From Lead Magnet to Book: Testing Ideas Before Writing the First Chapter
How pre-sales and audience feedback are shaping my next big project.
If you’ve been following me on LinkedIn (where I’m pretty much posting daily), you might’ve noticed a flurry of toolkit creation in the last couple of weeks. Okay, maybe not a flurry—but I have created two new lead magnets!
Why?
Well, I’ve been listening closely. This week, I was the Conference Catalyst (best job title ever, right?) at the Association for Tertiary Education Management (ATEM) conference.
As I floated through breakout sessions, something caught my attention—people were essentially “voting with their feet.” Certain sessions were packed, and the same burning question kept coming up: “How did you get buy-in on this idea? How did you influence your leadership team to give it the green light?”
That question hit home for me. Having navigated plenty of internal roles, and even now in my consulting work, influencing buy-in is part of my DNA. So, during my Thursday morning dog walk (because all the best ideas come during dog walks), I thought: “Maybe I should write a book on this!”
But then I caught myself. Hold up, Leanne. Validate the idea first.
Instead of diving into book titles and chapters, I got home, sat down, and in 30 minutes, I wrote from the heart. I captured the nine key ways I’ve been able to secure buy-in over the years.
And voilà! I created a PDF. You can grab it here.
One of my favourites? Number One: Focus on Pre-Sales.
That’s exactly what I did with my first book, The 2-Hour Workshop Blueprint. Rather than waiting to see if anyone would buy the book, I sold a webinar first on how to craft 2-hour workshops. Fast forward to 2023, I ran a bunch of different webinars (on everything from group coaching programs to starting a private podcast), but nothing hit like the 2-Hour Workshop masterclass. The demand was off the charts, so I knew I was onto something.
Now, back to the present. My buy-in PDF has done reasonably well, but nothing compares to the traction of my Radical Reboot Strategy kit.
It’s been seven days since I shared that on LinkedIn and Instagram, and over 150 people have grabbed it.
One person even booked a 1:1 Red Carpet Experience with me!
So, what’s next? I’ll keep experimenting—putting ideas out there, seeing what resonates. Then, I’ll take a broader view of what’s working: content, webinars, lead magnets—how do they all connect? Could these pieces become part of a larger book?
And all the while, I’ll continue tuning into what my audience (the business community) is curious about and, most importantly, what they’re willing to invest in to find their solutions.
Thanks for following my journey!
Now, help me out!
Any ideas on what I should write my next book about? 😅