Author: Franz Malten Buemann

  • Reaching the Peak of LinkedIn Ad ROI With Bizible

    There are 96 mountain peaks in the US with an elevation of at least 14,000ft. Colorado has the most of any state at 53. No doubt, if you’ve been to Colorado, you’ve heard about these “fourteeners”. It’s a common goal to try to summit all 53. None are easy, but many are just long beautiful hikes. Eventually, though, you finish those and need to take on more challenging climbs.
    Last summer, my son and I set our sights on Snowmass Mountain. The fastest and safest way up is via a steep snowfield that covers much of the mountain well into summer. An ice axe and boot crampons are essential equipment. When shopping for crampons, I came upon a pair for a little over $20. Sure, they were from some company I’d never heard of, only had 2 customer reviews and were a fraction of the cost of name-brand competitors. But the price was right! I bought them.
    Did they just about get me killed? Yep. Did they prevent me from getting to the summit? Yep. They just kind of fell apart when I needed them most, as my son continued on to eternal glory and bragging rights. Sometimes not investing in the right tools can cost you a lot more in the end. The same is true in marketing.
    Ads and Attribution
    If you manage a marketing budget, you know how much money goes into two critical areas: paid media and marketing technology. This post is about the intersection of those two things. Namely, B2B advertising leader LinkedIn and the #1 B2B marketing attribution application, Bizible. Each brings unique value and, now connected via an enhanced integration, their combined value has become downright mountainous! Marketers have never been in a better position to break through the clouds and step onto their own summit of marketing mastery.
    LinkedIn Ads have proven to be a powerful tool for B2B marketers. Sure, LinkedIn Ads might cost a little more than some competitors, but do they get you to the top of the mountain? Do they pay you back many times over in revenue growth? The evidence suggests they do. But more on that in a bit.
    Measuring B2B Marketing Performance
    As it turns out, measuring revenue and ROI performance in B2B advertising (and really B2B marketing overall) is a sufferfest. Why? In short, your CRM.
    CRM holds hostage all of your sales opportunity, pipeline, and order value information and it’s built to track sales reps instead of buyer behavior. Thankfully, Bizible solves this problem by combining B2B marketing channel and CRM data to create a new 1st party dataset. It’s built exclusively to help you measure and optimize marketing performance at every stage of your lead-based or account-based demand funnel. With it, you can finally prove and improve the impact of marketing. With it, you can see what pipeline and revenue is coming from LinkedIn or any other channel. And that’s how we know LinkedIn rocks.
    The ROI of LinkedIn Ads and Bizible
    Results certainly vary and different advertising tactics work better at different times, but Bizible benchmark data showed that, on average, LinkedIn Ads provided the #1 ROI among major paid media platforms. Bizible is also a great example of “You get what you pay for”. There are other ways marketers try to do B2B marketing attribution without investing in a B2B marketing attribution application. But the other ways have limitations. These limitations are what has brought (and continues to bring) thousands of marketers to Bizible.  In a 2020 Total Economic Impact Study commissioned by Adobe and conducted by Forrester Consulting, Forrester found that organizations investing in Bizible saw a 298% ROI and a <1yr investment payback period. Since each interviewed Bizible customer was already doing some form of attribution before they implemented Bizible, this return is even more impressive because it reflects not the value of doing attribution, but the value of doing attribution right.
    A Strong Integration Gets Stronger
    If LinkedIn and Bizible are each capable of providing such great returns, can that get even better when you connect them? Oh yes. How? Bizible automates the tagging, tracking, and attribution of LinkedIn Ads. Bizible proves the revenue contribution and ROI of advertising to win more budget. Finally, Bizible gives you the insight you need to know which ads, campaigns, and creative are generating not just leads, but leads that turn into pipeline and revenue. Of course, Bizible also helps you compare performance across all your channels so you can optimize your channel mix and overall spend.
    As the latest result of Adobe’s strategic partnership with Microsoft, we’re excited to introduce a new native integration between Bizible and LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms. This new capability enhances the current and very popular integration between Bizible and LinkedIn Sponsored Content. Now, when marketers choose to take advantage of LinkedIn’s awesome auto-filling, high-conversion-rate forms in conjunction with Sponsored Content, Bizible can track and attribute revenue to those form fills. And it’s all automated. Bizible also captures form metadata such as Form Name and ID, Campaign Name and ID and more so that marketers can understand and optimize form performance right along with ad performance.
    “This integration will make a huge difference for our team in assessing the impact of our LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms and using Bizible data to pivot our campaigns, as needed, to drive even more growth.” -Sydney Mulligan, Sr. Manager, Marketing Automation, Hyperscience
    All of this is available to joint Bizible and LinkedIn users at no additional cost. This isn’t just a “possible integration” you need to sort out and maintain yourself or connect through some third-party data integration tool.  Like all of Bizible’s marketing channel integrations, it’s easy to set up with just a few clicks and is fully vendor-supported.
    Reaching your Summit
    There are few things more important in marketing than knowing which investments and engagement tactics are driving progression and wins (and which are not).  Marketers who have the tools to do this put themselves in a unique position to win and help their organizations win. LinkedIn Ads and Bizible are two tools we should all bring with us on our climb to the summit of state-of-the-art B2B marketing.
    For more information, please visit our Bizible LinkedIn Integrations product docs or ask an Adobe representative.
    The post Reaching the Peak of LinkedIn Ad ROI With Bizible appeared first on Marketo Marketing Blog – Best Practices and Thought Leadership.

  • How to Promote Your Live Streams with Email Marketing

    With more than half of the world’s population using email, it’s one of the best ways to get your message in front of your customers and potential customers.  Over the years, social media and messaging apps have been predicted to supersede email, but 50 years after the first email was sent, it’s still going strong. …
    The post How to Promote Your Live Streams with Email Marketing appeared first on Benchmark Email.

  • Subdomain or Subdirectory? What They Are & How They Affect SEO

    One of the most heated arguments that I’ve been a part of was about whether or not Taylor Swift is a good dancer.
    The first thing you should know about me is that Taylor Swift is my favorite artist. So you’d have a hard time convincing me she’s bad at anything (because she isn’t).
    SEO experts are probably the same way when debating whether subdomains or subdirectories are better for SEO. As a marketer, that debate can cause confusion and analysis paralysis.
    In this article, you’ll learn the differences between a subdomain and subdirectory and how they affect SEO. There are pros and cons to both, and you’ll want to consider all of these factors before moving forward with your website project.

    Subdirectory URL
    In a URL, the subdirectory comes after the root directory or domain name. For example, HubSpot’s root domain is hubspot.com. So a subdirectory URL might be hubspot.com/pricing. Or it might be something more complicated like hubspot.com/pricing/sales. Below is an illustration of one possible subdirectory structure.

