Why 3 is the magic number
Why 3 is the magic number with ebooks and whitepapers
We all know the value of creating great content. Ebooks and whitepapers are a great way to educate your prospects and customers with your thoughts and ideas of how you can help them.
The golden rule is the more value you value you offer the more you give away the more leads you will generate. The more you pitch and try and sell, you may generate some leads but maybe not the right kinds.
The biggest mistake I often see is that only piece of content is produced and its bottom of the funnel stuff.
I hate that term bottom of the funnel but it means those prospects that are near to purchasing your product or service.
This type of content is a little more sales focused and looks to close business.
There is no problem with this kind of content per-say however if this is the first engagement with a prospect it may be a little too soon to consume closing content.
Here is why you need 3! There are three potential stages of the buying process depending on your industry, product or service.
In general there are 3 and the are:
1) No idea who you are or exactly what you do.
2) I know who you are but I am not ready to buy today.
3) In the market to buy any time now.
So if you are in the first category and the content you download is aimed at the third category its not likely to have the desired results.
Your best bet is to create a piece of content for each stage of the buying process.
Using content that is really useful and helpful for the first stage is a great way to introduce yourself by adding real value right from the start.
First impressions count and by delivering genuine helpful and useful content will without doubt stand you in good stead for a potential sale further down the line.
The second piece of content should be again helpful and useful but can demonstrate your industry as a possible solution but not overly promotional and self serving.
And of course the third content is the stuff we see all the time some better than others. Closing content should be for those prospects that have displayed buying signals and are looking at making a purchase very soon.
Content like A vs B are very popular at this stage and as long as you are fair and honest about both your own company/product vs your competitor they can work very well.
The ones that are not honest and a true comparison are more likely to put people off.
Buyers at this stage reward honesty and transparency as they want to work with decent people.
Understanding your audience is key and ensuring you can track the ROI of your content is why we produced Virally. We have our own ebooks and whitepapers available to download here.
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