Posted by Paul McKeon, August 30, 2010
Want to increase your email open rate, white paper download rate, or registrations at your next speaking gig? Take the problem you solve, and turn it on its head to create a title that grabs attention. By throwing water on the conventional wisdom your readers have come to expect, you’ll give them an ironic break from the over-played direct line they are used to.
The contrarian approach is a very effective technique in marketing content strategy, and especially effective in B2B, where we’re all expected to be serious and straightforward. It’s particularly useful for case studies and white papers, which can get into a rut with the standby Problem-Action-Result formula.
We titled a white paper for demand generator PointClear: “Why Your Salesforce Needs Fewer Leads.” This title turned heads, and increased the open rate on the email campaign. Recently I received an email leading to HubSpot’s blog post, “7 Reasons Social Media is Bad for Marketing.” Instead of the usual list of “shoulds,” this post lists the “don’ts” we might already be doing, which gets a stronger emotional reaction from readers.
The fact is, unless you’re in the Fortune 1000, many of your prospects don’t know your brand. We call these the Unaware Buyers. They need your solution, but they don’t know it yet. Unaware Buyers need a whack on the head to change their minds. Surprising, storytelling content catches their eye, and raises the questions that Unaware Buyers need to be asking.
When I first read “throw water on your prospects,” I thought “What the hell is he talking about?” But when I read it, I thought “He’s really onto something.”
What you are saying is, in effect, do the unexpected. That’s great advice. I wrote a blog post on why raising quotas cuts sales – it was popular too.
Congratulations on being named a top B2B marketing blog. That’s quite an honor. I’m pleased to share the news that Fearless Competitor was also named to that great list. It’s nice to meet you.
Jeff Ogden, the Fearless Competitor
Find New Customers
http://www.findnewcustomers.com
Comment by Jeff Ogden — September 8, 2010 @ 5:16 pm
Businesses are into doing the same things that they have done for the last 50 years or more. Why? because they can prove that it works with even limited success. That is certainly better than doing something that it unexpected (shocking) and not knowign what the outcome will be. I say Do it different and be surprised!
With so many experts saying what should be done… taking the opposite tack is more interesting and beneficial to direction seekers!
Comment by Florence Smith — September 21, 2010 @ 5:59 am