Co-Reg Lead Generation Gets Some Respect

Revenue for online [tag]lead gen[/tag] made a healthy gain to reach 6 percent of all Internet advertising spending during the first half of 200. That’s $347 million. Go back to 2002 and it was only 2 percent of [tag]Internet advertis­ing[/tag] spending in the first half of that year, or $114 million. But that is a year-to-year increase of 204 percent. Online lead genera­tion is growing by leaps and bounds with 2006 up 290 percent over 2005, according to the Internet Advertising Bureau. [tag]Online lead generation[/tag], when done the right way, can be done well. Last year the online lead gen­eration machines earned hundreds of millions, according to the Internet Advertising Bureau, which predicts over $1 bil­lion for the lead gen space in 2006.

The phrase “lead generation” also means different things turning on who you re talking to. This is also known as [tag]permission-based marketing[/tag] and in some cases it is called [tag]co-registration[/tag] or [tag]co-reg[/tag]. When an advertiser needs new poten­tial customers to sell to, one method of get­ting names and ways to contact these people is to rent a list. This list of people is called the leads or in the case of co-ret "records". Generally these people have already expressed an interest in the product be they computers, real estate, cars, mortgages or other retail goods and have agreed to be con­tacted by the advertiser.

The most popular online lead gen technique is the “[tag]opt in[/tag].” newsletter. This is where a customer registers online to join a free newsletter or newspaper or social net­work and sees a page where he can request to receive additional newsletters or marketing from third-party companies. Generally, you check a box to say it’s okay. Fundamental interaction with that page is sometimes required to complete your registration. Some companies also practice “dou­ble opt in,” where you check a box but also must follow a link in an email as a way to confirm your email address to avoid being accused of spamming the subscriber. Since there is a commission for every lead generated, it becomes attractive to enter a pay-per-lead or pay-per-sale con­tract with an advertiser. And thereupon this model is very much like the affiliate marketing model and affiliates have flocked to lead gen.

The flood of lead gen affiliates in the online world breeds both the good and the bad. The bad practices that used to be com­monplace but are now considered intolerable are “opt out,” where you are automatically signed up for other offers and you must uncheck the boxes to refuse. Also pages where offers outweigh content and offers of free products for forward­ing the offer to others. And add to this list free offers that still involve a fee. Needless to say any offers that require the downloading of adware or spyware are bad. And, of course, offers that do not explicitly say they will not sell or give your private information to other advertisers. Co-reg and lead gen are great ways to earn and build your business IF you do it ethically.