Chapter 10 Filling the Funnel with Content Marketing • Print it or put it on a USB drive to give away at conferences, booth exhibits, and so on. • Write email and phone scripts about your e-book for cold outreach by sales reps. Middle-of-Funnel Tactics If you’re generating a thought leadership, top-of-funnel e-book, you might think your efforts stop at the top of the funnel, however, that’s not the case. Other departments and audiences can benefit from your e-book, ultimately leading to revenue for your organization, which is likely your end goal, too. The middle of the funnel is where you’ll get existing prospects to raise their hand and move closer to the sale. If you have great content and strong reach, it’s not hard to get net-new leads into your database. A simple download is all you need to get the process started. However, to get them to commit to a demo or free trial takes more work. Your e-book can help. Here are some middle-of-funnel ideas for promoting your e-book: • Work the e-book into your nurture programs or drip campaigns. • Create a content pack for existing prospects, including a case study, e-book, one sheet, and so on. • Include the e-book in your e-newsletter. • Provide the e-book to employees in many ways so it’s easy to access and share: • Chatter file • Landing page link • Direct link • Content library • Ask partners to send it to shared partners and networks. • Print it out or put it on a USB drive, and include it as part of a care package to customers and prospects. • Enter your e-book in marketing contests. Bottom-of-Funnel Tactics The bottom of funnel is where sales takes the lead. Imagine the entire funnel is a road, and you’re in the car driving down it. Marketers are in the driver’s seat for the top and middle of funnel. They control the content, the message, the promotional approach, and so on. But when you reach the bottom of funnel, the salesperson takes the wheel.