If you’re writing blog posts but not using them to build your list, you’re missing out on one of the biggest opportunities in your business. Our blog has always been and remains our #1 lead-generating business asset and with just a few tweaks to what you’re already doing, it can be for you too!

What I’ll be covering today in this post is one of the fastest and easiest ways to grow your audience of potential buyers and we’re going to do it in four steps.

Ready? Let’s do this!

Step 1: Choose a Blog Post That Relates To An Offer

Not every blog post will make a good lead magnet. The best ones address a specific, painful problem and relate to something you sell. That’s the sweet spot we’re looking for.

Picture a client or customer buying your product or booking service and then work backwards and ask yourself… “How did they get here?”

Always connect the dots between your paid offer and your content, for example:

→ A purchase happened after reading a helpful, relevant email sequence
→ The email sequence initiated after they opted into a relevant lead magnet
→ They opted into the lead magnet after reading a relevant blog post
→ They read the blog post after seeing an IG story promoting the post

Because your top of funnel content (your IG) story promised to answer a question they have or solve a specific problem they’re experiencing as it relates to your offer, you naturally attracted a potential customer into your marketing funnel.

A marketing funnel, by the way, is really just a fancy way of saying connecting the dots between your paid offers and your content.

Today we’re focusing on the lead magnet because this is a pivotal step in your customer’s journey where the first transaction takes place — they give you their email address and you give them something free and valuable in return.

The key is … any guesses?

You got it. Relevancy.

Relevancy how we can map out the mental journey your customer goes through:

→ Your blog post solves a tiny problem
→ You continue to guide them with helpful content that’s relevant to that problem (lead magnet + email sequence)
→ Finally you offer a total solution to that problem (your paid offer).

Think of your blog posts as the “core content” that gets spun off into other types of content — social media posts, emails, and lead magnets — for your funnel.

If your blog post solves a problem or teaches a process, it can become a lead magnet.

📌 Pro-tip: If you’re using templates from The Blog Post Vault, you already have a head start — those posts are designed to be actionable and valuable, making them perfect lead magnet material.

Let’s look at an example from one of our own content funnels:

Take our post “How to Write an Email Welcome Sequence.” We didn’t just wake up one day and think, “Hmmmm, let’s write a blog post about welcome sequences for fun.”

We took a look at one of our offers: the Funnel Content Bundle and worked backwards…

👉 What questions/problem does this customer have as it relates to this offer?
👉 What do they need to know before they can move forward and consider our offer?
👉 How can we help them solve their problem part of the way with this content?
👉 How can we demonstrate that we have expertise around this topic?

A blog post walking through the steps of setting up a welcome sequence — the most fundamental email sequence — is a relevant topic for potential customers because it solves the problem of not knowing what’s involved in setting one up (what types of emails you need, when to send them, and so on).

This is where most content creators stop, but finding a relevant topic is just the first step.

In order to connect the dots between your content and your offers, we need to answer, “Where are we taking them next?”

Every time you publish a piece of content, get into the habit of asking yourself, “Now where?” Because if you can’t answer that, chances are you’re leading people to a dead end.

Back to our example. After reading a “How to” blog post, we can imagine that most people aren’t going to drop what they’re doing and start implementing what they learned. The next step we might want to guide them to is a piece of content that refreshes their memory when they’re ready to take action.

Enter your lead magnet.

After reading a blog post,they’re highly engaged with the topic so it’s the perfect moment to help them further along their journey.

You’ve already written the blog post, so this part is actually really easy! Now we just need to…

Step 2: Create a “Cheat Sheet” Version

Most people won’t come back to reread your blog post if they need to refresh their memory on what they learned. But they will download and refer back to a quick reference: a cheat sheet, a worksheet, a swipe file, a template, or a concise summary of all the steps.

So here’s your game plan:

Turn the key steps or tips from your blog into a Google Doc, Canva template, or simple PDF. You want something that’s easy for your audience to skim and even easier for you to create.

Focus on these formats:

• Checklist: Perfect for step-by-step processes
• Worksheet: Great when readers need to fill in their own details
• Swipe file: Ideal for templates, scripts, or examples
• Roadmap or blueprint: Works well for longer strategies or timelines

The goal isn’t to recreate your entire blog post — it’s to distill it into something immediately useful and actionable. 

In the case of the How to Write a Welcome Sequence blog post, we created a Welcome Sequence Cheat Sheet they could take with them that summarized what they need to do and include to set it up. 👇

📌 Here’s where it gets fun: Once you have a core piece of content like a blog post, you can use ChatGPT to help you turn that into a cheat sheet or a checklist. Your unique process or approach has already been written, now you just need to create a “spin off” and Ai is perfect for tasks like this. Keep it simple and it should take you less than an hour from start to finish (including the technical set up).

Step 3: Embed the Freebie Into Your Blog Post

The best freebies don’t feel like interruptions, they feel like natural next steps. You’re taking someone who’s already engaged with your content and giving them an easy way to get more value while joining your email list.

Embed your opt-in form to receive your freebie throughout your blog post in logical places:

Early in the post: Add a casual mention that feels conversational: “Want the cheat sheet version of this post? I’ve turned all these steps into a simple checklist you can download [here].”