    When it comes to subdirectories, think of a structure similar to nesting dolls. Each folder can build off of one another almost indefinitely. That means you could have a subfolder within a subfolder within a subfolder until you’re dozens, potentially hundreds, of layers deep.
    But just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
    Too many layers of subfolders can become an SEO nightmare. The URL string becomes long and confusing, the user experience is at risk with every click it takes to get to the next piece of content, and search engine crawlers will find it nearly impossible to crawl your site for new content and other SEO wins you may have added.
    On the other hand, subfolders can be great for SEO as they keep any earned backlinks, domain authority, and page authority closely tied to the root domain. And when the site is fairly easy to navigate, the URLs are short and simple, like hubspot.com/careers, which means you can market specific webpages or landing pages by their URL without confusing your audience.

    The structure of a subdomain is fairly flat at the top levels. You’ll have your root directory, then all the subdomains underneath it in a horizontal row. All subdomains are on the same level. You won’t have a subdomain within a subdomain like you would a subfolder within a subfolder.

    SEO and Subdomains
    A subdomain can be great for SEO, but it will require a dedicated person or team that can manage it. Unlike subdirectories, a subdomain’s domain authority won’t automatically trickle down from the primary domain name. You might also pay extra for tools or subscriptions if you’re billed per domain name since each subdomain will typically count as a separate website. Keeping these challenges in mind, let’s take a closer look at the benefits of using a subdomain.
    Why use subdomains?
    Subdomains are ideal if your business houses a lot of content that would be difficult to manage all on one website. You may also find this structure beneficial if you run several large recurring campaigns that need separate landing pages or if you plan to do a partnership with another organization and want to split the branding on the project.
    In short, subdomains make sense if you have a relevant business need to separate content on your website.

    There are a number of instances when a company should use a subdomain. Below are the most common.
    1. Support
    Sometimes it doesn’t make sense to have your customer support on your main site. For instance, Google uses support.google.com instead of google.com/support. The main reason is probably because of the site structure. Google.com is a search engine, and Google’s Support line doesn’t belong to its Search business line. Therefore, it needs its own subdomain to properly connect with and serve its users.
    2. Different Regions
    If you serve multiple regions, whether nationally or internationally, using a subdomain would be a good idea. If you had a site in German and one in English, it wouldn’t make sense to list those as subdirectories. For instance, Craigslist uses subdomains for the different regions it serves. Here are two of its subdomain sites: orangecounty.craigslist.org/ or stgeorge.craigslist.org/.
    3. Blog
    Many companies choose to have their blog as a subdomain. In fact, that’s what HubSpot does. If you’ll notice, the page you’re on right now is a blog.hubspot.com page. However, this specific article is in the Marketing subdirectory of the blog.hubspot.com subdomain. Sites may choose to have their blog as a subdomain if they have a content campaign in mind that’s large enough in volume to deserve its own hierarchy and growth path (more on that in a minute). Additionally, a subdomain is useful for a blog if you want to create a niche authority.
    4. Ecommerce Store
    For companies that sell merchandise, in addition to their regular product or service, they can put their ecommerce store on a subdomain. HubSpot does this as well. Aside from our main software hubs, HubSpot merchandise is available at shop.hubspot.com.
    5. Events
    If your company hosts events, it might be a good idea to partition that section of your site into a subdomain. Again, this is helpful when you want to distinguish a section of your site from your regular product or service. Microsoft does this with its events.microsoft.com.

    Technically, a website can use both a subdomain and a subdirectory structure. Subdomains will usually have at least a few subfolders within them to organize content, but likely not as many as a subdirectory. That’s because there is a smaller variety of content covered on a subdomain than a root domain with subfolders.
    So it’s important to understand what the primary structure of your website will be. To decide this, let’s take a closer look at how subdomains and subdirectories impact SEO.
    How do subdomains and subdirectories affect SEO?
    Some SEO experts believe that Google’s crawlers could confuse a subdomain for an entirely different website from the main domain. However, others say its crawlers can recognize subdomains as extensions of parent domains.
    According to Google, the site crawls, indexes, and ranks subdomains and subdirectories the same way.
    In the video below, Google Webmasters Trends Analyst John Mueller says, subdomains generally don’t hurt a site’s rankings. In fact, he says Google is smart enough to see your main domain and subdomain as being tied to the same website.

    Some SEO professionals argue that subdomains don’t share the authority they receive from inbound links (or backlinks) with the root domain. The reverse can also be true; because subdomains are considered separate entities from your root domain, they may not inherit any of the link authority you’ve already built to your core website content.
    Additionally, if you’re optimizing pages for the same keywords on your main site and subdomain, you could be competing against yourself.
    On the other hand, other SEO experts argue that subdomains make it easier to navigate your site. Ultimately, this leads to a better user experience, which could result in better engagement rates, therefore improving your SEO.
    Subdomains can be beneficial if you have a large corporation and the subdomains serve a different purpose and essentially function as a separate business.
    For example, Disney has subdomains such as cars.disney.com, shop.disney.com, and movies.disney.com.
    Since these subdomains serve very different purposes, it doesn’t matter if the sites don’t share the same authority from backlinks, because they probably aren’t targeting the same keywords.
    According to some SEO experts, another benefit is that subdomains can help build niche authority. For instance, you might want your blog to be considered a separate entity from your product or service.
    Conversely, if your site doesn’t have any extensive verticals on your navigation, then you might not need to use a subdomain because you want as many links going back to your main site as possible. If you don’t have a compelling reason to use subdomains, then subdirectories work just fine.
    Which is Better: Subdirectory or Subdomain?
    Although this topic can often be confusing, ultimately the decision depends on your website’s needs. Subdomains can provide organization and structure to your site if you have a lot of different, but important content to share. Subdirectories can be helpful for smaller websites that don’t have a large variety of content. No matter which structure you choose, you’ll want to stay abreast of SEO best practices in order to meet your website goals. The free guide below will help you improve your site with a free SEO audit tool kit.
    Editor’s note: This post was originally published in February 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

  • Best Email Template Builders for Any Email Marketing Goal and Budget

    Email marketing is an undeniably powerful strategy for lead acquisition and customer retention.
    Of course, creating an email marketing campaign isn’t easy, and it might require you to build a template using HTML so you’re not designing and altering every new email from scratch.

    Thankfully, there are dozens of email template builders available, all of which can help you intuitively and quickly create new email templates for your upcoming campaigns.

