Savvy B2B Marketing

Oftentimes, when your content doesn't perform well, it's not because it isn't useful, but it's because you aren't marketing the piece well. To help, here are 12 ideas on how you can promote your white paper and eBook (I refer to eBooks below, but these ideas apply to white papers as well).

For nine more ideas, check out one of Jamie's first posts on Savvy B2B!

Company website
Consider all of the places on your website where it could make sense to include a link to your eBook, such as:

• Putting an icon or banner on the home page referencing the white paper.
• Including in-line links to the eBook as part of your web copy.
• Including on any appropriate resource pages.
• Including as a related resource.

Company blog
If you have a company blog, the content from your eBook is great material:

• Create a post that provides an overview of the eBook and links to it.
• Post parts of the eBook as a series of shorter articles that each point to the piece.
• "Tease" the eBook by sharing some of the findings before it is released.
• Use the eBook as a call to action as appropriate.

Employee-facing newsletters
Employees are often interested in learning what's new at their company, so when appropriate, include information about your eBook in internal publications.

Email to existing opt-in lists
eBooks are fantastic offers for lead nurturing programs.

Email as a follow up from event
Include a link to the paper in follow up emails you send to thank people for participating at an event, such as a webinar, trade show or seminar.

Client-facing newsletters
If you have multiple customer newsletters, consider which audience(s) can benefit from your eBook and include a link to the eBook in those emails.

Leave behind for sales
EBooks can be a great piece that sales can provide to their clients after a sales call. They can:

• Present the client with a hard copy or a memory stick with the PDF after a face-to-face meeting.
• Send a hard copy or PDF on a memory stick in the mail with a personalized thank you note after a client meeting.
• Send it in a follow up email.

Content syndication
A great way to generate leads for your eBooks is through content syndication sites such as TechTarget. Content syndicators make eBooks and other content, such as webcasts, available to their readers. Stephanie has a good post that reviews the basics of syndication and has a report that provides details about various syndicators (note: registration is required).

Share it with relevant bloggers
Consider sharing your eBook with key bloggers in your industry. Contact each person individually, and explain how the piece is relevant to their specific audience.

LinkedIn
LinkedIn can be a great place to promote your paper to a targeted audience:

• Join LinkedIn groups where your prospects congregate. Mention it in groups you participate in as appropriate.
• Add a note about the eBook in your status.

Twitter
Of course, you can also use Twitter to promote your eBook. Here are some ideas:

• Pull out keys facts or items of interest and tweet those with a link to the eBook. There are a number of reasons to take this approach:
• Facts are typically more compelling than the title.
• You can schedule these tweets to go out over the course of a week or two.
• You can cover a lot of keywords.
• Start a conversation about your eBook by directing people to comment on it using a hashtag. Ask people in your organization to participate as well.
• Use only 125 of the 140 characters so someone can easily retweet.

News release
Consider emailing the news release to your sales team with an explanation of how they can use this as another tool when reaching out to clients and prospects. If you do this, have the news release available in two formats: as a link and as a PDF.

What other ideas do you have to promote an eBook or white paper?

Related posts:

• eEbooks and White Papers: A Complementary Pair
• 3 Ways to Make Sure Your Prospects Find Your White Paper
• How Your White Papers Can Become "Weapons of Influence"

About the author: Michele is the Executive Editor of the Content Marketing Institute where where she works with a fabulous group of contributors who know a lot about content marketing. She's also a B2B content marketing consultant who has a passion for helping companies use content to connect with their ideal buyers. You can follow her on Twitter or read more of her posts on Savvy B2B.