Content Upgrades: What They Are and How to Use Them

There is a new craze sweeping the world of blogging, and it’s one that you can take advantage of in your own business blog.

Content upgrades have proven time and again to be effective tools for building your email list (which should be one of your main marketing activities). They are very easy to implement, but the payoff can be huge.

So what are they, and how can you use them?

Overview of Content Upgrades

A content upgrade is a way for you to add to – or ‘upgrade’ – the content of a specific blog post on your site.

You use the upgrade to provide additional information of value to the reader – but rather than letting them read it immediately, you ask for their email address in order to access it.

Many businesses provide free ebooks and reports as lead magnets to attract email subscribers. However, they usually provide just one lead magnet across their site.

Where a content upgrade does better is that it provides the reader with something unique to the topic of the blog post they are reading.

So, let’s say you have a blog post on healthy recipes for your dog. Halfway through the post, you provide a link to an extra resource, such as the recipes in a PDF format so that they can be uploaded to the reader’s tablet. The reader clicks on the link, and they are asked for their email address to access the PDF.

The PDF provides them with extra value, and it is related directly to the blog post, so they are happy to sign up to receive it.

Types of Content Upgrades for Your Blog

Content upgrades come in many forms, and they can be as simple or complex as you want. However, because the idea is that you create one upgrade per blog post, you don’t want them to take particularly long to create.

So what can you do? A few ideas include:

• PDF versions of the blog post
• A printable resource, like a poster or chart
• A guide to getting started
• A checklist
• A summary of the main points in the blog
• An audio recording that accompanies the blog
• A transcript of the video or audio in the blog
• Extra information that adds to the blog topic

These are just the start. As you write your blog, think about the type of extra information that you could provide as an upgrade, as well as the format (infographic, audio, PDF, etc). Then create it at the same time as your blog post.

Could You Make Use of Content Upgrades?

If you have a business blog, there is a good chance that you can use content upgrades to get more signups to your email list. And because they don’t take long to do, but the results can be impressive, it is probably worth giving them a try.

Why not try one in your next blog post?

As a specialist digital marketing agency consisting of a number of highly experienced digital consultants, Web Results Direct is expertly placed to support its clients with advanced, and strategic, digital marketing consulting services. To learn more contact us – call us now on 01483 429222