    Email Template Builders
    Now you might be wondering how you’re supposed to know which template builder will best suit your needs?
    We’ve done the homework for you, compiling a list of our favorite email template builders, complete with pricing, screenshots, and a general overview of each app’s unique features. Keep reading to choose the best email template builder for your company.
    But first — why do you need an email template builder, anyway? Let’s start by answering this important question.
    Why You Need an Email Template Builder
    An email template builder grants you several advantages:
    1. Better Design Features
    Without a template builder, you may struggle to arrange your content in blocks as you want, or add videos to your email.
    2. Initial Time Savings
    Most email template builders rely on intuitive mechanics, like drag-and-drop editors, so you can design your emails faster.
    3. Long-Term Time Savings
    Creating a library of email templates can save you a ton of time long-term, allowing you to quickly choose and lightly edit past templates for new emails.
    4. Replicability
    Did you see impressive results with your most recent campaign? With an email template builder, you can easily replicate it with some minor tweaks in the future.
    5. Analytics
    Most email template builders also feature built-in analytics, which you can use to study your past email marketing efforts and make improvements to your approach.
    Additionally, depending on the email template builder you’re using, you may have access to even more features.
    Next, let’s dive into some of the best builders.
    The Best Email Template Builders
    Here are some of the best email template builders — they’re categorized by their pricing plans.
    Best All-Around Email Template Builder
    1. HubSpot Email Marketing Tools

    HubSpot offers a comprehensive, start-to-finish solution for all your marketing needs. You can create a sleek, on-brand email campaign using HubSpot’s drag-and-drop editor, and customize the template to match your brand and align with your goals.
    Additionally, you can customize each email depending on your recipient’s lifecycle stage, list membership, or any information in their contact records to ensure each email is designed for optimal conversions.
    Best of all, the email tool provides top-notch analytics and A/B testing tools so you can continue to refine your marketing strategy over time.
    Pro Tip: Use HubSpot’s Free Email Marketing Tools to create, personalize, and optimize marketing emails without the need for technical or design support.
    Unique Features

    Analytics to provide deep insights into your email success rates, including open-rate, most popular links clicked in an email, who engages with each email, when and on which device, and what emails perform best.
    Tailor each email to individual subscribers based on lifecycle stage, list membership, or any other contact information to serve the best calls-to-action to segmented groups.
    Ability to run A/B tests to improve open rates and clickthroughs.
    More than 100 email templates available by default.
    Custom landing page creation tools.
    Advanced social sharing options.
    Integrations with other marketing tools (more than 300 third-party apps).
    24/7 support from customer service reps.

    Pricing
    Free, $45/mo (Starter), $800/mo (Professional), $3,200/mo (Enterprise)
    Best Free Email Template Builders
    4. BEE Free

    BEE Free is a free online email editor that has been used by more than a million people. In just a few clicks, you can get started designing your first email template — or use one of the 150 templates currently available by default. It also offers free design ideas on its own blog.
    Unique Features

    150 pre-designed templates (and additional paid templates).
    Full responsiveness for mobile-friendly designs.
    Integration with many SaaS apps.
    Options to pick up where you left off.

    Pricing
    Free
    5. Mosaico

    Mosaico.io is an open-source email template builder, which is something of a rarity. You won’t find any predesigned templates, as you would with other email template builders, but you will be able to alter the tool however you see fit.
    Unique Features

    A unique click-based design tool, abandoning the traditional “drag-and-drop” model.
    Community support, due to its open-source nature.
    Infinite flexibility, if you’re willing to put in the work to customize it.

    Pricing
    Free
    6. Unlayer

    Unlayer is a free HTML email template builder, with a simple, easy-to-grasp approach. You can choose any of its 100+ base kit templates and edit the template as you see fit. You can also install the free Chrome extension if you want to integrate it with Gmail.
    Unique Features

    Template designs are immediately available, so you can start in mere minutes.
    A free Chrome plugin so you can use the tool directly in your browser.
    The ability to save and download templates for future use.

    Pricing
    Free
    Best Paid Email Template Builders
    2. Mailchimp
    Mailchimp is one of the top names in email marketing, in part because of its accessibility. It’s super easy to learn and build your first few email templates, and you can get started right now with a free plan. As you scale your business, you’ll find additional options, features, and tools for your needs.
    Unique Features

    More than 100 email templates available by default.
    Custom landing page creation tools.
    Advanced social sharing options.
    Integrations with other marketing tools (more than 300 third-party apps).
    24/7 support from customer service reps.

    Pricing
    Free, $9.99 (Essentials), $14.99 (Standard), $299 (Premium)
    3. Moosend

    Moosend’s easy-to-use drag-and-drop email editor allows you to create professional-looking email templates that include marketing elements — such as countdown timers and videos — without any prior HTML knowledge.
    Unique Features

    Customizable, ready-made templates and custom fonts
    Drag-and-drop landing page editor
    Integration with GIPHY, Google Drive, Stock Photos, and social media platforms
    Video email marketing tools
    Customer support for all pricing plans through email, chat, and phone

    Pricing
    Free, $8/mo (Pro), call for a custom plan (Enterprise)
    7. AWeber

    AWeber is specifically designed for small businesses eager to get started with email marketing, but who might have trouble knowing where to begin. Predesigned templates, custom designs, and email automation are all available.
    Unique Features

    A drag and drop AMP carousel, which allows you to add AMP image carousels to your emails.
    AWeber’s Smart Designer, which uses AI to construct and recommend email templates.
    A campaign marketplace that allows you to design and launch full email campaigns.
    24/7 customer service.

    Pricing
    Free, $16.15/mo (Pro)
    9. Campaign Monitor

    Campaign Monitor is primarily focused on email marketing but has other features you can use for a variety of other marketing and ecommerce purposes. Because it’s designed to work for teams, it’s ideal if you have many people working together on your campaigns.
    Unique Features

    Template management and collaboration for teams.
    Built-in support for surveys with unlimited questions.
    80 predesigned email templates.

    Pricing
    $9/mo (Basic), $29/mo (Unlimited), $149/mo (Premier)
    9. Chamaileon.io

    Chamaileon.io is a cleverly named email template builder that allows your team to design emails collaboratively, complete with drag-and-drop mechanics so you never have to worry about coding. You can also design and follow a set email campaign workflow, simplifying your efforts in the future.
    Unique Features

    Collaborative email design for teams working together on the same templates.
    Unique and flexible account roles for multiple levels of access.
    Replicable testing settings to allow for easy testing of new designs.

    Pricing
    $150/mo (Standard), $250/mo (Premium)
    10. Designmodo Postcards

    Designmodo Postcards email builder is designed to bring teams together for the email template building process. You can use it to design emails however you like, then export as HTML, or to a full email service provider like Mailchimp.
    Unique Features

    Modular designs that help you stack, customize, and rearrange your options.
    Long-term content management to help you revisit previous successes.
    Unlimited exports, which is ideal if you’re exporting to other services frequently.

    Pricing
    Free, $18/mo (Business), $29/mo (Agency)
    11. Stripo.email

    Stripo.email helps you create responsive email templates without any HTML coding skills necessary. It also features innate dynamic AMP support, and a robust testing tool to help you preview your email in more than 90 popular environments, including variants for devices and browsers.
    Unique Features

    Drag-and-drop AMP blocks for image carousel and/or accordion support.
    Thorough testing in nearly 100 different environments.
    A customizable module library, allowing you to reuse past successful elements.
    Integration with many ESPs and third-party tools.

