10+ Content Upgrades to Generate Qualified Leads in 2023
Generating qualified leads for your online business is difficult – even for marketers that have a huge email list.
One way to generate leads is to put up a lead-generation form for your visitors to fill out. The only problem is that it doesn’t ensure those people will buy from you. This is why it’s important to use a better-targeted form of lead generation known as content upgrades.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at what content upgrades are and how you can use them to generate qualified leads for your business.
What Are Content Upgrades?
A content upgrade is the premium content you offer your site’s visitors for free in exchange for their email addresses. The idea is to use your content to generate leads and package it as a content upgrade.
Let’s say that you’ve posted a blog post and the whole thing is available to readers on your website. Now, instead of providing all the juicy content free to read, you can reserve some parts of it for a small opt-in form that your viewers have to fill out to unlock the rest of the article.
In some cases, you can provide downloadable material or some bonus content for your readers that might be valuable for their business in exchange for their email addresses. Another common way of providing content upgrades is to offer a free membership to your audience. You can blur out or lock some of the content for non-members to make it more tempting for people to become members and get access to the exclusive content.
Content upgrades vs lead magnets
Now, you might be wondering: Aren’t lead magnets the same thing as content upgrades?
Yes, they pretty much are similar to each other. But let’s talk about what content upgrades do that lead magnets don’t.
Content upgrades are more suited towards your targeted audience rather than lead magnets which are mostly generic or targeted at the general audience.
Let’s say you post an article about building a website. You can use content upgrades to provide templates, design ideas, a more detailed write-up on how to further optimize your website, or simply recommend some plugins or tools that people can use, all of which are more relevant to your reader who’s just starting to build their website.
It’s important to realize that content upgrades are way more efficient in gaining qualified leads with high conversion rates, as high as 50 to 60 percent in some cases, than plain old lead magnets.
Since content upgrades are much more specific, let’s talk about the different types of content upgrades and when you should use each one.
The Right Content Upgrade for the Right Job
There are different types of content upgrades that you can use and it usually comes down to what you need it for.
Here are some questions to ask yourself to determine what type of content upgrade(s) you should use:
- Where do your readers rank in the sales funnel?
- What difficulties do your readers face?
- What kind of information does your article contain?
For those unfamiliar, the sales funnel is the journey a customer takes when making any type of purchase from your business. Here’s an example of what a sales funnel looks like:
You want to consider all types of customers when choosing content upgrades for them. For example, if a buyer is in the middle of the sales funnel it might be beneficial for you to provide them with comparison sheets as content upgrades to help them decide easily. Similarly, if a buyer is ready to take action – bottom of the sales funnel – helping them use your product or service by creating an in-depth guide will give them the little push they need to buy your product or, in this case, take action.
Now that we have established what different types of content upgrades do for buyers at different stages of the sales funnel, let’s move on to defining the different types of content upgrades that you can use.
10+ Types of Content Upgrades to Generate Qualified Leads
Here are some commonly used types of content upgrades:
#1: Create case studies
Case studies always seem like a good idea to anyone looking to buy your product or service as it validates its success rate. It’s much easier to showcase what you have done through another brand using your service or product.
Let’s take a look at oDesk’s (currently known as Upwork) way of using case studies as a content upgrade:
This detailed case study tells us how Upwork’s clients succeed after using their service which is presented in numbers and percentages.
People will be more keen to download your content upgrade when they can see the amazing results other brands have experienced.
#2: Offer cheatsheets
Cheatsheets are simple yet effective content upgrades for you to offer as part of your blog posts or articles. Who doesn’t want all the important information compiled together in one place?
Here is a great example by Joshua Dunlop, founder of Expert Photography:
Visitors simply have to enter their email addresses and get access to the cheatsheets for free. This is a great content upgrade for photographers reading the Expert Photography blog to improve their general understanding of what poses are the best, what kind of lighting they need for certain situations, camera settings, and much more.
#3: Create checklists
Just like cheatsheets, checklists also yell simple and effective.
