Below is my latest Oregon Eagle newspaper article.<\/p>\n
The Oregon Eagle being a newspaper founded by one of my long time customers Richard Emmons I bought ownership in to have at least some kind of \u201csay\u201d in the future of this state. I also figured it is something that can be passed down to Willis some day, so he has at least some kind of say, too.<\/p>\n
Here it is:<\/p>\n
If you want to drive free leads to your business\u2019 website that are both free and are often all but \u201cin heat\u201d to buy your products or services when they arrive, then this article will show you how.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how it works:<\/strong><\/p>\n
Best-selling author of the \u201cNO BS\u201d book series Dan Kennedy teaches about what he calls \u201cupstream leads.\u201d These leads don\u2019t find you from Facebook\/Google ads, banner ads, magazine ads, newspaper ads, TV ads, radio ads, direct mail ads, or any other paid ads. Instead, they work their way \u201cupstream\u201d to you – swimming against the tides of mass advertising and distractions to find your business online. They often show up with a credit card in their hot little hands, can\u2019t wait to get on your website\u2019s mailing list (see my last Oregon Eagle article for how to build an email list), and don\u2019t waste your time haggling over price or with ticky-tack complaints.<\/strong><\/p>\n
In other words, you don\u2019t chase upstream leads, they chase you.<\/strong><\/p>\n
And when they come to you, they come correct.<\/strong><\/p>\n
This flips the script on the usual business\/customer dynamic. And in my nearly 25 years selling online, I\u2019ve yet to see a more rabid (to buy) lead than the upstream variety.<\/strong><\/p>\n
The good news is, there are many ways to acquire upstream leads, including:<\/strong><\/p>\n
* Lead swaps – where you make a deal with a business adjacent to yours (i.e., not direct competitors but serve the same \u201cgene pool\u201d of customers and clients, like an accountant\/ insurance agent, or a plumber\/electrician, or mechanic\/car detailing service) to tell your mailing list, social media followers, and customers\/clients about their website, and they do the same for your business. These leads show up pre-qualified, pre-sold, and likely pre-ready to buy.<\/strong><\/p>\n
* Joint venture with businesses – similar to list swaps, except you directly sell their offers to your list, social media followers, and customers & clients, and they do the same for your business.<\/strong><\/p>\n
* Barter your service to adjacent businesses in exchange for access to their customers – you provide your service to them and they then tell their mailing list, social media following, and customers\/clients about your business website.<\/strong><\/p>\n
* Send press releases with valuable tips to the media to entice them to want to interview you – including to local radio stations (and podcasts), TV programs, and newspapers. This makes you a mini celebrity and lets you tap into the \u201chalo effect.\u201d This is when merely being interviewed by the media automatically makes you the \u201cgo to\u201d business for people who trust that media.<\/strong><\/p>\n
* Post about problems your business solves to local social media groups – do this enough and people start assuming you\u2019re the best option for fixing those problems, go to your profile, and look for a link to your website. The trick is to be like a doctor. Many of the most renown doctors aren\u2019t the best at treatment, they\u2019re the best at diagnosis. Thus, \u201cdiagnose\u201d via regularly writing about problems your product or service solves.<\/strong><\/p>\n
There are many more ways to generate upstream leads.<\/strong><\/p>\n
But just picking the one or two above you like most can get you a steady flow of eager-to-buy leads coming to your website day after day, week after week, month after month, and even year after year.<\/strong><\/p>\n
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