White papers have become established as a cornerstone for most lead generation campaigns, and the content format continues to be one of the most successful response drivers during the recent economic downturn. For example, the 2009 Media Consumption Report from TechTarget showed white papers continued to be the top content source (cited by 66% of respondents) buyers turn to when evaluating new technology.
The content format also continues to have strong viral impact—one with 93% of buyers passing along up to half of the white papers they read/download, according to InformationWeek’s Best Practices Research Series on white papers. However, in order for white paper offers to stand out and succeed in a crowded field of lead gen offers, cutting edge marketers are realizing the need to stand out from the crowd by trying new approaches and integrating outside tools and tactics to optimize their content messaging.
Turn your white papers into lead generating machines, checkout PDFSalesLeads…a new lead generation tool for your PDF content!
If PDF is your preferred medium for issuing requests for quotes (RFQs) and requests for proposals (RFPs), you can now remotely control what the recipients can and cannot do with the file you send. Check out the article, An Arguement for SaaS: A look at on-demand project management and digital rights management services. Kenneth Wong showcases protectedpdf’s new Small Business Edition in Cadalyst Magazine!
Vitrium Systems conducted a split test on their website for 60 days to identify if web forms lead to a significant loss in readership. The results were staggering. They lost 95% of their audience. Less than 5% off all unique visitors actually completed the form and many of the form fills were bogus. Vitrium turned to docmetrics i.e. ate their own dog food, and the results were mind-blowing. 45-50% of their audience was completing the form and the information was accurate!
To read the full article go to www.docmetrics.com
There’s a great article on marketers surviving the downturn on Sherpa’s blog this week titled, “SherpaBlog: Sequoia Capital Advises CEOs to Rely on Marketing to Survive Downturn”
One of the key ways to surviving the downturn and being ahead of others is to always be able to gather more actionable data about your target customer. One of the tips that Anne Holland gives is truly key, “Improve measurements company-wide so you know what to cut and what to invest more in.” I would take that tip one step further and also say that improving ways to measure your outreach efforts through your current content collateral will give you a head start over your competitors.
