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Getting good leads on a shoestring budget. Contacts are everything in business and online so gathering them is critical to success

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Getting leads can be really expensive

If you search getting leads you will find sites loaded with advertising all wanting your money for a bunch of names. If you are an expert in this field and can justify sales against the cost paid for leads can work for you.

However, most of us don't have the capital or achieve a return so we need to turn to other ways to gather leads.

There are also sites that will send thousands of leads so your site looks exciting but they amount to nothing and cost you to get them

Get your SEO in place first of all

There are things you must do if you want your material to be read and acted on. The first of course is Keyword selection. I go on a bit about this and you can read many of my blogs on the subject but it is the single biggest factor in getting read. Get your Keyword wrong and it is all uphill from there.

You must look at both traffic and competition to see where you rate. Too much of either of these will send you down to the double-digit pages.

The first thing to do is use a Keyword tool like Jaaxy. A sample is below. It is available for free with a Wealthy Affiliate membership.

Keywords make the difference between success and failure. Choose carefully.

The subject matter also counts

If you are writing on a subject that has little following you will gather no traffic. Many of us do this because the subject is of interest to us but counting the leaves that fall in August is not everyone's cup of tea.
This is where traffic comes into play. you need some but not too much.

Your offer needs to be compelling

If you want to gather people's names and email addresses you need to give them a very good reason to comply.

I don't think the newsletter promise cuts it anymore because we all get lots of them. Certainly, an eBook will do it, or a paper that promises the secret formula for preventing falling leaves.
It could be 20 handy tips on gathering leads for free or something to excite action.

I do see many now offering an email promise if you take an action. This seems to trigger an easy acceptance because you are already half committed to them.

So the thinking hat really needs to go on and find that promise to fulfill the dreams.

Social media will deliver viewers but not names

Social media does work really well in delivering interested parties however they still need to disclose a bit more information.
One plan is the VIP list for getting special offers before the general public. People love being thought of as special and this is their opportunity to shine.
Make sure what you offer is actually deliverable and that it has some value.

Another is exclusivity and I see this working regularly with one of my suppliers. When he has a new plan/app he sends it to members only at a special starter price. This way he can gauge the acceptance level and place a higher premium on the mass public.

Almost finally is the timer box which has a count-down clock. This offer is only available for the next 8 hours and 52 minutes before the price rises, the offer expires or we all get blown up.

The Live appearance

You can do this with an Audio or video presentation and either live or prerecorded. However, it is offered as a live presentation often available at different times over a day. The world is a big place with many time zones so running a few seminars will gather more followers.

They have to give you details to enter the media so you now have them for post-presentation offers.

A couple of tricks they use are interesting but effective.

1. watch this until the 8 mins 30 seconds mark when we reveal the real secret of lead building.
2. Stay to the end of the presentation when we roll out three giveaways that everyone needs

These simple tricks build interest and intrigue as potential viewers think they may miss something

Getting good leads on a shoestring budget by giving to others

Give something to get more

Certainly, any inducement will attract a following and the perceived value of the offer will make a difference to the strategy.

You could be reviewing the latest Kenwood Chef Thermomix product and providing a glowing report so that all your readers want to buy. However, the secret discount code can only be given to those that log in and ask. It is so special you can not share it widely and in fact, only the first ten people will qualify so be quick and make sure you are before number 10

Some even put a number countdown box to give a real urgency. We all know it is rubbish but our sub-conscience makes us act because we are greedy.

The promise

If you want to win these days, One thing you better NOT be is boring! The best way to stand out in a crowded market is with video But until recently, That required a full team BUT, A buddy of mine just launched an app That takes boring slides And turns them into a blockbuster movie! Your own personal hype reel) So you could hire a team of six professionals like I did… Or just scoop this sweet package

This is in my email box today. Michael is an expert marketer and he will get a bundle of people to sign up for the offer. His promise and the intrigue along with his recommendation are enough to move the harder among us.

You are in marketing so act like it

This is a competitive world and the best marketers will get a slice of the cake. So think like an entrepreneur and not a backstreet writer. If you want leads then ask for them however give something in return. Add excitement, intrigue, and a promise that they can not refuse, and get them to enlist on your page as a potential customer.

Getting good leads on a shoestring budget by using the phone

The phone call method

The method is to call people in a niche that might be remotely interested in your product. You are not going to sell them anything because all you want is the name of the appropriate person and an email address. ( plus a mobile number if you can.) Many receptionists will give you the details just to get you off the phone.

You will quickly build a nice email or newsletter database that you can use forever more.

I actually did this using cheap labor out of Vietnam so that my costs were kept right down. I did a few myself but found they were better than mine.

What makes a lead good?

All leads are the potential for new business. A good lead is one that is turned into a customer and contributes to the sales figures.

Conclusion

The value of a good database can be worked in thousands of dollars so you are not doing this for a game. The standard rule is that each name you have could earn you $5 a month and have a selling price based on 12 months of income. A thousand names could be worth $60,000. Even 10% of this would be attractive

Therefore get those names and keep them interested with regular correspondence and offers that get the occasional acceptance.

Getting good leads on a shoestring budget by Peter Hanley

• Email marketing for small businesses
• Using the skyscraper technique for blogging
• What is best lead generation or blogging to make money
• How to get quality traffic to my website on a budget
• Why Keywords are still important for SEO and how you can rank on page one