from a list-building machine — and walk away with some tactics and templates you can try for yourself. 

Table of Contents

• What Makes a Great Lead Magnet?

  • 1. Immediate Value

  • 2. Emotional Hook

  • 3. Ultra-Specific Promise

  • 4. On-Brand + On-Point

  • 5. Visually Appealing + Easy To Consume

• The Top Lead Magnet Formats (Ranked by What Actually Works)

  • 1. Templates + Swipe Files

    • Thomas Frank’s Notion Tips

    • Ross Simmonds – Email Scripts for Freelancers

    • Anna Burgess Yang — Solopreneur Tools

  • 2. Free Email Courses / Sequences

  • 3. Starter Packs / Resource Libraries

  • 4. Webinars + Recordings

  • 5. Original Research

  • 6. AI Products/Generators

  • Why These Formats Work

• Headline + CTA Teardowns

  • The #1 Pattern: Specificity > Generality

  • CTA Teardowns: What Makes Someone Click?

  • Positioning That Converts

  • Quick Swipe: Better Headlines in 5 Minutes

• Use Lead Magnets To Grow Your Newsletter

What Makes a Great Lead Magnet?

We all know that lead magnets are used to help you get, well, leads. And in the case of newsletters, those leads are newsletter subscribers. 

Simple enough, right? Well, not quite.

Most creators I see build lead magnets backwards. They focus on what they want to give, not what their audience is desperate to get.

You might think it would be good to do a tool kit because you saw someone else in your niche do it or create a cheat sheet because that feels like an easy lift, but that’s not enough.

Instead, you need to reverse engineer why your audience follows you and create something that gives them a fast, tangible win tied to that reason.

Here’s what the best-performing lead magnets have in common:

1. Immediate Value

The best lead magnets solve a real problem fast. They don’t promise vague results but rather deliver something the reader can use right now.

The Formula

• Clarity: Immediately tells you what you’re getting

• Promise: Specifies a concrete outcome you can expect

• Speed: Indicates how fast that outcome will be delivered

❌ “Free Guide to Marketing”

✅ “The 5-Page Strategy That Got Me 1,000 Newsletter Subs in 30 Days”

❌ “Join My Free Course”

✅ “Learn How To Write a Killer Welcome Sequence (in 3 Emails, 3 Days)”

One great example is the Professional Creator Crash Course by Creator Science. 

It teaches you how to earn a living as a creator in just a few emails. The promise is clear. The timeline is short. 

Jay Clouse, the founder of Creator Science, also follows some best practices here by explaining what you can expect over the next few emails and how you can find more content if you want to binge some videos.

Same goes for Dr. Casey Means’s lead magnet — her opt-in offers readers a tool to make better food choices and grocery shopping decisions based on her expertise in metabolic health.

Dr. Means’s lead magnet takes you straight to a PDF download that includes her food framework. It’s a simple quick win if you want to learn more about how to make better food choices.

This PDF packs in so much value in just a couple of pages. This checklist is also something you could print out and use to check off items.

2. Emotional Hook

The best lead magnets tap into how your reader is feeling.

Maybe it’s frustration, FOMO, confusion, or curiosity. The right lead magnet makes someone stop and think, “Wait, I need this.”

System Sunday’s productivity lead magnet is a great example of one that hooked me. The headline promised I’d be “more productive than I ever thought possible,” and I thought, “Omg, yes, please help me!” 

The lead magnet itself is a 75-page doc with tactical, practical tips for boosting your productivity. I loved how it included simple habits and tactics I could try out today. 

3. Ultra-Specific Promise

A lead magnet should tell your audience exactly what they’re getting, how it’s going to help them, and how fast they’ll feel the results.

Look at this lead magnet from Ship 30 for 30, a digital writing cohort program.

Ship 30 for 30’s 5-day email course promises to walk you through “everything you need to become a prolific digital writer, build an audience of loyal readers, and unlock endless opportunities online.” The best part is all of this is free.

Here’s what specificity looks like in practice:

❌ “Download my free guide”

✅ “Steal the exact 3-email welcome sequence I used to get 1,500 subscribers in 30 days”

The more specific your promise, the more believable (and desirable) your lead magnet becomes. I started to look forward to my upcoming lessons because I was eager to learn more!

The course also does a great job of making it super clear what you can expect next and how you can skip ahead if you want to binge more of the lessons.

4. On-Brand + On-Point

A swipe file might work for a content creator but fall flat for a wellness coach or parenting blogger.

