4 builders who never spoke to each other

Advertise the free thing, not the product

Five builders point paid traffic at something useful rather than at the thing they sell, because nobody on a social feed is in a buying frame of mind. Swap access to a genuinely useful resource for contact details, and make it something that helps the reader do their job, save money or advance their career; a sales deck does not qualify. The versions that worked include a benchmark report, a flagship article, and an evergreen local guide written specifically to be the giveaway in the ads. Judge the spend on cost per qualified lead, and retarget everyone who did not take it.

The method

1. 01

   To generate B2B leads with paid social, swap access to a useful piece of content for the visitor's contact details rather than advertising the product itself.

2. 02

   Offer something that helps the reader do their job, save money or advance their career; a sales deck does not qualify as the offer.

3. 03

   Point paid ads at a lead magnet rather than a webinar if you want a cheaper first step, and judge the spend on cost per qualified lead.

4. 04

   Point paid social ads at your best article rather than at your service, because nobody on that platform is in a buying frame of mind.

5. 05

   Write one evergreen local guide specifically as the thing you give away in paid ads.

What it returned

• 21

  A 21-item Boise dining guide used as the offer in Facebook and Instagram ads

• Kogan says resource-for-contact campaigns beat product-promotion campaigns on conversion rate, acquisition cost and ROI across multiple B2B and enterprise clients.

• Workable formats he lists: benchmark and industry reports, whitepapers, instructional guides, cheat sheets, recordings of past talks, and case studies framed as how a comparable company achieved a result.

Sources

• S02 Episode 3: How to Value Your Funnel with Greg Hickman - Double Your FreelancingBrennan Dunn · doubleyourfreelancing.com · S02 Episode 3: How to Value Your Funnel with Greg Hickman · 2018-05-01
• The Ultimate Guide to Building Client Relationships - Double Your FreelancingAustin Church · doubleyourfreelancing.com · Run Facebook ads to your flagship posts. · 2016-09-12
• How we grew a local newsletter to 10,000 subscribersNathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · How it’s run in ConvertKit · 2022-03-22
• S01E45: The Secret Sauce to Paid Ads — with Gunnar Holm of GrowJoy.coGunnar Holm · sparkloop.app · undated
• How to Use LinkedIn Sponsored Content to Get Sales LeadsGreg Kogan · gkogan.co · One Way (of Many) to Get Sales Leads Online · 2016-06-10