Jesse Cole dreamed of bringing pro baseball to Savannah, Georgia.
So he sold his house and bought a team. And leased a 93-year-old stadium.
People thought he was crazy. Why waste hundreds of thousands of dollars on something doomed to fail?
But Jesse had a plan — and it worked.
Starting in 2016, his Savannah Bananas team broke attendance records and is currently on an 88-game sellout streak.
How does Jesse fill up the stadium? What's his sellout secret?
For starters, he does things differently — way differently — than his competitors.
Jesse wears a bright yellow tuxedo and top hat as he walks into the stands and poses for pictures. His first base coach breakdances. The team’s mascot is a walking banana. It’s not your normal baseball game.
Then there’s the Savannah Nanas, a senior citizen women’s dance team, along with the Savannah Man-Nanas, a group of male cheerleaders proud of their dad bods. You can’t look away. The Bananas also offer quirky merchandise and in-game promotions while a pep band fuels the party.
A circus atmosphere surrounds each baseball game. And fans love it, coming out in droves.
A circus atmosphere surrounds each Savannah Bananas baseball game. And fans love it, coming out in droves.
As Jesse says, “Our whole mindset is: whatever is normal, try to do the exact opposite.”
When Jesse started the team, he understood the challenge.
So he embraced a “Fans First” philosophy:
Offer something people crave (fun)… invite them into the main event (baseball)… then create raving fans (repeat customers).
It’s a formula that can work for your business. In marketing, it often starts with a “lead magnet.”
Offer something people crave (information that solves a problem — this is your lead magnet)… invite them into the main event (your products/services)… then create raving fans (repeat customers).
WHAT IS A LEAD MAGNET?
A lead magnet is something you offer for free — or at a low-cost point — to grab the attention of potential customers.
It HAS to be tempting. Think chocolate icing, not spinach.
Your lead magnet HAS to be tempting. Think chocolate icing, not spinach.
At Savannah Bananas games, every ticket includes an all-you-can-eat buffet. If the baseball doesn’t draw fans, the food will. It’s another way of bringing new guests through the gates. When you think about it, all the food and entertainment offered at Bananas games becomes their lead magnet.
For most businesses, a lead magnet involves exchanging a digital resource for an email address. When you collect emails, you can speak directly to your audience for potentially years to come.
As an added benefit, the email database is yours. It doesn’t belong to Facebook or Google. You gain the ability to connect with interested customers without a “middle man.” And at a fraction of the cost.
TYPES OF LEAD MAGNETS
Kevin Phillips, in his article 8 Types of Lead Magnets Guaranteed to Convert More Traffic, illustrates top examples:
Checklists
Guides
PDFs/Ebooks
Combo offers
Gated long-form content
Gated video content
Live chat
White papers
How do you create the content for these lead magnets? It’s simple. Think about your target market and give detailed answers to their most common questions.
How do you create the content for your lead magnets? Think about your target market and give detailed answers to their most common questions.
For example, if you’re selling swimming pools, one frequent question is, “What type of pool is suitable for my backyard?” Deep-dive into answering that question, and once written, use a graphic designer to make it look pretty. For serious swimming pool researchers, they’ll salivate over the content.
Maybe your final document is 3-5 pages. Perfect. Add it to your website and offer a free download for an email address. Kinda like bait on a fishing line.
Over time, you can create multiple lead magnets based on wide-ranging questions. The more varied, the better.
At Genie Jar Digital, here’s one of our lead magnets.
FOUR QUESTIONS FOR YOUR LEAD MAGNET
Before releasing your lead magnet into the wild and wooly world, ask yourself:
1) Does my title grab attention?
Make sure it speaks to pain points.
2) Does my design look professional?
Use colors and graphics to complement your content.
3) What do I want the potential customer to do?
Offer a simple call-to-action.
4) Am I using automated email for the download?
Use automation to add the new contact to your database and also email your content.
THE THERAPY BUNNY
Back to baseball… In April 2021, the San Francisco Giants gave permission for the attendance of a therapy bunny. Uh, a what?
Apparently, a therapy bunny is a cute rabbit who removes stress when you snuggle it.
The bunny, Alex, came with his owners to the series opener against Miami. It didn’t take long for Alex to steal the hearts of Giants fans. Who can resist a sweet, cuddly bunny?
Though the crowd numbered only about 4,500, the news media buzzed about the furry guest. Television and the internet went wild, and over several days, the Giants gained tons of free publicity. All because of Alex.
What’s the point?
When you offer people something of value — whether it be entertainment, a downloadable PDF, or a therapy bunny — the results may surprise you.
When you offer people something of value — whether it be entertainment, a downloadable PDF, or a therapy bunny — the results may surprise you.
Grabbing attention helps you win more customers. That’s the power of a lead magnet.
And that’s something to go bananas over.
NEED HELP WITH YOUR LEAD MAGNET?
We provide copywriting, graphic design, and a healthy sprinkle of marketing magic.
Email us the details and let’s get started.
About Me
Hey, I’m Brian, co-founder of Genie Jar Digital. Born a Tar Heel but now a Virginian, I’m a father of five and the husband of one amazing lady. My family has a thing for Golden Retrievers. Given the right circumstances, I can do a mean moonwalk on a slick kitchen floor.
