Creating An Automated Lead Generation System Online

Effective lead generation begins with some kind of exchange: you offer something of value in exchange for your prospect's contact information.

The best enticement to offer is free, relevant information your prospects will find valuable. There are several reasons for this...

1. It can be effective at singling out those who are interested in what you sell.
2. It positions you as an expert.
3. You have the opportunity to educate your prospects about your solution.
4. It invokes the principle of reciprocity. (If the information is good, your prospects will feel a sense of indebtedness.)
5. Your actual costs can be negligible compared to other incentives.

Information can be offered in the form of a special report, guide, white paper, etc. It can be in written, audio, or video format. There are 5 main strategic approaches...

1. Reveal bad practices and outright scams in your industry and how to avoid them. This helps build trust and can be effective in industries known for bad practices.
2. Solve a dire problem your prospect is having. This communicates you're a problem-solver and, if done properly, that you care about their problem.
3. Tell how to do something. "How To" information will never go out of style. Offering detailed "how to" information communicates you are competent enough to teach others about your specialty.
4. Reveal something few people know about. This communicates exclusivity and access to "inside information."
5. Answer commonly asked questions. This communicates you have the answers.

Consider how each of these approaches could work for your situation. Brainstorm various ideas on how you can not only create an effective information enticement, but position yourself exactly the way you would like your prospects to perceive you.

Once you've created your enticement, you need an opt-in page. Some people call it a "squeeze page" because it "squeezes" the name and contact information out of your prospects.

Here are 10 key guidelines to creating an effective opt-in page...

1. There should be no other option but to opt-in for your information. No menu bar, no external links, nothing. Just the option of filling in their information. Ignore this step, and you'll have far fewer opt-ins.

2. Your opt-in page should be on its own top-level URL such as www.AutomatedLeadsOnline.com. This makes it easier to market it offline.

3. You should have a headline that flags your target prospect, communicates a unique benefit, contains a certain amount of curiosity, uses specific (non vague) language, and makes an emotional appeal.

4. You need to "sell" your free information just as you would if you were offering it for sale. People are increasingly reluctant to give up their contact information so your copy needs to "sell it".

5. Include a list of bullet points of what your prospect will learn. Make it sound as interesting and intriguing as possible.

6. Provide a "reason why" you're offering this information for free. Make it sound plausible.

7. Include a call to action that tells the reader exactly what you want them to do.

8. Include the opt-in form "above the fold" so visitors don't have to scroll down to see it. This is proven to increase opt-ins. If the copy is long, include another one at the bottom of the page.

9. For the maximum number of opt-ins, only ask for name and email address. Asking for more information--particularly the phone number--will drastically reduce your opt-in rate. (You can always "step up the involvement" later.)

10. Use audio or video to add an extra dimension and keep visitors engaged long enough to be "sold" on opting-in.

Your follow-up should be completely automated using an email autoresponder such as www.aweber.com.

When creating your follow-up email sequence, keep these things in mind.

1. Be sure and add value with your emails by offering relevant information. Educate your prospects, don't just "sell" to them.

2. Your subject line is the most important element. Be sure it accurately communicates what your email is about. Keep it short and to the point.

3. Keep your emails focused. There are no hard and fast rules for length. Some long emails can be effective, but they must be focused and interesting. You won't win business by boring your customers.

4. Be clear on what your goal is. If it is to generate appointments, then your follow-up sequence should be moving your prospects toward setting up an appointment. Let your readers know what they should do.

5. Treat your list like a treasure. If you send too many "salesy" emails, you'll get relegated to the spam folder. On the other hand, keep the relationship alive by emailing on a regular basis. Let these two words guide you: "add value."

Once everything is set up, you'll want to start sending your prospects to your opt-in page.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Use offline classified ads. This is great for local businesses and sales professionals targeting a local area. Offer your report and send them to the opt-in page.

2. Use direct mail. This is another offline tactic that can be very effective. Send over-sized postcards offering your report. Depending on your profit per sale or per customer, you may even consider sending first-class lumpy envelopes to really get attention.

3. Use pay-per-click advertising such as Google Adwords. The great thing about Google Adwords is you can catch people in the act of searching for exactly what you offer. You can also target any geographical area with Google Adwords.

4. Post videos online, include links in your social networking pages, hire a search engine optimizer--all to get online traffic.

5. Joint venture with someone who has a sizable database of prospects who fit your ideal client profile.

This step is often ignored, but is absolutely critical. It can mean the difference between mediocre vs. outstanding performance, which could have profound implications on your income.

Consider the difference between 10 leads a week vs. 12 leads a week. It may not seem like much, but consider that 12 leads a week represents a 20% improvement over 10 leads per week. And over the course of a year, that would add up to 104 extra leads!

Are you getting the picture?

The key to optimization is to first, track your results. Then... test various changes--such as different headline variations and approaches--and track the results.

There are two free, but extremely powerful tools for doing this effectively: Google Analytics and Google Optimizer.

Just do a search online to find them.