Here is Why eBooks are Unbelievably Effective as a Lead Gen Tool

Getting traffic to the top of your funnel is the long game--with a big payoff. Why is it so important?  Top-of-funnel (TOF) content spreads brand awareness and educates prospects for your products and services. TOF content helps you get your foot in the door and is designed to introduce your brand and build a relationship with website visitors who could eventually become customers. The more traffic you can get to your website, the better chance that prospects will give you their information. Content designed to pull people to the top of the funnel also helps establish you as a trusted authority. It is a cornerstone of any thought leadership program. TOF content helps your company appeal to the right people when looking for basic information at the beginning of their buyer’s journey. It’s always easier to convert someone who is already actively interested in the solutions you provide.

What is an eBook?

Let that sink in.

We all loved picture books as children. In the B2B world, we now use picture books to tell a story about complex subjects to educate prospects. For the most part, eBooks have replaced white papers except deep-dive technical papers and in-depth research reports. Very few people want to sit down and read a multi-page white paper unless they are ready to take a deep dive into a particular subject.

Why are they so effective?

eBooks are concise, use images to highlight key points, and are a fast read – there is not a huge amount of text, and scientists have found that the brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text. (Source: Canva)

But don’t be fooled by the simplicity of these lead magnets. People download them because they are full of rich information.

Many eBooks have a long shelf life if the subject matter is still trending, which is likely the case in B2B. They are the gift that keeps on giving once SEO kicks in. We have clients that update their eBooks every 12-18 months, and they still convert at 30-40% in years two and three, down from 55-60% in the first year of promotion.

Here’s the thing. TOF content doesn’t indicate if a prospect is in the buying cycle --yet. It just indicates that there is interest in the topic. But once you have prospects in the funnel, then it is just a matter of timing and lead nurturing. The prospect may not be ready to buy now; however, they may move forward and enter the buyer’s journey at some point. You need a strategy to nurture them over time.

Just look at these eBooks that Red Javelin created. They all have unique designs that fit their brand and targeted personas. And in each case, these downloadable assets are the lynchpin of a full TOF campaign. Click on the images to see the entire eBook.