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BMI: Tuesday Marketing Notes (Number 181—July 7th, 2009)

 

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Increase Downloads and Engage Prospects: How Small Changes Can Make a Big Difference

by Michele Linn, Linn Communications

Does this scenario sound familiar to you? You’ve completed a white paper, buying guide or other content piece. You put a lot of energy into your promotional strategy, but when it comes to the download process, you simply post it on your website with a registration form. Job complete, right?

Not so fast. Take time to think through your registration/download process—from the perspective of your prospects. You want to make the process as easy as possible and address their needs:

• How does your offer benefit them?
• How do they download it?
• Where can they learn more?

By going though the steps below, not only will the download process be more seamless, but you can increase downloads and move your prospects along the path to purchase.

Decide if You Want to Require Registration

The first thing you need to do: Decide if you want to require registration. Frankly, my opinion has changed dramatically on this subject over the last few months. I was pro-registration in most cases, but now I think there are a lot of reasons to release your offers freely (i.e. without registration). Why this change of heart?

First, I read David Meerman Scott’s book, World Wide Rave, and he makes excellent points for why you should not require registration. Here’s just one: “When you eliminate the requirement of supplying personal information in order to receive something, the number of downloads or views goes up by as much as a factor of 50. That’s right—if you require an e-mail address or other personal information, perhaps only 2 percent of your audience will bother to download your stuff.”

The other main reason why I am less enthusiastic about requiring registration is that there are so many B2B marketers who are collecting leads yet not following up or nurturing them in a way that is productive. If you don’t have a mechanism to manage your leads effectively, consider releasing your offer without this requirement.

It all comes down to your objective:

If you want to generate leads and build a list, use registration (you’ll get less visibility, but you’ll know who the people are);

If your goal if thought leadership and brand awareness, consider not requiring registration (you’ll get a lot more downloads, but you can’t nurture these relationships)

Develop the Landing Page

Regardless of your decision to require registration, your next step is to develop a landing page where someone can download your offer. Of course, the landing page is critical if you decide to require registration, but I think it is equally important when you are letting your content go viral as you are still vying for someone’s attention.

Think about your landing page in terms of how your prospects will see it. Consider questions such as:

• What will entice them to read your content? For instance, does it show them a new way to look at an existing problem or provide research to justify a purchase?
• Would it help to provide sample content?
• Is the text easy to scan, and do the key points jump out?
• Is the call to action clear? Have you minimized the distractions on the page so your prospects know exactly how to download the paper?
• If you require registration, what information needed? Only ask for what is essential

For more tips on creating landing pages, see this post I wrote for Savvy B2B Marketing.

Send an E-Mail With a Link to the Offer

If you decide to require registration, consider what will happen once someone registers for your offer. Again, think about your prospects’ experience.

You may be tempted to direct them to a web page where they can immediately download your offer, but I think there are a lot of advantages for your prospects if you send an e-mail with a link to the offer:

• There could be technical issues that prevent them from downloading the offer from your website;
• E-mails can easily be forwarded (and, admittedly, while it's not difficult to forward a URL, e-mail is just easier);
• The link in the e-mail serves as an easy way to find the document if they don’t have time to immediately view the offer

From your perspective, there are also a number of benefits:

• People are more likely to provide a valid e-mail if they know they will receive the offer in e-mail;
• You can use e-mail tracking software to tell if and when someone has downloaded the offer and if the e-mail was forwarded;
• The e-mail provides a second-touch to your company. And, the e-mail will likely sit in the person's inbox for a bit, reminding them of your company every time they see it;
• The e-mail provides your contact information, which is a great reference

In addition to the link to the offer, the e-mail can also include a few additional links that will provide the prospects with more information; ideally, you want to include content that will move them along the buying cycle.

Direct them to a Web Resources Page

Lastly, you need to decide which web page you want to send readers to once they register for the offer. I download a lot of content and am often directed to a page that says “Thanks for downloading [insert name of offer here]” with a link to the thing I just download. Sure, it works, but it could be much more.

A great idea is to create a web resources page that is tailored to your ideal reader and their place in the buying process. Consider including content such as:

• White papers;
• Webcasts;
• Link to blog;
• Link to newsletter subscription and archive;
• Product demos;
• Case studies;
• Contact information, including Twitter ID

While some of these ideas may seem basic, it’s amazing how many companies aren’t doing this. By tailoring you registration/download process to your prospects, you can really stand out.

 


Michele Linn (http://www.linncommunications.com/) is a freelance marketing writer specializing in white papers, research reports, feature articles, case studies, and other B2B communications. Her business is devoted to making the job of B2B marketers easier by producing buyer-focused content and providing insights on how they can market it. She is also a founding member and frequent contributor to the Savvy B2B Marketing blog (http://savvyb2bmarketing.com/blog). Send her an e-mail (michele@linncommunications.com) or follow her on Twitter (http://twitter.com/michelelinn)







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