Blew $500 on a whitepaper that got zero downloads

Six months ago I paid a freelance writer $500 to write a whitepaper about ransomware for small businesses. Thought it would be an evergreen lead magnet for our cybersecurity blog. Turns out the topic was way too broad and the title was boring. Got exactly 0 downloads in the first month. Then I spent another $100 on promoted LinkedIn posts trying to push it. Still nothing. Has anyone else wasted cash on content that just flopped with no audience?

3 comments

3 Comments

claire_hart531d ago

That $500 on a whitepaper with zero downloads... I had a friend who spent almost the same on a PDF about email scams and got crickets too.

black.jake1d ago

Honestly you might have dodged a bullet. If that whitepaper was about ransomware for small businesses, there's a good chance the freelance writer just Googled some stuff and slapped it together.

logan_ellis1d ago

...and that's exactly what happened to me with my whitepaper on remote work security... the writer definitely just reworded some Wikipedia articles and called it a day. @black.jake is probably right, I shoulda checked their work more closely before forking over that $500. At least now I've got a fancy PDF to use as a coaster when my coffee mug sweats on the desk.