Using Leads to advertise

Leads...What are Leads?

Simply said, leads are email addresses, email addresses are people and people become leads by revealing their email addresses. Leads become prospects and eventually, hopefully, customers.

Simple, isn't it?

Not really! It truly is a long process to gain leads, especially since the Can Spam Act of 2003. Every internet marketers goal is to grow a huge list of leads, also called subscribers or prospects and there are many who reached their goal but too many who failed.

The most common way for an internet marketer to "capture" a lead is with "Lead Capture Pages". The word already reveals it all. A mini website (mostly only one page) which its main focus is to capture peoples information such as email address, name, mailing address in exchange for a free virtual gift.

Lead Capture Pages, also called Landing Pages, mostly go hand in hand with an autoresponder, as soon as a visitor fills out a short form on that page and clicks on a verification link in his inbox, he automatically becomes a "double opt-in lead". Double opt-in means that the visitor has taken two steps before he was placed on the list, therefore he agreed to receive emails. Depending on the settings, he, then, will receive a sequence of autoresponder messages with the purpose to turn him into a buying customer.

The difference between failure and success in this matter is the art of copy writing, a lead capture page and the autoresponder messages have to be appealing, have to wake a readers interest or else the entire campaign will fail. But with creating a profitable lead capture page the work is by far not done yet. The next step would be advertising your page since it probably will never appear on a Search Engine due to lack of content or outrageous competition.

This truly is a very complicated area and only for people with some marketing experience. But, the internet even covered this issue by selling leads to internet marketers if only you could find an autoresponder to import your purchased leads. (see autoresponder)

Now you know what leads are but did you know that there are substantial differences? Even purchasing leads is not simple. Not only taking the risk of being scammed by a company, the leads they offer also differ in age, gender, demographics and purpose.



Leads don't equal Leads!



"Real Time Leads", "Double Opt-in Leads" or "Fresh Leads" are most expensive, high quality and delivered in seconds. They just recently opted-in - usually 1-4 days old - and therefore are actively looking for information. It is very important to purchase targeted leads which can also be sorted by demographics. Very good companies include First and Lastname, Full Mailing Address, Telephone Number, Email Address, Gender, DOB, IP Address and Time/Date Stamp.


"Fresh Survey Leads" are "Fresh Leads" that have already been surveyed and will be delivered with answers.

"MLM Leads" (Mulit-Level-Marketing) or "Bulk Email Leads" are usually 30 - 60 days old and therefore not as responsive or interested as fresh ones. Those can be uploaded into autoresponders and bulk emal programs.

"Telephone Interviewed Leads" are designed for telemarketers or anyone who prefers over-the-phone conversations. They should have been interviewed by a real person and qualified before purchase. Very good reputable companies also offer a no bad lead guarantee and supply you with the name of the interviewer.

"Redirected Leads" will be taken (redirected) to your website after filling out a form instead of going to the companies generic site.

Using Leads can really boost your sales enormously and is every successful internet marketers favorite Marketing Tool but a complete research is recommended before diving in this area.

Using Autoresponders to advertise

An Autoresponder is an email system that allows you to send out a set of pre-written emails on set dates or days to your entire list of hundreds, thousands or even millions of subscribers.

Understanding and setting up your own Autoresponder is time consuming at first but very profitable if, and only if, you write great ad copy with an appealing subject line. You will literally find thousands of eBooks about successful email campaigns and the importance of subject lines. Following some basic rules will determine failure or success.

You might have read many times about "The List" you must have in order to be successful online. Well, with "The List" they refer to your list of subscribers, your double-optin list, people who have landed on your site, mostly a "Lead Capture Page", and subscribed to your newsletter by filling out a form.

There are many Autoresponders out there, free and paid services, varying from good to poor service. The only problem for a newbie is to grow "The List". While there are also tons of sites selling hot, fresh, high quality "Leads", most Autoresponders won't allow you to import "purchased Leads". It's like a circle you are running in: Either you have a very nice, easy to navigate Autoresponder but no double opt-in subscribers or you have a huge list you previously purchased but you are not allowed to upload it into your Autoresponder. So, what to do?

