July 1, 2025
Is your lead magnet actually ready for traffic, or are you wasting your ad spend? And if you haven’t started running ads yet, are you wasting another valuable resource: your audience’s attention?
Most coaches and course creators who come to us have already wasted money testing ads. Their lead magnets only speak to very warm organic leads. The page isn’t designed to convert, and neither is the lead magnet itself. In this episode of Bringing Simplicity Unfiltered, Greta and Judy walk through how to tell whether your lead magnet is ready for ads (you can test it organically) and what to fix. This is the same checklist that has saved our clients thousands of dollars before they ever ran an ad.
Everybody wants to tell people everything about their offer. You’re passionate about it. You want to showcase the transformation and add testimonials. But on an opt-in page, especially for a cold audience, you want to be direct, quick, and clear about what’s in it for them. Attention spans are short.
A conversion-ready opt-in page has:
“Duh, Greta,” right? But we’ve looked at a lot of opt-in pages. Doing the simple thing is something many people struggle with, ourselves included.
The same rule applies to the lead magnet. We’ve seen people create 100-page documents full of information that honestly could change someone’s life. The problem is it’s too much, too fast, and not easily actionable. It’s almost better if it’s a simple Word document that gets people to take action.
Design isn’t the point. It’s about belief shifting, in something compact that clearly shows why you belong in their world right now. Judy puts it this way: why you, why now, what’s in it for them, and what they lose if they leave the page.
Many of you have several lead magnets and wonder which one to run ads to. A tip for coaches and course creators: your best lead magnet often comes from the first lesson or module of your course. You can even use ChatGPT or one of our GPTs to brainstorm lead magnets from that content.
Pulling from your course keeps your lead magnet tied directly to your paid offer. It covers the first one to three steps someone needs before winning in your program, so they show up ready. We’ve all been in a class with someone who clearly wasn’t ready. This kind of lead magnet helps you avoid that.
Audit your lead magnets. Make sure each one connects to what you want your audience to do next, even if it’s on a topic you’re amazing at. Judy could create an incredible lead magnet on hiring and interviewing a team. But it has nothing to do with marketing for coaches and course creators, so she won’t.
A lot of you are super generous, and we love that. But you’re giving too much away. Each opt-in should be one step. You only need to be one step ahead of them, not 10. Then point them to where to go next, which could be another lead magnet.
In your mind, your opt-in connects directly to your paid offer. But don’t expect the person consuming it to make that jump on their own. They don’t fully understand your offer or the steps from here to their ultimate transformation.
People need multiple touch points across multiple platforms and many hours of your content. So your follow-up (emails, text messages, and DMs) should:
Is that gatekeeping? No. You can’t deliver someone’s full transformation in a single opt-in. You’re giving them everything they need for this step and showing that it’s one piece. Keep it simple and offer yourself as support. Give quick action steps, and keep providing value so you stay in their world.
Check three things: your opt-in page has a clear headline, three benefit bullets, and an easy button; your lead magnet is tied to your paid offer; and you have a follow-up sequence (emails, texts, DMs) that shows people how to use it and connects it to your offer. You can test all of this organically first.
A catchy headline focused on their pain point or transformation, three bullet points about what the lead magnet will do for them, and an easy-to-find opt-in button. Skip the long bio and extras.
Short and actionable. A simple document that helps someone take one step and shift a belief often outperforms a long, beautifully designed guide.
Pick the one most closely tied to your paid offer. For coaches and course creators, it’s often pulled from the first lesson or module of your course.
If you want an expert review of your opt-in, lead magnet, and follow-up before spending on ads, see our services or reach out to us.
Want more? Watch every episode of Bringing Simplicity Unfiltered on our YouTube channel.
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Bringing Simplicity is a full-service marketing and Meta Ads agency helping established online businesses scale proven offers through paid advertising, stronger systems, and smarter strategy.
