Guest post: How to create 14 touchpoints from a single white paper
2-minute read.
Does your company think doing a white paper means dressing up a sales pitch with a pretty design and throwing it on your website?
You’ll never generate an acceptable ROI that way.
And you’ll be tempted to say, “We tried white papers, but they don’t work for us.”
The problem is, you’re doing it wrong.
The key is to use one piece of content to generate more touchpoints with the same prospects. Without being a pushy, pandering idiot.
Quick refresher: What are touchpoints?
Source: HockeyStack
A touchpoint is any interaction between a prospect and a company, its employees, its products or services.
Touchpoints include visiting a website, clicking an ad, or opening an email.
Martech firm HockeyStack analyzed 1.5 million customer journeys and found that it takes an average of 54 touchpoints to generate a marketing-qualified lead (MQL).
And the bigger the deal size, the more touchpoints you need to bring it home.
—Gordon
So here’s how to make those 14 touchpoints
1. Create a white paper devoid of any product mention except for “About the Company” section and the call-to-action at the very end. (1 touchpoint)
2. Generate 3 blog posts from your white paper. (3 touchpoints)
Here’s how, depending on the flavour…
For a problem/solution white paper, do one blog on the problem, another on why traditional solutions don’t work, and a third to introduce the generic category that solves the problem with no downsides or unintended consequences.
For a numbered list, pick the three most intriguing points from the list to run as posts. Or run the whole list bald with no details, then pick two points for the other two blogs.
Don’t even think of doing a product backgrounder.
You’re trying to generate leads at the top of the funnel, remember? It’s too early to start blabbing about your product.
3. At the end of each blog, point to the landing page for your white paper.
Remember your prospect has an unachieved outcome, an unfulfilled promise, a need. The landing page can give your prospects a chance to face those.
But that page has to compete with thousands of other free documents. Your copy on that page has to show your prospect how they will benefit from your content; by saving time, by gaining hard-to-find research, or by solving their problem.
Remember to shorten your opt-in form and just ask for their name, work email, and zipcode. (1 touchpoint)
4. After a prospect downloads your white paper, show them a thank you page where you don’t waste the real estate.
B2B buyers are often looking for human interaction—but not with a sales team.
So use a color photo of the CEO or founder here to give a personal intro and motivate prospects to continue. (1 touchpoint)
5. Send a series of five emails over the next five business days to nurture that prospect. Always wait 24 hours to send the first one.
Don’t overload them with further resources; let them focus on the one they downloaded and point out its value around the same pain points.
And resist the temptation to offer a call or a demo. It’s still too early.
At most, prime the prospect to move further with a newsletter or another sequence that doesn’t include talking to your sales people. (5 touchpoints)
6. Set up 3 promoted LinkedIn posts that direct your audience to the blogs you wrote earlier. Use a visual in each post. (3 touchpoints)
That’s 14 touchpoints from a single white paper
You just provided a minimal viable funnel that did everything right:
- Your content helps prospects understand an issue or solve a problem.
- You are being persistent but respecting your prospects’ time.
- You aren’t demanding that they listen to any sales pitch.
Don’t worry. If they’re a good fit for your company, they will remember you even before you follow up with more helpful emails that point to useful, not obnoxious, content.
Note: This article is based on an email sent by Zachary, which I liked so much I asked him to expand it for this newsletter.
I appreciate how he sees a white paper as just one element in a campaign of many touchpoints. The more you think like that, the more effective your white papers will be.—Gordon
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