

3 calls to action you should have at the end of your lead generation white paper - jslogan
http://b2brainmaker.com/b2b-lead-generation/3-calls-to-action-you-should-have-at-the-end-of-your-lead-generation-white-paper/

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tptacek
It's too bad nobody's going to look at this because of the title (and because
everyone here is trying to sell social music playlist apps at $10/mo to
strangers on the Internet). This is a really tight, useful little post. Thanks
for getting it up here.

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mattmaroon
Though I've never read a white paper, the general principle is sound. Give
your product 0 barriers to entry, then ask for people to register, rather than
asking upfront.

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tptacek
It was the specific calls-to-action that grabbed me; "circulate this to your
peers" --- I've written probably close to 100 white papers now for various
companies, and never thought to include that!

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jslogan
I wrote a lot of white papers before I thought of it. It's so obvious, but I
missed it for a long time. I "discovered" it accidentally while profiling
white paper readers. I wrote all the things I'd like them to do after reading.
Having them give the white papers to others was in the top two - calling the
author was #1. It seemed like an easy request...the rest, as they say, is
history :-)

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mchang16
I have to disagree with the suggestion to NOT ask for registration> I think
that you'll get much more response if you feature a white paper that people
want to read so badly that they'll register up front. Then anything that they
do with the call-to-action at the end (which you should be all means include)
is gravy.

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jslogan
It's a good debate. And even better test. It's something marketers should test
and run with what gets the best result - most likely measured by lead quality,
volume, and sales.

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teej
I wish I had the link for you now, but I read an article at one point by a guy
who made those websites that get you to opt-in to a horoscope subscrption to
your phone.

His finidings through testing were that when he requested a zip code up front,
his initial click-through rates were lower, but his response rates on the back
end were much higher. It turned out that people who gave a little information
up front were much more likely to give a lot more later on. It really boils
down to trust.

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patio11
With regards to the "forward this to a colleague" call to action: this works
great for (some!) B2C promotions, too. I often include it at the end of my
customer-oriented linkbait: if you have a friend, colleague, or family member
who you think would like this, please, feel free to tell them about it! (Works
especially well when I'm handing out free things. People rarely feel the need
to send sales letters to Aunt Emma.)

And, since my customers are not exactly technophiles, I tell them how to make
a link on their blog or website. (If you decide to tell Aunt Emma about my
free [christmas bingo cards] via the family blog, or to send it home to all
the parents via the classroom website, I win at SEO. All very, very
aboveboard, too.)

Given the value of one additional link (high) and the cost of one additional
visitor (less than nil), you can do VERY profitable marketing this way even
with a 1k or 10k : 1 ratio of visitors to linkers. (Which are, sadly, common
in my demographic.)

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jslogan
Thanks to all for the kind words and thoughts. The calls to action are
effective, more so if you really pour yourself into everything that proceeds -
not writing a fluff piece, but offering something of real value. Treating the
reader like they're already a customer.

I'm sure all of you already know this, but when I use the term white paper in
the context of this post, it equally applies to case studies, guides, reports,
etc. I use this tactic in all such doscuments I write and consistently find it
effective.

Thanks Again! Jim

