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:

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:

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:

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.