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How to make sure your case studies attract your target prospects

May 23, 2023 by Leave a comment
How to make sure your case studies attract your target prospects

Last year, one of my long-standing clients hired me to write a new case study. From their very brief creative brief, the project seemed to be one of their typical customer success stories. I bid the job accordingly.

As I was conducting my background call with my client’s service reps, ...

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Qualifying Case Study Candidates

March 24, 2022 by Leave a comment
Qualifying Case Study Candidates

A Four-step Process for Ensuring Customer Story Success

Case studies are one of my specialties. I write a lot of them for my clients. Recently, though, I had a couple of case study projects that, through no fault of my own, didn't go so smoothly.

Both were for a client ...

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The Two “Secret Ingredients” of Compelling B2B Content

June 9, 2020 by 1 comment
The Two “Secret Ingredients” of Compelling B2B Content

"What's your biggest challenge when creating compelling content?"

When Brian Clark, founder of Copyblogger, asked that question on social media, the most frequent response he received was, “Keeping it original and interesting.”

As a freelance writer and blogger, I can tell you; that's a serious challenge. And it’s not just ...

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How Post and Pray Syndrome Kills White Paper ROI

May 28, 2019 by Leave a comment
How Post and Pray Syndrome Kills White Paper ROI

A few years ago, I conducted a survey of technology company websites to benchmark the frequency of the deadliest errors tech companies make in creating and promoting white papers. A mistake I encountered frequently is what I call “post and pray” syndrome: Merely posting white papers on the corporate website ...

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How “Delayed Gratification” Improves White Paper ROI

March 5, 2019 by Leave a comment
How “Delayed Gratification” Improves White Paper ROI

One of the most frequent mistakes I see marketers make with white papers is allowing visitors unrestricted (ungated) access to them.

In a survey I conducted of technology companies who offered white papers on their websites, 61% allowed visitors to download any of their white papers without registration. [i] ...

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Over 70% of White Papers Lack This Essential Marketing Tool

February 4, 2019 by Leave a comment
Over 70% of White Papers Lack This Essential Marketing Tool

Let’s say you’re putting together a white paper to generate leads for your latest offering. You’ve laid out the nagging problem your target market. You’ve pointed out the drawbacks of the well-known solutions. You’ve introduced your new solution and shown how it overcomes those drawbacks and really solves your prospect’s ...

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How to Write a Good White Paper Title

September 10, 2018 by Leave a comment

Your white paper’s title is probably the most important factor in your prospect’s download decision.

It’s the first thing prospects read when they encounter your white paper. It heads the description on your download page and any search results that turn it up. It figures prominently in any promotions you ...

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Successful White Paper Planning: A Proven 7-Step Process

November 7, 2016 by Leave a comment

This is the third and final installment in our series on white paper planning. In our first post, we discussed why many white paper projects fail. In the second, we looked at the benefits of putting together and gaining agreement on a White Paper Plan (WPP) before beginning development of ...

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13 Powerful Tips for Promoting a White Paper – Part 3

July 2, 2016 by Leave a comment

In survey after survey, technology buyers have named white papers the form of marketing content that influences them the most when they’re making purchasing decisions.[i] So, it’s not surprising that technology companies produce thousands of white papers each year.

But that abundance creates a problem for technology marketers: How do ...

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How to Hold Your Prospects’ Attention By Shrouding Your Message in Mystery

February 17, 2016 by Leave a comment

In my last essay, we saw how we can use surprise to focus our audience's attention on our message, and thus make our message "stickier," or more memorable.

A surprise lasts only a brief instant, however. What if our message is too complicated to be delivered in a just that ...

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