Your lead magnets should feel like a natural extension of your brand. 

Ramit Sethi, author of I Will Teach You To Be Rich, has a lead magnet for his newsletter that teases a conscious spending plan that helps “spend guilt-free on the things you love.” 

This is the perfect way to tee up his newsletter content that focuses on personal finance and better money habits. 

Sethi also offers “Your Rich Life” quiz, which is another fun, interactive way to attract new email subscribers. 

Here are a few more examples:

• Tyler Denk’s Big Desk Energy investor updates. It’s clean, direct, and super aligned with his identity as a builder and CEO. These investor updates are a unique way to draw in new readers.

• Her First $100K’s money quiz. It’s fun, approachable, and exactly what you’d expect from a brand focused on helping women take control of their finances.

Your lead magnet is often someone’s first touchpoint with your newsletter and can be far more effective than just having a simple subscribe page. It’s a great opportunity to get a reader excited about the content you have to offer. 

5. Visually Appealing + Easy To Consume

Your lead magnet shouldn’t feel like homework.

The fastest way to kill momentum is to make someone open a dense, cluttered PDF they’ll never finish.

The best lead magnets I have seen share these qualities:

• Skimmable: Bullets > Blocks of text

• Simple: 1 main action, not 12

• Polished just enough: Clean, readable, and easy to navigate, but not overdesigned

If you’ve got something valuable to share, package it in a way that makes people want to come back to it again and again. 

The Top Lead Magnet Formats (Ranked by What Actually Works)

Most lead magnet advice sounds like it was written in 2018.

People don’t want another ebook, they don’t want a “free guide,” and they don’t want a 100-slide “master class.”

After tearing apart 20+ real-world examples, here are some worth reading about.

1. Templates + Swipe Files

Templates and swipe files are still the gold standard — and for good reason. They offer quick wins: maybe it’s an outreach script for podcast appearances or a swipe file for the best Series A pitch decks. These are the lead magnets I click on the fastest. 

I love how it feels like you’re getting access to something the creator normally keeps behind closed doors.

Why it works: Instant utility, no theory, just plug-and-play value

Best for: Creators, marketers, operators, coaches

Thomas Frank’s Notion Tips

Thomas Frank, an expert in Notion, offers this helpful guide along with some free templates as a lead magnet for his newsletter. 

You can sort through some options to find what’s best for what you’re looking for. Plus, it introduces you to Frank’s more premium products. 

Ross Simmonds – Email Scripts for Freelancers

This lead magnet from Ross Simmonds is gold. In this guide, he shares some email scripts for freelancers to use for cold emails, follow-ups, and more. 

The content is 10X more valuable than general advice because it comes from Simmonds’s own experience. 

Again, the value is extremely clear: save multiple hours each week and close more deals. Plus, the call to action (CTA) “Yes - give me the email scripts!” is extremely enticing.

Anna Burgess Yang — Solopreneur Tools

This guide from Anna Burgess Yang is so helpful and relevant to my work as a solopreneur. What made it stand out was that it was a basic, generalized list. 

Yang delves deep into her pricing structure, how she thinks about projects, and more. 

It’s so rare to find this information when you’re starting out! Not only does it make me want to learn more about Yang’s work, but I already trust her advice and expertise from the get go.

If you’re creating your first lead magnet or refreshing an underperforming one, this type of lead magnet is often the easiest place to start.

2. Free Email Courses / Sequences

Not every lead magnet needs to be a downloadable PDF.

Some of the most effective creators are turning their best content into a short, structured email series, and it works really well.

This format builds trust over time and gets people used to opening your emails. And if the content is good, it leaves them thinking, “If this is free, what else do they have?”

There are two common approaches:

• A mini course spread over a few days (e.g., “Learn X in 5 emails”)

• A curated series of past posts that tackle one focused problem or topic

Best for: Education-focused creators, niche experts

Why it works:

• It’s low lift if you already have great evergreen content.

• It nurtures trust before the reader ever gets to your main offer.

• It reinforces your positioning — especially if you teach, coach, or sell informational products.

Examples I loved:

• 5 Steps To Become Known For An Expertise You Own

• 5-Day Nervous System Upgrade

I loved Johnny Miller’s email course on nervous system regulation. He has blended the art of sharing his expertise along with some quick wins to make you feel like you’re getting a lot of value in this course. 

