Content for the Sales Funnel

B2B marketers are optimizing their sales funnels with compelling content -- that's my take on the 2011 MarketingSherpa B2B Marketing Benchmark Survey. Check out the funnel infographic, and note these trends:

• Websites, SEO and email marketing are the top 3 tactics for generating demand.
• Multichannel messaging is the No. 1 tactic for engaging prospects.
• More than half of the marketers surveyed nurture leads with weekly or monthly "touches."

The common thread is content that reaches customers where they are, and "creates value propositions that differentiate and resonate."

Integrated campaings are most effective, with consistent brand messaging and content creation across channels. As one marketer said, "When tactics have been done individually, the ROI has been significantly lower."

A 3-Step Story Format for Marketing

In the July 20th web clinic, MarketingExperiments Director Flint McGlaughlin expounded on the idea that copywriting is fast and easy when marketers tell a story in three acts.

Noting that most marketers don't have the time to craft compelling copy -- or the money to hire someone who can -- he presented three steps for effective storytelling and, by extension, effective marketing.

"Copywriting on Tight Deadlines: How ordinary marketers are achieving 200% gains with a step-by-step framework" introduced this "framework:"

STEP 1: Exposition captures attention, makes a promise and identifies a problem that motivates prospects to read on.

STEP 2: Rising Action intensifies the problem with five intensifiers that appeal to the need to resolve the problem: proof points, features, benefits, incentives and urgency.

STEP 3: Climax makes the call to action that implies value, immediacy or urgency. Falling Action and Resolution ensure follow through, achieving the marketing goal and ending the story.

MECLABs are a boundless resource for optimization metrics, so I hesitate to complain. But I believe it takes more than a template like this to tell a compelling story and craft effective copy. I'm just sayin'.

7 Tips for Optimizing Marketing Copy

MarketingExperiments Blog has devoted a category to copywriting and how to write marketing copy that works. Thanks!

In a post that sets the stage for their free webinar about Copywriting on Tight Deadlines, the bloggers present 7 mistakes markets commonly make. I've turned it around to offer 7 tips for copy that works:

1. Write headlines that give a reason to read.
2. Offer benefits in the calls to action.
3. Say just enough to peak interest.
4. Present enough details for decision-making.
5. Speak in a relatable voice.
6. Design to draw the eye through the copy.
7. Connect images to the copy.

Of course, testing copy to see what works is always recommended (by MarketingExperiments).

Target Content to Email List Segments

Learn how the email marketing program at King Arthur Flour Company has increased open rates from 30% to up to 50%, and clickthrough rates from 27% to up to 35%. The secret ingredients are content contributed by internal business stakeholders and templates that save design time.

Read the MarketingSherpa article here:
Email Marketing: Segmenting a database and delivering more targeted content without overwhelming your team.

How to build customer relations on and offline

This is synchronicity. Today's MarketingSherpa features a case study about how HP created an online and offline campaign to build relationships with customers in a niche market. The summary recaps the goals:

"Your current offerings might not be enough to attract a new group of prospects. Highly valuable niche communities might prefer a tailored experience and targeted content that you don't have -- but that you can deliver via email.

"See how Hewlett-Packard created an email database, website and content to connect with a niche audience. The effort increased sales to the subscribers by 2,050%. Learn how the marketers built the list, nurtured subscribers, and focused on driving sales."

That hits home. I am targeting new prospects -- namely, small- to midsize B2B companies on the Treasure Coast. My main website isn’t tailored to this audience, so I created a microsite.

My next steps are to prioritize the market by category, create a database with email and postal addresses, and develop more interactive content.

Do your unopened marketing emails get trashed?

The single most pervasive mistake we make in email marketing is forgetting why we're sending the message.

According to the new issue of Marketing Experiments Quarterly Research Journal, the goal is not to sell a product or service, generate a lead, or register someone for an event.

The goal is to get a click. Simple as that.

The click sends your visitor to the landing page, where the real sales job begins. Dr. Flint McGlaughlin describes the email conversion path this way:

1. Envelope fields inspire an open.
2. Email message motivates the click.
3. Landing page convinces to act.
4. Shopping cart maintains the momentum.

The conclusion: "Your email message must engage the recipient with just enough value to inspire them to click for more information."

