Picking the right lead magnet idea is key for the long term growth of your coaching business. Get it wrong and you can kiss future sales goodbye. Building a list of wrongly-matched individuals will put your business at a great disadvantage and it’s an epic waste of time. 

On the other hand, building the right email list will speed up the success of your online coaching business. The most important element is the hook on your lead magnet.

I really struggled with this at the beginning of my business, especially because I didn’t want to commit to a niche and was still trying out different clients. I wasted a lot of time and money! Especially because I built a list of very mixed individuals without segmenting them into different groups.


Once I committed to a niche (hello coaches 😉 I realised that I now found it hard to find the ‘gap’. In marketing, this thing strategists call the ‘gap’ is none other than the place where your client realises they need you. You’ll often hear marketing experts talk about creating the gap by educating your market into needing your services.

But as a young business just beginning to niche I found this really hard. Finding the so-called ‘gap’ without having enough clarity can be really hard.

So where could I start?
I tried a lot of different topics – nothing worked.
Then I realised I was not very good at this gap thing so I went completely basic and minimal and did the obvious. 

I picked the same topic as my programmes.
Later I even created lead magnets with the same promise as the courses I was selling.
And it worked!

If it feels hard to create your lead magnet or you see that it’s not popular, try using the same promise as your course or coaching programmes.

Lead Magnet Ideas for Coaches

For example: If you’re a career coach and promise people they will find a job they love in 6 weeks with your coaching programme, a good freebie might be ‘The ultimate checklist to find a job you truly love’.

Or if you’re a business coach and your programmes promise increased profits, your freebie could be ‘The 60-day roadmap to doubling your business income’.

Same promise, different medium. The lead magnet should of course not contain all the information your client needs to achieve the outcome. That is often not even possible. 

Your Lead Magnet needs to contain enough information to:

1) position you as an expert
2) give them a small win
3) teach them what they need to know to be ready to work with you

Achieve these 3 goals with your free content and every person on your list will be a good candidate for your programmes.

Still unsure about the best lead magnet for you?

Listen to my podcast episode about Picking the right lead magnet