    Pricing
    Free, $125/mo (Business), $400/mo (Agency)
    12. Taxi for Email

    Taxi for Email provides scalable email template creation, as well as the ability to create email workflows. It also allows you to assign various tasks and permissions to your team, so each of your marketers can play a role in perfecting your email campaign.
    Unique Features

    Team dynamics, including collaborative tools, access assignment, and user permissions.
    Robust testing on-demand as you design.
    Support for multiple languages and email segmentation.

    Pricing
    Request a custom quote.
    13. SendGrid

    SendGrid is an email service that provides support for email template designs — additionally, it offers email functions such as automatic shipping notifications and password resets. It also boasts an open API, which you can use to integrate with just about anything.
    Unique Features

    A wide variety of tools, including email design, automation, signup forms, and more.
    APIs, SMTP Relay, and Webhooks.
    Delivery optimization tools so you can increase delivery rates.

    Pricing
    Free; Essentials and Pro plans vary in pricing based on the number of emails you send per month but plans start at $14.95/mo and 89.95/mo respectively; call for a quote (Premier)
    Choose the Best Email Template Builder for Your Needs
    There are a number of benefits that result from using an email template builder — so, consider your needs, goals, and budget while reviewing the list above to determine which option is most ideal for your team.
    Editor’s note: This post was originally published in May 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

  • Builtwith CRM export + contact data – worth it?

    I’m using Builtwith to identify websites that use our competitors and discovered the CRM export tool. Have any of you used this tool before? How do you find the quality of the contact data from Builtwith? Is it fairly reliable, on par with Zoominfo, terrible, etc?
    submitted by /u/vjarnold [link] [comments]

  • Customer Experience Consultant: The 2021 Career Guide

    Do you wish to become a Customer Experience Consultant but don’t know where to start? Analytical thinking and innovation are expected to be the top skills in 2025, which means Customer Experience Consultants will have loads of job opportunities. If you’re looking to become one, now is the time to get informed and start preparing…
    The post Customer Experience Consultant: The 2021 Career Guide appeared first on Customer Experience Magazine.

  • Yadda, yadda, yadda

    If you are talking with someone about important things, from the heart, with honesty, it’s entirely possible that what you’re saying contradicts what they expect.

    It might be because of the indoctrination of a lifetime of growing up in a particular culture.

    It might be because of personal experiences they’ve had with others that didn’t work out very well.

    And it might be because what you’re saying contradicts what they’re seeing.

    Whichever it is, they nod their head, politely listening, but don’t change their expectations at all. Because they’ve been taught through experience not to believe that things are going to be different.

    If you’ve read ten employee handbooks that say one thing when the company does another, you’re likely to not believe the eleventh one.

    When you hear a boss say ‘people before profits’, you’re likely to hold back before baring your soul and sharing your fears.

    “Trust me” is easy to say, especially when you mean it, but hard to hear.

    Showing tends to beat telling, and it takes a very long time to earn trust when you’re running counter to culture.

  • The Different Types of Emails and Why You Should be Sending Them

    Are you knocking it out of the park with your email campaigns? Any marketer would rarely answer yes to that question. No matter what your strategy looks like or how effective you think they are, email marketing mistakes happen, and results, open rates, and conversions can always be improved.  There are different types of emails,…
    The post The Different Types of Emails and Why You Should be Sending Them appeared first on Benchmark Email.

  • Product Launch Plan: 17 Tips to Ensure a Seamless Launch

    If your product team is working on the next big thing, there ought to be an equally awesome promotion strategy to spread the word.
    While some companies are guilty of drafting a press release, crossing their fingers, and hoping that the users will come, there’s actually much more to it than that.
    Quite simply: If you have big news, you need a big strategy. And that’s where your product launch marketing plan comes in.

    From establishing the proper messaging and creating the assets to enabling your sales team and keeping momentum, there’s a lot that goes into putting together a solid product launch plan.
    At HubSpot, I work on the product marketing team, and we’re responsible for launching all of HubSpot’s new products. Our experience has shown us that there are three distinct phases of a product launch: the pre-launch, the launch, and the post-launch.
    Pre-Launch
    Before you launch, take the time to get really close to the product. Work with your product team to understand the problem they are trying to solve. Join them as they do users tests. Chat with them about their product philosophy. And most of all, ask a ton of questions — especially if you’re not familiar with the space.
    Focus on understanding their vision and becoming a product expert. Outside of the product manager, the marketer launching the product should be the most knowledgeable person at your company about that product.
    By understanding the product and performing market research, you’ll be able to align your messaging strategy with the product. The primary goal will be to bridge the gap between what the prospects’ pains are and what the competition is not doing to address them. The pre-launch stage also includes the necessary promotion planning as you decide:

    Where you’ll advertise (e.g. search engines, social media, traditional channels)

    Where you’ll promote your message organically (e.g. social media, blog, website homepage, events)

    How you’ll get picked up by media outlets (i.e. your PR strategy and media outreach)

    Who you’ll rely on to spread the word (e.g. partners, communities, forums, third-party marketplaces)

    Launch
    During the pre-launch phase, you’ll have decided what channels to promote on, established relationships with any partners who will help you do so, and created the assets that will draw attention to your messaging on these channels.
    The launch phase is simply the execution of all your planning. This phase is much shorter than pre-launch: it can take a day, or a week — depending on how long you feel you need.
    As you prepare to move on to the launch, you want to stay focused on the work and be ready to put out any fires.
    Post-Launch
    The work isn’t over simply because the product is launched. In the post-launch phase, you’ll do a retrospective, pulling together the data to determine what went well and what didn’t go so well.
    In addition, a product still needs to be maintained and improved upon beyond its launch, taking into account customer feedback in order to maintain adoption and retention.
    This is, of course, a high-level overview of a product launch. However, there are some specific tactical things that you can do to help your launch go off without a hitch.
    Pre-Launch
    1. Research the space in-depth.
    At most companies, the product manager will own the problem that the product solves. They’ll have a deep understanding of who the end-user is and what their unique needs are.
    The product marketer’s job is to understand the market. They must be able to answer questions like:

    What’s the larger narrative around this space?
    How do current customers feel about it?
    What do people like and dislike?
    Is it growing and cutting edge or old and getting disrupted?
    What are the leading strategies and tactics in this space?
    What is your company’s unique point of view when it comes to this space?
    How does your new product fit in?

