lead-magnet-design v1.0.0

name: lead-magnet-design description: Design lead magnets that convert. Use when building or reviewing an email opt-in offer, choosing a lead magnet format, validating demand before production, or planning the delivery and nurture handoff after download.

Lead Magnet Design

Purpose

Turn a vague "give away a free PDF" idea into a lead magnet with a chosen format, validated demand, and a working delivery and nurture handoff. Most lead magnets fail because they were never validated, solve no single problem, or die after the download email. This skill runs the full sequence: pick the archetype, prove demand, build it tight, then hand the new lead to a nurture sequence that actually converts.

Workflow

1. Clarify the goal

Before anything else, write down in one sentence each: the target reader, the action they should eventually take (buy, book, trial), and what makes them a good lead versus just an email address. If you cannot answer these, stop and ask. A lead magnet built for "everyone" converts no one.

2. Pick the archetype

Match the format to the reader's situation using the catalog in references/archetypes.md. Rules of thumb:

• Reader is stuck and needs a fast win: checklist, cheat sheet, or template.
• Reader is confused about their own situation: quiz or assessment (bonus: answers segment them automatically).
• Reader needs trust before they act: challenge, mini-course, or live workshop.
• Reader needs proof before they pay: mini-tool, free sample, or case-study report.

One magnet solves one problem. A lead magnet that teaches everything teaches nothing and is never finished.

3. Validate before you build

Never spend production time on an unvalidated magnet. Run at least one cheap test from references/validation-tests.md and set the pass bar before running it, in writing, so you cannot move the goalposts. If the test fails, the idea is dead for now. Killed ideas are free. Built-and-ignored ideas are expensive.

4. Draft the magnet

Title formula: "[Specific outcome] in [timeframe or format]" aimed at a named reader, never generic. Examples that follow the formula: "10-point site-speed checklist for Shopify owners", "30-day cash-flow planner for agencies".

• The reader must get a real win within two minutes of opening it.
• Keep it short. A 5-page PDF that is used beats a 60-page ebook that is saved to a folder called "later".
• End with one next step that connects to the nurture sequence. No dead ends.

5. Build the delivery and nurture handoff

The download email goes out immediately and delivers the asset only. No pitch. Then run the nurture sequence from references/nurture-handoff.md: help them use the asset, teach one useful thing, show proof, answer the main objection, then make the offer. Every email must give the reader something usable even if they never reply.

6. Review against the checklist

Run the whole package against references/review-checklist.md before it ships. Fix anything that fails. A weak magnet released "to hit a date" just teaches your list to ignore you.

Output Contract

A finished run delivers all of the following:

1. One-line brief: reader, desired action, what makes them a good lead.
2. Chosen archetype with the matching rationale (why this format, for this reader, now).
3. Validation record: which test ran, the pass bar set beforehand, the result, and the go or kill decision.
4. The magnet draft: title, table of contents or structure, and the promised two-minute win.
5. Delivery setup: the opt-in flow, the delivery email copy, and where the asset lives.
6. Nurture sequence draft: each email's subject, single point, and call to action, per references/nurture-handoff.md.
7. Kill criteria: what results (opt-in rate, open rate, replies) mean the magnet gets reworked or retired.

Operating Rules

1. Every factual claim in the skill output is verified or cut. No invented conversion rates, benchmarks, or case studies. When a number comes from a source, name the source. Otherwise speak in relative terms ("typically lower", "often helps").
2. One problem per magnet. If the brief names three problems, pick one and name the other two as separate magnet ideas.
3. Never pitch in the delivery email. The first touch after opt-in is the highest-trust moment you get. Spending it on an ask converts the interested into the unsubscribed.
4. Any human reply pauses the automation. A reply, any reply, hands the lead to a person the same day. Sequences that keep firing after a reply read as robots.
5. Do not gate your proof. Case studies and results referenced in nurture must be viewable without another opt-in, so readers can forward them.
6. Keep copy specific. Swap every adjective for a number or a concrete noun, then delete the ones that are still hollow.
7. Worked examples of the full sequence live in references/worked-examples.md. Follow their shape when drafting.