For example, the lessons included breathwork and Miller’s approach to “waking sleep.” I want to learn more about wellness and how to better manage stress, so I love how these lessons are equal parts research and practical tips that I can apply now.

Pro tip: If you’re creating an email course, use each email to tease the next. Keep momentum high and make it feel like a journey. 

3. Starter Packs / Resource Libraries

If templates are about speed and email courses build trust, starter packs prevent you from becoming overwhelmed.

They say: “Hey, you don’t need to figure this all out alone — I’ve already collected what you need.”

These lead magnets bundle tools, checklists, guides, and links into one central hub. They’re especially powerful if you serve beginners or people entering a new space — like launching a newsletter, building a personal brand, or starting a business.

Best for: Educators, consultants, toolkit-style brands

Why it works:

• Curated = high perceived value — even if the resources aren’t brand new

• Easy to update or expand over time — makes it an evergreen resource

• Feels generous — it positions you as someone who’s been there and wants to help

The Neuron’s Intro to ChatGPT is a great example of a value-packed resource. Seeing the price at $199 gives it an exclusive feel, and you can also see just how much is in the course (47+ videos, how-to guides, and a Q&A with Pete). I’m immediately like “Yes! I want to know more.”

Pro tip: These also work well with a scarcity hook — limited-time access or “only available this month” — to give people that extra nudge to download now.

4. Webinars + Recordings

Webinars get a bad rap sometimes, and I get it. The word “webinar” can feel a little too business-to-business (B2B) corporate, but the truth is that some of the best lead magnets I’ve signed up for recently were live sessions or replays.

When done right, webinars are an incredible way to teach something valuable and build a stronger connection with your audience.

What makes webinars work:

• They show transformation. “Here’s exactly how I got from A to B.”

• They create trust. Seeing your face or hearing your voice builds a faster bond.

• They feel more premium. This is especially true if you pair the session with a workbook or bonus resource.

Webinar registrations can be a major hack for growing your email list, according to Matt McGarry, founder of The Newsletter Operator. Nearly ⅕ of his first 50,000 subscribers came from meta ads for his webinars. 

Here’s an example of a webinar landing page for an event that beehiiv hosted with McGarry.

This landing page contains all the right info:

• Who this is for (new writers/newsletter operators)

• What value is offered (McGarry’s insight from building a million-dollar newsletter business)

• The outcome you could see (how to build an AI-powered newsletter business to $10k-30K a month in profit)

Pro tip: If you’re already running live events or recording Looms for your audience, this is a great way to repurpose what you’re already doing into a high-value lead magnet.

5. Original Research

Original research might be the most underrated lead magnet format, but it packs a serious punch.

Original research positions you as the source, not just someone curating ideas. Whether it’s industry trends, user surveys, case studies, or internal data, presenting your own insights builds instant credibility and authority.

It doesn’t have to be complicated. Some of the best examples are short reports or dashboards with clear takeaways — not 80-page PDFs.

One example that blew me away was Tommy Walker’s State of Discontent report. It was beautifully packaged, full of unique insights, and clearly took real effort to put together. That alone gave it weight.

The report gathered insights from more than 500 content marketers and includes trends in audience research, AI usage, career satisfaction, and more. 

I found it so helpful to read through these insights to understand how my peers are thinking about content marketing and what new trends I should test out in my own work.

Another fave? Stumptown Savings’ Spring 2025 Local Produce Guide. Totally different niche, same lesson: when you create something no one else is sharing, it stands out.

Why it works:

• Feels premium — like something you’d normally pay for

• Highly shareable — people love to reference or forward original insights

• Evergreen traffic driver — especially if it’s updated annually

If you have access to interesting data or niche knowledge, don’t sleep on this format.

6. AI Products/Generators

AI Products/Generators is a new genre of lead magnets, and I expect they are going to get extremely popular. 

What’s great about creating AI tools is that the customization potential is endless. You can create AI audits, calculators, generators, and more – tailored for your audience. 

Check out this one from Rob Lennon, CEO and Co-Founder of Reactor.is. This lead magnet actually taught me some new things about my own business. 

Lennon’s tool is a free Product Clarity Report, and it’s lead magnet for his paid resource, the Launch Content Playbook (which is created with Erica Schneider).

I spent some time answering a few of these simple questions, and it piqued my interest on what the results might be. 

Fast forward 30 seconds later, the report took my responses and came back to me with a full report (right in my inbox!)

Here’s what some of the results looked like, and I think it’s spot on for what I need to learn right now. I’m now hooked and looking forward to following Lennon’s insights. That is precisely the art of a great lead magnet. 

