Lead Magnet Brainstorm
Cold emails with a concrete free offer outperform "book a call" asks by 3-10x. This skill helps the user find an offer they can actually deliver.
Why this exists
Most cold emails fail the "why should I reply?" test. The answer "because you might need our product" is not compelling. The answer "because we'll send you a free audit that'll save you money whether or not you buy from us" is.
A good lead magnet is:
- Cheap to deliver at scale (ideally automated)
- Genuinely valuable to the prospect (they'd pay for it, or it saves them obvious time/money)
- Demonstrates your competence (so buying becomes the natural next step)
When to use
- During
/icp-onboardingwhen the user can't answer the "what can you give away" question - When copywriting and the CTA feels weak
- When reply rates are <1% and the problem is "nobody cares about my ask"
Steps
1. Intake — 4 questions
Ask one at a time:
- What do you sell, in one sentence? (Use their ICP onboarding answer if you have it.)
- What's the #1 problem your best customer had BEFORE buying from you? (This is the north star — the magnet should ease this problem.)
- What could you do for a prospect in under 30 minutes that they'd pay $100 for? (The crux. Push back on "nothing" — there's always something. If they're an SEO agency, they could audit a page. A copywriter could rewrite a subject line. A dev shop could review one function.)
- Any legal / regulatory restrictions on what you can promise or give? (Financial advice, medical claims, securities — know before proposing.)
2. Pick from the lead magnet archetype library
Match their business to one or more archetypes:
A. The free audit / diagnostic
- "Free 5-minute audit of your [thing]" — works for agencies, consultants, dev shops
- Delivery: you or AI runs a quick check, send back a 1-page report
- Examples: "I noticed your site doesn't have X, here's why that's costing you Y"
- CTA: "Want me to run the full audit? Free, takes 5 min of your time."
B. The data / research piece
- "Report on [their industry] — [metric or trend]"
- Delivery: create once, reuse infinitely
- Examples: "We analyzed 500 Shopify stores doing >$1M — here's what the top 10% have in common"
- CTA: "Want me to send the report?" or "Want the 90-second summary?"
C. The competitive intel
- "What your top 3 competitors are doing that you're not"
- Delivery: quick manual or AI-powered scrape
- Examples: "I pulled the LinkedIn post history of your 3 biggest competitors — want it?"
- CTA: "Reply Y and I'll send the summary"
D. The template / checklist
- "The exact [template/checklist/playbook] we use for [outcome]"
- Delivery: Google Doc, Notion, or PDF link
- Examples: "The 12-point pre-launch checklist we use for every new campaign"
- CTA: "Want me to send it over?"
E. The intro / connection
- "I can introduce you to [specific relevant person or type of person]"
- Delivery: warm intro from your network
- Examples: "I know 3 founders who solved exactly this — happy to intro"
- Warning: don't fake this. You have to actually know someone.
- CTA: "Want the intro?"
F. The quick-win work
- "I'll do [small scoped piece of work] for free as a sample"
- Delivery: 30-60 min of real work
- Examples: "I'll write 3 cold email subject lines tailored to your ICP, free"
- CTA: "Reply with your ICP and I'll send them over"
G. The specific-to-them analysis
- "I noticed [specific thing about their company] — here's what I think about it"
- Delivery: 2-3 sentences of real observation, no deliverable beyond the email
- Best for: high-ACV sales where a thoughtful observation is the magnet
- CTA: "Happy to go deeper if useful"
H. The tool / free account
- "Free account on [your product] with [specific scope removed]"
- Delivery: actual product access
- Examples: SaaS companies offering 30-day free trials framed as "free for your campaign"
- CTA: "Spin you up an account?"
I. The 15-min working session
- "15-min screen share where I [specific thing] for you"
- Delivery: 15 min of your real time
- Best for: high-ACV, later-stage buyers
- Examples: "15 min where I walk through your checkout flow and flag 3 friction points"
- CTA: "Grab a slot? [calendly link]"
J. The benchmark / comparison
- "How your [metric] compares to [peer group]"
- Delivery: you have benchmarks, they get theirs compared
- Examples: "Your Google rank for [term] is #X. The median in your industry is #Y. Want the full breakdown?"
- CTA: "Want the full comparison?"
3. Score each proposed magnet against the rubric
For each archetype that fits, score:
| Criterion | Score 1-5 |
|---|---|
| Cheap to deliver (1=expensive, 5=automated) | |
| Genuinely valuable (1=no, 5=they'd pay $100+) | |
| Demonstrates competence (1=no signal, 5=strong signal) | |
| Unique vs competitors (1=everyone does it, 5=only you could) |
Total ≥15/20 = worth proposing. <15 = skip or rework.
4. Output: 5-10 concrete ideas
For each idea, write:
**[Name of magnet]** What it is: <one sentence> What you need to deliver it: <tools, data, time> Example CTA for your cold email: "> Reply Y and I'll send you [the thing]. Takes you 30 seconds, no call needed." Rubric score: X/20
5. Recommend the top 2-3
Pick based on:
- Delivery friction (favor low-friction — can be automated or pre-built)
- Match to their ICP's actual pain (question #2 from intake)
- Novelty (if every competitor does free audits, pick something else)
6. Save output
Save the full brainstorm + top picks to:
~/cold-email-ai-skills/profiles/<business-slug>/lead-magnets.md
If the user is coming from icp-onboarding, update their client-profile.yaml with the chosen magnet:
yamloffer: lead_magnet: <top pick name> lead_magnet_details: <one sentence on what you deliver> lead_magnet_cta_example: <example reply-hook CTA>
Common mistakes
- Proposing magnets the user can't actually deliver. Always confirm delivery capacity. "Free audit" from someone who has never done one = disaster.
- Asking for a meeting as the "magnet." A meeting is not a magnet, it's an ask. The magnet is what you give them BEFORE the meeting.
- Lead magnets that require too much from the prospect. "Fill out this 20-field intake form" = dead. Maximum ask: reply with 1-2 data points.
- Gated PDFs behind forms. For cold email, NEVER gate the magnet. Send it inline or as a direct link. Gating kills reply rate.
- "Free consultation." Generic and uninspiring. Replace with something specific — "15 min where I [specific action] for you".
What to do next
With a lead magnet chosen, the user's next skill is /cold-email-starter-kit references 03-campaign-copywriting.md to write the email that delivers the magnet.
