Obsessed with B2B marketing? You should be a PRO member! Join now at 25% off (or 50% off for teams).

Some strategies are tested and true. They've been used successfully by so many people in so many situations that we've learned to expect that they work, and will work for us. Period.

Round-up posts and e-books are both examples of that phenomenon. They've become ubiquitous, and for good reason. They seem to work, without fail. Or, do they?

Actually, no, they don't—and certainly not without fail. More and more, ubiquitous online marketing strategies, such as e-books and round-up posts, are working less and less.

Here's why those strategies are failing—and what you can do about it!

Why do round-up posts and e-books work, anyway?

Round-up posts are blog posts that "round up" the experts and stars in your industry, showcasing them on your blog. For example, you might ask contributors to provide their best tip about your subject area, to answer a relevant question, or to allow you to feature your favorite work from them in your post.

In all cases, the strategy behind that sort of post is the same, and it'll always work for the same two reasons:

  1. Experts will be flattered that you chose to feature them, which will make them like you and want to help you (e.g., by spreading the word about the round-up post).
  2. Round-up posts use the celebrity appeal of experts, as well as their insight and experience, to create compelling content for your audience.

E-books are just documents in PDF (or similar) format. A fancy cover and a graphic of the e-book as an actual, three-dimensional book might make it appear more than merely a digital document, but in the end it's merely that, and it's usually given away as an "ethical bribe" in exchange for the names and email addresses of your site's visitors.

The strategy behind e-books is familiar and simple:

  1. Create something valuable that people want and would be willing to provide their contact information to receive.
  2. Use the e-book as a lead-in to build trust and set the stage for the offers that you will subsequently make via email. It's simple, and it works.

So... what's the problem?

When a strategy is overused, it stops working

The first problem is ubiquity; when everyone is doing the same thing, the strategy isn't nearly as special.

Instead of being impressed with your round-up of 30 industry leaders, your audience will yawn because it just got through reading three other round-ups almost identical to yours. And rather than being impressed with your free e-book offer, your audience will think twice about signing up because of the commitment needed to read yet another fluffy and useless 30-page document.

Success can't be copy-and-pasted; it just can't be done. Those strategies were first conceived with a real understanding of what would be valuable to the audience. They weren't just tactics used because "well, everybody does it, and it works."

The result of the unabashed copying and pasting that afflicts the marketing world is e-books full of unhelpful, recycled material followed by a string of pestering emails and round-up posts—full of bland questions and uninteresting answers—that clearly intend to curry favor with bloggers rather than showcase their good work.

So does that mean that round-up posts and e-books are doomed strategies? No, of course not—but they work only if you make them special.

Special is in the eye of the beholder

Enter your email address to continue reading

What to Do When E-Books and Round-Up Posts Just Won't Cut It

Don't worry...it's free!

Already a member? Sign in now.

Sign in with your preferred account, below.

Did you like this article?
Know someone who would enjoy it too? Share with your friends, free of charge, no sign up required! Simply share this link, and they will get instant access…
  • Copy Link

  • Email

  • Twitter

  • Facebook

  • Pinterest

  • Linkedin


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Danny Iny is a viral blogging expert and co-founder of Mirasee. You can download his Naked Marketing Manifesto in exchange for one tweet. Danny is co-author—along with Guy Kawasaki, Brian Clark, and many others—of Engagement from Scratch.