The document discusses different types of content marketing such as articles, white papers, and e-books. It provides guidance on publishing and distributing articles through article directories and syndication services. It also discusses best practices for crafting white papers and e-books, including having at least six pages for white papers and using graphics and lighter writing for e-books. The document recommends content marketing to build thought leadership and expertise to ultimately generate sales.

1. Content Marketing:
Publishing Articles, White Papers, and E-Books

2. Chapter Outline
I. PublishingandDistributingArticles
II. CreatingWhitePapersandE-Books
III. PersonalBrandingthroughContentMarketingonLinkedInfor
Students
IV. MarketingwithArticles,E-Books,andWhitePapers
V. BestPracticesinCraftingArticles,WhitePapers,andE-Books

4. Publishing and Distributing Articles (1 of 3)
An article directory is a website where users submit original
articles for approval and syndication (free distribution other
websites with proper attribution).
The articles are organized into categories such as technology, business, so that
they can be easily found by readers and website owners. (Table 11.1)
An article submission generally runs 400 to 500 words with a 2-3% keyword
density (the percentage of times a word appears in an article).
The article also tends to have a highly descriptive title

5. Table 11.1

6. The first step in article-based marketing is to
produce content that the target audience will
be interested in reading.
◦ Requirements for strong article content are
similar to those for blogs.
◦ Some blog posts can be adapted and transformed
into articles with very little modification.
◦ Blog post readership fades after 1,500 words or
so, but articles can be 5,000 to 10,000 words.
◦ But expectations (grammar, research) are higher
for articles.
Publishing and Distributing Articles (2 of 3)

7. The power of article marketing comes from the many easy
syndication services that exist to share online articles. (See
Table 11.1.)
◦Note the “No Follow” (NF) column which identifies the article
directories that prevent search engines from following article links.
 A no-follow site defeats the objective of gaining a higher placement in search
engine ranking.
◦Some sites offer “Expert” or “Frequent Contributor” status to their
best authors and feature their works more prominently.
Publishing and Distributing Articles (1 of 3)

8. A more popular form of content
marketing is the white paper.
 In public policy, white papers are delivered to
policy makers to inform them on important
issues.
 Businesses adopted the term, referring to
informative documents for important clients.
 In business, a good white paper is written for a
business audience, defines a problem, and offers
a solution, but it does not pitch a particular
product or company.
 See Figure 11.2 for an example.
 See Table 11.2 for a list of the top-performing
white papers of 2014.
Creating White Papers & E-Books(1 of 3)

9. An effective white paper will:
◦ Have at least six pages of text
◦ Provide useful information about a business or
technical issue
◦ Contain sources, facts and figures
◦ Be intended for the reader to review before making
a purchase, in which case it may be referred to as a
technical support document.
Use of online white papers for marketing will
continue to grow in popularity.
Creating White Papers & E-Books(2 of 3)

10. For purposes of SMM, an e-book is a PDF
document that identifies a market problem
and supplies an answer.
A well-executed e-book has:
◦ Lots of white space
◦ Interesting graphics and images
◦ Copy typically written in a lighter style than white
papers
The market for self-produced e-books for
promotional purposes is growing.
Creating White Papers & E-Books(3 of 3)

11. Personal Branding through Content Marketing on LinkedIn for
Students
Lesson #1
Create content for
your audience
Lesson #2
Use photos and
videos.
Lesson #3
Monitor the work
of your network.
Lesson #4
Curate content for
your network.
Lesson #5
Plan and
schedule.
While it is not likely that students will market themselves through white papers,
articles, and e-books, they may wish to post content about who they are and
what they do.

12. Marketing with Articles, E-Books, and White Papers (1 of 2)
Draw attention and develop a firm’s reputation for thought
leadership, then use that expertise to generate sales.
◦The audience must not perceive the content to be overt marketing
material.
◦Do not include the product name in the description or title.
◦Describe a problem, some common solutions, then discuss special
benefits the product being marketed has in solving the problem.
◦Establish need, then discuss solutions.

13. Graham: 5 factors to consider:
Experience
 If little experience, write 1 or 2, then evaluate
Market segments
 May need papers or e-books for all market segments
Problems solved
 May need papers or e-books for each problem area
◦Competition
 May affect the optimal amount of papers, e-books
◦Budget
 Will determine how much research and publishing
Marketing with Articles, E-Books, and White Papers (2 of 2)
Graham: 5 Factors to Consider

14. Best Practices in Crafting Articles, White Papers, and E-Books (1 o
 Step #1. Assess needs.
 Step #2. Plan.
 Step #3. Acquire information.
 Step #4: Organize.
 Step #5. Design the look and feel.
 Step #6. Write
 Step #7. Illustrate
 Step #8. Review, revise and approve.
 Step #9. Publish.