The Format Trap: Should Your Lead Magnet Be a PDF, Video or Webinar?

0:00Hello, this is Mark Satterfield and welcome to the Velvet Rope Playbook. Tonight's chapter, The Format Trap. Should your lead magnet be a PDF, video, or webinar? Mark, should I make it a PDF, a video, or a webinar? I get versions of this question all the time, and I certainly understand why. Once somebody decides they need a lead magnet, the first thing they're often thinking about is the format. Should it be a beautifully designed PDF? Maybe a video would be more personal, or perhaps a 45-minute webinar would establish more expertise. But I think they're starting one step too late, because before you decide how you're going to deliver your lead magnet, you need to decide why somebody would want it in the first place.

0:45And that's where a lot of lead magnets go wrong. Let me introduce you to Andrew Callahan. Andrew is 54 and runs a boutique aviation advisory firm. He spent almost 20 years in corporate aviation before starting his own business, helping business owners and wealthy families figure out whether they should charter, buy fractional ownership, or acquire an aircraft of their own. A new client can be easily worth tens of thousands of dollars to Andrew, so he doesn't need thousands of leads. He needs a relatively small number of the right people raising their hands. So Andrew decides he needs a lead magnet.

1:23So he hires a designer and creates a gorgeous 34-page PDF called The Complete Guide to Private Aviation. Beautiful photography, excellent design, lots of information, and almost nobody asked for it. Andrew concludes PDFs don't work anymore, so he records a video. Same basic information, different format. That doesn't do much better. Finally, somebody tells him webinars convert better. So Andrew creates a 47-minute webinar called Understanding Your Private Aviation Options. And once again, very little happens. At this point, Andrew is asking the question a lot of people ask, what's the best format for a lead magnet?

2:06But that's not Andrew's problem. His problem is that none of his lead magnets give the right person a particularly compelling reason to want them. So let's think for a moment about Andrew's original title. The Complete Guide to Private Aviation. Who wakes up Tuesday morning thinking, I really need a complete guide to private aviation? Probably nobody. Now, suppose Andrew changes the idea to the$5 million flight decision. When does owning a private aircraft actually make more sense than chartering? Well, that's different. Or the Private Aviation Cost Calculator. what chartering, fractional ownership, and owning really cost at 50, 100, and 200 flight hours a year.

2:53Now I know exactly why I might want it. The subject has become specific. The problem has become clear. The premise is completely understandable. And most importantly, it's connected to a decision Andrew's ideal prospect may already be trying to make. That's why I think people spend too much time debating PDF versus video versus webinar. A mediocre idea doesn't become irresistible because you put it on video, and a compelling idea doesn't suddenly become boring because it's delivered on a PDF. The promise comes first. The format comes second. So, when should you use a PDF? Well, PDFs have one enormous advantage.

3:36They're easy. Not necessarily easy for you to create, but easy for the prospect to consume. I can download one now, glance through it, save it, print it, forward it to my spouse or my business partner, and come back to it later. That makes a PDF particularly good when the information is something people want to reference. Such things as a checklist, a comparison, a list of questions, a framework, a decision tree. If Andrew is comparing charter, fractional, and ownership costs, a PDF could be perfect because I may want to look at those numbers repeatedly. The downside? PDFs are incredibly easy to ignore.

4:14We've all downloaded things we've never read. And the longer and more comprehensive they look, the easier they can be to put aside for quote-unquote later. So if you're going to use a PDF, don't assume 37 pages is more valuable than 7. Sometimes the shorter piece gets consumed precisely because it looks useful rather than like homework. So when should you use video? Well, video does something a PDF can't do nearly as well. It lets people experience you. They hear your voice. They see how you explain something. They get a sense of your personality and confidence. That's particularly valuable when you are part of what they are buying.

4:52If you're an advisor, consultant, physician, attorney, architect, or anyone else whose judgment and personality matter, video can begin answering an important question. Do I want to spend time with this person? Video is also excellent when something is easier to show than explain. So if you're demonstrating a process, walking through examples, critiquing something, or explaining a nuanced idea, video can be very effective. But video asks more of the prospect. A seven-page PDF can be skimmed in three minutes. A 20-minute video, well, that requires 20 minutes. So the promise has to justify the commitment.

