Understanding Internet Leads – Why Are They Important? If you ask 10 different online marketing gurus or walk into 10 different marketing firms and ask them to what a lead is, you’ll probably get 10 different answers; or maybe 8. From company to company, leads are usually defined differently, but as an online marketer, you need to have a clear definition of what internet leads are. In fact, it’s critical to your marketing and sales success that you be working with a clearly defined lead so that it can also be clearly measurable. To define leads, let’s differentiate them from your prospects. Your prospects are part of your market who have already expressed interest in what you are marketing. They may have shown their interest by following you on Twitter or liking your Facebook page or even by just visiting your website. This turns them into a prospective customer but they have not yet taken the next step into actually becoming a lead. They are people who are opting in to hear more about your product or your company. They are interested in hearing what you have to say but they don’t have the potential to purchase yet or influence the sales of your company. And that’s where it gets tricky in terms of internet marketing. In the old way of marketing, leads and prospects are more clear cut and seldom overlap. With internet leads, you can easily jump from becoming a prospect to a lead to a prospect. By simply participating in Facebook – sharing a post or liking – you might have made the switch from being just a prospect to a lead. But we might be getting ahead of ourselves a little – how do we define internet leads? While prospects may still be at the initial meet and greet stage, internet leads have already opted-in to your message and, with a little more nurturing, should be able to take the next step into becoming a customer. Now, here’s the big question – if you are an internet marketer, how do you measure internet leads? You can measure leads in terms of how many people are active on your Facebook fan page or how many people comment on your website, but the best way to measure leads is by measuring your email list. If we were to reduce the prospect-lead relationship to its simplest form, visitors who haven’t opted-in to your mailing list are prospects and visitors who are part of your list are leads. By having their email address, you have a direct connection to a potential client that doesn’t require them to log on to any social media websites or to browse content. You can send them information straight into their inbox. Having clearly defined and measurable internet leads will help you measure the success of your marketing strategies. And while there may be a lot of grey area on when prospects become leads on plenty of other online marketing platforms, having a potential customer’s email address is inarguably a lead. Want to learn more about converting internet leads into income? Join our online community of entrepreneurs and find out more about underground tips and strategies!
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