What are Content Upgrades?
Content Upgrades are used to generate leads that can be nurtured into becoming customers. Content Upgrades are NOT the same as Lead Magnets. Content Upgrades are a logical next step that is directly related to the current content being consumed.
How will your customers interact with Content Upgrades?
Your customer came into your website to consume an ungated piece of content like a blog article. They are presented with a logical next piece of content they can consume, like an ebook or even a video that dives deeper into that topic. Your customers will gain access to this additional content by providing you with their name and email address.
What are some benefits to your business when using Content Upgrades?
The conversion rates are high for content upgrades because they provide an instant reward instead of presenting a generic “subscribe for free updates” call-to-action. Readers are ready to give you their email for something useful and relevant to what they’re already invested in reading about that exact moment in time.
What does it take to implement Content Upgrades?
One of the best things you need to do is think about the journey and make the leap from free to gated content a logical and desirable one. You want to have analytics software to track how many people do and don’t opt-in to improve the conversion over time. Also, having an automation software to nurture them after they opt-in makes them ready to take the next step.
Content Upgrades can include:
- Ebooks
- Whitepapers
- Case Studies
- On-Demand Video or Video Series
- Online Course
- Printables
- Transcripts
- Exclusive Interviews
Examples of Content Upgrades
Example #1. A recording of written content
Life is crazy and unexpected, and your customers are busy people. If you could make one thing more manageable for them, they would appreciate it.
A recording of your content functions like a podcast would allow your readers to download and listen whenever they like: on their commute, at their desk while doing other work, even while they are working out.
Example #2: A Printable PDF of the article
Having a downloadable PDF of the article can be a convenient bonus to offer your readers. You could even include links or walkthroughs which your readers want to keep around or send to their friends or colleagues.
Impact does that really well with that "Want us to email you a copy?" offer on their page.
Example #3. Bonus Content
Bonus content upgrade works because you know that your reader is interested in the subject. It taps into exclusivity, the subjective belief that something limited has more value that something offered for free.
Example #4. Exclusive interviews
Do you have connections in the field or even friends who are very knowledgeable in an area? Take advantage of them and interview them on the topic your readers are interested in. Provide a recording of the interview as a bonus.
Example #5. Checklist
Essentially, a checklist gives your reader a step-by-step simplified version of your article (often with a few bonus points included). Adding an itemized step-by-step for a how-to blog post or even a list of materials for a do-it-yourself project.
The Team
These are the people that made this awesome article possible.
Subject Matter Expert
Christina Hooper
Account Strategist
Christina Hooper
Researcher
Danielle Phipps
Writer
Pam Ballard
Editor
Vicky Taylor
Content Manager
Danielle Phipps
