4 Lead Generation Myths That Inhibit Inbound Marketing Growth

Let’s be honest. Inbound marketing is difficult. It’s always changing, always evolving, always moving forward. And that can create confusion.

In this post, we’ll discuss several lead generation myths that have persisted and need to be reevaluated, along with concrete advice on better approaches to use. 

Myth #1: You Can Provide Too Much Value in Your Content

The purpose of creating content is to provide value, establish thought leadership, generate leads, and ultimately convert leads into customers. But is there ever a point where you provide too much value? 

Say, for example, you gave a thorough explanation of how to accomplish X, Y, or Z. Wouldn’t that leave no room for your product to shine? Or, couldn’t that potentially create a situation where a lead gains all the information they need to solve their pain points where they no longer need to buy your product?

Possibly. I’m sure there have been times when a lead has read an exhaustive piece of content, extracted critical information, and used it without giving any further consideration to a product. So I certainly understand why some people say you can provide too much value. After all, you don’t want to give all your value away for free. However, here’s why that is a myth. 

The more thorough you are with your content, the better a potential user can understand how much easier you make the process. If your articles aim to fully answer a question or solve a problem while offering your product as a side means to solve that problem better, easier, or more efficiently, you can still provide immense value but still give the user a reason to buy. Yes, you can follow these 15 steps to accomplish X, and you’ll have success regardless of our product if you do them well. But by using our product, you can shorten those steps to just three. That’s my line of logic here. 

At the end of the day, you can give away tons of value for absolutely free and still pull in healthy conversions as long as you explain how your product provides even more value. In fact, you could argue that this is preferable to only providing “decent” value because of the level of trust and thought leadership it establishes. 

Myth #2: Content = SEO

There’s no denying that a large part of gaining backlinks on Google is done by producing content. But here’s an important question. Does your content provide more value (or give users a better experience) than all the top 10 results for your keyword?

If not, why would it rank? Further, what’s new about what you’re publishing? What do you bring to the table? Why should people talk about it and share it? What work are you putting in to promote your content? 

In a sea of content and information, only the new, extraordinary stands out. 

Unfortunately, I think that’s often overlooked with modern inbound marketing. And the idea that simply producing any old content equals solid rankings is one of the major lead generation myths that needs to be dispelled. For perspective, check out this graph that breaks down the number of clicks by search result. 

As you can see, the number one ranking gets the lion’s share of traffic, and it quickly drops as you move through the rest of the top 10 rankings. Once you get to number 11 on the second page of the Google search results, there’s a sharp drop where only a mere 0.78% of users click on something beyond the first page.  

This shows the extreme importance of maintaining rigorous quality standards with your content and, as we just mentioned, ensuring it provides more value or offers a better experience than everything else. 

Myth #3: Email is Dead 

Modern email marketing gets a lot of flack and is often thought of as the dinosaur of marketing channels. But saying “it’s dead” simply isn’t accurate. 

Consider this:

• There were four billion daily email users as of 2022
• Nearly 80% of marketers have seen a spike in email engagement over the last year
• 31% of B2B marketers say it’s the number one way to nurture leads
• Email marketing has an average 4,000% ROI where every $1 spent generates $40

Just look at how that ROI compares with other heavy hitters like SEO, display ads, and mobile. 

By this data, email marketing is thriving. When done correctly, it can still get serious results. The main reason for the “email is dead” myth is because it’s a channel that’s easy to do incorrectly and takes time to show results. Brands that are just starting out and dealing with the inevitable learning curve may get frustrated during the initial phases. 

The way I see it, email is only ineffective when it’s not relevant, valuable, and/or personalized. If you’re not getting the results you want, determine whether you’re customizing emails based on:

• Where buyers are in their journey.
• Actions buyers have taken on your site to indicate interest.
• What they want to learn more about
• Problems they might be struggling with.
• What they want to buy.
• Demographics such as job titles, industry, etc.

If not, look for ways to create a more personalized experience that addresses these areas, and I can nearly guarantee impressive results.

Myth #4: Content is Just a Small Piece of the Marketing Strategy 

A prevailing mentality among many of today’s marketers is that content is only part of the inbound puzzle. It’s more of a side dish rather than the main course. But if you look at some of the most successful companies, you’ll see a trend where content is a focal point. 

For example, look at HubSpot. This content marketing behemoth treats its content as a product on its own. They’ve got a massive archive of ever-growing business and marketing resources including:

• Blog posts
• Ebooks
• Webinars
• Templates
• Tools
• Guides
• And more

They even have the HubSpot Academy with comprehensive courses on marketing, sales, service, and tutorials. 

Given they’ve been consistently ranked as one of the leading SaaS providers for years and earned nearly $1.3 billion in 2021 sales, they’re clearly doing something right. Many would agree that content has been instrumental in their success. 

To stand out in today’s ultra-competitive marketing world, it’s not viable to simply toss blogs into the abyss of the internet and expect results. More and more businesses are now treating their content as a product of its own, with its own strategies for growth and promotion. And that’s an approach we highly recommend at 3.7 Designs. This brings me to my final point. 

How a Partner Can Help with Lead Generation

Given the competitiveness of modern inbound marketing and the importance of strategy, many brands find it helpful to work with a professional partner who understands the ins and outs of the process, as well as the subtle nuances. Here at 3.7 Designs, we analyze where you currently stand, where you need to go, and create a roadmap for the best way to get there. 

This involves identifying your target audience, guiding them to your digital properties, and creating compelling experiences that excite them. All while providing a framework to nurture leads until they’re ready to buy. 

Stamping Out Lead Generation Myths

Inbound marketing is complex, with old trends dying off and new trends emerging. It’s understandable how misunderstandings and myths like the ones mentioned above take root. But to gain a clear vantage point and develop a successful campaign, it’s important to stamp out lead generation myths and see things objectively. Our goal is to provide helpful advice that points you in the right direction. 

If you have a project in mind, we’d love to hear about it! Feel free to reach out to us today.