Should you give content away for free to attract readers, followers, and brand champions? Or, should you require form-based registration before allowing marketing content to be downloaded?
Every author and entrepreneur must choose a content marketing strategy to attract readers, followers, and build personal brand champions. Choosing between free and registration-based content distribution is a decision you cannot avoid.
Last week, best-selling marketing and social media expert David Meerman Scott posted an extremely important blog post, DEBATE: Totally free content vs. requiring registration that provides a valuable perspective on the issue.
Should you goal be to distribute your content as far and wide as possible, or should you focus on generating qualified leads for your business?
Making the right decision
David Meerman Scott has long been associated with free content distribution and quantifiable successes based on huge following his free content has created.
In an interview with David last year, he provided a detailed case study of marketing reciprocity at work and how it helped him launch a worldwide best-selling business book over a single weekend.
But, there are two sides to every question, and to help others make the right decision, David debated the issue with Mike Volpe, Vice President of Marketing from HubSpot, and made the results available in two formats:
- Video. You can immediately watch the video of David Meerman Scott and Mike Volpe debating the pros and cons of free versus registration-required content.
- Ebook. You can freely download the transcript of their debate which concisely presents both sides of the issue in a format that you can read and refer to online or print out for later off-line reading and underlining.
My lessons & takeaways
My major takeaways from David and Mike’s debate include:
- Specifics. Their debate was based on fact, not opinion. Both David and Mike bolstered their position with detailed metrics based on their case studies and experiences.
- Guidance, not doctrine. Instead of prescribing a universal solution, David and Mike provide enough guidance to make an informed decision based on your particular goals and objectives.
- Editing. Many transcripts are difficult to read because they are lightly edited, meaning there are long paragraphs that frequently contain distracting digressions and irrelevant comments. In this case, however, each partner’s responses are stated in 2 or 3 sentences, rarely exceeding 5 lines of text.
- Design. The ebook is easy to read, because of its clean, simple, design, landscape format, and short, easy-to-read, line length. The head shots of the participants as they addressed each topic also project the engaged and friendly image you’ll find in the video.
Most important of all, the ebook provides an appropriate next-step for applying its ideas and invites ongoing dialog and comment.
What are your takeaways and issues?
Which content marketing alternative have you chosen? Is it time to for you revisit the question? What are the issues that are most important for you? What did you learn from David & Mike’s debate? Is free content distribution best for you, or should you require registration before blog or website visitors can access your videos or download your ebooks, reports, and white papers? Share your observations, below, as comments.
Author:
Roger C. Parker‘s blog offers weekday writing tips and help choosing article and book titles for personal branding success.