Throughout the content: Reference your lead magnet when it’s relevant: “This can feel overwhelming at first (which is why I created a step-by-step worksheet to walk you through it).”

At the end: Include a clear, benefit-focused CTA: “Ready to put this into action? Download the complete implementation guide and start [describe the result they’ll get] this week.”

You might be wondering… isn’t this overkill? Think of it like this…

If people aren’t ready to download your freebie after learning about it in your introduction, they might be ready by the time they’re done reading your post. You don’t want to make them have to scroll back up and try to find it again, so by putting it in logical places you’re just making it easier for them.

Every blog post your visitor lands on should have multiple opportunities to subscribe to your list. Aim for at least 3.

The key is making it feel like a natural extension of the value you’re already providing, not a random sales pitch dropped into your content. Make sure your placement makes sense within the context of what you’re saying in your post.

⚠️ Don’t just say “download this.” Tell them what they’ll be able to do with it: “Download this checklist and you’ll know exactly [how to do something they need help with]” and include a mockup or preview of what they’ll get if it makes sense.

For the technical set up, you can use your email platform’s form builder and embed the form in your post, or use a plugin like ThriveLeads for pop-ups. (We use the ThriveLeads plugin + Canva Graphics to create our opt-in forms.)

Step 4: Introduce an Immediate Call to Action

(Hint: Think About Your Funnel)

As we’ve covered, every piece of content should guide your audience to a next step and that includes your lead magnet — and this is where most people miss the real opportunity. This isn’t just about growing your email list. It’s about guiding your audience toward your paid solution in a way that feels helpful.

After someone has read your blog post and opted in to your lead magnet, you know quite a lot about that person. They are actively looking for information that helps them solve the problem related to this topic.

They’re engaged. Highly engaged. So we must strike while the iron is hot! 🔥

Most of them will not be ready to buy something in that moment, but some will be ready to consider it. If you’ve helped them with your blog post and freebie, and you immediately present them with a no-brainer offer, a certain percentage of new subscribers will buy a low-ticket offer on impulse.

A blog post and a lead magnet that’s highly relevant to your paid offers is just the entry point to a system that can:

• Present a special offer on the thank-you page after they opt-in (a low-cost digital product, discovery call, or lead service)
• Deliver the freebie and provide immediate value to establish rapport
• Put information about your offer on the final page of the lead magnet itself with a link to your sales page or “book a call” calendar – (“if you need more help, here’s your next step”)
• Follow up with a welcome sequence that builds trust and credibility
• Eventually introduce your offer again to your subscribers

Because I just mentioned setting up a welcome sequence in the above list, this is the perfect place to mention that we have a cheat sheet for you to help you do that (wink). 😎 👇

📌Pro tip: Now you have a relevant lead magnet that will attract the right people into your funnels so to maximize your efforts, you want to create more blog posts that relate to your freebie, create social media posts that drive traffic to your blog posts and freebie and so on.

This is what I’m doing with this post, so let’s take a quick tangent…

I realize this is getting very meta, but I’m going to pull back the curtains and be completely transparent about what I’m doing with this piece of content so you can see what this looks like in practice:

👉 We have a Welcome Sequence Cheat Sheet that leads to a paid offer
👉 Right now, I’m writing a blog post that is relevant to that lead magnet
👉 If you are a blogger, building your list, and want to make sales with email marketing – you are the ideal target customer for our paid offer, the Funnel Content Bundle and this content is for you.

Having said all that, only a small percentage of people who read this post will buy our product. Most people will click away never to return, some people will join our email list, and some people will become customers, and a percentage of those people will become repeat customers.

And that’s how a marketing funnel works. But in order to earn the trust of the people who move deeper into your funnel, you must provide standalone value in your free content. That is, your audience shouldn’t have to buy something at all in order to move closer toward their goals.

Now Your Blog Posts Are Now Working Double Duty

(And Building Your List!)

That’s it — you’ve just turned your blog post into a marketing funnel that works 24/7.

Think about what you’ve created: content that attracts new readers, captures email addresses, delivers immediate value, presents relevant offers, and nurtures leads through a strategic sequence. All from repurposing one single blog post.

Remember the key steps:

• Start with content that solves a real problem that relates to what you sell
• Turn it into a skimmable, actionable resource
• Include a strategic next step that keeps people engaged
• Embed it naturally throughout your original post
• Call them to action
• Nurture your new subscribers with automated sequences
• Call them to action again

You can repeat this process with every valuable blog post you publish. Before you know it, you’ll have multiple lead magnets working to grow your list from different angles.

Here’s to making your content work harder for your business!

Further Reading & Resources: 

• The Blog Post Vault is 52 strategic blog post templates designed to attract your ideal audience. You can also use these templates to create longer “Roadmap” style freebies.
• Advanced pop-up strategies for embedding your freebies into your posts and setting up standalone landing pages is covered in our Lead Magnet Marketing Bundle.
• How to Create a Tripwire Funnel & Sell Digital Products From Your Blog
• 3 Types of Emails You Need to Sell Things To Your List
• Check out the Funnel Content Bundle for help automating your marketing with nurturing and sales sequences.

🤫 And by the way, we’re offering the Funnel Content Bundle at a special price for a limited time – you can save 65% OFF until July 11th!