Inbound marketing seeks to help investors find you through informative blogs, eBooks, email marketing, infographics, and other content.

Here are 13 inbound marketing stats that show why inbound marketing is an effective low-cost marketing tool for generating leads – and raising capital:

1. Most business buyers (93%) used Google search (or Bing or Crosby or whatever) to begin the buying process.

That leaves about 7% of us who begin research by asking friends or family for referrals, or by letting their fingers do the walking with the Yellow Pages. If you’re building and distributing targeted inbound marketing campaigns, your prospects will find you through the search button. Source: Marketo.

2. Companies that blog, says HubSpot, typically received 97% more inbound links.

What are inbound links? Inbound links help Google determine the relevance and authority your web page carries regarding a set of search terms.

3. Articles with images got over 94% more views than those without an image.

Source: social media expert Jeff Bullas. Your clients invest with their eyes. A telling image may give your blog post the motivation viewers to click.

4. Eighty-eight percent of B2B Marketers cited case studies as the most effective form of content marketing. (Source: Content Marketing Institute). Case studies showcase success stories. Investors want to know that you know your stuff.

5. Eighty-six percent of TV watchers don’t watch ads.

People skip ads. Is this surprising? What’s more, 44% of direct mail is never opened, said Mashable, leading digital media company.

6. Eighty-four percent of B2B marketers used social media.

Is it critical to focus your limited marketing budget on the distribution channel that best makes money? You betcha. If you haven’t built a LinkedIn company page yet, now may be the time to start. (Source: Aberdeen Group).

7. Eighty percent of business decision makers prefer to get information in a series of articles versus an advertisement.

Investors place more stock in eBooks and blogs than in ads and taglines. So says Exact Target. Ebooks can make you an expert. This requires relevant and informative content, content, and…more content.

8. Seventy-nine percent of marketing leads, said MarketingSherpa, never convert into sales.

It’s important to provide lots of content via a lead nurturing campaign. When your prospects are ready, they should have a better understanding of how your firm can help them solve a problem and/or fulfill a need.

9. Inbound marketing generated 54% more leads than traditional paid marketing methods.

Inbound marketing is designed to help your investment firm get found -without the interruption of typical print, radio, or TV advertising. It’s about organics – organically attracting your best prospects and nurturing those contacts that engage with your resources and content. Source: HubSpot in their State of Inbound Marketing Report for 2015.

10. Targeted emails built 18 times more revenue than broadcast emails.

Do you segmenting your contact database and creating content specifically them? Jupiter Research reports that the majority of consumers believe that organizations providing custom content are genuinely interested in building good relationships with them. Lesson: make the most of the data you collect via your landing pages.

11. Marketers who have prioritized blogging were 13 times more likely to enjoy positive ROI from inbound marketing.

A company blog helps to build trust with your audience. (Source: HubSpot.)

12. Nurtured leads make 47% larger purchases than non-nurtured leads.

That’s even more reason to cultivate relationships with nurtured prospects. Forrester reports companies that excel at lead nurturing generate 50% more sales-ready leads at a 33% lower cost. (Source: The Annuitas Group.)

13. And finally, inbound marketing costs 62% less per lead than traditional outbound marketing.

Why? While paid advertising can be a terrific tool, over time your firm may boost your budget simply because your are not paying for pay per click advertising.

Dan Sondhelm is CEO of Sondhelm Partners. He helps asset managers and mutual funds grow. To read his previous Insight articles, click here. To schedule a complimentary consultation, click here.