Everything from this episode in one place, so you can go and build (or fix) your own lead magnet.
What this episode covers
One of my Momentum 90 clients generated $16,825 for her private practice in four weeks, and she almost didn't notice it had happened, because she'd never been shown what numbers to track.
This episode walks through why that freebie worked, what most therapist lead magnets get wrong, and how the format that converts has changed now that people are talking to ChatGPT and getting AI summaries in their Google search every single day.
$16,825generated in four weeks, from one freebie shared in two Facebook communities and her website
Use the tabs above to move through the story, the principles behind it, the common mistakes I see on almost every therapist website, and a short self-check you can run against your own freebie right now.
How it happened
A client I'll call Jess came to Momentum 90 wanting help filling her diary. She was a hard worker, but her enquiries were sporadic, often not the right fit, and it felt like nothing was working no matter what she tried.
When we looked at her numbers, and I mean actually looked, past just counting whether she had a client or not, we could finally see where the bottleneck was. She already had a freebie she'd been using, but it wasn't set up to do its job.
"She was just like, I'm putting it out there, nothing's really happening. But things were happening. Significantly. She just didn't know what to track."
We adjusted a handful of specific things about the freebie itself and how she was presenting it. She shared it in two Facebook communities and on her own website. That was it.
Four weeks later, she'd had 86 opt-ins and a run of new client bookings worth $16,825. She's now planning to share it more widely, and she's already excited to build her next one.
Why some freebies convert and most don't
A freebie is a lead magnet: a resource you give away in exchange for an email address, not money. The email address is the whole point, because that's what lets you keep building trust with someone after they've found you, instead of hoping they remember to come back.
The freebies that convert all have the same thing in common, and it isn't length or design polish. It's specificity.
It's built for one person, not everyone. "Anxiety workbook" gets ignored. "Anxiety workbook for busy working single mums of kids with ADHD" gets downloaded, because the right person can see themselves in it immediately.
It contains practice wisdom, not Google. What have you actually noticed working with this specific group of clients, that they can't get from ChatGPT or a blog post? That's the part worth including.
It solves a real problem. Saves them time, saves them money, answers an objection they already have, or removes a specific piece of overwhelm.
It has an opt-in and a follow-up sequence. Without an email capture and something after it, you've built a nice PDF, not a lead magnet.
It's interactive where it can be. Static PDFs full of information people already have access to elsewhere are losing ground fast to anything they can click, type into, or get a personalised result from.
What I see on almost every therapist website
After close to a thousand website reviews, the same problems show up again and again. If any of these sound familiar, it's worth a look at your own freebie this week.
Generic covers. Untouched Canva Sans font, text running edge to edge with no margins, colours that don't match the brand or the topic.
Templates left unedited. The exact same journal or workbook template shows up across dozens of practices, prompts and all, because the content was never made specific to the practice or its clients.
Print-only PDFs. If someone has to print it to use it, most people won't bother. Everything should be fillable online at minimum.
No opt-in at all. If the file just opens straight into Google Drive, you have no idea who downloaded it, how many people did, or whether it's actually working.
No follow-up sequence. Someone gets the freebie, and then nothing. No email, no next step, no reason to come back.
It doesn't lead anywhere. No mention of who made it, why, a link to book a call, join the community, or listen to the podcast.
Run this against your own freebie
Tick off what's already true for your current freebie. Be honest, this is just for you.
Where to go from here
If your freebie isn't hitting most of those checks, that's genuinely common, and it's fixable. The fastest path is usually not starting over, it's refining what you've already got so it does the job it was built for.
If you want support building or fixing your own lead magnet strategy, here's where to find me.
Keep going with this
Join Claude for Therapists for templates, tools, and my business manifestation approach, or book a one to one consultation if you'd rather talk it through directly.