5:33Don't call it my free training on private aviation. Tell me what I'm going to understand after watching it that I don't understand now. And what about a webinar? A webinar asks for even more commitment, particularly if it's live. Now I have to register, put something on my calendar, and show up at a particular time. That sounds like a disadvantage, and it certainly can be. But it can also be useful because someone willing to spend 45 minutes with you is demonstrating considerably more interest than someone willing to download a two-page checklist. That's why I tend to think of webinars as particularly useful when the subject requires more explanation or when you want to move someone further along in the buying process.

6:18A webinar gives you time to teach, gives you time to demonstrate how you think. You can tell stories, answer objections, show examples, and create a much deeper understanding of the problem you solve. And if it's live, you may be able to answer questions. The disadvantage is obvious. You're asking for a much bigger commitment before the prospect knows whether you're worth the time. Now, for cold prospects, that can be a substantial hurdle. A webinar often makes more sense once someone has enough interest to want a deeper dive. Current lead generation guidance similarly tends to treat shorter, easily consumed assets as lower friction entry points and longer video or webinar experiences as requiring greater commitment.

7:02So here's the question I'd ask. Forget PDF video and webinar for a moment. Finish this sentence. The person I want to attract is worried about blank. and I can give them something that will help them blank. Let me repeat that. The person I want to attract is worried about blank and I can give them something that will help them blank. That's your starting point. Not I need a laid magnet and certainly not I need a PDF. Start with the problem then create the promise. Then choose the format that delivers the promise most effectively. the three-question test. So here's a simple exercise. Before you create your next lead magnet, answer these three questions.

7:46First, who is this specifically for? And don't say affluent people or business owners. Who is the person and what is happening in their life when this becomes interesting? So for Andrew, it might be a business owner currently spending$400 ,000 or$500 ,000 a year on charter flights and beginning to wonder whether buying an aircraft makes financial sense. That's specific. Second, what question are they already asking themselves? Andrew's prospect isn't asking, where can I learn more about private aviation? He's asking, at what point does buying the airplane actually make more sense? That's the lead magnet.

8:26Third, what format makes the answer easiest to understand and use? Maybe it's a PDF comparison chart, Maybe it's a 12-minute video walking through the numbers. Maybe the subject is complicated enough that Andrew holds a private webinar for 20 qualified business owners. Now the format has purpose. And here's where it gets interesting. Andrew eventually abandons his beautiful guide. Instead, he creates something much simpler. Should you buy the plane? The seven numbers to know before you move from charter to aircraft ownership. It's a short PDF, nothing technologically impressive about it, but it addresses a very specific question being asked by exactly the kind of person Andrew wants to attract.

9:12And after someone downloads it, Andrew offers them a short video that walks through two examples. Then, for people who want to go deeper, he occasionally invites them to a private online session where he breaks down the economics of several ownership scenarios. Notice what's happened. Andrew hasn't actually chosen between PDF video and webinar. He's given each format a different job. The PDF gets the initial attention because it's quick and useful. The video allows prospects to experience Andrew's expertise. And the webinar gives the most interested people an opportunity to go deeper. That's much more useful than a way to think about lead magnets.

9:53So the question isn't what's the best format. It's what's the most compelling thing. I could offer my ideal prospect right now and what's the easiest way for them to consume it. Because nobody ever downloaded a lead magnet because they were desperately hoping to receive another PDF. They downloaded it because the title promised an answer that they wanted. Get the subject right, get the promise right, then worry about the format. So if you'd like more strategies for attracting affluent clients and turning their initial interest into actual conversations, visit GetWealthyClients.com. And when you're there, you can find information about all my books, my programs, and even information about working with me personally.

10:38That's GetWealthyClients.com. And if you found today's episode useful, go ahead and subscribe to the Velvet Rope Playbook and pass it along to someone who might find it useful as well. Don't need to make a big production out of it. Just say, hey, thought you might find this useful. That's how most good ideas and most good introductions tend to travel. This is Mark Satterfield. Thanks so much for listening to this chapter of the Velvet Rope Playbook. I'll be back at you soon with something new, but until then, bye for now.