Should your company use an eBook in your marketing efforts? As with any other content marketing approach, great content equals greater reachability – which will eventually help you generate more leads. eBooks offer information that is both factual and educational, and can be a strong tool in the box! What makes it stand out among other content marketing strategies is that it is downloadable content that can be consumed offline by your target audience once downloaded.
The most important elements that make it a successful marketing campaign are the quality of content and content accessibility. Making an eBook downloadable and easily accessible is a fool-proof way to ensure more potential clients are interested to gain knowledge about your brand. At the same time, it should meet certain qualities to stand out and make it a unique identity for your brand. The content published needs to be engaging, informative, factual, and well-designed to attract potential leads and to keep the existing clientele engrossed in your content.
By combining an eBook with other marketing strategies, your brand has the ability to establish that your services are versatile and an expert in all domains, not just unique to one. A certain barter system can be used while using them as a lead generation tool.
In exchange for your users’ contact and preference information, an eBook can be provided for free. This gives your business valuable insight and a chance to contact and further develop relations with a potential lead. Thus, when used in an apt way, eBooks provide not just one but many avenues to generate leads as well as revenue. In this article, we have detailed what makes eBooks a good lead magnet along with knick-knacks to make it a fruitful marketing strategy.
What is an eBook and what makes it so popular?
An eBook, by definition, is a non-editable digital book, which can be viewed online or the user can download it. The content varies from educational to entertainment, and in general should always provide the user with unique insights.
eBook marketing, on the other hand, is using eBooks as a valuable tool to promote and expand your business. They are entirely different from blog posts where the content is much more saturated and lacks depth. They offer informational and educational information presented in an attractive format making it a joy to read.
From an average consumer to a business shark trying to stay on top of market trends, an eBook is the most reliable channel to educate themselves about a brand. More consumers are turning it when it comes to brand awareness when compared to blog posts.
This opens up new dimensions for content marketers, especially those businesses who wish to establish themselves as “thought leaders” in their field of expertise. It’s a great way to showcase your literature capabilities without compromising the factual value of your content. Granted, eBooks require a lot of effort poured into research, manufacturing content, and creating the best design, however, they have the power to be the keystone of your content marketing strategy.
What Makes an eBook a Great Lead Magnet Format?
The eBook approach to content creation can be the heart of the digital marketing campaign if used precisely. eBooks have more to offer than just “thin content” presented by other content marketing strategies. They offer value and insight which is of great value to potential clients. Given below are more such characteristics that make eBooks a good lead generator:
Build Trust & Deliver Value
eBooks are essentially the transfer of knowledge from the company directly to the client. A well-crafted eBook is one that communicates what the brand wishes to put forth. Even complex topics can be conveyed in an easily understandable way.
This transfer of knowledge with a layer of transparency is what makes eBooks a reliable source of information and hence earns trust among potential clients. This credibility not only for the information you provide but for your brand as a whole aids in lead generation massively.
Help in Legitimizing Your Brand
eBooks help in building a connection between the brand and the reader. Since through eBooks you are offering something of value to the client, your brand image is established as being an industry expert and authentic. This helps in ratifying your brand as an industry expert. What better way to generate leads than to establish your brand as an industry expert.
Impact Creation
When you are a brand that aims to create a positive and professional impact, eBooks can help achieve this. The information provided through eBooks is thoughtful and well-researched, unlike blog posts.
A great way to establish your brand as a thought leader with a prestigious mindset is through an eBook. A well-written and thoughtful eBook presented is a direct representation of your brand values thus aiding in propelling your brand image to like-minded executives and customers.
Ease of Accessibility
One of the main attributes contributing to the popularity of eBooks is the fact that it is easy to download. It’s accessible through any e-reader platform on any electronic device, or as a pdf. Both parties benefit from information profitable to both sides. It is a win-win. A potential lead is secured for the brand, the lead is gifted with a valuable wealth of knowledge in return.
Provide an Edge Over Competition
eBooks give your brand a platform to showcase your expertise unique to your brand. A brand’s trustworthiness, credibility, and industry expertise can be portrayed through this lead magnet format.
This gives your brand a significant edge over competitors. With the ability to offer detailed information, more potential clients will be interested in what you have to offer over your competitors.
Used to Track Leads & Generate Organic Traffic
eBooks can be used to track leads by adding a lead capture form to track and monitor leads. If you utilize an online reader, you will be able to track how many opens each user has. When connected to your marketing automation system, you are suddenly able to gain a lot more insight about this individual. This will also help analyzing how well your eBook is fairing. If you don’t have marketing automation setup already, read here why it’s a must!
Also, you can link your company website or social media. This will inadvertently help in generating organic traffic. This traffic will be potential customers interested in your business. As they have read through your eBook they are one step further in the funnel.
Now that we have an understanding of what makes eBooks a good lead magnet, let us now see how to use it to our advantage.
4 Tips You Should Consider to Create a High-Quality eBook
Following are the four tips you should consider if you are planning to use an eBook as a lead magnet:
- Quality of Content – An eBook is considered a valuable and reliable source of information. Unlike regular blog posts, eBooks require well-researched and educational content presented in a lucrative manner. Ensure your content is of top quality and exactly represents your brand values.
- Make Sure its Educational – A rule of thumb is to ensure an eBook is not portrayed as a commercial for your company. It has to have the educational value associated with it or your brand will lose its credibility. An eBook is not like a blog post. It is top-notch informational content that makes it versatile.
- Create Distinct Versions of the Same Content for Different Customer Personas – A piece of advice would be to create distinct versions of the same content for different audiences and purposes. This would ensure the eBook has far more reach and thus would generate more leads.
- Don’t Make it Too Short – The eBook should span at least 10 pages. Anything lesser would lead to disappointment on the customer’s end.
Conclusion
eBooks are a great way for a potential lead to gain valuable information, difficult to obtain anywhere else for absolutely free. Our brains are hard-wired to choose the option that is most trustworthy, and we feel a connection. This connection and trustworthiness can be achieved through eBooks. Benefit from AI powered content creation and reduce the cost and production time.
Creating worthwhile content with eBooks will ensure better brand awareness, drive more traffic as well as create an in-depth connection with an audience that is hungry for information.
