Leadsource Content Marketing Blog

Lead Generation: The Power of the “How-To”

 Email Article |  Twitter |  Facebook |  digg it |   delicious |   StumbleUpon |   LinkedIn |   Technorati |  reddit 

There's good content, and then there's great content.

One of the most compelling ways to create great content is with a "How To" guide that explains how your service, process or product works.

Good "How To" content not only generates leads, it is a magnet for inbound links -- a great way to boost your Google page rank. It can be a video, a micro-site, or a downloadable document, depending upon the audience. 

But regardless of the format, good "How To" content typically offers at least one of the following*:

• Useful Information -- a "How To" video that shows how to select the right checking account, investment counselor, or attorney can take on a life of its own if available on YouTube (as well as your site).

• Instruction -- a "How To" download that illustrates the steps in staining a deck or cleaning a concrete driveway shows your products in-use, without the implied bias of paid advertising.

• Entertainment -- just because it's a business topic doesn't mean it can't also be fun. A "How To" that shows the wrong way (and then the right way) to use a product or service can use humor to make an otherwise dry subject memorable.

Great content often has a theme that appeals to curiosity, self-interest, or worry. It also uses an engaging promise in the title which, oddly enough, often involves a "How To".

* With apologies to C. Gordon Hoxie ("How to Build an Offer"), legendary New England direct marketer who labored to teach a bunch of young writers the rules of good content, long before it was called that.