1. Create a strong first impression on people who are not logged into Facebook but are finding me on Facebook.com/InternetStrategyClub via Google or via an email. Dropping them on my Fan Page Wall which is active and full of comments, links, and photos etc might be way too much for somebody who just found me.

2. Make my page stand apart from hundreds of thousands of Business Fan Pages to Facebook users who are not fans of the page yet but are finding me either via Facebook Ads or word of mouth mention from another fan.

3. I took some very popular blog content that I had written, assembled it by topic and put it in a free report to give away on the landing page, so no additional work and I could get it done and out on Facebook in two days.

4. I had two choices on how to do it: FBML tags with HTML to do some fancy stuff (for example I could set it up where non-fans see an image asking them to become a Fan and once they become a Fan, they see another image that thanks them) or just regular plain vanilla HTML with some images and links – I went with the second route.

5. I used Box.net app to deliver the report and not linked out to my blog for a very big reason – most of the times when I am clicking on an ad that points outside Facebook I get a nasty message about “You are about to leave Facebook – bad things might happen to you.”

I know that most folks are super smart and completely ignore all these messages BUT still why even bring this between us? So when I am using the Box.net app within Facebook to deliver my report (the Box.net service is free by the way up to 1GB storage) you and I both stay within Facebook and nobody gets to see those warnings.

6. I have regrets about things I did not do effectively with my first business blog. A big one has to do with letting good content that was not written today lie in slumber. Yeah I know I can do a Popular Posts sidebar widget in WordPress but it a whole different game when you actually assemble the content in a free report, format it to make it more readable and give it away as a gift to people who just found you instead of asking them to dig in your archives.

It is taking some of your best stuff and putting it out in the world to spread the word about your business and brand. It is about creating a good solid first impression on people who don’t know you and just found you on Facebook.

7. I did not require you to either become a Fan or get my newsletter or opt in to anything to get this report. And this is something that I thought long and hard about before going the Click-Here-To-Download-and-No-You-Don’t-Have-To-Fan-Me-To-Get-This-Report.

WHO do you really want as your Fans?

People who care? People who are just zapping by and collecting Pages but never paying any attention to anything that you are saying? People who opt in to get the free stuff then immediately either opt out or worse stay opt in but throw all your future emails in Trash or hide your Newsfeed immediately the next time they see an update from your Business Fan Page?

WHO do you want?

I want Fans who will grow with this Page and blog. My business Fan page was started on July 8. It is still a little baby and growing. So I want Fans who stick around and see it grow. My thinking is that If I cannot convince you with the quality of the information that I am giving out here in the free report that you should be sticking around for more … well I don’t think I can win you over.

So I am giving this report for free. No signup. No becoming Fans necessary. However I will tell you that the report bought in a very nice spike in RSS readership and email newsletter signups immediately and the numbers have continue to grow. Ideas that are free spread faster than the ones that are locked behind an opt-in wall.

However test both approaches for 30 days for yourself. First require people to opt-in and then take the opt-in away and see which tactic brings you more Fans, more active and involved Fans that leave comments on your Facebook Wall and respond to your content, more personal emails regarding the content of the report and most importantly which approach converts fans into prospects and eventually buyers. Good marketers don’t guess. They test. Everything.

8. The first mini-report I give out was just a dump in MS-Word. This was laid out more in eBook format. My inspiration part came from eBooks I have read at Change This and I know content matters and its quality matters but it does not takes that much time to set up a little nicer layout that makes it easier to read for the people who are going to invest 20 minutes of their precious time reading it. I already got several compliments for making it more eye-friendly.

Note:   Tomorrow, October 20th, Mark will share his step by step guide for setting up a custom Facebook fan page landing tab for your business.   This article was originally published on IJLAL.com but republished here with permission from the author.

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About The Guest Author: Mark Ijlal is the CEO of Internet Strategy Club which builds & manages online lead generation campaigns for businesses. He blogs daily at Ijlal.com.