Has Content Marketing Made Branding Obsolete?

Has Content Marketing Made Branding Obsolete?

Confession: as a died-in-the-wool direct marketer, I am a branding cynic. My general attitude towards branding is summed up in the old maxim: “Branding is what your agency calls your campaign when they can’t measure it.” Now that’s not to say that a brand isn’t real,...
Information Kits: Packaging Offer Content for Higher Response

Information Kits: Packaging Offer Content for Higher Response

For most B2B marketers, information offers like white papers, case studies, and analyst reports strike an effective balance between response rate and lead qualification. Compared to a Webinar, for example, they require little time and commitment on the part of the...
Why Salespeople Hate Most White Paper Leads

Why Salespeople Hate Most White Paper Leads

How is it that a quality white paper on a hot topic can still generate bad leads? It’s got to be the media, right? Wrong. It’s the offer. Even a well-written white paper, by a respected author, on a hot topic of vital interest to your target audience, can still...
5 Creative Ways to Make Your White Paper Irresistible

5 Creative Ways to Make Your White Paper Irresistible

“Always show an image of the offer.” It’s a rule I quote often, one repeated to me ad nauseum many years ago by an early mentor and long-time direct marketing veteran. The logic: whatever it is you want your reader to download, request, order, or register for, a...
Tempted to Do Away With Registration Forms?  Think Again.

Tempted to Do Away With Registration Forms? Think Again.

A client asks: “Now that we have our marketing automation system in place, is it really necessary to use registration forms in our lead nurturing (follow-up) campaigns? After all, we already know who these people are, correct? If we offer them direct access to the...