Cherry Picking is the terminology used by the Lead Generation, Distribution, Routing and Sales practitioners to represent the choices provided to the sales agents or lead buyers while choosing their leads for purchase or active followup. Comprehensive Lead Distribution and Routing Software systems such as LeadPro247 includes Cherry Picking method as an option for sellers and lead generation businesses.

Businesses can also provide choices for their inside sales or field sale representatives to cherry pick leads available in the distribution queue. This is generally used in the Lead Pull method of the assignment process. Sales reps can pull the prospects when they are ready for next follow up. However, businesses have the option to specify if the reps can choose their prospects or accept without any choice. If the reps can review and accept or reject the prospects in the Lead Pull method, then the process is referred to as cherry picking leads.

When the term Cherry Picking is used in general by the Lead Generation industry, it refers to the usage in the Lead Selling scenarios rather than the internal distribution scenario within an organization.

Why Allow Cherry Picking Leads?

The process allows the lead buyers to evaluate the conversion probability of the prospect and then decide to purchase or reject the same. This helps the buyers to pick and choose the prospects suitable for their specific requirements. Hence this process is generally not feasible when hundreds or thousands of  leads are purchased at a time.

Also, Lead Filters used in the automated lead distribution processes (by setting up an order or profile) can only filter quantitative properties. Where as the Cherry Picking process allows the buyer to apply qualitative decision making based on the available lead parameters.

Lead Filters Vs Cherry Picking

Lead Filters and Cherry Picking are used as complimentary distribution procedures. For example, if thousands of prospects are generated daily and available in the sales / distribution queue, it would be very difficult (if not impossible) to cherry pick individual leads manually. In such a case, the potential buyers will specify one or more lead filters or criteria based on lead profile properties to zero in specific group of leads. This is carried out by setting up a Lead Order or Buyer Profile (depending on the database / software system that you use) and passing the leads through the criteria.

For instance, in the case of Mortgage Leads, the buyer could specify the basic criteria such as geography (i.e. State) and type of leads (mortgage, refinance, credit range, etc.). When the user (buyer) logs in, the system will filter the records and display only the leads meeting the specified criteria.

When to Allow Cherry Picking for Lead Sales

As a thumb rule, picking and choosing selectively works well in the scenarios where the individual lead prices are reasonably high. While there is no hard and fast rule to determine the threshold for the lead sales value, a per lead price of $50 or above will be suitable for allowing cherry picking.

It is also noticed that the number of leads purchased by individual buyer is quite low, when cherry picking is employed. As mentioned earlier, if the lead buying volume is very large, cherry picking leads is a cumbersome process and hence generally avoided.

For example, specialized financial services leads sold to investment / financial consultants are good candidates for this method. The buyer can look at the available lead properties and then decide to buy the lead.

Notice that the critical information such as prospect’s name, physical address, phone number or email address will never be revealed (or displayed) to the buyer looking to cherry pick. Other meaningful data which would be useful for the buyer’s decision making process will be displayed by the system in the pick list screen.

Each business has to weigh the pros and cons of allowing the freedom to the buyers to choose their records. What  works for one business may not be suitable for other businesses. Also, some high value verticals work well with this method leading to higher customer satisfaction, while other verticals do not.

Why many Online Marketers Struggle with Lead Generation Management?

Online Marketing professionals and businesses such as digital marketing agencies just getting into Lead Generation and Distribution business plan out their business strategies (i.e. lead generation and selling) very well. They are generally very good at picking the niches and lead verticals, lead generation sources and methods, affiliate and advertising tactics, etc. In other words, they get the “idea” part of it.

However one major area where they lack in planning is the executing the operations. This is where many startups and entrepreneurs in the lead business struggle and meet with significant difficulties. Though they are good in the “marketing” aspect, they struggle with the systems and processes. Unfortunately, in the leadgen industry unless you master the “operations” part of the business, there is no real business success.

Lead Generation Management

For example, you do not need to be a technology nerd to be a successful an online marketer. However, capturing, aggregating, distributing and delivering leads generated (on the internet) is a different ball game altogether. Every affiliate and lead supplier will demand a different specification for pushing leads; most buyers will also demand different delivery methods, systems and exception handling (for duplicate leads and other lead returns). For instance, using “ping” method for lead delivery means different things for different vendors and clients! While most systems and tasks can be outsourced, you should understand and differentiate different services, solutions and processes. If you are a large team, then you should have someone taking care of this serious stuff!

Though most lead distribution software providers will support HTTP Post, Real Time emails, SMS text messaging and SOAP / XML based delivery methods, these do not work by simple flipping of switches; it needs extensive assessment and technical support. Data transformation adds another level of complications and issues.

Wait, I am not suggesting that you have to go out and get a masters degree in database structures and computer science if you want to be successful in lead generation business! You need to pick and choose the right processes, people, software systems and tools.

Lead Distribution Software

Assessment and selection of Lead Distribution Software cannot be carried out with a checklist. As I mentioned earlier, most lead distribution systems will meet the criteria, at least on “feature list”. Hence, schedule some time with the prospective software providers and discuss in detail about your specific business requirements and ask them how (in detail) their solution can meet the same. Better yet, request them to show it to you after plugging in your lead data and distribution rules from a sample source.

If you cannot or not willing to spend time with lead system provider initially, then probably you will regret it later. Remember that the industry, technology and practices change so fast, there is not a single “perfect” solution. Similarly, if your perspective lead distribution technology vendor cannot spend time with you, in all likelihood, it will not be a suitable solution for your lead generation business.

