How do I generate free leads?

How do I generate free leads?  You guessed it, this article is about leads, lead generation and of course, free leads  for your business.

"The money is in the list."  How many times have you heard that?  To tell you the truth when I was fairly new to network marketing I grew sick and tired of hearing that.  Partly because I had no idea how to generate leads and even more so, I had no idea why they were so important.  So let's start with that.  Why are leads so important?

Did you know it takes the average person seven exposures to a product before they will consider buying it?  That means you need to place your product or affiliate link in front of most people seven times before you even come close to making a sale.  Let me ask you this, how many people are promoting the same product or business as you?  Chances are, a whole lot.

You should also know that people hate to be sold, but they do love to buy.  The only catch is, people usually buy from people they like and trust.  People are emotional buyers.  So we now have two hurdles to overcome; positioning our product in front of them numerous times and gaining their trust.  How is that even possible?  Short answer, a lead list and an autoresponder.

Let me be clear here, though.  I'm not talking about buying leads.  You see, when you buy leads you are buying emails that, number one, may not be active and number two have been sold to hundreds if not thousands of other people.  This is not going to create any amount of trust and if you are lucky enough to have the person even open one of your emails it does nothing for constant exposure.

Now think about people opting in to YOUR list.  These are people that say to you personally, yes I want more information.  Yes, I want to receive your newsletter.  They are saying yes to you.  Point one in the trust category.

OK, so you have an idea about why leads are important.  Now on to the bigger question, how do you generate leads or even better, free leads?  It's actually a bit easier than you might think.

Every autoresponder comes with a form generator.  Yes, you are going to need an autoresponder.  But don't worry, they are inexpensive and they will let you automate your business.  It works even when you don't.  Now, this form is magical.  It is!  Because you can place that form in so many different places.  And you want to do that, you want that form everywhere.

Where are some places you can put a form?  Facebook?  You bet!  Search for "HTML profile box" on Facebook.  Stick your form right in there!  Not many people are doing this and it will put you 10 steps ahead of the crowd.  Your blog?  Oh yes!  Even free blogs allow you to edit the HTML.  Put your form at the top of your blog, perhaps under your about me section, and then place one under each post.  Articles?  Most certainly!  When you put your article on your web page, put an opt in box right at the bottom.  If you are providing good content, and get people curious, they will opt right in.

Get creative, and give people every chance possible to learn about you by opting into your list.  But I have to warn you, generating leads, even free leads, is only a part of the battle.  You see, now that they are on your list you want them to stay on your list.  The only way you will be able to monetize that list is if they keep reading your emails.