Suede Lead Magnets

Suede Lead-Magnet Systems

Suede designs lead magnets as useful, rights-clear assets with an honest value exchange and a measurable path to product value. Choose the format, depth, gating, delivery, and follow-up based on audience need and qualification—not on maximizing raw email capture.

Before Planning

Check for product marketing context first: If .agents/product-marketing.md exists (or .claude/product-marketing.md, or the legacy product-marketing-context.md filename, in older setups), read it before asking questions. Use that context and only ask for information not already covered or specific to this task.

Gather this context (ask if not provided):

1. Business Context

• What does the company do?
• Who is the ideal customer?
• What problems does your product solve?

2. Current Lead Generation

• How do you currently capture leads?
• What lead magnets or offers do you have?
• What's your current conversion rate on email capture?
• Where does the audience spend time online?
• What's the most common question prospects ask before buying?

3. Content Assets

• What existing content could be repurposed? (blog posts, guides, data)
• What expertise can you package?
• What templates or tools do you use internally?

4. Goals

• Primary goal: email list growth, lead quality, product education?
• Target audience stage: awareness, consideration, or decision?
• Timeline and resource constraints?

Lead Magnet Principles

1. Solve a Specific Problem

• Address one clear pain point, not a broad topic
• "How to write cold emails that get replies" > "Marketing guide"

2. Match the Buyer Stage

• Awareness leads need education
• Consideration leads need comparison and evaluation
• Decision leads need implementation help

3. High Perceived Value, Low Time Investment

• Should look like it's worth paying for
• Consumable in under 30 minutes (ideally under 10)
• Immediate, actionable takeaway

4. Natural Path to Product

• Solves a problem your product also solves
• Creates awareness of a gap your product fills
• Demonstrates your expertise in the space

5. Easy to Consume

• One clear format (don't mix ebook + video + spreadsheet)
• Works on mobile
• No special software required

Defaults to Refuse

Named cliches this skill does not produce, whatever the brief says:

• The 40-page "Ultimate Guide to [Category]" nobody finishes.
• The "10 Tips" PDF that restates the blog post it gates.
• The checklist whose items are all "consider X" rather than a decidable action.
• The template that is a blank document with headings.

Lead Magnet Types

For detailed creation guidance per format: See references/format-guide.md

Matching Lead Magnets to Buyer Stage

Awareness Stage

Goal: Educate on the problem. Attract people who don't know you yet.

Consideration Stage

Goal: Help evaluate solutions. Build trust and demonstrate expertise.

Decision Stage

Goal: Help implement. Remove friction to purchase.

Gating Strategy

Gating Options

What to Ask For

• Email only — highest conversion, lowest friction
• Email + name — enables personalization, slight friction increase
• Email + company/role — better lead qualification, more friction
• Multi-field — only for high-value offers (webinars, demos)

Rule of thumb: Ask for the minimum needed. Every extra field reduces conversion by 5-10%.

How to Frame the Exchange

• Make the value obvious: "Get the full 25-page guide free"
• Show a preview: table of contents, first page, sample results
• Add social proof: "Downloaded by 5,000+ marketers"
• Reduce risk: "No spam. Unsubscribe anytime."

For form optimization: route to suede-site-alchemy. For popup implementation: route to suede-site-alchemy.

Landing Page & Delivery

Landing Page Structure

1. Headline — Clear benefit: what they'll get and why it matters
2. Preview/mockup — Visual of the lead magnet (cover, screenshot, sample page)
3. What's inside — 3-5 bullet points of key takeaways
4. Social proof — Download count, testimonials, logos
5. Form — Minimal fields, clear CTA button
6. FAQ — Address hesitations (Is it really free? What format?)

For landing page optimization: route to suede-site-alchemy.

Delivery Methods

Thank You Page Optimization

Don't waste the thank you page. After they've converted:

• Confirm delivery ("Check your inbox")
• Offer a next step (book a demo, start trial, join community)
• Share on social (pre-written tweet/post)
• Recommend related content

Promotion & Distribution

Blog CTAs & Content Upgrades

• Create post-specific content upgrades (bonus checklist for a how-to post)
• Content upgrades convert 2-5x better than generic sidebar CTAs

Exit-Intent & Popups

• Trigger on exit intent or scroll depth
• Match the popup offer to the page content
• Route popup implementation to suede-site-alchemy.

Social Media

• Route social strategy and post production to suede-social.

Paid Promotion

• Facebook/Instagram lead ads for top-funnel lead magnets
• Google Ads for high-intent lead magnets (templates, tools)
• LinkedIn for B2B lead magnets
• Retarget blog visitors with lead magnet ads
• Use suede-ads for campaign strategy

Partner Co-Promotion

• Route partner cross-promotion, guest webinars, and bundled resource collections to suede-co-marketing.

Measuring Success

Key Metrics

Benchmarks are industry ranges for calibration only — never assert them as this asset's expected or achieved result.

For detailed benchmarks by format and industry: See references/benchmarks.md

A/B Testing Ideas

• Headline: Benefit-focused vs. curiosity-driven
• Format: Checklist vs. guide on same topic
• Gate level: Full gate vs. partial preview
• Form fields: Email-only vs. email + name
• CTA copy: "Download Free Guide" vs. "Get Your Copy"
• Delivery: Instant download vs. email delivery

Lead Quality Signals

The lead magnet passes the quality check when at least 3 of these 4 hold:

• Higher-than-average email engagement
• Leads progress to trial/demo at expected rates
• Low unsubscribe rate after delivery
• Leads match ICP demographics

Output Format

When creating a lead magnet strategy, provide:

1. Lead Magnet Recommendation

• Format and topic
• Target buyer stage
• Why this format for this audience
• Estimated creation effort

2. Content Outline

• Key sections/components
• Length and scope
• What makes it unique or valuable
• Every third-party asset the magnet embeds (stock imagery, quoted data or charts, borrowed templates, screenshots of other products), named individually with its license or the gap stated. An unresolved gap blocks production of that asset.

3. Gating & Capture Plan

• What to gate and how
• Form fields
• Landing page structure

4. Distribution Plan

• Promotion channels
• Content upgrade opportunities
• Paid amplification (if applicable)

5. Measurement Plan

• KPIs and targets
• What to A/B test first

Boundaries

• Do not claim conversion, demand, originality, or audience fit without evidence.
• Do not publish assets, create forms, collect contacts, start campaigns, or change consent settings without explicit authorization.
• Do not gate material the user must provide freely for legal, safety, account, or support reasons.
• Do not decide privacy, licensing, compliance, or retention policy for captured data.

Routing

• Use suede-free-tools for calculators, graders, quizzes, and generators.
• Use suede-copy for asset and landing-page copy and suede-emails for post-capture nurture.
• Use suede-content-strategy for topic selection and suede-analytics for measurement.
• Use suede-ads or suede-social for distribution and suede-co-marketing for partner promotion.
• Use suede-site-alchemy for landing pages, forms, and popup implementation.
• Use suede-ab-testing to design and evaluate the tests in A/B Testing Ideas.