Most people tend to do things in a very organized manner. With the help of checklists as a content upgrade, you can provide a list that people can go to after reading your guide or tutorial. This will not only help keep all the important steps in check but also help your audience feel much more confident in taking the next step.
Take a look at OptinMonster’s checklist used as a content upgrade:
Hand over your name and email address to get the ultimate opt-in form checklist! That’s their way of providing an appealing content upgrade to anyone who’s looking to build the “ultimate” opt-in form.
#4: Add to previous content
People reading your article, who’ve already invested their time in what you have to say would likely be interested in reading more. By providing a content upgrade, you can add bonus content to your piece that covers the topic in more detail or compliments the topic.
Here’s a great example published on Izea:
This is what they used as a content upgrade in their published article about Snapchat ad targeting options. It’s quite clear that anyone interested in Snapchat ad targeting would also be delighted to fill out their information in exchange for getting to know the ins and outs of Snapchat marketing.
#5: Add a course or challenge
Using a free course or challenge to provide content upgrades is another great way to boost your audience’s interest in your businesses. In fact, some people like to be challenged and find it easier to understand and learn something new by going through a one-week course.
Let’s say, you run a health blog and want to offer a “30 days transformation” challenge or course as a content upgrade. This will motivate health-conscious readers to try your course out – especially because all they have to do is provide their email address in exchange for access.
Lean&Healthy, for example, provides their audience with an endless amount of reading material to help with weight loss and healthy weight gain. Here’s a look at their content upgrade:
This is a great example of giving your audience a free course that’s in line with what your brand represents.
#6: Dial it in
Using infographics as a content upgrade along with offering a step-by-step guide to achieving the absolute best is a great way to “dial it in”.
Let’s say you’ve posted a write-up of BMW’s new car that was just released. You can create nice infographics on what oils to use or, what kind of maintenance would people expect to encourage people to grab the content upgrade.
Here is a visual representation of how ReferralCandy did it:
Not only do they provide tips on how to promote your blog but they also provide a content upgrade through extra tips and tricks in those flashy infographics.
#7: Share PDFs
Most people simply don’t have the time to read a 6,000-word blog post. Crunching some topics into smaller articles just ruins the whole thing. Instead, people prefer to read it offline.
So why not provide them with a downloadable PDF file that they can save on their device and read at their own time?
Here’s an article on how to start a blog. Notice how they’ve provided a downloadable PDF file as a content upgrade:
#8: Create printables
Printing? What year is this? Don’t be surprised! People print documents all the time from test papers to music sheets, printing is still the way to go.
Providing printables as content upgrades might work better for some types of businesses than others. Think about a food blog: you can provide printable recipes for your readers as content upgrades.
Here is an example taken from a recipe by Love&Lemons:
#9: Generate scripts or templates
Telling your readers what to say or write with the help of scripts and templates makes for great content upgrades. People tend to think clearly when they’re given fill-in-the-blanks-style templates.
You can provide scripts for your readers as a content upgrade if you’re talking about how to pitch to clients or maybe provide them with an email template that they can fill their information into if you’re explaining how to send out product announcements.
#10: Add transcripts
There are plenty of scenarios where someone would prefer to read a transcript rather than watch a video or listen to the audio. You can use transcripts as a content upgrade to go with, say, a YouTube tutorial. This is a great way to generate qualified leads for your business.
NerdMarketing offers this transcript as a content upgrade for people to download so they can read the podcast.
#11: Create worksheets
Worksheets are similar to homework which makes them particularly useful as content upgrades. Using worksheets to test your readers or maybe provide them with exercises to help them understand the topic better is a great resource to have.
For example, if you post a how-to on making a WordPress website look more appealing, you can add your own design code into a worksheet, making it a content upgrade for your readers learning to build their website.
Conclusion
Now that we’ve understood what the different types of content upgrades are, choosing the right one is hopefully much easier for you. Content upgrades are far superior to generic lead magnets.
By using the right content upgrades for your business, you’ll be able to generate qualified leads and potentially increase sales.
What are some of your favorite content upgrades for generating qualified leads and why? Let us know in the comments section below.
