After publishing my article on how to set up a lead generation website, I received a couple of messages asking one very important thing: How do you get paid for the leads you generate? I shall endeavour to answer that question in this week’s edition of the Domain Development series.
Let’s assume that you’ve created your website, you’ve filled it with content and you are starting to attract some leads (which you’ve collected using the free Contact Form 7 or the premium Gravity Forms plugin). Firstly, how do you find a company who will want to buy your leads in the first place?
The method that I use to form partnerships works well for small to medium sized businesses. This is because you’re able to get to the decision makers (i.e the CEO or owner) much quicker, and also because small to medium sized companies generally have more of an interest in partnerships which can attract new business for them.
To find a company to partner with, you’ll first need to do a Google search to see who is advertising for your search term. In this example, I’ll be using a completely random real estate domain name which I don’t own - LosAltosRealEstate.com (the name is currently parked). I would search Google for Los Altos Real Estate and contact every real estate company who advertises on that term.
More often than not, this is your best source for establishing partnerships. Companies who advertise will be looking for new leads and new opportunities, so they should be open to partnering with you. It’s also a good idea to check out their website to see how well designed the site is, and how often they update it. A well designed site which is regularly updated would show the company’s devotion to their online brand.
Once you’ve found a company that you want to partner with, you should email them. I’ve found the most effective person to email is either the owner or the person in charge of marketing (sometimes called the CMO). In the case of Los Altos Real Estate, I would contact the lead Realtor directly.
An opening email briefly describing your website as well as asking them whether they’re interested in receiving more business leads should grab their attention. After an opening discussion, with them hopefully confirming that they are interested, you will need to come to an agreement regarding payment. From research I conducted a long time ago, there are two common methods of getting paid for leads:
The first method is very easy to keep a track of. You’ll initially need to agree a price per lead with the company you contacted earlier. If you are providing leads through solely a website hosted on one of your domains, then set up your contact form to send the leads to your own email address. Once you’ve received leads, verify that they’re real (not spam), and send them on to your new partner.
You should probably create a new spreadsheet to keep monitor the amount of leads you’ve sent. Companies that I’ve dealt with prefer to pay for leads on a monthly basis, so they’ll often require you to send an invoice at the end of each month. Depending on the company you’re dealing with, their preferred method of payment may be via check or PayPal.
It’s a great feeling to receive an email containing a new lead, knowing that you’ve made money without having to do much at all. It’s even better when the check comes at the end of the month!
The second method of paying per successful sale is a little more difficult to track, and will require more work on your end, but the amount of money you make overall can be higher. I’ve never successfully created any partnerships of this type, but I am aware that some do. From what I’ve researched, it’s important to agree terms of your commission before sending leads. Using a contract may help.
It’s also important to contact with your partner and with the customer periodically in question to make sure that the transaction or service is going well. Once you’ve confirmed with your partner and their customer that the job has been finished successfully, your partner should arrange to give you the agreed upon commission through check, PayPal or wire transfer.
I’ll be honest with you, from what I’ve researched, the second method seems to be very time consuming, and can be very difficult to receive payment from (if the stories on marketing forums are true).
As I mentioned earlier, I’ve only ever had success with the first method of lead generation. Tracking and receiving payments are extremely easy, and once you get into a routine, it gets a little quicker to complete your tracking and invoicing. If you start with a good exact match domain name, then lead generation can be very profitable.
Have you had success with lead generation? Do you have tips of your own to share? Comment below.
Domain Development is a blog series that teaches you how to create money making websites from your domain portfolio.
Let’s assume that you’ve created your website, you’ve filled it with content and you are starting to attract some leads (which you’ve collected using the free Contact Form 7 or the premium Gravity Forms plugin). Firstly, how do you find a company who will want to buy your leads in the first place?
The method that I use to form partnerships works well for small to medium sized businesses. This is because you’re able to get to the decision makers (i.e the CEO or owner) much quicker, and also because small to medium sized companies generally have more of an interest in partnerships which can attract new business for them.
To find a company to partner with, you’ll first need to do a Google search to see who is advertising for your search term. In this example, I’ll be using a completely random real estate domain name which I don’t own - LosAltosRealEstate.com (the name is currently parked). I would search Google for Los Altos Real Estate and contact every real estate company who advertises on that term.
More often than not, this is your best source for establishing partnerships. Companies who advertise will be looking for new leads and new opportunities, so they should be open to partnering with you. It’s also a good idea to check out their website to see how well designed the site is, and how often they update it. A well designed site which is regularly updated would show the company’s devotion to their online brand.
Once you’ve found a company that you want to partner with, you should email them. I’ve found the most effective person to email is either the owner or the person in charge of marketing (sometimes called the CMO). In the case of Los Altos Real Estate, I would contact the lead Realtor directly.
An opening email briefly describing your website as well as asking them whether they’re interested in receiving more business leads should grab their attention. After an opening discussion, with them hopefully confirming that they are interested, you will need to come to an agreement regarding payment. From research I conducted a long time ago, there are two common methods of getting paid for leads:
- Pay per lead: Your client pays a set amount per qualified lead that’s received through your website.
- Pay per sale: You receive a percentage of the final sales price. For real estate, this could be 10% of their commission, but it can also work on high value products and services.
The first method is very easy to keep a track of. You’ll initially need to agree a price per lead with the company you contacted earlier. If you are providing leads through solely a website hosted on one of your domains, then set up your contact form to send the leads to your own email address. Once you’ve received leads, verify that they’re real (not spam), and send them on to your new partner.
You should probably create a new spreadsheet to keep monitor the amount of leads you’ve sent. Companies that I’ve dealt with prefer to pay for leads on a monthly basis, so they’ll often require you to send an invoice at the end of each month. Depending on the company you’re dealing with, their preferred method of payment may be via check or PayPal.
It’s a great feeling to receive an email containing a new lead, knowing that you’ve made money without having to do much at all. It’s even better when the check comes at the end of the month!
The second method of paying per successful sale is a little more difficult to track, and will require more work on your end, but the amount of money you make overall can be higher. I’ve never successfully created any partnerships of this type, but I am aware that some do. From what I’ve researched, it’s important to agree terms of your commission before sending leads. Using a contract may help.
It’s also important to contact with your partner and with the customer periodically in question to make sure that the transaction or service is going well. Once you’ve confirmed with your partner and their customer that the job has been finished successfully, your partner should arrange to give you the agreed upon commission through check, PayPal or wire transfer.
I’ll be honest with you, from what I’ve researched, the second method seems to be very time consuming, and can be very difficult to receive payment from (if the stories on marketing forums are true).
As I mentioned earlier, I’ve only ever had success with the first method of lead generation. Tracking and receiving payments are extremely easy, and once you get into a routine, it gets a little quicker to complete your tracking and invoicing. If you start with a good exact match domain name, then lead generation can be very profitable.
Have you had success with lead generation? Do you have tips of your own to share? Comment below.
Domain Development is a blog series that teaches you how to create money making websites from your domain portfolio.