Introducing Status Update

Nearly three years after moving to South Florida, I am finally networking in the local business community. To help target my pitch, I've created a campaign that promotes my services in brand messaging and content copywriting for integrated marketing campaigns.

My new microsite, Status Update, anchors the campaign. Building the site using the TypePad was easy. I created a page for the front and used categories to navigate the sub-pages (brand messaging, content copywriting, integrated marketing). Then I made multiple blog posts to the copywriting samples category. Using modules in the design template, I added buttons for a bio, contact info and my full website. With a nod to local search marketing, I put my location in the footer.

The campaign postcard uses a tip list as a teaser and a QR code to drive traffic to the microsite. (If that's too hi-tech, there's a tinyurl with my phone number as part of the address.) A matching business card will feature a campaign promo on one side.

Creating these materials has been an excellent exercise in the very services I'm promoting -- articulating my brand promise and writing compelling copy for each piece. Now to execute by getting out there and marketing!

Tamar Weinberg's Best Internet Marketing Posts of 2010

Compiled by Social Media Consultant and Tech Geek Tamar Weinberg, this exhaustive list presents hundreds of articles on social media, blogging, reputation management, content development, web strategy, SEO, analytics, usability and much more. Get it free now, because in 2011 it's only available by subscription, dished out monthly. Tamar is community and marketing manager for Mashable.

Get a click

The No. 1 objective of an email marketing message is to get a click. That is the takeaway from the latest free clinic by MarketingExperiments' Dr. Flint McGlaughlin.

In "Crafting an Engaging Email Message" (available on demand), we get a quick primer on how to improve clickthrough, as demonstrated by a simple yet powerful test case. Two identically designed emails offer a free white paper download:

Version A presents a headline, short introduction, four points of value, and a "download" button.

Version B presents the white paper title, first three paragraphs, and a "read more" button.

If you're like me--and nearly 70% of the webinar participants--you'd vote for Version A, because it sells the benefits of reading the paper.

But you'd be wrong. In the test case, Version B got 85% more downloads than Version A. Why? Because Version B makes it easy to jump from reading three paragraphs to reading more with one click.

Version A made it hard to decide whether downloading the paper is worthwhile.

So here are the rules we learned from this session:

• Give recipients just enough value to inspire them to click for more.
• Let the landing page do the job of converting that click to action.
• Emails should not say exactly what is on the landing page.
• Emails should take less than 30 seconds to read.
• Emails should not look and feel like a web page, advertisement or catalog page.
• Emails should have just one call to action.

long vs. short redux

In the age of 140-character tweets, the question of long vs. short copy may be moot. But I still get asked this question, usually in the practical context of budget.

You see, I charge by the word. (Yes, Marco, including "a" and "the"). 

Reader reward

My clients understandably want to know how short we can make an article and still get our point across. The answer is, It depends (not on your budget, as in: How many words can you afford?) But on who your readers are, where they're going to see your piece, why they will want to read it, what you want them to do when they're done, and what's in it for them.

The media diet of the average business reader includes a wild mix of on- and off-line sources--from syndicated news feeds on their smart phones to print periodicals in their office "in" baskets. Our article has to rise to the top of the "to read" list. When it does, will the reader have 3 minutes or 20 minutes to take in the information and get something out of it?

Long explanations

Experts have found that people who are motivated to solve a complex problem will read long articles in search of credible advice. In fact, they expect to see demonstrated expertise and a proven track record before making buying decisons on big-budget items.

This is when white papers work. A 3,700-word white paper proved to be invaluable to one client, whose complex product was expanding into a market of well-entrenched competitors. Likewise, a nearly 4,000-word white paper positioned another client as a thought leader in a new territory.

Short take-aways

People who are scanning the headlines, skimming sub-heads and bullet lists and skipping dense copy will be better served by short news snips, quick how-to tips and succinct success stories.

I recently asked a client to pick one or two of her favorite articles that I've written for her newsletter. She chose a nearly 1,200-word case study with in-depth details and a 270-word case study with strong metrics. Both stories are powerful selling tools for her company.

Another client has dedicated an entire digital magazine to 700- to 1,200-word user stories that illustrate their product benefits. These stories are routinely picked up by industry trade magazines.

Content sells

Bottom line (of this 400-word post), long and short formats each have their place. IMHO, long copy sells expertise. Short copy sells.