Current Edition of the Newsletter: Marketing with Electronic Reports, White Papers and E-Booklets

Jim Jenkins is a business coach and training consultant. His firm, Creative Vision Consulting, recently launched a new web site to attract visitors and targeted prospects into its corporate consulting programs.

Jenkins noticed a trend in his site’s visitor statistics. An overwhelming percentage of visitors were searching for “free team- building exercises,” a phrase that appeared in several places on his site. He decided to channel this definite interest in team- building into an effective lead generation strategy.

He wrote an e-booklet, Five Low- Cost/High- Impact Team- Building Exercises: A Manager’s Guide to Building High- Performing Teams.

Those who signed up for his email newsletter could download the booklet from his web site. Jenkins also experimented with Google Adwords by purchasing team-building-oriented search phrases based on what his target market was searching for.

The strategy paid off. Within three months, Jenkins’ web traffic spiked. Over 2,000 people joined his email list and downloaded the booklet. Best of all, these were qualified prospects--key decision makers at large, Fortune 1000 companies.

“The decision to publish a special report as a free PDF document has really opened doors for my business,” says Jenkins. “Not only did it encourage great prospects to opt into my mailing list, but I’ve also been able to segment the list by company decision makers.

I then followed up by telling each person about my consulting programs. This is an affordable lead generation!”

High-Value Information Attracts Your Best Prospects

People look for educational resources on the Internet to learn about companies whose products and services they are considering buying.

Typically, white papers, special reports and e-booklets may have:

• Analyses/descriptions of current trends or problems in an industry
• Solutions to these problems by using technology or services
• Case studies or success stories
• Business forecasts
• How-to guides

This is what your marketneeds from you; therefore, your document must describe how you can provide the solution they are looking for.

Publishing a white paper, special report, or e-booklet focusing on your business, and providing it free or for a fee, is one of the best ways to get your name out to your target market. You are also providing credible information to prospects who are considering whether to do business with you.

The Benefits of Electronic Documents

Using electronic documents as a marketing medium not only cuts down on printing and distribution -- it also reinforces your current online presence. Getting slightly famous in your industry is not just about face time-- this is your opportunity to capture your market's attention with substance rather than style.

Some advantages for your business of using electronic documents:

Added credibility. Case studies and analyses educate and inform your market, at the same time proving how competent you are in providing solutions.

Viral marketing benefits. People who have read your report may pass it on to others they know are interested in what you have to offer – prospects who are more likely to convert to actual sales. Useful print booklets get handed around within companies and peer groups; conversely, e-booklets can appear on the computer screens of potential clients who are doing Internet research.

Better search engine results. This is crucial, because your customers are most likely researching online. Publishing electronic documents gets your name mentioned on more sites, and ensures that your target market will be able to find you on the web. You have to be present in a way that is useful to your customers.

The key to an effective electronic report or booklet is to provide fresh insight. Whether it is a graph depicting ROI, or a simple instructional guide, remember you’re not showing off what you know –you’re thinking about the customer.

Strive for something that will appeal to them visually, and that they will find informative and interesting.

Be THE Resource for Your Niche

Presenting yourself as the online expert in your field will get you noticed.

Using electronic reports and e-booklets accomplishes this at very low distribution costs – and if you provide quality information that is genuinely useful and not a thinly veiled sales pitch, your prospects will perceive you as a trusted advisor and be more likely to give you a shot at garnering their business.

As an online marketing strategy, electronic booklets can position your business and web site as a source of information your target market can’t get anywhere else. The result is that you can attract more qualified visitors and develop a reputation for your business as a resource for your market niche.

The law firm Spencer, Fane, Britt & Browne created Midwest Construction Law, a web site that targets construction companies. The site offers a free e-booklet “How to Use Your Law Firm to Get The Most from Your Construction Business,” that positions their company as a solid source of information.

Strategies to Promote Your Business

The Internet is a medium that allows you to interact more with your market. With online social networking, you now have access to vast virtual communities of prospective clients and customers -- and their friends. Here are some ways to position yourself online:

• Promote your report/e-booklet, instead of directly promoting your business. This approach means that your message reaches your potential customers before your business name does. You could benefit not just from these customers but also from their circle of influence, if they pass your information along.
• Extract “tips” from your report that you can use in different marketing media. Excerpts that you can include in your brochures, e-mails, and other collateral can direct public interest to your online report.
• Create “derivatives” of your electronic document so that the core message can be distributed in other ways. For example, as posters for your office reception area, PowerPoint presentations for your next speaking engagement, or a booklet for trade show distribution.
• Parcel out your content in chapters. You can explore maintaining a subscriber base to send regular updates to. Staggering the delivery of your entire report builds a relationship that can be rewarding over time. Just make sure that each chapter you send is worth waiting for.

Producing Your White Paper or E-booklet

A white paper or e-booklet, easily sent through e-mail or downloaded on a web site, must represent your business very well. This will establish you as an online center of influence, as an advisor in this subject. Make sure that what you publish online is the best possible reflection of your message and your expertise.

At the same time, remember that you are also responsible to your target readership. In producing your electronic document:

• Pick a topic that matters to your customers today – and will matter in the future. If possible, conduct surveys or market studies before selecting a topic for your electronic report/e-booklet. Involve your market as much as you can in data- gathering. When this document goes online, you will be associated with it for as long as it comes up in search engines. You want to be associated with a topic that your customers will find important, and you want your report to stay current.
• Decide on the appropriate framework to use. Some topics work best as white papers, others as e-booklets. Some markets respond well to an informal, narrative writing style; others find a technical approach more credible. Decide according to your purpose, and audience.
• Give it away. By being generous with your report, you will reach more people. Consider an online promotion plan that may include:
  • E-mail alerts
  • Web site links
  • Submission to e-zines or white paper libraries
  • Web advertising

Whatever format of electronic document you choose to publish, the key to success is to have the customer's best interests in mind. A report or e-booklet that a customer finds helpful, interesting, and easy- to- read is likely to be remembered -- and the business behind it is sure to be rewarded with referrals, relationships, and sales.

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