40,000 loyal subscribers from one book is real
Recently met with the head of an IT company for an online promotion project. There is no marketer (kicked out), he does everything himself.
He shared his plans with me: he wants to collect from hh.ru the email addresses of the system administrators of client companies to send them an invitation to free educational events.
On the one hand, it seems to be a cool idea. For the administrator, a new place of work is a reason to reconsider relations with IT suppliers. Indeed, a business breakfast or a webinar will be very useful ... But there is one small “but” that spoils everything. The weak position of the IT company in relation to its potential customer.
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In their case, the strength of the relationship with the client is not affected by the quality of the services provided, but by the “bonus” that the IT person responsible for the purchase receives. Since the quality of all companies implementing ip-telephony, access control, networks and other infrastructure, about the same.
Therefore, in order to outperform the competitors, the contractor must share its profits with the client's IT manager or fall in price.
It is a completely different story when a supplier is a unique professional with in-depth expertise who is impeccably solving business problems. Then you can do without offering bonuses and not be afraid that the client will run away to a competitor at the first opportunity. And this is not an empty marketing chatter.
In 2012, I was the general director of a small company that promoted a new service to the Samara market for that time - an audit of the software used for compliance with the licensing requirements of software manufacturers. I managed to go to a company selling construction materials (medium business), which had its own IT department, plus it still attracted an external outsourcer for certain tasks.
I conducted an audit of the software and, based on its results, delivered the missing licenses, without any difficulties moving all the existing suppliers. Along with the verification report, I presented the client with 8 (!) Software purchase options using methods that the average IT company in Samara does not even have an idea about.
My knowledge of licensing programs allowed the owner to choose between several installment options, license rentals, and not just purchases with 100% prepayment . Accordingly, he was able to solve the problem with licenses, based on financial priorities.
And here we come to the main point - how to show the client your expertise (how to find the area of ​​your expertise - a separate issue that requires a personal conversation).
In my opinion, the ideal option is the White Paper (White Paper) , which reveals in detail one important topic or provides a detailed answer to a question.
In my example, I could write a book about how the company maintains licensed software purity. And put it on the Internet instead of engaging in cold calls.
Can you imagine how many more customers could contact me from 2012 after reading this book? According to statistics from a friend of mine, Mikhail Peregudov, who worked at Webinar.ru, their white book on how to conduct webinars was downloaded 40,000 times in 2.5 years . And this is 40,000 loyal subscribers! The result is millions of rubles of profit on sales of the webinar platform service.
(this is an electronic book, just in case)
That is, choosing a book for lead generation instead of calling
For example, using the same invitations to events. The return on such invitations, of course, would be higher than from an advertising letter from an unknown company.
Many who think about writing a book for business, complain about the lack of time. Therefore, I have developed an algorithm for working with a journalist contractor who can write a book to order. There are many journalists who have written books, but you need only those who have marketing knowledge .
The search for contractors for content projects is a separate large topic; my note “The Checklist for the selection of copywriters for the project” is devoted to it. Next, I will talk a little about how to get the result when the contractor is already found.
You can choose the content theme yourself or ask the journalist to do it.
Content should not only demonstrate your unique expertise , but also be relevant to the target audience . Ideally, the theme of the book should be “sharpened” for a specific industry.
For example, "How to maintain the licensed purity of software in manufacturing companies."
The structure is needed in order to follow the chosen presentation logic. So you will not miss anything and the content will be presented at a suitable level for the audience .
It is better to create a structure for the examination carrier, since only he is 100% aware of what future clients can be hooked on. The journalist can correct the sent structure, for example, by reducing the depth of detail.
The necessary materials for the book are your articles, podcasts, videos, webinar recordings, etc. Of course, some of this on the Internet already exists, and the journalist can search for himself ... But, if the content is poorly optimized, it will be difficult to find it on the Internet. Therefore, the provision of materials is better to take on.
If it turns out that there is no material on the chosen topic, in order to speed up the process of “write a book by voice” - dictate the audioarn and transfer it to the decryption to the journalist.