    2. Focus on a single buyer persona.
    You may not need to reinvent an existing buyer persona, but you should outline who amongst your target audience is a great fit for this new product. What kind of challenges do they have? How do they work? How big is their team? Talk to people who fit this profile to really understand their needs and goals.
    If you need help organizing this information, check out these buyer persona templates or this handy tool.
    3. Write a mock press release.
    At HubSpot, we write a mock press release before we launch a product. We do this very early on in the product’s life to ensure that everyone involved in the launch is aligned on the messaging.
    To give you a better sense of how this exercise unfolds, here’s an example:
    But we’re not the only ones practicing this approach. In fact, the folks at Amazon use this exercise, too. The idea is that when you work backward and start with the press release, it’s easier to put yourself in the customer’s shoes.
    If the press release doesn’t sound very interesting or fails to conjure a reaction, it’s likely that there’s more work to be done.
    (Need some help getting started here? Check out these free press release templates.)
    4. Build your messaging — but don’t marry it.
    Messaging or positioning is mostly about refining your product narrative to focus on only the most valuable aspects of the new product via a simple message.
    This is tough.
    Most product people have the urge to communicate how great individual features are –something you want to avoid in launch messaging. At launch, you may only have someone’s attention for a few minutes or seconds, so your messaging needs to be persuasive, simple, and unique. It needs to communicate what your product actually does and communicate its high-level value.
    You want to get this right, but don’t over-commit to messaging. It can (and should) change as you share your messaging with internal folks and customers.
    Elements of good position often include:

    A tagline
    The problem it solves
    A list of core features
    The value prop
    A 10-word positioning statement

    In the screenshot above you can see some of these elements in action on the HubSpot Ads product page.
    5. Share your messaging with everyone.
    It’s time to take the messaging you’ve been slaving over and get it in front of your co-workers, customers, and prospects.
    This is often the least fun part of a product launch. Mainly because no matter how good your positioning is, it takes time to get the pitch down, and not everyone will get it.
    It’s good to start with individuals who may be a little more forgiving and honest before presenting to executives. Use every meeting to pitch people and ask questions. You want to gather as much info as possible here and root out any confusing or bad messages.
    6. Get involved in the beta.
    Having a group of beta testers evaluate your product before you release it to the public is a really important step. At HubSpot, we release products to a group of folks — our beta testers — that have opted-in to give us feedback in exchange for early access.
    If your company does this, make sure you are talking to the customers using the tool in the beta. Capture their stories, review their performance, and validate your value prop with them. This is your opportunity to test your messaging and build real-world proof to support your pitch with an audience that is ready to share feedback.
    7. Change your messaging and find the best hook.
    After talking to prospects and salespeople, and seeing how beta users use the product, it’s likely that you’ve uncovered a thing or two about your messaging that you might want to adjust. That’s good.
    If you’ve done things right, this won’t mean drastic changes, but most likely a tweak to the value prop or tagline.
    8. Set ambitious goals.
    You need to be deliberate and ambitious with the goals you set, and that can be challenging when you have a new product without benchmarks. To combat that, we ask the question: “If everything went exactly right, what is the highest possible number — whether that be leads, users, etc. — we could achieve?”
    This sets a ceiling for your campaign — a number that is realistically almost never achieved.
    If I project that the highest possible number of leads the campaign can generate is 500, and I end up with 450, I know we got just about everything right. If I generate 550 leads, it means I probably didn’t do a great job of setting a realistic ceiling. And if we only generate 300 leads, we know some tactics didn’t work at all.
    The image below can be a useful slide as part of your go-to-market plan:

    9. Take the time to get the market ready.
    If you’re launching a new product that enters your company into a new space — potentially a space where your company doesn’t have a ton of authority — start creating content about that space pre-launch.
    You’ll want to seed this content for SEO purposes and to establish your company as experts in the market. It’ll also give you a chance to see what kind of content resonates prior to the launch, as well as help you surface any issues.
    10. Build compelling creative assets.
    At this point, you’re close to launch and it’s time to start building launch assets. But before you start writing emails or building landing pages, think about the customer journey:

    How do people make purchase decisions in your space?
    What do they need before buying?
    Is it a free trial? A demo?
    Is it best for them to talk to a salesperson?
    What do they need to know before they get to that point?

    Once you’ve answered those questions, outline your conversion path. How will you first get people’s attention? Perhaps it’s an email, that drives people to a landing page, where users are encouraged to fill out a form.
    Once you have this, get to work building the actual forms, site pages, videos, social posts, emails, and other tactics that will drive users down your funnel and to your conversion point.
    (If you’re looking for inspiration, check out this list of the best promotional product videos we’ve ever seen.)
    11. Assemble your go-to-market strategy.
    All the elements I’ve mentioned should come together in a deck or a doc — something that is clear, complete, and easily shareable.
    This is your go-to-market guide: A holistic document of all launch activities, planning, and goals. This can include pricing recommendations, market research, competitive analysis, and any other relevant information you might need.
    Launch
    12. Choose the right channels.
    During the planning phase, you should have outlined the channels you want to use to share your message. This is not a “the more the merrier” sort of thing — a mistake new product marketers often make.
    Be sure to avoid channels where the audience may not be the right fit. Pick one main channel — an event, a Product Hunt post, or blog post — and use email, social, paid, and other channels to support that main post.
    For example, in 2018, we launched HubSpot’s free email marketing tools on Product Hunt. We choose Product Hunt because it serves as a great way for startups and technology companies to introduce new products to a community of product-centric influencers.

    Before you launch, do a final check to ensure that everything works — buttons are functioning, forms are working, copy and creative looks good, and so on.
    If you’re at an event, make sure you’re over-communicating with your team. At this point, anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Be prepared for that.

    13. Activate your sales team.
    Work with your sales team to coordinate meetings and outreach the day of the launch, or directly after. And use signals from your marketing efforts to drive the hottest leads to sales right away.
    If you running an event, make sure your sales team has the opportunity to talk to customers in an organized way. That might mean ensuring there is a comfortable space for them to meet with customers, computer access, or a system for booking meetings.

    14. Make it an event.
    Even if your launch isn’t a live event with speakers, you can still make it an occasion.
    Host a webinar or Hangout On Air, do a Reddit AMA, or try out a live social chat. Leverage apps for startups to manage and host events for free. (Here’s a helpful guide to get you started on the right track with Facebook Live.) Invite influencers to check out your product. Bring customers and press into your office for a live demo of the new product from your product team.
    Whatever you do, strive for an in-person element. It’ll help propel your launch even further.
    Post-Launch
    15. Don’t lose your momentum.
    You’ll reach a lot of people with your launch, but it often takes several touchpoints before someone is convinced to start a trial or get a demo. Make sure to continue to move folks who’ve raised their hands as “interested but not ready to buy” down your funnel.
    This means nurturing emails, free trials, demos, and more in-depth, product-focused webinars and activities. Build extra creative, like a longer video or social media posts that you can save for after the launch. This will give you fresh assets to share.
    And don’t forget about educating your sales team. It will take a while before all your salespeople feel comfortable with this new product, so it’s important to arm them with amazing sales collateral (demo video, one-pagers, etc.).
    Beyond that, you can make a big impact by joining their calls: Getting on the phone and pitching the product with them the first couple of times will give them the confidence they need to carry the torch.

