Turning Up the Dial on Your B2B Marketing
Some marketers dismiss the humble B2B whitepaper as an outmoded marketing tactic that bores business customers accustomed to high-tech marketing techniques. And let’s face it: many B2B whitepapers are rather dull. But as old-school as they may be, savvy marketers know that whitepapers can be an integral part of the B2B sales mix.
How can you separate your business’s whitepaper from the pack and make it stand out? Keep reading to find out...
Give Your B2B Whitepaper a Great Title
What’s the first thing most recipients will read when receiving your whitepaper? That’s right: it’s the title.
How many times have you read a book just because of an intriguing title? Conversely, how many times have you passed on watching a film because of a lackluster title? If you’re like most people, then the answer is probably more than once.
Your title is your whitepaper’s first impression, so make sure it grabs the audience. There are a couple of ways to do this. You can give it a title that makes it feel more like a dramatic presentation, or opt for a headline that promises results. Either way, keep it brief, and leave the reader wanting more.
Deliver on the Promise
Now that you’ve got the attention of your readership, it’s your responsibility to deliver on the title’s promise. They won’t keep reading for long if the copy doesn’t grab them. Present your information in a compelling and engaging way. The rules for a good whitepaper are similar to best practices for online content: keep it entertaining, interesting, and relevant. Provide information that your readers will want to share with their peers.
Tone Down the Jargon
If your whitepaper needs to convey highly technical information, make sure it does so in as engaging a fashion as possible. Whatever you do, don’t bore your readers with excessive jargon. They already know you’re smart. Break the information down so it’s easy to comprehend.
Mind the Whitepaper's Visual Appeal
The human mind loves colors and pictures. By incorporating appealing visuals, you’ll be better able to win over the short attention spans that seem to result from modern life.
In addition, you should pay special attention to the spacing of your copy. Most of your audience is accustomed to reading articles on the web, where paragraphs are seldom longer than four lines. Break dense paragraphs into smaller ones to make them easier to parse, and use descriptive headings to make pertinent information easy to find.
Keep Your B2B Whitepapers Brief
Unless your goal is to write the be-all, end-all guide on a given topic, you’re probably better off focusing on a specific and well-defined topic. And before you embark on drafting the comprehensive guide to… well, anything, consider the notion that your marketing goals may be better served by breaking that guide up into succinct installments.
Think about it this way: few of us would commit to watching a 16-hour movie, yet we’ll gladly follow a story arc through a season of hour-long episodes.
Hire a Writer
If you’re not confident in your ability to create compelling copy for your whitepapers, then you may want to enlist the services of a professional writer. You’ll get bonus points for choosing an author with experience and credibility in your field. At the very least, consider asking a thought leader in your industry for a foreword, as an endorsement from a trusted authority can really boost your credibility. Send out enough well crafted whitepapers, and you’ll be the thought leader!
Make Your Whitepapers Shareable
Most of you probably aren’t putting your whitepapers on actual paper. You’re probably sending them out via email. We’ve already talked about making your whitepapers share-worthy, but unless you make them easily shareable, you’ll find that your message will have a tough time growing legs of its own.
Embed social media links right into the whitepaper itself, and your clients will do some of your marketing work for you.
And if you're ready to take on the business of creating a share-worthy whitepaper but think your mortgage or solar business could still use a little boost, then consider this: buy exclusive mortgage leads or buy high quality solar leads from RGR Marketing today, and let us help your sales force reach more customers and improve revenue now!
[Photo Via: Northeast]
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