The Funnelholic

I just finished a webinar last week entitled; At Last, the Secret to Generating Leads with Content Syndication Revealed. You can watch it here if you missed.

In the spirit of Ardath Albee’s (@ardath 421) “Rule of 5,” which states that you should be able to create at least 5 pieces of content for every idea, here is my blog post on the topic of generating leads via content syndication.

First, let’s make sure we are clear what I’m talking about:

→ Step 1: It starts with your digital content (i.e., white papers, webinars, etc) that someone would “pay” for with a registration
→ Step 2: You syndicate, or distribute that content across the Web on third party, relevant sites to maximize circulation
→ Step 3: The publishers of the sites send you the leads generated from your content. Typically, for a pay-for-performance basis.

There are two buzzwords on the marketing blogosphere circuit that I want to make sure I position with regards to content syndication:

1. Content Marketing – The way content marketing is discussed today relates to your overall content strategy.  In other words, creating content for the different personas you are trying to sell to and their different stages in the buying process. When we talk about content with regards to content syndication and generating leads, we are really focused on content to get the person to raise their hand versus content focused on nurturing a prospect through the buying cycle.
2. Inbound Marketing – Everyone right now is talking about inbound marketing, this wonderful drug that every marketer should strive for. Here is an important thing to consider:  content syndication IS inbound marketing. Most people think of inbound marketing as solely the domain of driving people to your landing pages, with content syndication you are expanding your reach to a much greater audience. Furthermore, the publisher takes the risk of marketing your content. The publisher optimizes their landing pages, drives campaigns to your content, and only gets paid when they deliver a lead. This allows marketers to forecast their CPL costs fairly precisely.

There are three camps in the content syndication world:

1. The lead hound – These are people who have figured out how to convert content syndication and are pretty close to buying every lead they can on the market.
2. The “I have tried and can’t make it work” marketer – Content syndication can be difficult for folks.  Honestly, most people that can’t make it work don’t have the right back-end processes, such as lead nurturing or lead qualification, to convert these leads. Or put another way, they probably passed content syndication leads directly to the sales team.  Also, unrealistic expectations can doom you as well.
3. The neophyte – Haven’t tried it yet.

Now, that I’ve thoroughly set the table, here are my 7 tips for content syndication success:

1. Will it play in Peoria? –  You need to create content that converts — remember, buyers today are busy, distracted with lots of choices on what they choose to consume.  Your approach to content syndication should be that of a movie studio trying to get a big, wide opening weekend.  Understand what the buyers want when they are downloading content: research that helps them do their job. You can’t just put your data sheet out there on the internet.  (There is more, but that would be another blog post).
2. If you’re not testing, you’re not trying – Content syndication pros always set aside budget to test new channels and publishers.  It’s one of those things,-you can “analyze” their media kit all you want.  You won’t know until you try.
3. Diversify your portfolio – Create relationships with a number of online media partners and create redundancy. The buyers are everywhere on the internet, you need to be too.
4. Treat others you want to be treated, and then everyone wins – Make online media companies your partners versus just vendors.  If you share data and feedback and create a true supplier-manufacturer relationship, you can create optimized, enduring programs.  The opposite of this is a contentious relationship where both sides are defensive and no one gets better.
5. Content Syndication is the first conversation not the last – This is the expectation factor.  Some will have near-term projects, but a large majority will become buyers over time.  If you haven’t heard of lead nurturing, you aren’t reading marketing blogs (its literally all some of us talk about).  But seriously, feeding content syndication into lead nurturing is really effective.  If you are setting expectations within the organization that you are going to get all these near-term projects from content syndication, you will probably fail(sorry, it’s the truth).
6. The ultimate lead gen FAIL: Passing content syndication leads directly to sales – Well, don’t do it.  This is a major failure point.  Content syndication is NOT to be consumed by bag-carrying field reps. Instead, they should be sifted through a lead management process to determine who is ready to talk to sales.  Remember, the “I have tried and can’t make it work” marketer above, this is the most common symptom.
7. Forget campaigns, build a factory – The real content syndication lead machines are buying leads all year.  They have built the processes to convert them and they are just feeding the beast.  Coming in-and-out for small, specific campaigns means you will not be consistently feeding the top of the funnel.

