lead-capture

# Lead capture ## What gating costs Every gate trades reach for contacts. That trade is worth making only when the contact is genuinely worth more than the reader — which is true far less often than it is assumed. Gate: things with immediate practical utility that a buyer would use during evaluation — templates, calculators, assessments, data. Do not gate: thought leadership, anything you want cited or shared, or anything a competitor publishes openly. ## Lead magnets The test is whether someone would pay a small amount for it. If not, it will not earn an email address that gets used. The best ones are things people *use* rather than read: a template that saves an afternoon, a calculator that answers a specific question, a checklist for a process they are mid-way through. An ebook that restates blog posts is not one. Match the magnet to a stage. Someone downloading a beginner's guide is not ready for a sales call, and treating them as if they are burns the list. ## Free tools The strongest form: durable, earns links, and qualifies by use rather than by claim. Build one only if it does something genuinely useful standalone, and keep the gate light — let people use it, and ask for the email to save or export the result. Gating before value is delivered converts a fraction as well. ## Popups and overlays Popups work and are widely hated; both facts matter. - **Trigger on behavior, not time** — exit intent, scroll depth, or a second visit. A popup at three seconds ...