Pick the result, not the topic
The lead magnet is not an introduction to your subject; it is the first small win. "How to price your first freelance project" is a lead magnet. "A guide to freelancing" is a brochure. Choose the problem that your best customers had right before they found you, the one with a clear before and after, and promise only that. The book idea scorecard is a quick test: reader specificity and outcome clarity should both score four or five before you write a word.
Structure for finishing
Five short chapters, each one a step, each one ending with something the reader does. Open with the result, not the background — the reader downloaded it because they already want the result. Keep each chapter under a thousand words. Put a checklist or a template at the end that they will keep, because a kept file is remembered longer than a read one. And write the last page as the bridge: what the result unlocks, and where you help with that. One link, one offer, no menu.
Format and delivery
PDF is the right file for a lead magnet: it opens everywhere, keeps your layout, and does not need a store. Export it with a real cover — the cover is the thing that appears in your emails and your sign-up form — and a table of contents so it looks like a book on a phone. Name the file after the result. Then measure the only two numbers that matter: how many people who download it open it, and how many of those take the next step. If the first is low, the title over-promised; if the second is low, the bridge page is weak.
Common questions
Straight answers
Should a lead magnet be free?+
Yes by definition — its price is the email address. The pricing recommender returns zero for the format on purpose.
How long does it take to make one?+
With a clear result and the studio's draft, an afternoon for the draft and a day for the edit. The editing is where it becomes worth someone's email.
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