Marketers often invest their efforts, resources, and budgets in the development of an ebook, only to proceed once the landing page is live. Your ebook could be the next groundbreaking, Content Marketing Award-winning piece that becomes a major movie piece, but without ads, no one will click, download, read, or even see it.
Promoting an ebook goes beyond creating a landing page, tweeting a link, and emailing it to your customers. Those are the staples, much like serving turkey and dressing for Thanksgiving dinner.
A great ebook promotion touches all stages of the sales funnel and requires the involvement of multiple teams across your organization. A collaborative, planned approach to ebook promotion not only generates leads but also captures the attention of your best prospects.
Top of the funnel ebook promotion
Your top-of-the-funnel efforts are likely to cast a wide net. You know some information about this audience so you can target them accurately, but you don’t know them as well as you do your best customer. Therefore, this is the place where you can slice and dice your advertising the most. People digest content in different ways. The more you chop it up and share it, the more ebook buzz you’ll create.
Try these tactics and make sure the ebook is always the call to action:
- Turn each chapter into a blog post on your company blog.
- Record someone on your team reading the e-book and launch it as an audiobook.
- Host a webinar with the author, thought leaders, or brands.
- Create an infographic using the ebook’s tips, tricks, or quotes.
- Tweet with quotes, stats, or tips from the e-book.
- Host a Twitter chat on the topic.
- Post snapshots and Instagram stories with quotes or tips.
- Reach out to influencers and ask them to share (give them an exclusive preview for even more exposure or buzz.
- Write a guest blog post for websites on the topic.
- Insert the ebook in two or three places on your website, e.g. on the home page, in the resources area, on the customer login page, and in the sidebar.
- Turn it into a printed book and give it away at conferences, booth exhibitions, etc.
- Turn each chapter into a blog post to create a top-of-funnel ebook promotion.
Promotion in the middle of the funnel
When you create an eBook with thought leadership and a top-of-funnel, you may think your promotional effort ends at the top of the funnel. That’s not the case. Other departments and audiences can benefit from your e-book, ultimately leading to revenue for your business, which should be an end goal for you as well.
In the middle of the funnel, you get existing prospects raising their hand and getting closer to the sale. This is probably the hardest part of a marketer’s job. When you have great content and a strong reach, it’s not difficult to add new leads to your database. A simple download is all you need to start the process. However, more work is required to attract these leads to a demo or free trial. Your ebook can help.
Consider these ideas in the middle of the funnel:
- Incorporate the e-book into your grooming programs or drip campaigns.
- Share on your company’s forums or community site.
- Create a content pack for existing prospects including a case study, ebook, a checkbox, etc.
- Include the ebook in your newsletter.
Make the ebook available to employees in a variety of ways for easy access and sharing. This includes:
- Post or file on the team collaboration platform
- Link to the landing page
- Provide a direct link to the ebook (e.g. full page after the form or PDF link).
- Place it on a shelf in the company’s content library
- Ask the partners to send it to common partners and networks.
- Print it out and include it in a care pack for clients and prospects.
- Enter your ebook in marketing contests.
Marketing ebook at the bottom of the funnel
At the bottom of the funnel, a seller takes the lead. Think of the funnel as a road and go down it.
As a marketer, you’re in the driver’s seat at the top and center of the funnel. You control the content, message, promotional approach, etc. When you reach the bottom of the funnel, the seller takes control. The seller is responsible for closing this deal.
However, instead of getting out of the car, they sit in the back seat. You can still help, and this ebook is your ticket. Here are some ideas to support bottom-of-funnel promotion:
- Attach the e-book to presentation decks for first-time calls.
- Use this option to develop email or phone scripts and templates for existing prospects.
- Print it out and give it to salespeople as a snack or to leave it behind for meetings.
Don’t get overwhelmed – think of this post as a tapas menu where you can choose tactics that work for you. When promoting your e-book, you’ll quickly learn what works (and what doesn’t). From there you can focus on the winning tactics. You’ll soon have a well-oiled machine that lets you not only create great eBooks but get them out there for the world to see and devour.