Niche Marketing with Whitepapers
There are too many whitepapers floating around, and most of them are too broad to be effective. Niche marketing with whitepapers is more likely to produce actual sales.
Consider the following titles for four different whitepapers authored by a (fictional) accounting firm:
100 Tax Reduction Strategies
100 Tax Reduction Strategies for Businesses
100 Tax Reduction Strategies for Restaurants
100 Tax Reduction Strategies for Franchise Owners
Let’s say the accounting firm wants to send an email offering one of the whitepapers. It’s not unreasonable to predict the first or second whitepaper will get the highest response, since it appeals to a broader audience. Yet, it’s not the response rate that matters.
What matters is whether the responders are qualified prospects for your business. Regardless of how well the content is written, a request for information does not necessarily produce a qualified prospect.
Let me back up a second and clarify: Qualified prospects come in two types. There are those that could become your customers and those that are most likely to become your customers.
If you’re an accounting firm that help small businesses, people who request your first whitepaper could be your customers. But they could also be another firm’s customers. The broader your target market, the more difficult it is to differentiate yourself from competition. Whitepapers should help you differentiate, so a whitepaper that’s too broad defeats the purpose.
Although the fourth whitepaper is narrow in scope, the responders are the most targeted group. If you’re an accounting firm that specializes in helping franchise owners, the market for the specialty is much narrower. People who request your whitepaper are more likely to appreciate your expertise, listen to your pitch and give you their business.
