White paper lead generation

To say

Quote:

Originally Posted by nesh thompson

that kind of white paper campaign in whatever market sector is a turn off, mainly because it is so obviously a lead generation exercise

is a dangerous generalization.

Obvious to whom?

To us?

Perhaps that's because we have become so familiar with the concept of using "white papers", "special reports", "insiders' reports", etc. as tremendous lead generation tools that they appear to be "everywhere".

That's the old reticular activation system kicking in!

Every day I get anywhere from 15-20 subscribed email delivered newsletters, reports, summaries, etc. and I sometimes get overwhelmed with all of the information and conclude it must be the same for everyone.

But it's not.

Many of my customers enjoy getting my email newsletters every once in a while. The content is relevant and useful and they tell me they look forward to receiving them.

But in the end, I'm not the customer. I'm in the information marketing business. My whole world is based on these white papers, reports, etc. Seen through my customers' eyes, I can see the value of these reports - whatever you call them.

When I was selling radio advertising, I had a client who called me to request a change of ad copy. When I asked him what the issue was, he told me HE was tired of the ad, having heard it 10+ times on the local radio station. "EVERYONE has heard it and they're tired of it" was his concern.

I asked him if the ad was working. Were people responding to it?

The answer was "yes" and "yes".

The fact is he was too close to the ad. Because he thought it was overexposed, he thought everyone else thought the same.

Not true.

There are good ads that work, and bad ads that don't. There are good "white papers" that work and some that don't.

Don't give up the concept of the white paper, 10 steps, special report...just make them better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skip Anderson

I think white paper marketing has lost some of it's effectiveness because so many people are utilizing it now.

Having said that, if you put together quality pieces and market them as such, while keeping a keen eye on exactly what kind of information your market is looking for, it can be a very effective tool.

"10 steps to sell your home fast" may not be as effective as "9 Little Known Facts About Selling Properties Quickly That You Should Know." If someone is really looking to turn a property, that title may speak to them, and it doesn't sound as generic and "lead-generationy".

I agree with this post.

Also, there are certainly markets in various industries, and among population segments, that have yet to be selected for this type of campaign. In those cases, Staleness would not be an issue. Effective titles are certainly paramount.

If your whitepaper has true business value, it justifies asking for contact information in return. I always give away 5% of my value for free in a whitepaper. In return, I simply ask for contact information.

Brilliant post, Skip.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skip Anderson

I think white paper marketing has lost some of it's effectiveness because so many people are utilizing it now.

Also, many people call them white papers, but they really are pretty blatant sales pitches. And I think this turns people off.

I would encourage white paper users to check out Michael Stelzner's stuff on white papers. His book provides a great outline and tips what to include and what to exclude.

BD

Good points made by a lot of different folks. I'll try to add something of value to the conversation:

There are tested conversion techniques you can use to improve your results, but a good heading/title for your "special report" or "insider secrets THEY don't want you to know" will increase your conversions. I agree that using the term "white paper" doesn't have the luster it once did--it still works in the technology industry to some degree but not so much in others.

Creative Digital Media (I neither work for them nor get paid a dime for sharing this) created a free report that speaks to improving your conversions without changing your ad copy entitled "10 Fastest Ways to Double Conversion Rates without Changing a Word" that can be found at http://10ConversionSecrets.com

Roger

White paper lead generation

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