Find the Best Whitepaper Topics

Whitepapers have proven their worth as lead generation tools, but coming up with the best whitepaper topics for your business can be a marketing challenge. A professional whitepaper writer experienced in your industry can not only complete the writing work, but can also brainstorm fresh topic ideas. Start with a clear understanding of the needs of your audience.

Here are some of the methods we use to generate whitepaper topics:

Conduct customer interviews and visit social media forums to hear problems described firsthand.
Review trade magazines and their websites for potential topic areas.
Look at the agendas of conferences in your industry to see what topics are being covered.
Review current industry research related to audience needs and buying practices.

Professional service firms should consider whitepapers that position their firms as industry thought leaders.

Being the first to delve into a new trend or topic can quickly position your firm as an expert. However, be careful not to write an opinion piece. Whitepaper readers expect objectivity. A professional writer understands how to utilize third party data to present a compelling case.

Construction firms might consider from a whitepaper on sustainable building practices or using new technologies.

Food service suppliers might consider a whitepaper on food safety, sustainability or labor-saving best practices.

Case studies can also be effective whitepapers, particularly when they feature high profile clients.

When it comes to finding the best whitepaper topic, the choices are many, but using a professional writer with industry experience to brainstorm fresh ideas is a smart choice– a professional writer already has a good understanding of what your audience is looking for.

Are whitepapers part of your 2012 B2B marketing plan?

Not Enough Leads from Your Contractor Website? Here’s Help.

In his recent enewsletter Michael Stone of Markup and Profit reported the results of a survey among his contractor subscribers. Eighty-four percent of those surveyed said they get no leads or less than 25 percent of their leads from their website. So I thought I would provide some ideas for fixing this common problem.

Too few leads could be a sign of three things – either your site is not getting traffic; your site isn’t what visitors are looking for; or visitors are frustrated and move on.

Step Number 1: Check the traffic

Check your traffic stats using Google Analytics or another analytics program. If your traffic numbers are low that’s the first thing you need to address.

Step Number 2: Add Content

If the problem is low traffic volume, one solution is to add content to your website. Optimize pages for keyword phrases so your business has a better chance of ranking with the search engines. In a Hubspot Survey, websites with 300 pages or more indexed in Google generated significantly more leads. A good way to add pages is through a blog. Companies that blog generate 67 percent more sales leads than companies who don’t.

Step 3: Try Paid Search Ads

It can take time to improve your rankings in Google by adding pages or a blog. In the mean time, you can boost traffic with paid ads focused on various keywords. The results are immediate and you can quickly see if there is also an issue with converting visitors to leads.

Step Number 4: Evaluate Your Calls to Action

If your site generates traffic but you are not converting visitors into sales leads, you need to take a look at your website. Do you have a strong call to action? Do you have a call to action for someone who isn’t ready to buy, as well as for someone who is? People need to know what to do next when they visit your site. If they don’t find it, they will quickly move elsewhere. The buying process can be long. An email newsletter can help you nurture leads. Include a strong reason to sign up.

Step 5: Critique Your Home Page

Examine your home page critically. Eliminate unnecessary words. Skip the friendly “welcome” greeting and get to what visitors want to know. Tell them how you can help. Establish authority with third party recognitions and memberships.

Step 6: Trim Down Your Form

Does your contact form ask too many questions? Eliminate any “nice to know” information and focus on the essentials. Email address and name.

Step 7:Make Phone Numbers Prominent

Phone numbers should be prominently place on all pages of the site.

Step 8: Respond quickly

Lastly, when you do get a lead, you must respond quickly. A Harvard Business Review study of 1.25 million sales leads from 29 B2C and 13 B2B companies showed that firms which responded within an hour were nearly seven times as likely to qualify the lead.

I hope these suggestions help. Would you like us to create more content about online lead generation?

B2B Landing Pages That Deliver

Ask any business owner if his website is delivering for him, and he cares about one thing: leads. “How do I know if someone is contacting me from the website,” asked one business owner recently. Website traffic is worthless if you aren’t able to convert visitors into something of value to your boss.

Traffic is converted to a lead when the B2B marketer captures the visitor’s contact information on a landing page. Unless visitors are convinced you have something they need and want, it’s not likely they will give you their email or contact information. Thus the goal of a landing page is to convert those visitors to leads with a clear and compelling offer. Follow these best practices for the best results.

Keep it Simple

Make one offer, and one offer only. Multiple offers only serve to confuse. Strive for clean navigation that points the visitor to the desired action. Keep enough white space, so that your message can easily be scanned.

Keep it Direct

The headline should offer a clear benefit. This is not the time to be clever. Your goal is to be understood. Answer the obvious questions in clear and concise bullet points. If your prospect is on the fence, what would be the one thing you would say to convince them? Consider a testimonial to instill trust and confidence.

Make the Button Big, but Keep the Message Soft

Users should intuitively know where they need to click to submit their information. Avoid words like “Buy” or “Subscribe” as these words can lower conversion rates. Studies show softer calls to action such as “Get Started” or “Try it Now” work better.

Landing pages are one of the most important features of your site, so give them your attention. Without a good landing page, you can’t deliver on the only measure of success that your boss or business owners understand: leads.