If I wanted to summarize the state of content marketing, I’d only need 5 words:

Content, content, content… Publish MORE!

For many businesses, the strategy is still “publish and pray” (pray you get leads).

But marketing is no spiritual endeavor. So, I want to share a more down-to-earth strategy with you.

The example  

The website we’re looking at is The B2B Marketing Portal by Jeff Simmons. All of the posts here are about B2B sales funnels. At the end of each post, you are offered free membership to Jeff’s B2B Sales Funnel Library. Check out the copy:

Now, if you were interested in that topic, would you opt in? I bet you would!

That’s the power of a relevant lead magnet.

What can we learn from The Sales Funnel Library?

1. It’s ALL about the lead magnet. Your content has to lead people to your lead magnet (my, is that a pun!). The content has to ignite their desire to learn more. And your lead magnet has to satisfy that desire.
   
   You can also think of your lead magnet as a $0 paywall. What you put behind this paywall is the next most important thing people would want to learn or do after reading your post.
2. Use the this-should-be-paid trick. The message on Jeff’s website is “get free membership to an online library of B2B sales funnels”. This sounds like something you’d normally pay for. It makes the reader believe they’re getting a lot of value in exchange for their email. Do that. Make it sound and look like you’re giving away your paid stuff. And don’t forget to deliver on your promise, of course.

Back to you

Think about your lead magnet first. Make it useful. And then start publishing content that makes people want this exact lead magnet.

Next time…

I’ll show you a huge landing page blooper + how to fix it.