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[P132]Pay Per Lead Affiliate

by Anna Nicholls, Ann

18 December 2006 – SMEs are being offered a new online Pay-Per-Lead marketing solution with TheSeed.com, an automated web-based service providing genuine, pre-qualified new business leads at a cost of between £10 - £15 per lead.

Key to the concept is the definition of a lead. Currently when businesses think of sourcing ‘leads’ it relates to buying prospect lists of potential customers that offer nothing more than contact details. These ‘leads’ have not expressed an interest in the business or its services, meaning the SME needs to actively market to them through cold calling and pitching.

Lead generation from The Seed is totally different – it offers genuine enquiries from companies that have read about the business and are interested in its services. The potential customers initiate the contact to gather further information or a quote – similar to enquiries coming from the company’s own website – significantly increasing conversion rates.

The Seed’s Pay-Per-Lead approach ensures that customers only pay for the genuine targeted business leads that they receive. A lead from www.theseed.com is pre-qualified over the phone by The Seed’s customer services team so that SME subscribers only get genuine business enquiries – if no genuine leads are received there is nothing to pay.

In addition, there are no large up-front fees – sign up is free and opening an account costs just £50, which could create up to five genuine leads. There is no contract lock-in, allowing the service to be stopped at any time, while providing clear ROI for marketing planning.

The site’s creator Keir McConomy said: “The Seed’s approach is unique in that it provides qualified leads to SMEs from potential customers who actually initiated the contact. They are interested in your company and your service, significantly increasing the chances of converting it into real business and improving ROI. The Seed customers are already seeing improvements in their conversion rates, with some reporting conversion levels of over 40%. SMEs want customers, and The Seed gives that to them without heavy investment or lengthy tie ins."

Simple to use and manage, SMEs sign up to TheSeed.com through the website, outlining the business services they offer for potential new customers. These services are organised in 27 different categories, ranging from printing services and direct marketing, to commercial finance and IT services. New categories will be added as the site grows, and company or service details can be updated at any time.

McConomy came up with the idea of The Seed after many years creating bespoke Pay-Per-Lead campaigns for clients in areas as diverse as recruitment and direct mail. “The beauty of The Seed is its simplicity," he added. “Its manageable costs, scalability and qualified leads mean it could be the only marketing investment ever needed by many SMEs. With marketing ROI becoming increasingly important The Seed offers a new approach to managing and improving results."

I've been saying it for a little while now. Pay Per Lead is making inroads as a highly potent internet business marketing strategy. Spiralling PPC costs and (some) diminishing Adsense returns for certain niche content publishers has meant that both parties are being forced elsewhere to maximise their returns.

Pay per lead is superbly poised to win from this trend – big time. If you're a content publisher then pay close attention to this article.

Pay Per Lead advertisers win because they can CHOOSE a price to pay for a specific action – typically a prospect will download a product or fill out a free form and the content publisher (you) gets paid a fixed amount for each one. For the advertiser it means there's no risk of paying a small fortune for Adwords and seeing a ZERO return by way of sales and opt in subscribers.

No - with Pay Per Lead, advertisers can gather targeted prospects for a predetermined fee…and even for those that do not buy immediately (which will be the majority) the skilful advertiser will be able to work the backend. A profitable campaign. And for the publisher – good returns are achievable (no more scant pennies per valuable prospect you send to the advertiser) and click-through ratios are far higher because the content can be highly targeted to the offer (very difficult to achieve with Adsense). It's also possible to switch on viral campaigns (eg free eBooks & articles) with PPL which is far harder to do with Adsense. So the publisher can also enjoy a greater return on their website via PPL.

** BUT – Not All Industries Have Embraced The Pay Per Lead Concept Yet.

Unlike Adwords/Adsense, where there are advertisers in just about every niche imaginable, the availability of reliable pay per lead programs are significantly lower. There really aren't all that many about unless you know which niche markets to look at.

This is one of the biggest issues with the pay per lead concept at the moment. Even for those publishers that are itching to offer PPL – the chances are that there will not be a suitable program in their niche. Internet marketing is a prime example. At the time of writing I cannot remember more than four pay per lead offers, all of which expired very quickly. Remember – you do not want to send long term traffic to a pay per lead program unless that program stays open. That's why it's crucial to pick the right niche if you're serious about pay per lead.

** The Best Niche Just Got Better (And It's All Thanks To Pay Per Lead)

I like the real estate niche market. It's as close to a PERFECT niche as you're ever going to get. Here's why:

- BIG Numbers. In the U.S. alone almost ten million people search for “real estate” each and every month. I don't care what those who try to sell you sub-standard niches tell you… a high number of potential prospects are one of the key factors that will determine your long term success. Big numbers mean more advertisers. More competition. Bigger commissions and payouts.

- RICH Prospects. Real estate is a market that is worth trillions annually. You're dealing with people that have money and wont think twice to invest in education & information. I wish all niches were like that but they're not. It means more sales of your information products, membership sites – and a better conversion rate on your affiliate links.

- HIGH TICKET affiliate program opportunities. If you joined every real estate affiliate program out there…you would be filling out forms for days on end. Perhaps even weeks. There are just too many to mention. And many have payouts that exceed hundreds and even thousands of dollars. Don't ever consider a niche where there aren't enough quality big ticket affiliate programs.

- And Now…Pay Per Lead Opportunities. In a recent article I discussed a real estate affiliate program in the specific foreclosures niche (a sub-market of real estate). It offered $5 per free form filled out by each prospect referred. That means just ten referrals would earn you $50. It also means that with a 20% conversion rate, every thousand prospects that you get to your site nets you a thousand dollars. Remember – you can also use viral techniques such as free eBooks & articles to get your referral link to an unlimited number of targeted prospects. Real estate is one of the few niches where pay per lead seems to be breaking through – as this method becomes more popular with real estate companies we can expect a bigger choice and higher payouts.

** Another Real Estate Pay Per Lead Gem - $5 To $20 Per Lead (And All They Have To Do Is Request A “Free Valuation” On Their Property)

Real estate valuation is big business. It's a powerful sub-niche within the wider real estate market. In fact the search term “Property Value” alone brings in close to 20,000 monthly searches.

Everyone in the real estate niche wants to know what their real estate is worth. So do those who are considering purchasing real estate. Consequently, the demand for sites that offer a FREE real estate valuation service are significantly large.

Just about everyone interested in real estate would want a “quick online quote” – the best thing is there's currently a real estate company that's offering between $5 to $20 for every person that requests a free online valuation for their property. This may sound like a lot for an advertiser to dish out, but in fact the company can make thousands from just one of these prospects alone so to them the outlay is negligible. It's a little like an internet marketing advertiser paying a cent for ten targeted prospects.

There's no doubt that Pay Per Lead offers a sensational opportunity for both advertisers & content publishers alike. And as always, the first entrepreneurs to exploit the possibilities will be the ones that come away with the fattest rewards.

Good luck!

Article Source : e marketing mix

About Author

Both Anna Nicholls & Tuks Engineer are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Anna Nicholls has sinced written about articles on various topics from Marketing. For more information visit www.theseed.com. Anna Nicholls's top article generates over 3600 views. to your Favourites.

Tuks Engineer has sinced written about articles on various topics from Credit Card Solution, Financial Planning and Investing and Trading. Pay Per Lead Programs Paying Between $5 To $75 Per Lead Referred Revealed. Plus Sizzling Private Label Rights Content To Use With These Programs.