Well, one, you can create your own "Lead Capture Pages", mini websites that offer a gift, free software, free downloads, free eBooks etc. in exchange to receiving visitors name and email address. They fill out a short form on the Lead Capture Page, click on a link in their email to verify their subscription and they become a "double-optin Subscriber". This is the most common way for internet marketers to grow their list of double-optin subscribers since the CAN Spam Act of 2003.

The other solution would be purchasing your own Autoresponder software that you need to install on your computer. You can upload your list and send out your set of emails. The only tricky part is that you might run into the risk of receiving "Spam" complaints since your "subscribers" didn't opt-in, meaning they did not request any information from you.

The question would be: Why do companies sell leads if in most cases you can't upload them into your autoresponder? Well, there are very few services out there that do let you import purchased leads but with very strict criterias. A simple list of email addresses is not enough, you will be required to add additional information to each email address such as IP Address, Time Stamp, First Name, Last Name, address....

So, if you do decide to purchase leads, make sure they come with all information required before uploading them into your Autoresponder. You will also come across websites offering free leads but all you will receive is a plain list of email addresses which you won't have any use for.

Using Auoresponders indeed is a very profitable way to market your website or business online but a task very hard to accomplish if you are new to internet marketing. If you have any skills creating your own "Lead Capture Pages" and driving traffic to them then using Autoresponders is the next step for you. However, I did come across two companies that do allow you to import your purchased leads but also sell their own:

1) a1ebiz Doc, the owner of this company will personally help you setting up your autoresponder which is great for people with no prior experience. They do give you the option to sign up for free but with lesser benefits. You can import your leads but they MUST contain email, name IP addresses, timedate stamps at MINIMUM. However, Doc also sells his own leads which can be uploaded immediately into your autoresponder.

2) MLM Power Marketing is a company that also offers - depending on your subscription package - monthly free leads and you are permitted to import a minimum of 2500 leads/day with IP address and Time Stamp.

The only diffculty you might face is understanding the difference between good and bad leads that are offered to purchase.

Search Engine Optimization

For some, the concept of Search Engine Optimization (more commonly called SEO) is a confusing one. They’re not sure what it is, how it works or if it is even worth the effort. This lack of understanding makes them afraid to even research it and, because of that, they miss the value of search engine marketing (usually called SEM). They don’t get the advantages this process can bring and their sites suffer for it.

This shouldn’t happen to you, not when learning of SEO is as easy as reading an article.
Search Engine Optimization: What Is It?

Plainly put, SEO is a way of drawing more customers to your site by increasing rankings in search engines. Rather than letting your product hang in the doldrums of Yahoo or Google, a SEO method utilizes keywords and phrases that will help boost chances of receiving a top ranking. These keywords are what customers are looking for. You will have them in the content of your site.

Search Engine Optimization: How Does It Work?

The SEO method helps you choose the best words and text to deliver ultimate rankings. It also analyzes the site itself, looking for navigational problems and seeing if an engine would have difficulty finding it. It will also look at your competitors and offer what keywords they are using to reach a higher ranking.

Search Engine Optimization: Is It Worth It?

There are several advantages and disadvantages (as with every online idea) to be found with SEM.

The Good:

Developing Customer Friendly Pages
Noting What Similar Sites Are Doing (And Learning From Their Mistakes)
Getting Better Rankings Within Engines
Reaching A More Specific Audience

The Bad:

Many SEO Companies Are Expensive
Many SEO Companies Are Fake
There Is No Guarantee For A Top Ranking


As you can see, you will have to be wise with your selections. If you intend to use search engine marketing, you cannot assume that every company you find will do as you want. Many do nothing but create phantom pages and get you exiled from engines. You must carefully research your options and never believe any promise that you will become the number one page for a search. There is no way to guarantee that.

