network marketing industries

Lead generation is a term that is widely used in the internet network marketing world. In fact, the prime focus of internet network marketing is lead generation. A lead is a person who is interested in your product. They are not committed to buying your product, but they are interested in it and have somehow gotten in touch with you to find out more about it. This contact can be direct, like a phone call or in-person meeting, or indirect, like a visit to your website. It is now your job to convert that lead into a sale.

Have you ever asked yourself any of the following questions?

-      Why aren’t people buying my product?

-      Why can’t people see that my product is worthwhile?

-           How do I inform people about my product?

       How do I get my product out in front of more people?

If you have, then you are in desperate need of leads. Having the right product, price and attitude is the first step, but if you don’t have the leads, you won’t sell anything.

So how do you organize an online lead generation campaign? What do you need to do in order to make this campaign successful?

First of all, you need to decide who your target audience is. If you’re selling hammers and you target your marketing towards single women, odds are that you’ll have very few leads. Make sure that you’re going after the correct people. A bad salesman makes a hundred phone calls before he makes a sale. A good salesman makes ten phone calls and makes five sales. Which would you rather be? It’s not about working hard, it’s about working efficiently. Always remind yourself about that.

Once you determine who your target audience is, find out what sites they visit. Do some keyword analysis and make a list of the top sites that show up on Google and Yahoo for those keywords. The owners of those sites have already done their homework and have your leads visiting them on a daily basis. No need to reinvent the wheel here. Use their research to your advantage.

They have what you need; users who fit the profile of your target audience. So what do you have to offer? Your product! Make sure that your product is good and it satisfies the needs of your target audience. If you have a bad product or if your product is very common, you will need to generate a lot of leads to make a few sales. Instead, focus on making your product better so that you change that equation.

Once you have a list of websites, do the following:

-       If you have a unique product, see if the webmasters will do a link exchange with you. That way, they don’t have to recreate the product and compete with you and you get to tap into their customer base. It is a mutual, win-win situation.

      See if they will sell you prime position banner ad space on their website. If they sell you ads in positions where you won’t even be seen, don’t bother.

       Depending on your budget, sign up for a pay per click account. PPC is very useful and efficient. You not only pay for leads instead of impressions, but you get your ad on a number of different websites without having to go through the trouble of contacting webmasters individually.

-       Make a list of forums and blogs that are related to your product. Go there and participate in them. Don’t just try to sell products, but actually talk to people, build relationships and then direct them to your websites.

-        Make sure that your signature on forums has your website on it.

-      Social media: Join Facebook, Myspace and other social networks. Within those networks, you will find groups of people who are interested in your products. For example, if you’re selling a series of DVD’s that deal with dog training, join a dog lovers group. Politely introduce yourself to the group and participate in discussions. Make friends and meet people. Then, introduce them to your product.

-       Article marketing: Write a number of articles about your product. Mention its benefits and uses and write tips about your products as well. Then, post these articles to directories like www.ezinearticles.com and www.goarticles.com. Make sure that you have a link back to your website. These directories are a goldmine for leads. Best of all, they are free.

-      Press releases: If your product is new or newsworthy, write a press release about it and send it to appropriate publications.

Here is the most important tip in a lead generation campaign. Sign up for a FREE Google Analytics account and install it on your website. This will help you to track where your leads come from. Why is this important? It is important because in the long run, it helps you to streamline your lead generation plan.

For example, if you get little to no leads from a Pay per Click campaign, but a majority of your leads come from article marketing, you can abandon PPC and focus more on articles. That way, you can use your time more efficiently. Tracking your leads is the key to the success of a lead generation campaign.

Another good tip to keep in mind is to maintain a spreadsheet of your lead generation activities. This helps to keep you on track and making constant notes helps you to further improve each step of your lead generation campaign.

Lead generation is like fishing. You have to put in the right bait at the right time, be patient and persistent and reap the benefits. One thing is for sure, if you are persistent, efficient and smart, you will get leads soon and successfully.