Lead Generation Ideas For Capturing New Leads and Converting Prospects to Customers

As an expert in your field, you’ve got a ton of really important information in your head…But you’ve got to get it out of your head and into some useful format for e-marketing. Information is the heart and soul of e-marketing, so you’ve got to have some idea about the products you want to develop as part of your overall e-marketing strategy. Let’s talk about the top five…

#1 White Papers. “White paper” is the corporate, fancy-pants term for an online article. A white paper usually ranges from two to three pages and stands alone as an individual item customers or prospects can download. White papers work great as a lead generation tool when you ask prospects to provide their email address in exchange for your valuable—yet FREE—information.

#2 Free Reports. A free report is like a white paper, just a bit bigger. From an e-marketing standpoint, it holds more value than a white paper and is usually several pages long. Free reports are a great product to use as an add-on to online purchases. “Buy Product X and receive three Free Reports!!!” You can also use them like white papers and offer them as free downloads in exchange for a prospect’s contact information.

#3 E-Books. E-books are the killer e-marketing product that can create a lead-generation bonanza! Like a real book, an e-book is going to be long…at least 50+ pages. The fact that it’s a real BOOK makes the perceived value HUGE. If the e-marketing copy inviting prospects to download your e-book is well-written and compelling, you can generate several THOUSAND new leads from this one e-marketing product alone. Because a book is BIG and because it’s got tons of valuable content, prospects may be more willing to trade their personal information to get a book than they are for white papers or free reports.The more information you have, the better follow up marketing you can do! So as far as print downloads go, good e-books should generate more leads because they offer the most value.

#4 Audio Reports. The audio report is an e-marketing tool that helps prospects get a feel for what you and your company are all about. It’s like a way for prospects to talk to you about doing business…without really talking to you. Using audio reports as part of your e-marketing campaign can boost brand loyalty and help your prospects commit to a sale. If you’re somewhat of a celebrity in your industry—of if you can hire one—you have the power to generate a LOT of leads using audio reports.

#5 Webinars. No joke. Webinars can drive an ENDLESS stream of customers to your business. Like audio reports, they give customers a feel for your company. But webinars go WAY beyond teaser information. The e-marketing power-punch of the webinar is that it lets you cover the entire sales pitch…and lets you close the deal. Another bonus is that webinars can be recorded. That lets you leverage your time by making the pitch once…and then playing the presentation again and again for new groups of prospects. Talk about a time saver.

Here’s the way it works, in a nutshell…

Develop informational products.
Make them available on your site…in exchange for contact information.
Send out a follow-up marketing piece to your email list that ALSO creates a sense of urgency. It might go something like this:
“Hey, everybody! I just wanted to let you know about my new 60-page e-book called My Cat Made $1,000 Online Yesterday. It’s available now on my website. But get your copy soon…the first 100 people to download it can also access free reports X, Y and Z as well as the audio report Meow, Meow that is usually only available to existing customers.”
Be sure you have the right tools in place to track downloads and capture your new leads.
Then do it all over with new information and new follow up emails for your new leads.

Bingo…You’ve got your very own lead-generation machine!

To check out some REAL e-marketing products…
Visit www.infusionsoft.com/community/free-reports. You can download free reports, e-books and whitepapers, including our very own blockbusting lead-generation mega-machine The Edge of Success.

About Infusionsoft Infusionsoft provides award-winning small business CRM software that automates business management, sales, marketing and customer service to liberate small business and allow them to grow faster, better and more profitably. Find out how: Never leave follow up to chance - Try Out Infusionsoft for Free!