Lead cultivation is one of the most valuable forms of content marketing. It bridges the gaps between awareness, consideration and trial. You have to earn the opportunity to cultivate site visitors into leads, and leads into customers. This means offering high-value content in exchange for their contact information and permission to follow up.
One of the most common forms of premium content is the webinar. Translating your expertise into a webinar can demonstrate thought-leadership while collecting valuable business leads.
However, a webinar is only one way to attract leads. A webinar has a fairly high barrier to entry. It requires a technical solution to handle livecasting the presentation as well as real-time Q&A, and a presenter who is engaging, knowledgeable and a good multitasker. It also requires a focused promotional effort to attract an audience. If you’ve never done premium content to attract and capture leads, a webinar isn’t the best starting point.
There are other easier forms of gated premium content you can use to build content assets as a solid business resource. Here are a few ideas to consider.
Process Worksheets
Developing a clear blueprint for your business’ most complex work process is not just a way to seize an advantage over less-efficient competitors. If you can distill that process into a worksheet or checklist, you can create value for your prospects.
White Papers
A white paper can be an expanded set of case studies summarizing what you’ve learned from a number of projects. Turning your learning experiences into business advice can be another great way to attract leads.
Email Courses
Is client education an important part of your business model? If the lessons have intrinsic value for your customer, you can translate that education into a multi-part email course. Developing educational content in text format is a good basis for more sophisticated webinars or seminars later. Delivering the lesson privately via email helps encourage recipients to reply with their questions.
PDF Cheat Sheets
Do people in your customer’s industry have to look up certain specifications or formulas over and over again? If you compile a handy reference sheet, and design it as an eye-catching PDF, it can be fantastic lead-bait (and link bait).
E-books
Almost everyone has a Kindle or e-reader. If you have a popular blog series, or a group of related articles, you might consider compiling and formatting them into a non-fiction e-book that’s available for download.
These are just a few ways to upgrade your content strategy with premium offerings. The more valuable the content, the more willing your audience will be to part with their precious contact information and permission to continue marketing to them. The most important thing is to make sure you’re delivering quality and value.