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ISSUE 1: SEPTEMBER 2005 In This Issue:
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USING WHITE PAPER SYNDICATION TO REDUCE COST PER LEAD By Dee Dardis, Marketing Manager, NetLine Corporation Reducing cost per lead is one of those holy grails of marketing. One of the greatest ideas to come about has been the “cost per click” (CPC) option; you run an ad on a search engine like Google, which pops up when targeted search terms are entered. This is enormously appealing because the individuals that see your ad have used a relevant search term (so the lead is qualified to some degree), and you pay only if that person clicks through. Sounds great! And great it is, but CPC isn’t exactly results-based, unless the result desired is a click. Most marketers today are looking for a specific action: visiting their web site, downloading a white paper, or requesting more information. CPC is a great tool, but it’s not an end in itself. Think of Google and other leading CPC networks as "traffic redirectors." They can get you in front of your audience, and hopefully that traffic will click on your ad and arrive on your website. But it's up to you to assure that the clicks are going to deliver the value for which you’ve paid –– making it more so important to think in terms of “cost per action” instead of “cost per click.” Contextual Networks The CPC approach does provide contextual targeting. Someone types in a search phrase related to your business, and hopefully your ad will show up in the sponsored results. But with targeted contextual networks, that "context" has wider and deeper reach. "Contextual" means your message is getting in front of the exact people you want to reach at the time when they're in need of information about the product or service you provide. "Contextual networks" translates to a collection of vertical sites, an ultimate targeted solution. Using the contextual networks for your vertical niche means that you're getting your message out to the right people in the right places, on an ongoing basis. "Syndication" refers to pushing your message out over the web to all the places that your very specific audience likes to visit. What places might those be? The best venues are vertically oriented websites and web-based services, attracting targeted and repeat visitors. For example, someone who publishes a site about broadband technology might earn extra money by being a part of a network and allowing ads to be broadcast on his or her site. Those ads reflect the "context," the keywords on the page, so if there's content on a given page about "Wi-Fi Hotspots" you might see an ad for "Guide to Local Wi-Fi Hotspots." White Papers The next step is to consider exactly how best to use those contextual networks. Sometimes you can buy ads on these networks. This makes a certain amount of sense because the audience is self-selected and highly targeted. But there’s another tool that is much more powerful in terms of building awareness and credibility, while at the same time driving people to your site and permitting capture of qualified leads: the white paper. White papers are similar to articles that you might read in a vertical trade publication. The difference is that they usually focus on a specific topic, and drill down to details that are helpful to the reader. It might be how to best achieve wireless LAN security. Or how small businesses can protect their assets with remote data backup and archiving. It may be a drill down on why outsourcing technical documentation makes economic sense, identifying the pros and cons in detail, from experts in the area. Because white papers are usually written by vendors as experts in their field, they demonstrate how the issuing organization’s products or services support the stated point of view. White papers aren’t 100% impartial and readers don’t expect them to be. But –– and this is important –– white papers must contain genuinely useful information, commonly referred to as valuable “knowledge content”, or the reader will not view them as credible. And credibility is a large part of the reason why white papers are effective in drawing qualified readers, (who might become leads). What’s the best way to identify the best placement areas? If you want to attract the attention of managers responsible for electronic-based designs in the automotive industry, you seek out sites catering to those individuals and find ways to promote your white paper there. Some site operators are happy to post well-written content on their sites for free, because quality content enhances their sites. If they won’t accept the white paper itself (which should contain a link to your own site), you can usually arrange a link to your white paper from the site, paid or not. However one of the best solutions is utilizing a service that offers visibility and placement through key partner networks: one vendor that provides availability of multiple placements and exposure through various sites. Creating Quality White Papers As quality is a key concept here, let’s take a look at some guidelines for writing a successful lead generation white paper: 1. Your name's on it...but it's not about you Remind yourself: The people you're targeting aren't looking for a sales pitch. Many aren't even close to being ready to buy. All you're trying to do is get them to take that first, tentative step. The only way you'll do that is if you give them information that will help them do their jobs more effectively, or help the people they manage do their jobs more effectively. That still gives you a lot of room to play. At one end of the spectrum, your white paper could contain specific actionable tips ("Best Practices for Preventing Denial of Service Attacks"). At the other, it could explain a trend that over the next few years will change the context of your audience’s industry ("The End of EAI?"). Somewhere in between, your white paper could explore how to improve a particular business activity or process ("Bridging Gaps and Closing Sales: Marketing Automation and Your Marketing ROI"). 2. Like your sales cycle, your writing cycle will be longer than you think The last time we wrote a white paper, it took two months. The time before that, it took almost as much time. They were both less than 10 pages. And...this was after we decided what to write about. So, the next time we write a white paper, we plan to budget even more time. Let's break it down. For starters, don't rush the first draft. Budget three weeks for that. We once tried it in two, but our result was half-baked. It may take five more weeks before the first draft is done. Then you may realize the approach you originally conceptualized doesn't work quite as well once its expanded on paper. You'll want to get detailed feedback from colleagues, so budget a week for that. (People get busy with other projects aside from yours, right?) Then, depending on how much you need to rewrite, budget a week or two more for the second draft. That's 5-6 weeks. From that point on, you'll want to get additional feedback from the people who reviewed it the first time, plus others outside your company. A 5-10 page white paper may not sound like much, but it is. You'll have multiple sections –– and within them, multiple subsections –– that you'll reshape and tweak until they're "just right." The combination of feedback-gathering and additional revisions could take at least two more weeks. The last white paper we wrote took a total of six drafts. No matter how well you write it, your white paper won't hit its mark unless it looks professional and attractive. So while you're working on final revisions, work concurrently on creating the graphical PDF template for the text. Don't let this be an afterthought! 3. Save something for later...because there WILL be a later If you're going to devote the time and resources to create a high-quality white paper, of course you're going to milk all you can out of it. But, like most of us, you're perpetually hunting for new qualified leads. So chances are it won't be long before you need something fresh to attract a new interest. So, when you're writing and rewriting your white paper, don't worry about trying to cover "everything." Pick a narrow topic and focus on it. Anything that falls outside it can be fodder for your next one. White paper marketing may seem like a lot of time and trouble. Try this exercise: compare the cost of advertising your business in a traditional media like trade publications or newspapers to the cost of writing a white paper and promoting it on-line. Now compare white paper marketing to the cost of direct mail. Suddenly, the white paper will take on a new aura of glamour and interest, particularly when you get to the point where you’re determining your cost per lead. That’s where I rest my case. ______________________________________________ Contact Dee Dardis at dee@netline.com. NetLine is an affiliate of Oak Hill Corporation. Oak Hill draws on NetLine for innovative, Internet-age marketing that goes beyond traditional online advertising and e-mail. NetLine’s Lead Source, Email Marketing, and Enterprise Marketing Management services and solutions achieve brand awareness, customer acquisition and retention for marketers, advertisers, and publishers. NetLine’s unique lead generation, e-marketing, and powerful technology platform solutions are delivered with unparalleled customer service. |