Content offers are a major part of inbound marketing, because free stuff is a big draw for potential customers. And that’s essentially what content offers are: a free gift (in exchange for contact information, of course).
But while content offers are innocuous for potential customers, they are absolutely critical for your business, because each download represents a chance to turn a visitor into a lead. However, that can only happen if people are actually downloading your content. If you’re having trouble getting visitors to take your free stuff, here are a few tips that can help you out:
Be useful!
A content offer has to fulfill one requirement above all else: it has to be something people want. If you aren’t offering value with your content offer, why would anyone be interested in downloading it?
You know your industry better than anyone, so you know what people want. Give it to them! What are the most common questions you get in your business? Answer them with your content offer. Or perhaps you see one mistake that most of your customers always commit – write a white paper addressing that issue.
Think outside the box
OK, so in fairness, “thinking outside the box” is a tired cliché. But the point remains true: you need to be creative and original to be effective. Nobody will download a content offer if they feel like its information they’ve heard before.
It’s also a good idea to experiment with different types of content offers. Not everyone has the time or interest to read an eBook. Why not try an infographic? Because of the use of images, infographics make numbers easier to digest. Does your company use webinars? Give one away for free as a content offer. In fact, any multimedia offering is a good choice, because most companies don’t have the time or resources to produce them regularly.
Promote, promote, promote
You can have the world’s greatest content offer, but it won’t matter if no one ever downloads it. You need to promote the heck out of your content offer using every channel available. Emails, landing pages, social media (you are active on social media, right?).
You never want to spam your potential customers, because nothing will turn them off faster, but promoting a content offer is different. With a content offer, you’re bringing value to the customer. You’re essentially offering them something for free; therefore, customers will be much more accepting of a content offer promotion than your standard sales email.
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