Here we are again. If you missed Part I, make sure to read it first. Once again, before we begin, I need to introduce the members of the band:

On the guitar, Tom Scearce (@TLOTL), and on the electric keyboard, Chris Jablonski (@cjablonski).

I can say this, we had a lot of fun. Check out numbers 37-49. @TLOTL has some great ones.

25.  Cold calling: I really have no idea why I put this on here. It’s pretty simple: You pick up the phone and call someone who has no idea you are calling. In today’s day and age, this is best left to professionals — a.k.a., outsourced.

26.  Contacts: Just names. The contact movement has been brought upon us by breakthrough companies such as Jigsaw, demandbase and NetProspex. These are not leads, even if these companies market them as such. Contact purchasing is a critical component to push marketing (see below).

27.   Leads: A lead is a person who has opted in for an offer (see below). As mentioned above, a contact is not a lead.

28.   Offer: An offer can be defined as “something” someone has opted-in for. These can be discrete offers such as white papers, webinars and podcasts. They can also be an appointment with a sales person.

29.   Lead generation: Activities designed to create leads.

30.   Demand generation: All the activities designed to create demand. Not just lead generation, which is part of it. Everything — including things like PR, speaking engagements, advertising, discounts or special offers and so on and so on. BTW, this is an interesting point of conversation — check out some of the answers to this on Focus.com.

31.    Lead nurturing: A process that uses content (offers, tools, white papers, etc.) and distribution tactics (email, phone, Web, etc.) to market to leads over time until they are measurably ready to engage. This one was hard. I got some terrific definitions from experts on Focus.com.

32.   Remarkable content: You need to develop this every day, and you know it’s remarkable if people can apply it right away. You need to deliver on three characteristics: 1) value: create substantive, meaningful and high-quality content and 2) efficiency: package for simplicity and ease of consumption; 3) relevance: target buyers and address their specific challenges. (@cjablonski)

33.   Push marketing: “Knocking on someone’s door.” In other words, using outbound marketing tactics such as email, phone and direct mail to market to contacts in order to create leads. Examples are outsourced appointment setting and email campaigns to a list.

34.   Pull marketing: As opposed to push marketing, “getting people to walk into your store.” Pull means you are using SEO, paid search, etc. to attract people who are searching for something you offer. It also includes getting people to look at your products in other stores through online media and white paper syndication, for example. Because not all buyers are walking into your store, you need to make sure you are represented in other stores that attract your type of buyer.

35.   Landing page: A Web page with a call-to-action to download an offer, such as a webinar, a white paper, and so on. In order to download the offer, the user has to fill out a form. (@cjablonski)

36.  Direct mail: The act of sending a marketing offer via the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx, and so on. This is a dying lead-generation tool. NOTE: there are marketers who believe direct mail still works despite the cost and low conversion rates. My suggestion is that, if you don’t do it now, don’t start.

37.  Return on contribution: Anyone who takes the time and energy to create remarkable content needs to also invest time in managing return on contribution. This can mean several things: 1) crowd-sourcing the content to leverage the friends and followers of the contributors for added distribution; 2) syndicating your content through targeted media properties; 3) engaging in online conversations where your content can be delivered in a relevant context ; and 4) leveraging your content across multiple campaigns, including lead-nurturing programs. (@TLOTL)

38.  Micro-marketed content: The opposite of mass-marketed content. An unmediated, free-flowing discussion among genuine experts in a niche category (e.g., this discussion on Focus.com) is often more relevant and helpful to buyers than a banner ad or an industry trade publication. (@TLOTL)

39.  “Multi-channel, multi-touch”: The mantra of any successful pipeline/revenue generation program. Email, Web and phone are all integrated and response-measured (scored) using marketing automation services. (@TLOTL)

40.  The “three legged stool”: In direct marketing, results are usually, ultimately, a function of the:

• List (or audience)
• Offer
• Creative

Underperform in any one of these areas and the stool falls over. (@TLOTL)