Does SEO work?

It can, if you understand that it has limitations and requires an honest company to help you do it.

Gaining Credibility: Video Marketing

There is a simple difference between a mildly successful product and one that amazes with its popularity. And it’s not the design of the website or the flash of the banners or even sometimes the product itself.

Success relies on advantage and you will find no advantage more necessary than that of video marketing. You know you have a great item; you know it can be used in home after home; and you know it works from the feedback you have gotten from your few customers.
What you don’t know, however, is why it’s not selling at the rate you intended, why it’s not denting the market. You always thought it was enough to have something worthwhile. You’re learning now that’s not the truth.

You need video marketing.

Why? To explain it simply, video marketing offers you a sense of credibility.
Customers relate to symbols and mascots; they remember faces. When you give nothing but text and promises, potential buyers are not certain they can trust you. Words mean little; they’re just lines on the page. A visual, however, creates something deeper, something that can be understood.

When you let your consumers view a video of you and your product, you create an instant sense of faith. After all, if this item didn’t work, would you risk showing that to the world? You obviously have confidence and, in turn, so will visitors to your site. By offering even meager minutes worth of footage, you help establish a rapport. You make them want to listen.
Of course, video marketing does require a bit of work on your part. You will not be able to simply speak into the camera.

You need creativity, empathy and honesty. You must project these things to connect with your customers. They need to know they can listen to you and feel at ease. You can’t be emotionless or monotone. You must have the warmth to reinforce that you can be believed. If you can’t manage that, video marketing will work against you.

Still, you can teach yourself to act naturally in front of a camera. What you can’t teach is how to ignore the success video marketing will bring. And, of course, you wouldn’t want to.
Your website will take on a new level of achievement by simply giving your customers a face to recall.

Your product, your image: bring them together.

Below are some great services offering video marketing for low monthly fees:

TalkStream
TalkStream is a simple, yet powerful solution that lets you use audio and video to improve your marketing results and increase sales. Thanks to TalkStream, you can now promote your products and services across the Internet, both easily and effectively!

You do not need a recording studio to get started. If you have a microphone or webcam, you can make recordings right at your home or office computer. You can even telephone a toll free number to make audio recordings up to an hour long, which instantly appear in your account.The possibilities are limitless, and TalkStream takes all the technical guess work out. You can concentrate your marketing efforts on the most important goal -- communicating effectively with your customers.

Your customers can also call toll free to leave testimonials, which you can copy & paste into your website for visitors to hear.The use of real audio testimonials is one of the most effective ways to boost customer confidence, and increase your number of subscribers or buyers. It's just one of the great many ways that TalkStream can help give your marketing a fresh new function and feel.

Sign Up for a Free 30 day Trial, after 30 days TalkStream Bronze Membership is available for as low as $19.95/month or TalkStream Platinum Membership for $199.50 for 1 year! ($16.62/month)


SitePal
Animated Flash Avatars - Talking Characters and Virtual People for Websites
SitePal is an Internet-based subscription service that allows you to create a wide-array of animated speaking characters, which can be added to your website for a variety of professional and personal applications.

SitePal provides a rich, easy-to-use to interface that makes the process of designing, managing and publishing your characters a breeze!

Absolutely no programming knowledge is required to use SitePal. However, SitePal does interface with various programming languages for those who are technically inclined.
Free 15 Day Trial is available, monthly/annual packages start from as low as $9.95/month or $99.95/year (save $20 with annual Subscription)


Speech Agents
Add Animated Talking Characters to increase Sales and enhance your sites appearance!If you sell on eBay, imagine being able to include one block of code on EVERY one of your auctions and have your SpeechAgent talk specifically about that item. Unlike similar services on the Internet, Speech Agents are dynamically generated from the information eBay already has about each of your items, such as Item Title, Current Price, Number of Bids, Buy Now Price, Time Remaining, etc.Bronze Membership is Free, monthly subscriptions with many more features available from $7.95 for Silver and up