Coming up with an offer that is truly irresistible is the most important tool for building up your e-mail list.
So, what can you offer somebody in order to get them to entrust you with their e-mail address? E-books, free courses, exclusive groups, a video or audio recording; I could go on all day, but there is one offer that stands above the rest.
So, what is this offer that is truly irresistible you might ask? A white paper!
Ok, I actually felt many of you roll your eyes, and I know that even the phrase “white paper marketing” can have the same effect as chasing your Ambien with a large glass of wine, but bear with me.
Despite what many people say, white paper marketing is not dead, I’ve seen evidence to the contrary day after day when I check my client’s analytics. More often than not, the white paper is the king of the opt-ins, which surprises me too because they are everywhere and you’d think that offering something, ANYTHING, that is different would set you apart and increase the number of people signing up.
But again, in most cases, good ole’ fashioned white paper marketing will do the trick and get you the most email addresses from that hard earned traffic you’ve been going after.
Now, before you go to Fiverr and snatch up the first contractor that advertises “AWESOME essays and research papers just as you like it for $5,” please remember that not all white papers are created equal.
A good white paper format will be full of high-quality and amazing information that will persuade your readers to trust you.
So, if you line out your white paper according to my proven formula that I’ll be detailing over the next few blog posts, you will be able to lead your reader from section to section.
Putting some thought and planning into your killer white paper now will deliver rewards for years to come.
White Paper Marketing – The Secret Formula
White Paper Marketing – Title Fight
No one will open your white paper unless the title is doing its job, which is to connect with the audience and convince them to open it! So white paper title should be perfect.
White Paper Marketing – Feel Their Pain
This key element is often left out of irresistible offers, but opening your paper by showing the reader that you are aware and understand the problems the reader is having or concerned about will get them to read the entire paper!
White Paper Marketing – Your Solution
After you’ve shown the reader you understand their needs by calling out the problem, you get to tell them what the answer to that problem is, and how this answer is going to help them and how having this solution will make them FEEL.
White Paper Marketing – The Meat
I shouldn’t have to tell you how important the content of your white paper is. During this portion of the paper, you are going to give these folks the solution to their problem in an easy to understand manner.
White Paper Marketing – End Strong
A strong close is the most important thing of all! If they have read your entire paper… the way you end your white paper can make the difference between them quickly deleting your white paper versus becoming a life-long customer.
White Paper Marketing – The Follow Up
Sure, some folks will read your entire white paper, but a lot of people are going to get distracted and never come back to it. Whether it’s to make sure people who stopped reading got an important concept you wanted to drive home, or to enforce that concept in a person who read the whole thing, you’ll want to follow up with the best bits via email.
So, be sure to check back next week where I start outlining each section and go over why it’s important and how to do it. My white paper marketing blog series will give you a template that will allow you to outline your white paper and provide it to that copywriter on Fiverr (if you don’t want to write it yourself.) By the end of this series, you will have in your possession a killer white paper that will be paying dividends for years to come.
