--- title: Lead magnets — the three types and four delivery formats slug: lead-magnet-types-and-delivery summary: Why a "mini-offer" lead magnet beats a bare "book a call / get a quote" CTA for colder traffic, Hormozi's three types (reveal a problem, free trial, one step of many), four delivery formats (software, information, services, physical) and how to keep freebie-seekers out. domain: marketing tags: [lead-generation, lead-magnet, funnel, offers, conversion] related: [lead-magnet-naming-and-cta, sales-funnel-rules-of-thumb, referral-offers-and-event-marketing, reverse-trial-freemium-conversion, web2app-tripwire-pricing] sources: [yt:Mst4hreQYl0] updated: 2026-10-24 --- # Lead magnets — the three types and four delivery formats ## TL;DR - "Book a call" or "submit for a quote" only works for warm, informed traffic. For colder traffic, offer a **mini-offer**: a complete solution to a *narrow* problem that, once solved, **reveals the next problem your core offer solves**. - **Three types:** (1) **reveal a problem** (assessment, audit, speed test); (2) **free trial / sample**, where removing it creates the need; (3) **one step of a multi-step process**. - **Four delivery formats:** software or tools, information, services (done-for-you work), physical items. They can be combined. - Never solve the core problem for free. **Gate it by qualification** (a dropdown that routes unqualified leads elsewhere) if freebie-seekers worry you. - The same traffic can produce 3–5x more buyers, according to Hormozi, with no extra ad spend. ## Details **Why.** A quote or booking form exists only to capture contact details. A lead magnet captures more of them, provided taking it signals interest in what you sell.[^1] Alex Hormozi defines it as a lower-cost or free offer that fully solves a narrow problem and exposes a related one. People who "pay with time" first are more likely to pay with money later.[^2][^3] In 2016 he swapped a webinar that wasn't working for a screen-recorded "free case study: how we added 213 members and $112k to a small gym in San Diego", and his sales calendar was full the next morning. Sophisticated audiences recognise a webinar as a pitch, but they'll happily consume a case study in their own time.[^4] **Deprivation, not satisfaction.** Don't give away the thing you sell. His analogy is a restaurant: after a free entrée you aren't hungry for a second one, but you might buy an expensive dessert. Solving the first problem should *trigger* the need for the paid one.[^5] **Type 1 — reveal a problem.** This is his favourite because it creates deprivation directly, and even more so if you show the gap between now and fixed. Example: a free website speed test. If every extra second of load costs about 3% of conversions, going from 9s to 3s is about an 18% lift, which makes the website fee look small.[^6][^7] It works best for problems that get worse while the prospect waits: posture, termites, financial audits. One of Allen's best ads of all time was "four reasons why you'll never have a million-dollar agency". Be very specific about the negatives so you can stay vaguer (and more compliant) on the promise.[^7][^8] **Type 2 — free trial.** The Costco sample. Give the solution, then take it away. Limit uses, quantity, time, or a mix.[^8][^9] Gym Launch gave buyers of its monetisation programme four months of agency lead-gen for free. When it ended, clients who were used to getting leads paid to keep them, which worked as a built-in upsell.[^9][^10] **Type 3 — one step of many.** Best for complex offers. Sell the first coat of paint, one laser hair-removal session out of 6–8, or the first two videos of a course.[^10] **Delivery formats.**[^10][^11][^12][^13] - **Software or tools:** calculators, assessments, templates. Neil Patel's URL site-audit tool is an example. - **Information:** mini-courses, guides, expert interviews. Infinitely scalable with no operational drag. His own example is the "scaling roadmap", which combines a tool and information. - **Services:** free audits or done-for-you work for *qualified* prospects only (budget, authority, need, urgency). The math: if an hour of labour costs you $25, the work is worth $250 to the prospect, and one in four buys, then CAC is $100. In his first business he trained people free for a year to collect testimonials, and almost all of them stayed on as paying clients. - **Physical:** books as lead magnets, or a "CEO" shirt given only to people who prove they're CEOs. At about $4 a shirt and one in 20 converting, that's about $80–100 per CEO customer. **Freebie-seekers.** Add a qualification question and send unqualified leads to a different offer.[^14] ## Disagreements / caveats - Hormozi's own business runs on this model (books and the roadmap tool lead to book-a-call), so it's his best-tested channel and also his sales pitch. - The 3–5x and 3%-per-second figures are illustrative claims, not cited studies. - In app funnels, the free-trial type maps onto trials and reverse trials ([[reverse-trial-freemium-conversion]]). Web2app often replaces free trials with paid tripwires ([[web2app-tripwire-pricing]]), so "free" isn't always best. ## See also - [[lead-magnet-naming-and-cta]] — packaging matters more than contents - [[referral-offers-and-event-marketing]] — giveaways and free scans as in-person lead magnets [^1]: yt:Mst4hreQYl0 @ 01:31 — Alex Hormozi [^2]: yt:Mst4hreQYl0 @ 03:01 — Alex Hormozi [^3]: yt:Mst4hreQYl0 @ 06:43 — Alex Hormozi [^4]: yt:Mst4hreQYl0 @ 03:51 — Alex Hormozi [^5]: yt:Mst4hreQYl0 @ 08:47 — Alex Hormozi [^6]: yt:Mst4hreQYl0 @ 10:06 — Alex Hormozi [^7]: yt:Mst4hreQYl0 @ 10:58 — Alex Hormozi [^8]: yt:Mst4hreQYl0 @ 12:28 — Alex Hormozi [^9]: yt:Mst4hreQYl0 @ 14:04 — Alex Hormozi [^10]: yt:Mst4hreQYl0 @ 14:50 — Alex Hormozi [^11]: yt:Mst4hreQYl0 @ 16:25 — Alex Hormozi [^12]: yt:Mst4hreQYl0 @ 19:28 — Alex Hormozi [^13]: yt:Mst4hreQYl0 @ 20:58 — Alex Hormozi [^14]: yt:Mst4hreQYl0 @ 07:37 — Alex Hormozi