June 23, 2025

Can an ebook be a lead magnet?

A fellow list member wrote in to ask whether a short ebook could work as a lead magnet.

Short answer:

Yes, it probably would work.

Long answer:

A little over a year ago, I decided to do an experiment.

I posted the Kindle version of my book Learn Your Lines for free on Amazon to see how much search traffic it would get.

And then...

I basically forgot about it for fourteen months :-)

As of today, 11k+ people have downloaded the free ebook, and it’s ranking well on the Top Free lists for some competitive categories:

Near the end of the ebook, I offer a free copy of another one of my books. It says something like:

“If you liked this book, you’re going to love this other book, which you can get for free on my website at this url...”

As of today, I’ve captured 260 email addresses with this promo.

This is roughly a 2.3% conversion rate from “anonymous reader” to “potential lead”.

I wish it were higher, but it’s better than nothing.

And it’s significantly higher than the number of leads I’ve generated from LinkedIn over the same period, which required much more effort.

There’s also the question of how high-quality these particular leads are. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect that they’d convert 5-10x better than average if I presented them with an offer specifically targeted to the topics of the two books.

Here’s the thing...

Think of a lead magnet as a gift you make for your ideal buyer.

Once you make the gift, you have to give it to them somehow.

If they spend time on platforms that deliver ebooks, then an ebook can work for you as a lead magnet.

Yours,

—J

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