If you have studies, white papers, eBooks, or other content aimed at adding value to your potential customers, getting it in front of them as effortlessly as possible is key. At the same time, you want to capture email addresses to follow up on interested leads. Let’s go over the three essential technical components of such an automated delivery and lead generation system.
1. Hosted Content
Let’s assume your goal is to make the content easily accessible, but still require some commitment on the part of your prospects. Here are three easy options for where to host your content:
a. Your website
Upload your file(s) to the media library of your content management system. If you go this route, remember to update your robots.txt file appropriately, so the content isn’t indexed by search engines. And, if you create a download landing page, remember to keep it out of your menu system!
b. Cloud-based file sharing platform
We’re talking about Google Drive, Dropbox, Box.com, or a similar service. If you go this route, it’s a good idea to triple-check that you can access it via a share link without being signed in.
c. Email marketing platform
Services like MailChimp and Constant Contact will allow you to host files on their servers, giving you a link to share with others later.
2. Website Signup Form
You’ll need a form that lets users opt-in to receive your free content in exchange for their name and email address. Email marketing platforms make this simple! You can generate an embed code to post the form on your website, or even create a hosted landing page right in your email service.
And, don’t forget to promote your page through ads, events, or just word-of-mouth! We highly recommend creating a vanity url (like yourcompany.com/industrytstudy) to make getting there as easy as possible.
3. Email List with Welcome Email
Through your email marketing platform, first create an empty list. Then, change the settings of the list so that any subscribers will automatically receive a thank-you or welcome email when they sign up. This is where you insert a link to the actual hosted content.
An alternative to this method is to set up a thank-you or confirmation page on your website, to which users are sent immediately upon completing the signup form. Then, folks can download the content directly from this page.
An automated campaign with these components can provide a great return on investment. If you need help setting up the different pieces, reach out for help!