I was writing up comments about a b2b tip on using linkedin to generate leads I got from marketingprofs today. I remarked as an aside that it “seemed like a lot of the gurus are drinking from the hubspot well this week.” when I dug a few clicks deeper, I saw the Aug 9 tip I received was based on a Jul 23 marketingprofs post that included a chart and some figures attributed to hubspot. in fact, the post owes more to hubspot than a pretty picture. most of the content paraphases this May 18 post “how to generate loads of emails to generate loads of leads”.
update/clarification: I deeply regret my implication (“owes more to hubspot,” “word for word”) that ms. kramer copied from the hubspot article, either verbatim or in spirit. I do not believe she or marketingprofs are guilty of plagiarism.
I have no doubt the material in the hubspot article has shown up lots in other hubspot articles. it seems odd to see it appear nearly word for word under a non-hubspot byline with no attribution. Here’s the beginning of the 9-point list in the hubspot piece:
- Give them reason to keep reading. Open your email with something compelling enough to grab the reader’s attention, and convince them it’s worth their time to continue reading. It helps to include a mind blowing statistic here, if you have one. Use a clear but interesting transition to connect that first sentence to your main offer. The connection needs to be relevant and continue to keep the readers attention.
- Have a call-to-action! Whether it’s an ebook, a blog post, a coupon, or an event page, send your readers somewhere they can get more information that will benefit them. And to track the success of that offer, be sure to use a link shortening and tracking service like bitly. This will help you gauge the type of offers that work best for your LinkedIn Group.
- Make your call-to-action compelling. It’s not enough to have a CTA — you need to convince your reader to click through! Clearly tell recipients why they should download your content, attend your event, or use your product. Don’t make them fill in the blanks — be explicit with the value they will derive from redeeming your offer. Using bulleted lists or other formatting devices to call out these points will help you make your case.
- Pose a question about the offer. The email you send will be linked in a featured discussion on the LinkedIn Group (more on this in a minute). That means you need to give them a reason to engage with the post that appears.
here’s the marketingprofs list of tips for getting the most out of linkedin announcements:
- Ditch the default subject line. Just as you wouldn’t send a default LinkedIn invitation to connect with someone (and if you do, stop it!), you don’t want to send an announcement with the standard subject line. Instead, channel your inner email marketer to write a descriptive and compelling subject line that will make recipients want to open the message.
- Catch their attention. Make no mistake; this is an ad campaign. Treat your copy in your email marketing efforts as you do in any other campaign. As you start your message, make sure the opening lines are interesting enough to grab—and keep—a reader’s attention. This is a great place for stats—not only can they present a compelling case in a short amount of space, but they can also help readers visualize a particular topic or subject matter, which will help pique their interest.
- Include a call to action. I’m guessing you’re contacting fellow group members because you want them to take some sort of action, right? Make sure you include that call to action in your message, whether it’s linking to an external piece of content, providing an offer or coupon or referring to a special event or landing page. By having a specific destination and using a link tracking service like Bit.ly, you can monitor the success of your lead generation campaign and use that information to refine future messages and initiatives.
- Ask a question. All LinkedIn Announcements will also appear as featured discussions in that particular group, so it’s a good idea to pose a question about the message to prompt people to not only click through to the message content, but also spark dialogue within the LinkedIn group.
to complicate the issue further, marketingprofs repurposed their own article as this b2b tip I received today:
the new post again mentions “data from hubspot” but provides no mention of the hubspot content that clearly informs the july article and this subsequent piece. what are your thoughts on content “repurposing”? is it different when it’s done by established industry players rather than some freelancer putting out content as his or her own?
