So you’ve got your Google page ranking pretty high and you’re showing a lot of traffic to your website. Congratulations! Now – how do you know who these people are, and how are you going to market directly to them? It’s simple – you get them on your list.
Ask any internet marketer what the most important piece of their business is and they’ll tell you that it’s their list. Without a list you just have people visiting your website – and nothing more.
One of the best ways for list building is to offer a whitepaper. If you’re asking yourself what is a whitepaper? I can tell you it’s not a blank piece of psychic paper that suddenly changes to say whatever The Doctor needs. It won’t let you pass by any Daleks unharmed. A whitepaper can be a free report, a miniature, condensed or “lite” version of an info product, etc. It’s a case of quid pro quo – they give you their name and email address and you give them something of value. They’re getting the better end of the deal, right?
It seems that way to the end user, which is how it’s supposed to be. But what you get is the ability to market to them over and over, again and again, potentially converting them from a site visitor to a repeat customer.
When you write a whitepaper you’re essentially making yourself an expert – if not “the” expert – on a given topic. This helps build credibility and gives you a higher standing in the eyes of your clients.
It’s important that your whitepaper contains enough perceived value. This can help build a rapport between yourself and the client. They’re not going to give their email address to just anyone – with privacy issues these days, you should feel honored when people sign up for your list.
Make sure that you have a clear call to action for the download as well. Add a picture of your whitepaper (cover art can be as simple as some bold text or clip art images). Put your name and email address in here, click here and then click here. Make it as easy as possible for anyone who wants to get your paper and you should see a rise in downloads, and hopefully conversions.
Whitepapers are a valuable content marketing tool.
Whitepapers are an easy and effective way to build a list. As long as you’re giving people something of value, they’ll usually be happy to return the favor.
For more information on list building and other ways to grow your business, have a look at some of the services we offer here at Melbourne SEO Services.