Why These Formats Work

Each of these lead magnet types solves a different kind of problem:

• Templates solve for speed — “Just give me something I can use now.”

• Email sequences build trust — “Show me how you think and what you know.”

• Starter packs reduce overwhelm — “Help me get started without overthinking.”

• Webinars go deeper — “Teach me something that moves the needle.”

• Original research builds authority — “Prove you’re worth paying attention to.”

The best lead magnets offer the right kind of value, in the right format, at the right time.

Headline + CTA Teardowns

A strong format gets your lead magnet in the game, but strong messaging is what makes someone actually click.

The difference between a lead magnet that converts and one that gets ignored often comes down to the language you use. Clear, specific headlines and compelling CTAs are the real MVPs here.

And after reviewing dozens of examples, one rule stood out again and again:

Specificity wins every time.

Let’s break it down.

The #1 Pattern: Specificity > Generality

One headline that really nails specificity is from Peter Yang’s AI course. It doesn’t just say “learn about AI” — it gives a clear, bold transformation: how to go from beginner to expert in one week. You know exactly what you’re signing up for.

CTA Teardowns: What Makes Someone Click?

The call to action (CTA) is your final pitch, and it should do more than say “Sign up” or “Download.”

CTAs sell the value of the lead magnet in just a few words.

Here’s what I saw working again and again:

• Outcome-focused: “Steal My Launch Playbook” > “Download Now”

• Urgency or instant payoff: “Get Instant Access” > “Join the List”

• Tone-matching: A serious financial writer using “Join the party 🎉” doesn’t feel right.

Here are some effective CTAs:

• “Send Me the Toolkit”

• “Unlock the Swipe File”

• “I’ll Take the Templates”

• “Give Me the Exact Funnel”

• “Yes, I Want the Free Course”

It’s subtle, but even replacing the word “Download” with “Unlock” or “Grab” can change the energy and make your CTA feel more exciting and benefit-driven.

Positioning That Converts

It’s not just what the lead magnet is — it’s how you frame the value.

The top-performing creators didn’t position their lead magnets as “nice-to-haves.” They positioned them as non-negotiables — the things you need if you want to solve the problem you’re facing right now.

Here’s what strong positioning usually includes:

• Transformation language: “Go from blank page to high-converting headline in 10 minutes.”

• Pain point awareness: “Still stuck at 500 subs? Here’s the system that got me to 2K.”

• Social proof: “Used by 3,000+ newsletter creators”

• Real outcomes: “This exact email sequence brought in $12K last month.”

What makes this approach work is that it shifts the focus from what the lead magnet is to what it helps you do.

Bonus points when a creator ties the magnet to their own story — like “This tool helped me book my first 5 clients” or “Here’s what I wish I had starting out.” That human element builds trust fast.

Quick Swipe: Better Headlines in 5 Minutes

If your lead magnet headline feels flat, here’s a simple framework to punch it up fast:

[Thing] + [Result or Transformation] + [Timeline or Proof]

Here are a few examples:

This kind of headline gives people a peek at the prize. It builds curiosity, shows proof, and promises something specific, which is exactly what you want in a scroll-stopping opt-in.

If your headline isn’t making someone think “I need this,” try rewriting it with this formula. You’ll be surprised by how much stronger it feels.

Use Lead Magnets To Grow Your Newsletter

Always remember that the best lead magnets are simple, specific, and seriously helpful.

The best lead magnets don’t try to do too much. They focus on one real problem for their audience — and solve it fast.

Lead magnets can be a swipe file, a short email series, a starter pack, a replay of a workshop — even original research or a quiz. The format doesn’t matter as much as how clear and valuable it feels. 

And most of all, lead magnets should feel tailor-made for your unique audience. 

If you’re building your own, here’s what you should keep in mind:

• Follow copywriting best practices. Lean into pain points, solutions, and enticing CTAs.

• Solve one real problem your reader cares about.

• Keep it easy to access and easy to use.

• Make sure it feels like you — your tone, your style, your product.

And if you’re on beehiiv, you’ve got everything you need to put these ideas into action — welcome pages, Boosts, referral tools, and the flexibility to test what works for your audience. 

The best part about beehiiv for me is that it now replaces several tools you might have once needed to promote lead magnets, get new subscribers, and send out your newsletter. 

Now you can do it all in one place. (And it’s easier than ever!) Try beehiiv free