How do you approach content marketing? Do you favor paid or free information?
I’m going to tell you why I think free is your best bet, especially early in the sales cycle. But first, let me tell you about something I saw in a blog post this morning.
The point of this post was “give and you shall receive.” But in it, the writer defined content marketing as “sharing content in exchange for information.” Really?
This writer has obvious confused list building with content marketing, and as a result has severely limited the effectiveness of content marketing in his mix. Let me explain…
True content marketing has no strings attached
The trouble with the definition I quoted above is that it assumes everything has a cost. Maybe that was once true. But many of the old marketing tactics don’t work anymore. Now the best content marketers are giving away their information for free.
You heard me. Free.
Surely there’s a catch, right?
Wrong. The point is that traditional marketing has gone as far as it can go. People feel used, tricked and taken advantage of — to the point that they don’t believe anything marketers say.
The only solution is to turn the tables. By being transparent and helpful, by giving useful information away with no strings attached, we can disarm our prospects and win their trust.
Trust is the new currency that can lead to a long, profitable relationship. But it must be a relationship that’s mutually beneficial, so everyone’s happy.
Content fills any gaps in your sales funnel
Until your prospects trust you, they don’t want to talk to you. They don’t want to give you their email address. They don’t want to end up on your call list.
But they do want information about your products and services. The best way for you to satisfy this need is with lots of content that acts something like a concierge, introducing prospects to your business, showing them what you do and how you do it.
Based on how you conduct yourself during these early stages, you’ll earn their trust or lose it.
Your best bet is to have useful content for every stage of the sales funnel. Some of it can be downloadable from your website. Some may be published off-site. Some should be reserved for your sales team to deliver once first-contact is made.
The point is to have different types of content for every level in the funnel. That way, as your prospect’s interest grows, you can give him progressively more detailed information to keep him from falling out of your funnel.
Content makes your sales funnel “slippery”
You’ve heard about sticky marketing. But you don’t want a sticky sales funnel. On the contrary, you want your sales funnel to be slippery.
Your prospects shouldn’t stick to any part of the funnel because they’ll clog the downward flow. You want them sliding through as quickly as possible.
When you provide valuable, actionable content and answer your prospects’ questions at the exact points they’re asking them, you can effectively shorten your sales cycle. You’ll earn trust, develop credibility, remove doubts and give your prospects confidence that you have the solution they’re looking for.
In short, you’ll make more sales. And that, my friends, is how you make free profitable.
But remember, you can’t have a hidden agenda. Give it away if you’re going to give it away. Don’t make every transaction profitable only to you. Let your prospect win, and you’ll win the sale.
Do you agree? Let me know your thoughts by sharing them in the box below.
photo credit: megstewart