You should always get the approval of the professionals in your field - in order not to release the content formulated by the wrong language, with not relevant examples, with logical errors.
In order for the content to be as adequate as possible to your audience, the journalist must understand the topic himself. Then he will be able to correctly place accents and give catchy examples. However, such professionals are not cheap. And the desire to “write a book by voice” with minimal expenses for a journalist can lead to the fact that you will get chuckles in the back from competitors instead of recognition in the professional community.
In addition, if the reviewer or partner is the leader of opinions, his review will be very useful when promoting a book.
For example, the guys from webinar.ru asked Igor Mann to give them feedback on the book “100% Webinar” and placed it on a landing page for downloading a book.
Here is the text of the review: “Really useful guide! Suitable for both experienced coaches and beginners who are just mastering the technology. By the way, inside you will find the chapter "Webinars" from my book "Without a budget." Enjoy reading!"
One can only guess whether Mann gave feedback in return for publicizing his book or paid him ... Whatever the case, the benefits of this approach are obvious: a wide audience loyal to the opinion leader will be happy to get acquainted with your book.
We still have a very important point regarding the creation of the book - its design. With the help of competent visual design you:
Of course, you can limit yourself to highlighting headings, accents and structuring thoughts into a table:
But I would suggest using the visual component in your content to the maximum and not saving on the designer.
You can download templates for the design of the book, for example, from the site of the founders of content marketing Hubspot and tweak for themselves. But a professional designer will make sure that the brand colors, fonts, style elements and drawings in the style of the brand do not look “made on the knee”.
After this, it will only be necessary to place the book where it is expected and to stand still
Yep
And may the power of content marketing be with you!
He shared his plans with me: he wants to collect from hh.ru the email addresses of the system administrators of client companies to send them an invitation to free educational events.
Weak position
On the one hand, it seems to be a cool idea. For the administrator, a new place of work is a reason to reconsider relations with IT suppliers. Indeed, a business breakfast or a webinar will be very useful ... But there is one small “but” that spoils everything. The weak position of the IT company in relation to its potential customer.
')
In their case, the strength of the relationship with the client is not affected by the quality of the services provided, but by the “bonus” that the IT person responsible for the purchase receives. Since the quality of all companies implementing ip-telephony, access control, networks and other infrastructure, about the same.
Therefore, in order to outperform the competitors, the contractor must share its profits with the client's IT manager or fall in price.
Strong position
It is a completely different story when a supplier is a unique professional with in-depth expertise who is impeccably solving business problems. Then you can do without offering bonuses and not be afraid that the client will run away to a competitor at the first opportunity. And this is not an empty marketing chatter.
In 2012, I was the general director of a small company that promoted a new service to the Samara market for that time - an audit of the software used for compliance with the licensing requirements of software manufacturers. I managed to go to a company selling construction materials (medium business), which had its own IT department, plus it still attracted an external outsourcer for certain tasks.
I conducted an audit of the software and, based on its results, delivered the missing licenses, without any difficulties moving all the existing suppliers. Along with the verification report, I presented the client with 8 (!) Software purchase options using methods that the average IT company in Samara does not even have an idea about.
My knowledge of licensing programs allowed the owner to choose between several installment options, license rentals, and not just purchases with 100% prepayment . Accordingly, he was able to solve the problem with licenses, based on financial priorities.
A strong position is created by expertise, which is inherent only to this company and no one else in the territory under its control.
How to demonstrate expertise
And here we come to the main point - how to show the client your expertise (how to find the area of ​​your expertise - a separate issue that requires a personal conversation).
In my opinion, the ideal option is the White Paper (White Paper) , which reveals in detail one important topic or provides a detailed answer to a question.
In my example, I could write a book about how the company maintains licensed software purity. And put it on the Internet instead of engaging in cold calls.
Can you imagine how many more customers could contact me from 2012 after reading this book? According to statistics from a friend of mine, Mikhail Peregudov, who worked at Webinar.ru, their white book on how to conduct webinars was downloaded 40,000 times in 2.5 years . And this is 40,000 loyal subscribers! The result is millions of rubles of profit on sales of the webinar platform service.
