7 Reasons eBooks Should Be a Critical Part of Your Marketing Plan
Wouldn’t it be great if all your marketing needed was to create a bunch of ads, target them at your perfect customers and get ready to bank a whole lot of cash?
As a digital marketing strategy agency, we certainly have clients where this happens. Often though, it’s not the norm. We all market in a complex and competitive world. In most cases, buyer journeys have moved the knowledge and therefore the power from sales teams to customers as they do their own research online before they even think about speaking to a company let alone making a purchase.
So what does this mean to you as a marketer if you can’t rely on bottom-of-the-funnel ads to get the job done?
Engage throughout the buyer journey
The answer for many marketers is to set about creating value and solving prospects’ problems wherever they are on their buyer journey.
The proven way to do this is through content marketing.
That is, create valuable content designed for your perfect customers and promote it to the right people, in the right place, at the right time. Typically this approach involves creating one or more of eBooks, webinars, blog articles, podcasts, published articles and more.
eBooks are a great place to invest your time and money
We’ve recently created a step-by-step guide to creating and promoting the perfect eBook. If you’re already convinced this is a valuable direction to take in your marketing, then download it now. Otherwise, keep reading!
7 reasons eBooks should be a critical part of your marketing plan
1. You can exchange an eBook for an email address and grow your database
One of the most valuable assets for any marketing team is an active database of prospects and customers. When COVID-19 first hit, businesses with the best databases were often the ones with the most powerful options to continue helping their prospects and promoting their offering. Delivering value to a growing database represents future sales and revenue.
2. When someone downloads an eBook you can ‘cookie’ their browser
If a prospect arrives on your website to download content, you will be able to cookie their browser and then remarket to them using display and social ads as they browse the web. Cookies can also be used for powerful personalisation.
3. An eBook can be the reason to run an ad campaign to prospects not yet in-market
Many advertising campaigns are focussed on generating immediate sales and may only appeal to the small percentage of your market wanting to spend money today. An effective eBook, designed to deliver value higher up the buyer journey, can be a great way of prospecting for future customers by showing them ads which introduce them to your brand via relevant and valuable content.
4. An eBook gives you a chance to prove your expertise
If you're planning on creating an eBook, only invest the time if you’re going to do it well. This means creating content which is valuable for specific personas at a specific point in their buyer journey. An eBook must be more than a great cover. Done well, it will frame you as an expert and lift you above your competitors in the prospect’s eyes.
5. An eBook can deliver a special offer to encourage further contact
Make sure that you use an eBook as an opportunity to make a special offer or give prospects a particular reason to get in touch.
6. An eBook can be repurposed to easily create more content
A good eBook can take a lot of work. But the good news is that you can re-purpose the content for blog articles, webinars, ads, off-site articles and more. Don’t let the great content you create exist in only a single place.
7. An eBook gives you a reason to reach out to your database
And last but not least, creating a great eBook gives you an excellent reason to get in touch with your database (including prospects and current customers). If you’re always delivering value people will be happy to hear from you.
What’s next?
The first step is to review your marketing strategy. Are you targeting only those prospects ready to buy today? If so, it’s time to speak to prospects earlier in their buyer journey. Content marketing and eBooks are a great place to start.
If you’re ready to create and promote the perfect eBook then download our free guide How to Create and Market the Perfect eBook and get started today.
If you’re not sure where to start or would prefer someone else did all the heavy lifting, then get in touch! We love chatting marketing and seeing if we can help solve people’s problems. Call us on 1300 059 620.
If you’re interested in speaking to a team who can help scale your marketing investment as needed to reach your business goals then get in touch. We always love to have a chat and can be reached on 1300 059 620 or by contacting us here.
David Lawrence is the MD and Co-Founder of Rocket, an award-winning Australian digital marketing agency. He is also the co-author of the Amazon #1 best-selling marketing book 'Smarter Marketer'. David has presented at several events including Inbound, Search Marketing Summit, Mumbrella360, CEO Institute and a variety of seminars and in-house sessions.
David has built his expertise from a diverse career, starting with an economics degree before jumping into all things web in the late 90s.
Today, David is Rocket's Managing Director and is known for his ability to find clarity in the bigger picture. He is highly respected as a digital marketing authority, sharing his expertise with an extensive network here in Australia and around the world.
