A+ Ad Promoting White Paper; D+ URL
I found a great ad promoting a white paper in the May issue of Selling Power magazine.
The ad, from InsideView, is clean and easy to read. The call to action promoting the white paper is stated right up front, meaning it’s not buried in grey mouse type.
It caught my eye right away. “Hooray!” I thought. “A company that knows how to write and format a direct response ad.”
But, notice that URL — www.insideview.com — it goes directly to InsideView’s home page, a big no-no. Why?
One, you can’t track how many people clicked through from the ad as you can with a URL that points directly to a landing page.
Two, by sending people to the home page, you’re making them do multiple clicks to find the white paper, which lowers the ad’s effectiveness.
The ad copy also doesn’t list the title of the white paper. So, when you go from InsideView’s home page to their White Paper page, you have to scroll down a bit and then match up the keywords in the ad (“exceed quota”) with the keywords in the white paper title.
A small criticism, but another road bump that may lower click-throughs.
(Michael Stelzner might also take issue with their use of the word “free,” as in, aren’t all white papers free?)
To their credit, InsideView does give a brief description of the paper rather than simply listing links.
Bottom line: A great ad that can be made even more effective with a targeted URL.
About the author: Dianna Huff
A B2B web marketing expert, Dianna helps B2B companies grow through SEO, marketing writing, and social media. A frequent speaker, Dianna has been quoted in numerous blogs, books, and articles; her client list includes large and small B2B companies across the U.S. Follow her on Twitter @diannahuff. To receive her e-course on creating great B2B marketing content, subscribe to her newsletter, The MarCom Strategist.
June 21st, 2007 at 3:07 pm
Hey Dianna;
Great article.
All white papers are free, but I don’t blame them for using the “F” word because us marketing folks know it works.
Mike
June 21st, 2007 at 8:12 pm
Mike,
I hunted around for your post on using the word “free” but couldn’t find it. I wanted to link to it. That is why I made the comment. I should have put a winkie.
Dianna
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:46 pm
It’s a beginner rule to NOT set any ad to the Homepage. In fact, a Google Sponsored AdWords conference made a stop in the area and underscored this. It’s like throwing $$ out the door.
Where did the focused landing page go? A “D+”…you’re being generous.:-)
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:56 pm
Rob, Nice to see you — and yes, I was being nice, but like I said in another post, I am a nice person.
June 22nd, 2007 at 11:34 pm
Diana,
Thanks for the great post – and all the great info you share here on your blog. You and I haven’t met, but you’re one of my copywriting heros.
Eric Lynch
B2B Copywriter
June 24th, 2007 at 9:30 am
Eric,
Glad you like the blog. I got your email — just haven’t responded yet due to being on a major deadline. ;-o
October 20th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Dianna,
Great article. Here at Gonzaga University Athletics we have created a web based marketing campaign that I feel learns from your above article. The link is http://www.inspiredseason.com (It directs you to our website, but directly to the promotional page).
I would love to discuss more about this or receive any feedback to make this better!
Thank you for your time.
Matt Beckman
April 5th, 2010 at 3:04 pm
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