    16. Revisit your “go-to-market” doc for reporting.
    With all the work that’s going into launch, you don’t want to have to retroactively figure out what to report on. If you’ve done a good job with your go-to-market doc, you should be able to create a new slide and fill in your results with real numbers.
    Once you’ve had a little more time away from your launch, spend some time analyzing the results. Where did your campaign succeed and fail? What did you fail to anticipate? What did you learn? Post these to your internal wiki or as a public blog post.
    17. Shift your focus on retention.
    Now that you’ve successfully launched a new product, shift your attention to retention. Marketing can generally play a bigger role in driving new users, but it’s important to work with your product team to figure out how you can help keep those users around.
    This means more ongoing education like post-launch product webinars, as well as sharing case studies and success stories to show your users what they can achieve with your product.
    Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in September 2013 and has been updated for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.

  • How to Create an Ebook From Start to Finish [Free Ebook Templates]

    In Q1 of 2021, ebook sales increased 38% for publisher Harpercollins, following a trend of increased revenue earnings for the company. Although this is a snapshot of one publisher’s success, it speaks to a larger movement toward digital content consumption among marketers.
    Lead magnets come in many forms, but the ebook still reigns supreme. They give the reader:

    In-depth digital content in an environment largely overrun with quick headlines and soundbites
    Visual data that compliments the editorial content
    On-demand access to the ebook content

    Your business benefits from publishing an ebook, too. Turning a profit, acquiring new customers, generating buzz, and becoming an industry thought leader are just a few of the advantages of this type of content.
    But what exactly is an ebook and why do they deliver such great results for marketers?

    18 Free Ebook Templates – Download Now

    Download HubSpot’s 18 free ebook templates to create an ebook on PowerPoint, Google Slides, or Adobe InDesign.
    What are the benefits of an ebook?
    Let’s say you have an amazing blog full of long-form content. Why in the world would you want to offer your readers an ebook? Is it even worth your time?
    Here are some advantages ebooks offer content creators:

    Unlike long-form printed publications that are purchased in-store or shipped, an ebook is immediately accessible the moment you’re ready to read.
    You can put it behind an opt-in of some kind, incentivizing your website visitor to become a lead if they want the information.
    In some ways, ebooks have design capabilities like in-depth charts, graphs, and full-page images which you may not be able to achieve on your blog.
    After the initial creation of the ebook, you can distribute the file a multitude of times with no additional production cost. They also have no associated shipping fees.
    You can embed links to other media in the ebook file, encouraging the reader to further engage with your content.

    Perhaps more importantly, ebooks offer a number of advantages for your audience:

    Ebooks are extremely portable, able to be stored on a number of devices with no physical storage space associated.
    The reader gets the choice to print the ebook out if they want to consume the information in a traditional physical format. Otherwise, the digital format is environmentally friendly.
    Ebooks are accessible with the ability to increase font sizes and/or read aloud with text-to-speech.
    They’re also easily searchable if the reader is looking for something specific.

    Are ebooks profitable?
    They can be. Ebooks are high-volume, low-sales-price offers. This means you’ll need to sell a lot of them at a relatively low price point in order to compete in the market and turn a significant profit. Depending on your industry, ebooks can range from free to more than $100.
    Before setting a price for your ebook, do some research. Determine who your audience is, what they’re willing to pay, and how many people within your target market might be willing to buy it. Then, determine the platforms you’ll sell your ebook through. Amazon? Apple Books? Your own website? You can research how much ebooks usually go for on these sites and incorporate this insight into your pricing strategy.
    How is an ebook structured?
    There’s no set rule for organizing your content into an ebook. It generally mimics the structure of a novel or textbook (depending on what it is you’re writing about). But, there are some aspects of an ebook you should be sure to adhere to.
    Ebooks typically have a system of chapters and supporting images. Similar to a blog post, they also do well when further segmenting their text with subheaders that break down the discussion into specific sections. If you’re writing about professional sports, for example, and one of your chapters is about Major League Baseball (MLB) in the U.S., you might want to establish subchapters about the various teams belonging to the MLB.

    What can an ebook be about?
    Anything. Well, within reason. Ebooks are simply a marketer’s way of delivering lots of critical information in a form their potential customers are most willing to read. An environmental company might write an ebook about water conservation. They might also focus an ebook entirely on how their water-saving product is used, or how it helped a customer solve a problem. Discover more ebook ideas at the end of this article.
    No matter what topic your ebook takes on, research is a significant part of ebook creation. Contrary to short-form content like articles and videos, the content of an ebook is predicated on trust and evidence. A user who obtains (or requests access to) your ebook wants the full story, not just the bullet points. That includes all the content and testing you went through to produce the ebook.
    Can you edit an ebook?
    Nope. An ebook can’t be edited once it’s been saved in one of the major file formats, so it’s best to ensure you have an editable version saved in a program like Microsoft Word.
    But why would you want your ebook to be uneditable? Making ebooks uneditable ensures the content remains unchanged — both the format and the information — as it’s shared between multiple uses.
    You can edit ebooks if they’re saved using an editable PDF, a feature that is specific to Adobe Acrobat — the founding program of the PDF file type. Learn how to edit PDFs in this blog post.
    How do you read an ebook?
    You can read an ebook on many different devices: iPhone, Android smartphones, a Macbook, PC, and e-readers such as the Nook and Kindle. The latter two devices are typically used to read novels in digital form. Nook and Kindle owners can store thousands of books (literally) on a single Nook or Kindle.
    But making an ebook can be overwhelming. Not only do you have to write the content, but you also need to design and format it into a professional-looking document that people will want to download and read. With lead generation being the top goal for content marketing, however, ebooks are an essential part of a successful inbound marketing program.
    In this post, we’ll walk you through the ins and outs of creating an ebook by, well, creating an ebook. And if you’re worried about your lacking design skills, fret not …

    18 Free Ebook Templates in PowerPoint, Google Slides, and InDesign [Free Download]
    Got your free ebook templates? Ready to make an ebook? Great — let’s get to it.

