How to create a tagging framework

When people think about lead magnets, they tend to jump right into creating the PDF. Big promise, beautiful design, compelling copy. It’s fun!

But before your lead magnet can actually generate qualified leads, you have to have a way to track who’s who in your database. That is, you need tags.

Tags are just digital labels that tell you who downloaded what, when they did it, and what they might be interested in next. And to make this information easy to use, you need a clear tagging framework.

In this lesson, you’ll learn:

• How to think strategically about how to segment your audience based on behavior and interest. (Don’t worry — we’ll never create so many tags that you need a spreadsheet just to keep track of them all!)
• Why all the master marketers since the beginning of email marketing believe you should aim your tagging system at making segmentation simple, not making it more complex.
• How to document your tagging strategy thoroughly, and what to prioritize when tagging leads.
• The tools you need to create a tagging framework that scales, test your tagging setup, and — best of all — to THINK before you tag.

How tagging works

Tagging isn’t just some technical afterthought – it’s the backbone of your lead generation strategy.

When someone downloads your lead magnet, they’re raising their digital hand saying, “I’m interested in this specific thing.” But if all you do is dump them into your general email list without tagging that interest, you’ve essentially ignored what they just told you. That’s like someone at a networking event telling you they need exactly what you sell, and you walking away mid-conversation.

Here’s how it actually works: When a subscriber completes an action (like downloading your PDF), your email marketing system applies a label to their profile. That label – or tag – lets you filter, segment, and target people based on their demonstrated interests and behaviors.

Think of it this way:

• Without tags: “Here are all 10,000 people on my list.”
• With tags: “Here are the 842 people who downloaded my pricing guide in the last 30 days.”

The beauty of tagging is that it’s multidimensional. A single subscriber might have tags like “Downloaded-Pricing-Guide,” “Visited-Pricing-Page,” “Webinar-Attendee,” and “Industry-SaaS.” Each tag adds another layer of insight into who they are and what they care about.

Tags should tell you three essential things:

1. What specific content a lead has engaged with
2. Where they are in your funnel (awareness, consideration, decision)
3. What actions they’ve taken (or not taken) since downloading your lead magnet

Where do most startups get it wrong? They create a tagging system so complex that can’t understand it six months later — or they just don’t tag at all.

The goal isn’t to create a perfect taxonomy of human behavior. The goal is to create a simple system that helps you send the right message to the right person at the right time. And when you get that right, your conversion rates will double or triple compared to untargeted blasts to your whole list.

Set up your naming system

Creating a tagging system without a consistent naming convention is like organizing a file cabinet without labels – good luck finding anything six months later. You need a structured naming approach that future-you and your team can decode at a glance.

What you don’t want is to find yourself staring at a tag like “DL-PDF-22-Q3” and have no idea what it means. A good naming system is intuitive enough that anyone can understand it without a decoder ring.

Here’s how to build a naming system that scales:

Step 1: Start with a prefix that indicates the category of the tag.

This creates natural grouping in your email platform. Your prefixes might include:

• LEAD: For lead acquisition sources (LEAD-Facebook, LEAD-Webinar)
• DL: For downloads (DL-PricingGuide, DL-IndustryReport)
• INT: For interests demonstrated (INT-Pricing, INT-CaseStudies)
• FUNNEL: For funnel position (FUNNEL-Aware, FUNNEL-Considering)
• BEHAVIOR: For specific actions taken (BEHAVIOR-CartAbandon)

After your prefix, use consistent delimiters like hyphens or underscores. Don’t mix and match. Settled on hyphens? Stick with them throughout.

Step 2: Move from general to specific in your naming.

For instance, “DL-Whitepaper-ROI-Calculator” tells you it’s a download, specifically a whitepaper, and specifically about ROI calculations. This hierarchical approach lets you segment at different levels of granularity.

For date-specific content, add the date at the end in a consistent format: YYYY-MM for monthly content or YYYY-QX for quarterly. This way, “WEBINAR-ProductDemo-2023-Q2” instantly tells you when this happened without digging.

Step 3: Document your naming structure!