(this is an electronic book, just in case)
That is, choosing a book for lead generation instead of calling
- I would spend time and effort once on creating / placing a book, and it would generate leads for me for a long time ;
- leads would be more loyal (in their eyes the author of the book is not a representative of one of the hundreds of IT companies, but a carrier of unique and valuable knowledge);
- I could honestly collect emails of contact persons (not piracy, from work sites) and maintain open communication with those who are interested.
For example, using the same invitations to events. The return on such invitations, of course, would be higher than from an advertising letter from an unknown company.
Many who think about writing a book for business, complain about the lack of time. Therefore, I have developed an algorithm for working with a journalist contractor who can write a book to order. There are many journalists who have written books, but you need only those who have marketing knowledge .
The search for contractors for content projects is a separate large topic; my note “The Checklist for the selection of copywriters for the project” is devoted to it. Next, I will talk a little about how to get the result when the contractor is already found.
How to write a book if there is no time: algorithm
1. Choose a topic
You can choose the content theme yourself or ask the journalist to do it.
Content should not only demonstrate your unique expertise , but also be relevant to the target audience . Ideally, the theme of the book should be “sharpened” for a specific industry.
For example, "How to maintain the licensed purity of software in manufacturing companies."
2. Create a structure
The structure is needed in order to follow the chosen presentation logic. So you will not miss anything and the content will be presented at a suitable level for the audience .
It is better to create a structure for the examination carrier, since only he is 100% aware of what future clients can be hooked on. The journalist can correct the sent structure, for example, by reducing the depth of detail.
3. Collect materials for a journalist.
The necessary materials for the book are your articles, podcasts, videos, webinar recordings, etc. Of course, some of this on the Internet already exists, and the journalist can search for himself ... But, if the content is poorly optimized, it will be difficult to find it on the Internet. Therefore, the provision of materials is better to take on.
If it turns out that there is no material on the chosen topic, in order to speed up the process of “write a book by voice” - dictate the audioarn and transfer it to the decryption to the journalist.
4. Show the book to partners and / or reviewer.
You should always get the approval of the professionals in your field - in order not to release the content formulated by the wrong language, with not relevant examples, with logical errors.
In order for the content to be as adequate as possible to your audience, the journalist must understand the topic himself. Then he will be able to correctly place accents and give catchy examples. However, such professionals are not cheap. And the desire to “write a book by voice” with minimal expenses for a journalist can lead to the fact that you will get chuckles in the back from competitors instead of recognition in the professional community.
Be sure to let your reviewer or partner understanding the topic see your work.
In addition, if the reviewer or partner is the leader of opinions, his review will be very useful when promoting a book.
For example, the guys from webinar.ru asked Igor Mann to give them feedback on the book “100% Webinar” and placed it on a landing page for downloading a book.
Here is the text of the review: “Really useful guide! Suitable for both experienced coaches and beginners who are just mastering the technology. By the way, inside you will find the chapter "Webinars" from my book "Without a budget." Enjoy reading!"
One can only guess whether Mann gave feedback in return for publicizing his book or paid him ... Whatever the case, the benefits of this approach are obvious: a wide audience loyal to the opinion leader will be happy to get acquainted with your book.
5. Give the design a good designer
We still have a very important point regarding the creation of the book - its design. With the help of competent visual design you:
- be able to attract attention and bring the main thoughts ,
- remind once again about the positioning of the brand and raise its awareness ,
- Tell your audience that you do not care and you think through every little thing (which means that you will be attentive to the needs of the audience).
Of course, you can limit yourself to highlighting headings, accents and structuring thoughts into a table:
But I would suggest using the visual component in your content to the maximum and not saving on the designer.
You can download templates for the design of the book, for example, from the site of the founders of content marketing Hubspot and tweak for themselves. But a professional designer will make sure that the brand colors, fonts, style elements and drawings in the style of the brand do not look “made on the knee”.
After this, it will only be necessary to place the book where it is expected and to stand still
Yep
And may the power of content marketing be with you!
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/300510/
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