    What ebook file format should you use?
    Ebooks can be saved in one of several formats. Depending on your end-user, though, you might find a use for any of the following file types:
    PDF
    PDFs are likely the most well-known file type. The “PDF” extension stands for “Portable Document Format,” and is best for ebooks that are meant to be read on a computer (digital marketers, you’ll want to remember this one). We’ll talk more about how to save your ebook as a PDF later in this article.
    EPUB
    This file type stands for “Electronic Publication,” and is a more flexible ebook format. By that, I mean EPUB ebooks can “reflow” their text to adapt to various mobile devices and tablets, allowing the ebook’s text to move on and off different pages based on the size of the device on which a user is reading the ebook. They’re particularly helpful for viewing on smaller screens, such as smartphones as well as the Nook from Barnes and Noble.
    MOBI
    The MOBI format originated from the Mobipocket Reader software, which was purchased by Amazon in 2005 but was later shut down in 2016. However, the MOBI file extension remains a popular ebook format with compatibility across the major e-readers (except the Nook).
    While the format comes with some limitations, such as not supporting audio or video, it does support DRM, which protects copyrighted material from being copied for distribution or viewed illegally.
    Newer Kindle formats are based on the original MOBI file types.
    AZW
    This is an ebook file type designed for the Kindle, an e-reader device by Amazon. However, users can also open this file format on smartphones, tablets, and computers.
    ODF
    ODF stands for OpenDocument Format, a file type meant primarily for OpenOffice, a series of open-source content creation programs similar to Microsoft Office.
    IBA
    IBA is the proprietary ebook format for the Apple iBooks Author app. This format does support video, sound, images, and interactive elements, but it is only used for books written in iBooks. It is not compatible with other e-readers.

    Data Visualization 101: How to Design Charts and Graphs [Free Download]

    1. Choose a topic that matches your audience’s needs.
    Remember: The goal of your ebook is to generate leads for your sales team, so pick a topic that will make it easy for a prospect to go from downloading your ebook to having a conversation with your sales team.
    This means your ebook shouldn’t deviate much from the topics you cover in your other content marketing channels. Rather, it’s your opportunity to do a deep dive into a subject you’ve only lightly covered until now, but something your audience wants to learn more about.
    For example, in listening to sales and customer calls here at HubSpot, I’ve learned that creating ebooks is a huge obstacle for our audience, who are marketers themselves. So if I can provide not only this blog post, but resources to make ebook creation easier, I’m focusing on the right topic that will naturally lead to a sales conversation.
    To get your creative juices flowing, here are some example ebook titles to consider. (Note: Replace “x” with an appropriate number.) You can also use our free Blog Topic Generator tool to come up with more ideas. Most blog topics can be made comprehensive enough to serve as longer form ebook topics.

    X Best Practices for [Insert Industry/Topic]
    An Introduction to [Insert Industry/Topic]
    X Common Questions About [Insert Industry/Topic] Answered
    X [Insert Industry/Topic] Statistics For Better Decision Making
    Learn From The Best: X [Insert Industry/Topic] Experts Share Insights

    For this blog post, I’m going to use the PowerPoint version of template two from our collection of five free ebook templates. Through each section of this post, I’ll provide a side-by-side of the template slide and how I customized it.
    Below, you’ll see my customized cover with my sales-relevant ebook topic. For help with writing compelling titles for your ebooks, check out the tips in this blog post.

    2. Outline each chapter of your ebook.
    The introduction to your ebook should both set the stage for the contents of your ebook and draw the reader in. What will you cover in your ebook? How will the reader benefit from reading it? For tips on how to write an effective introduction, check out this post.
    Some ebook creators say that an ebook is simply a series of blog posts stitched together. While I agree you should treat each chapter like an individual blog post, the chapters of your ebook should also flow fluidly from one to the other.
    The best way to outline your ebook is by thinking of it as a crash course on the sales-relevant topic you selected. In my example of creating an ebook, I know I need to cover how to:

    Write effective copy
    Design an ebook
    Optimize ebooks for lead generation and promotion

    While my example has a few chapters, keep in mind that your ebook does not need to be lengthy. I have one golden rule for ebook length: Write what is needed to effectively educate your audience about your selected topic. If that requires five pages, great! If that requires 30 pages, so be it. Just don’t waste words thinking you need to write a long ebook.
    With that, let’s move on to the actual copy you’re writing.

    3. Break down each chapter as you write.
    Get writing! Here, you can approach each chapter the way you might write a long blog post — by compartmentalizing each chapter into smaller sections or bullet points, as shown in the picture below. This helps you write simply and clearly, rather than trying to use sophisticated language to convey each point. It’s the most effective way to educate readers and help them understand the new material you’re providing.
    Be sure to maintain a consistent structure across each chapter, as well. This helps you establish natural transitions between each chapter so there’s a clear progression from one chapter to the next (simply stitching blog posts together can rob you of this quality).
    These practices should hold true for all your other marketing efforts, such as email marketing, call-to-action creation, and landing page development. “Clarity trumps persuasion,” as Dr. Flint McGlaughlin of MECLABS often likes to say.
    Want to make sure you’re keeping your ebook exciting for readers? Here are some key tips to keep in mind:

    Use keywords in the title that emphasize the value of your offer. Examples include adjectives like “amazing,” “awesome,” or “ultimate.”
    Keep your format consistent so you create a mental model for readers and enhance their understanding of the material.
    When appropriate, make use of formatting — like bulleted lists, bold text, italics, and font size changes — to draw people’s eyes to your most important content or emphasize certain points you want readers to remember.

    4. Design your ebook.
    Our downloadable ebook templates are offered in both PowerPoint and InDesign. For this example, we’ll show you how to do it in PowerPoint, since more people have access to that software.
    You’ll notice we only have one “chapter page” in the template (slide three). To create additional chapter pages, or any pages really, simply right click the slide and choose Duplicate Slide. This will make a copy of your slide and allow you to drag it to its proper place in your ebook via the sidebar or Slide Sorter section of PowerPoint. You can then customize it for any subsequent chapters.

    5. Use the right colors.
    Ideally, our free ebook templates would magically match your brand colors. But, they probably don’t; this is where you get to truly personalize your work. However, because ebooks offer more real estate for color than your logo or website, it’s a good idea to consider secondary colors within your brand’s color palette. Ebooks are where this color scheme can truly shine.
    To learn how to add your brand’s colors to PowerPoint, check out this blog post. That way, you can customize the color scheme in our ebook templates to match your brand!
    6. Incorporate visuals.
    Images and graphics in ebooks are hard to get right. The key to making them fit well is to think of them as complementary to your writing. Whether you add them during or after you’ve finished writing your ebook’s copy, your visuals should serve to highlight an important point you’re making or deconstruct the meaning of a concept in an easy-to-understand, visual way.
    Images shouldn’t just be there to make the ebook easy on the eyes. Rather, they should be used to enhance the reader’s understanding of the material you’re covering. If you need help gathering visuals, we have three sets of free stock photos that might help you along the way:

    75 Standard Stock Photos
    160 Business-Themed Stock Photos
    250 Holiday Stock Photos

    And if you’re compiling a data-heavy ebook, you might want to download our free data visualization ebook for tips about designing compelling charts and graphs for your content.

    7. Highlight quotes or stats.
    Another way to enhance your ebook is by highlighting quotes or stats within your design. Just be sure the quote or stat you’re using genuinely adds value to the content.
    Whether you’re emphasizing a quote or adding a visual, keep all your content within the same margins. If your copy is consistently one-inch indented on your page from both the left and right sides, keep your designed elements aligned using that same spacing.

