Active Headlines Get More Attention

Fact No.1 That We All Know: Providing free content such as whitepapers or research reports can be a great B2B lead generator.

Fact No.2 That We All Know: B2B marketers' inboxes are overloaded with daily free-content offers.

So, what's a content provider to do to stand out in the crowd? According to Susan Fantle at the B2BMarketingSmarts blog, a whole lot is riding on your headlines. Readers will want to download content, she says, "[o]nly if the headline catches their eye and their imagination."

She offers a few examples of what not to do when naming a whitepaper or report:

• "Unified Communications and Process Automation Combine to Maximize ROI"
• "Cover Your Assets with Desktop Managed Services"

While earnestly trying to convey information, these headlines "provide no intrigue, no big promise, no revelations, no specifics," Fantle argues. To be effective, a headline needs to instantly communicate what the piece contains, she says, in a way that will make the reader want to see more right away.

She then presents some winners. Among them:

• 4 Things Your Anti-Virus Should Do, but Doesn't
• How to Defend Your Network Against New Hacker Tactics
• 20 Questions for Smart Business Decisions

The key here? "Active" language and a concrete message about what the reader will learn. "With just a few active words, your content can move past sounding like another ho-hum white paper and become information your prospective customer sees as a 'must read,'" she concludes.

The Po!nt: Decide what you're really offering, and say it. When writing your next whitepaper or research report, "pay as much attention to your title as you do your content," Fantle advises. "It will make a difference."

Source: B2BMarketingSmarts. Read the full post here.

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