Comments on: 12 Techniques to Increase White Paper Leads

By: garden tillers

garden tillers — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:20:21 +0000

I have never used the white paper method before but i heard it’s good for building up a mailing list. I think i would try it if it weren’t for the high cost associated with keeping a mailing list.

By: SEO Company Delhi

SEO Company Delhi — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 07:24:58 +0000

So Nice of You Bryan..
I followed your some tips… I kept in mind.. that can be better.

By: Marketing Mark

Marketing Mark — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:17:59 +0000

Thanks Bryan. I have tried 6 of your tips and they have made a real difference to results at one of my sites.

By: Property Management Software

Property Management Software — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 16:32:53 +0000

I think #7 (prove others like it) is vital. Testimonials, especially from names or brands that a customer might know is very important indeed.

By: Can your Website Handle the Complexity of your Sale? | FutureNow's GrokDotCom / Marketing Optimization Blog

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:02:41 +0000

[...] may or may not feel like filling out a lead form at this point. But a valuable and well-merchandised free download titled something like, “10 Questions to Ask Any Pool Contractor,” might look far more [...]

By: Bryan Eisenberg

Bryan Eisenberg — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 09:43:19 +0000

Girish,

You can see an example by downloading our whitepaper on increasing qualified leads online at http://www.futurenowinc.com/increasing_qualified_leads/ .

By: Girish

Girish — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 08:39:46 +0000

How do you basically plan to do a Follow-up starting from First mail sent as a confirmation of Download or Thank you mail?

Any sample available?

By: Lia Barrad

Lia Barrad — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 01:22:02 +0000

Bryan, this is one of the best articles I have read in awhile. It took me time to click to all your links to follow your logic. Thank you. Whitepapers are one of my pet peeves so I will hope that my following post will be appreciated.

That said, I agree with Larry K. In my opinion, before a company can qualify the reason for the whitepaper download, you need to determine what is the whitepaper’s purpose. Is it to develop your brand as the experts in the field by your great insight or is it a sales pitch or both. All to often I have seen that the whitepapers do not have a call to action. Sure, they include company name and email, but why not have interactive links that will lead me back to your website and a desire to know more about your company.

As a rule whitepapers have become a passive piece of information. A thing to read now or later. If later, the person might have forgotten why they downloaded the paper.
Simple solution, in your pdf, add an interactive form that someone can click to request contact. That to me makes it a true lead. Even further, let’s say I am the key influencer in the company. Now your company has my email – which will do you little good. However, as a key influencer, I download the whitepaper and have done what you requested in your call to action – I send it to my CEO. Now, the decision maker who has not seen your website, has your whitepaper, sent by a trusted source, a form to send, a link to your website or even simpler, a link to send an email response asking someone to call. This to me is now more than a lead it is a hot prospect. I think this is a better way to use whitepapers to generate business.

By: Ron Patiro

Ron Patiro — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:29:27 +0000

In reference to 11. Havign a lead nurturing program:
From speaking with the inside sales staff at my job it is very valuable if you can capture data on what that lead did while on the site.

It’s not hard to implement for direct response traffic. Use a merge field to give each link a unique identifier that can be tracked in your analytics.

You mentioned this in the linked post from December and it is very valuable!

By: Joy Montgomery

Joy Montgomery — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:45:50 +0000

Thanks, Bryan. I followed a link in a tweet from Michael Stelzner to your article. Very helpful. I’m just getting started with white papers after years of process development and documentation.

By: 12 Techniques to Increase White Paper Leads | FutureNow’s GrokDotCom / Marketing Optimization Blog | Ice Tea tech

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:45:08 +0000

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By: White Paper Week - 4 Good Ones | FutureNow's GrokDotCom / Marketing Optimization Blog

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:48:54 +0000

[...] if you are marketing your own whitepapers don’t forget to read 12 Techniques to Increase White Paper Leads. In White [...]

By: Bryan Eisenberg

Bryan Eisenberg — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 12:09:14 +0000

Larry,

That is why I said it is so important to have a follow up program with a lead nurturing program. With a good program, you would never be contacted unless your activities scored you as a “strong lead.”

By: Larry Kilbourne

Larry Kilbourne — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 14:40:54 +0000

Bryan, Good tips on getting the most benefit out of white papers. I’d just add one caveat – based on my own experience. The fact that someone downloads and reads a white paper does NOT make them a prospect automatically. I often read white papers to gain some knowledge I don’t have about a topic.

What this means for the provider of the white paper is two things: 1) as per your #8, don’t make me provide my life history to get the paper – it may be irrelevant to you. 2) Ask me if I want to be contacted after reading it, or provide contact information so I can identify myself as a prospect. But please don’t mistake me for a buyer just because I read your white paper!