    8. Place appropriate calls-to-action within your ebook.
    Now that your content is written and designed, it’s time to optimize it for lead generation, reconversion, and promotion.
    Think about how you got here — you clicked on a call-to-action (CTA) in an email, on a social media post, or somewhere else. A CTA is a link or visual object that entices the visitor to click and arrive on a landing page that will get them further engaged with your company. Since your ebook readers have probably converted into leads in order to get their hands on your ebook to begin with (more on this in step below), use the CTAs within your ebook to reconvert your readers and propel them further down your marketing funnel.
    For instance, a CTA can lead to another offer, your annual conference’s registration page, or even a product page. Depending on what this next action is, CTAs can be an in-line rectangle or a full-page teasing the next offer (see both images below).
    To hyperlink the CTA in your ebook (or any image or text in your ebook) to your destination URL, simply go to Insert >> Hyperlink in PowerPoint.

    We’ve even designed 50 customizable calls-to-action in PowerPoint you can download and use in your ebooks. You can grab them here.
    Now, we don’t have a dedicated CTA template slide in the PowerPoint ebook templates for you to customize … but it’s still simple! All you have to do is duplicate slide four (the Header/Subheader slide) and customize copy or add images as needed. You can also go to Insert >> New Slide and work from there.

    9. Convert it into a PDF.
    Once you’ve finished writing your ebook — CTAs and all — it’s time to convert it to the right file type so it’s transferable from you to your recipient.
    To convert your ebook to a PDF, click File >> Save As in the ebook template you have open. Under File Format, select PDF and select a destination on your computer for this new file.
    Why can’t you just attach what you have to a landing page and be done with it? Word documents, PowerPoints, and similar templates are perfect for creating your ebook, but not for delivering it. Because these templates are editable, the contents of your ebook are too easily corrupted, distorted, or even lost when moving from your computer to the hands of your future leads. That’s where PDFs come in.
    You’ve seen these letters at the end of files before. Short for Portable Document Format, the .PDF file type essentially freezes your ebook so it can be displayed clearly on any device. A popular alternative to PDFs is the .EPUB file type. See a comparison of EPUB to PDF here.
    10. Create a dedicated landing page for your ebook.
    Your ebook should be available for download through a landing page on your site. A landing page is a web page that promotes/describes your offer and provides a form that visitors need to fill out with their contact information in order to access your ebook. This is how you are able to convert your visitors into business leads that your sales team can ultimately follow up with.
    For instance, you went through this landing page in order to access this ebook template. To learn more about how to optimize your landing pages for conversion, download this free ebook.

    11. Promote your ebook and track its success.
    Once your landing page is all set, you can use that destination URL to promote your ebook across your marketing channels. Here are five ways you can do this:

    Advertise your new ebook on your website. For example, feature a CTA or link to your offer’s landing page on your resources page or even your homepage.
    Promote your ebook through your blog. For instance, consider publishing an excerpt of your ebook as a blog post. Or write a separate blog article on the same topic as your ebook, and link to it at the end of your post using a call-to-action to encourage readers to keep learning. (Note: This very blog post is the perfect example of how to promote an offer you created with a blog post.)
    Send a segmented email to contacts who have indicated an interest in receiving offers from your company.
    Leverage paid advertising and co-marketing partnerships that will help you promote your ebook to a new audience.
    Publish posts to social media with a link to your ebook. You can also increase social shares by creating social media share buttons within your ebook, such as the ones at the bottom right of this ebook.

    After your content is launched and promoted across your marketing channels, you’ll also want marketing analytics in place to measure the success of your live product.
    For instance, you should have landing page analytics that give you insight into how many people downloaded your ebook and converted into leads, and closed-loop analytics that show how many of those people ultimately converted into opportunities and customers for your business. Learn more through HubSpot’s Landing Pages App.
    And with that, we’ve built an ebook, folks! You can check out the packaged version of the example I built through this post here:

    After your content is launched and promoted across your marketing channels, you’ll need to have marketing analytics in place that measure the success of your ebooks. For instance, having landing page analytics that give you insight into how many people downloaded your ebook, or show how many of those downloaders converted into opportunities and customers for your business.
    Ebook Ideas
    So, what should you write about in your ebook? I’ll answer that question with another question: What do you want your readers to get out of this ebook? To identify an ebook idea that suits your audience, consider the type of ebook you’re trying to create. Here are a few ideas.
    New Research
    Conducting an experiment or business survey? This is a great way to develop proprietary knowledge and become a thought leader in your industry. But how will you share your findings with the people who care about it? Create an ebook that describes the experiment, what you intended to find out, what the results of the experiment were, and what these findings mean for your readers and the market at large.
    Case Study
    People love success stories, especially if these people are on the fence about purchasing something from you. If you have a client whose business you’re particularly proud to have, why not tell their story in an ebook?
    Ebook case studies show your buyers that other people trust you and have benefited from your product or service. In your ebook, describe what your client’s challenge was, how you connected with them, and how you were able to help your client solve their challenge and become successful.
    Product Demo
    The more complex your product is, the more information your customers will need to use it correctly. If your product or service can be used in multiple ways, or it’s hard to set up alone, dedicate a brief ebook to showing people how it’s done. In the first section of your ebook, for example, explain how to launch your product or service. In the second section, break down the individual features and purposes your product is best used for.
    Interview
    Interested in interviewing a well-known person in your market? Perhaps you’ve already sat down with an influencer to pick their brain about the future of the industry. Package this interview into an ebook, making it easy for your customers to read and share your inside scoop.
    Playbook
    A “playbook” is a document people can use when taking on a new project or concept that is foreign to them. Think of it like a cheat sheet, full of tips and tricks that help your customers get better at what they do.
    When done right, a playbook equips your customers with the information they would need to excel when using your product. For example, a software vendor for IT professionals might create a “virus protection playbook” that makes support teams better at preventing viruses at their respective companies.
    Blog Post Series
    Sometimes, the best ebook for your business is already strewn across a series of blog posts. If you’ve spent the last month writing articles all on the same subject for your business, imagine how these posts would look stitched together?
    Each article can begin a new chapter. Then, once this ebook is created, you can promote it on a landing page, link to this landing page from each individual blog post, and generate leads from readers who want to download the entire blog series in one convenient ebook.
    Share Your Expertise in an Ebook
    Ebooks are one of the top converting lead magnets a business can offer to its audience. Creating an ebook is all about delivering high value at a low price point to generate a high volume of sales. Ebooks work well for new businesses looking for brand awareness and established companies securing a spot as an industry thought leader. So long as you and your team have outlined what success looks like for your ebook launch, you’ll reap the rewards of this stand-alone asset for months — or even years — to come. Get started on your own ebook using the free template available in the offer below.
    Editor’s note: This post was originally published in November 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.