Whatever system you choose, document it immediately. Create a simple spreadsheet or database with:

• The tag name
• What it means
• When it’s applied
• What automations or segments use it

The best naming systems are the ones you don’t have to think about. They should feel intuitive enough that six months from now, when you’re trying to segment people who downloaded your lead magnet but didn’t purchase, you’ll know exactly which tags to look for without having to check your documentation.

Tagging vs. custom fields

Now that you understand tags, let’s talk about the power of custom fields and how they compare to tags.

Tags are like sticky notes you can attach to a subscriber. They’re binary – a contact either has the tag or doesn’t. Tags excel at tracking actions and behaviors: “Downloaded-Pricing-Guide,” “Attended-Webinar,” “Clicked-Demo-Link.”

Custom fields are like dedicated slots in a subscriber’s profile. They store specific information: First Name, Company Size, Lead Score, Date of Last Purchase. Custom fields hold data with varied values – not just yes/no.

The mistake that most marketers make is that they use tags for EVERYTHING. This creates a tangled mess of hundreds or thousands of tags that slow down their email platform and become impossible to maintain.

The smart approach? Use each for what it’s best at:

Use tags for:

• Tracking events and behaviors (downloaded a lead magnet)
• Segmenting subscribers for targeted campaigns
• Triggering automation workflows
• Identifying funnel stage or lead status

Use custom fields for:

• Storing specific data values (like lead score: 87)
• Information that changes over time (purchase count)
• Data you’ll use in personalization (“Hi {First_Name}”)
• Quantitative information (total spend: $1,247)

For your lead magnet, this means tagging people when they download it (“DL-ROI-Calculator”), but storing their lead score in a custom field that might increase based on their engagement with the content.

The right combination of tags and custom fields creates a flexible, scalable system that grows with your business. You’ll capture not just WHAT your leads are doing but HOW MUCH they care about specific topics – and that’s marketing gold.

Summary

You’ve now learned the foundation of effective lead magnet tracking: a structured tagging framework. We’ve covered how tags function as your digital memory system, enabling you to track who’s downloading what and how they’re engaging with your content. You understand that a consistent naming convention isn’t just about organization—it’s about creating a system that scales as your marketing grows.

We’ve distinguished between when to use tags (for tracking actions and behaviors) versus custom fields (for storing variable data and information that changes over time). This distinction will save you from the dreaded “tag soup” that plagues so many marketing databases.

Remember that tags aren’t just administrative overhead—they’re the connective tissue between your lead magnet and the personalized follow-up that actually converts leads to customers. Without proper tagging, you’re essentially throwing leads into a black hole, unable to segment or target them effectively.

Your tagging framework should grow organically with your business but remain disciplined enough that any team member can understand it at a glance. Document it early, maintain it consistently, and revisit it quarterly to ensure it’s still serving your marketing goals.

The most sophisticated lead generation systems work because they communicate exactly the right message to the right person at exactly the right time—and that’s only possible when you know who’s who in your database. That’s the power of a proper tagging framework.

3 Takeaways

1. Start with structure, not complexity. Your initial tagging framework should use categorical prefixes and a consistent naming convention. Don’t create 100 tags on day one—build a system that can accommodate growth.
2. Separate behavior from data. Use tags to track what people do (downloaded a lead magnet, visited a pricing page) and custom fields to store what you know about them (lead score, company size). This separation keeps your system clean and efficient.
3. Document as you build. Create a simple spreadsheet or database that explains each tag’s purpose, when it’s applied, and what automations use it. This documentation isn’t optional—it’s what prevents your system from becoming incomprehensible in six months.

What to do next

Here are your action items:

1. Create a document outlining your tagging taxonomy, starting with the five core categories we discussed: lead sources, downloads, interests, funnel position, and behaviors.
2. Decide on a consistent naming convention that your whole team can follow, and document it with examples for each category.
3. Map out exactly which tags will be applied when someone downloads your lead magnet, and what subsequent actions will trigger additional tags.
4. Identify what information belongs in custom fields rather than tags, particularly information that will change over time or be used in personalization.
5. Implement your framework in your email marketing platform, setting up the core tags and custom fields before you launch your lead magnet.

In the next lesson, we’ll dive into how to use tags to measure long term impact.