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Strategy/lead-magnet-brainstorm

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.

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Version
1.0
License
MIT
Format
SKILL.md

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Inside this skill

The complete operating guide, including the workflow, formulas, examples, and guardrails your agent will follow.

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:

  1. Cheap to deliver at scale (ideally automated)
  2. Genuinely valuable to the prospect (they'd pay for it, or it saves them obvious time/money)
  3. Demonstrates your competence (so buying becomes the natural next step)

When to use

  • During /icp-onboarding when 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:

  1. What do you sell, in one sentence? (Use their ICP onboarding answer if you have it.)
  2. What's the #1 problem your best customer had BEFORE buying from you? (This is the north star — the magnet should ease this problem.)
  3. 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.)
  4. 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:

CriterionScore 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:

offer:
  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.

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