41.  The revenue/sausage factory: A useful metaphor for helping the uninitiated understand how the marketing and sales team work together to drive the top line. The factory can include “upstream” suppliers like Google, direct mail programs or demand-gen agencies. And it can also encompass post-sales “revenue recognition” functions like professional services and account management. (@TLOTL)

42.  Pipeline erosion rate: Your sales team converts your leads into pipeline deals. They win some, they lose some. Some deals roll into next month/quarter. Some don’t. The erosion rate measures the lost pipeline value that must be replaced through incremental demand-gen efforts and budget. (@TLOTL)

43.   Rotting lead rate: The percentage of leads that go untouched by sales (no email, call or voicemail) before they start to “rot.” Keep in mind that the goal is not necessarily a 0% “rot-rate.” In some cases, it’s totally ok for sales to let leads “rot.” If sales has warmer leads to work, marketing can take back the leads that would otherwise rot and nurture them until they are ready. (@TLOTL)

44.  Funnel jockey: The demand-generation expert in every successful marketing department who understands his or her funnel well enough to hard-wire the entire revenue manufacturing process, from marketing spend, to lead gen, to pipeline creation and booked revenue. This person is one of the Excel users in the marketing department who is most likely to have a working command of functions like VLOOKUP, GETPIVOTDATA, SUMPRODUCT, and RAND. (@TLOTL)

45.  Campaign Sorcerer: Describes a marketer who can quickly articulate and illustrate campaign concepts with a unique and integrated skill set that includes design aesthetics, copywriting/storyboarding, program logistics, and schedule visualization. A Powerpoint/Keynote Magic User proficient in spell-casting with SnagIt and Photoshop. (@TLOTL)

46.  Market whisperer: The agency-side marketer who can, in 30 minutes or less, figure out the essence of a client’s marketing and sales challenges, with minimal to no briefing from said client, consulting only Twitter, Google, Wordpress and Michael Porter’s Five Forces model. This marketer is more likely than his or her peers to get away with wearing ironic tee shirts or quirky, comment-worthy eyewear/accessories. (@TLOTL)

47.  Tweeps: Twitter + Peeps = Tweeps. (@TLOTL)

48.  Product myopia: Outdated marketing thinking still practiced by many who engage with prospects and clients through the lens of their own solutions. (@cjablonski)

49.  Trapping the chicken in the courtyard: A semi-obscure “Rocky II” reference/metaphor describing the relentless and often frustrating pursuit of repeatable marketing and sales success. “I feel like a Kentucky Fried idiot.” — Rocky Balboa (@TLOTL)

50.  Buyer engagement: Your goal anytime a buyer comes into contact with you. To get their full attention and immerse them into a brand experience, make sure everything you do is valuable and differentiated. (@cjablonski)

Below are SiriusDecisions definitions I have included because they have done an amazing job of getting marketers to use their methodology and lingo. This is for the other marketers who aren’t Sirius trained and want to talk the talk (I chose the three most used terms)

51.  MQL (Marketing qualified lead): Prospects defined by your marketing and sales organization as someone ready to pass to sales. They’re instrumental in calculating lead gen metrics, such as marketing qualified lead rate (# of MQLs/# of total marketing contacts).

52.  SAL (Sales accepted lead): A lead that has met the basic tenets of qualification and that sales has agreed to engage. (@cjablonski)

53.  SQL (Sales qualified lead): A prospect confirmed by sales as a true revenue opportunity and entered into the pipeline. (@cjablonski)

Drumroll, please … Another ambitious post here: The Marketing Hipster Dictionary. When we started, I just wanted to create a post with some definitions of terms used in this blog and in the marketing space in general. Then we started having fun with some “originals.”

Before I go on, I must introduce my band. (Side note: I love when the lead singer introduces the band at concerts. I don’t know what it is — but I get excited.) On the guitar: Tom Scearce (@TLOTL). Tom is a brilliant marketer who understands marketing from brand to process. Follow him on Twitter. And on the electric keyboard: Chris Jablonski (@cjablonski). Chris can do anything. Period. And he does do everything, but he is not a dilettante. He does them all really well.

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Drumroll please …  I present the 210 B2B marketing tips for 2010. Let me tell you, this was quite an adventure, one that I will certainly do differently in the future.

Basically, the sequence of events went like this: Continue Reading »