Email Lead Distribution

I added this phrase in the topic title for simple reason that most business owners use “Email Leads Distribution” for capturing internet leads (from landing pages or emails) and delivering prospect information via real time email alerts. Unfortunately, email is the least dependable method from both your and your client’s perspective. Try to educate the clients and leverage other reliable delivery methods (such as HTTP/ SOAP / XML / CRM interfaces, SMS Texting, etc.); better yet, post the leads to your lead back office system and request them to access it online. Another advantage of using a back office system is that your clients can use the system as a their Lead Management (CRM) and Tracking solution with minimal incremental fee.

Note: If you are a SMB and looking for a lead distribution and management software system to assign sales leads within your inside sales or field sales organization (not to third parties or buyers), then try the sales lead tracking system version of LeadPro247 (i.e. LeadPro247 has 2 system versions catering to (1) lead distributors and (2) SMBs for lead tracking).

As home care services are highly regulated by the government and industry bodies, online lead generation has not mushroomed as in other industry verticals. However, the opportunities in this industry are very large. As the population is aging quickly and the health care costs are skyrocketing uncontrollably, consumers are looking forward to technology for researching products and services, cutting costs and improving  health care. As more and more healthcare systems get automated in the near future, the rules and regulations will be more clear and easier to follow.

Home Care Leads Generation

Since cold calling is not allowed for sales promotion, lead generation services providers still depend on traditional marketing and leadgen channels such television, radio and print advertisement. Once the potential customers see the advertisement and call the telephone number advertised, the agents carefully screen the calls and then pass on the leads to the  service providers and product suppliers.

Home care leads fall into two major categories: Home care equipment and Home care services. The lead generation companies have to wade through lot of legal issues and make sure that they are following rules such as HIPAA regulations, state rules, Medicare regulations and other privacy regulations.

Lead Distribution and Management

The home care providers also exercise great caution when buying leads from third parties, as they are ultimately responsible for the issues, if any. For example, a consumer could have called a lead generation service and the leadgen company could have passed on the contact information to the service provider. The service provider must have clear record of the entire conversation / communication, so that they can defend themselves in case of issues; the buyer also will have the right to inspect the processes of the lead generation company.

Home care lead generation firms have started using advanced lead generation management system software such as LeadPro247 for distribution, delivery and tracking of leads. The lead distribution systems supports recording of telephone conversation and tracking entire lead movement from end to end.

Home Medical Equipment (HME) companies have to make sure that they are buying from established lead suppliers and foolproof systems and procedures are used by the firms concerned.

The lead generation companies should make sure that express consent is obtained from the prospective customers. Internet lead generation is to be carefully planned and executed. For instance, the lead company should specifically inform them that they will be passing on the contact and related information to another third party (i.e equipment / service provider). Even in such cases, the communication is considered as marketing and hence payment is not a referral fee. Hence the lead generation firms and the lead buying home care companies enter into a business associate relationship.

The lead companies are not allowed to discuss medical conditions or prescription information with the potential customer, while they might check the insurance eligibility.

In such a scenario with highly regulated business environment, it is essential to follow the rules by the book. Automation will certainly reduce some manual efforts, so that more critical business tasks can be focused.

Automated lead generation management systems can help lead companies operating at regional or national levels gain maximum benefits by reducing the manual process errors and increasing the efficiency of the lead distribution and tracking process.

Lending Tree, a leading online mortgage lead generation company filed patent infringement suits last week against other well known companies in the internet leadgen sphere, including Zillow, NexTag, AdChemy and QuinStreet.  Lending Tree has claimed that patent numbers 6,385,594 and 6,611,816, both entitled “Method and Computer Network for Coordinating a Loan over the Internet”, are infringed by the companies mentioned above.

It is well known that Lending Tree started its mortgage lead generation operation long time back and provided opportunities for the consumers to chose from multiple mortgage companies. The banks and mortgage brokers competed and provided quotes to match the loan requirements. While it was a pioneering initiative those days, it is pretty straight forward like a basic math operation nowadays.

No doubt, long legal battles will be fought in the court to decide the merits of the case. I am not a lawyer and have no knowledge about how the patent system works through the courts. In my personal opinion, Lending Tree has been weakened, not by these competitors, but but by the maturity of the internet and applications; the natural withering process has started. I don’t see this action any thing different than that of the reactions of the traditional telecom service providers for the introduction of VOIP. Probably the company is trying to reduce the competition and make some money in the process. Recollect how these smartphone manufacturers are fighting each other over minor patents; and finally settle without much noise. Let us wait and see what happens!

It is a well known fact that you need to generate and deliver quality leads to your customers – to signup new customers and to retain the existing clients. However, it is very difficult to maintain the consistency of lead quality if you are using multiple sources and channels for online lead generation.

Many lead distribution companies and agencies, especially when they are new to the online lead generation and distribution business, struggle to survive and grow. While it looks easy and enticing from the outside world, it is often laborious and error prone, unless you understand the intricacies of the web lead sales business.

Customer Feedback

The other day, I was speaking with one of our long time customers who has branched out recently into online lead generation for a specific industry niche. Whenever I have a chance to speak with the clients, I always make sure that I inquire about their business with questions such as (1) if they are doing good, (2) how is the industry doing, (3) how their CUSTOMERS are doing, (4) their sales projections and actual sales numbers, (5) technology trends in the industry, and (6) how we could help them further by adding / enhancing our lead distribution and management software solution.

I make sure that this conversation is casual and personal, rather than formal and rigid. If you ask these questions genuinely, most of the customers respond positively and open their thoughts. It gives a chance for them to reflect on their business from a different (supplier’s) perspective. Unlike formal online surveys sent via email invites, which is a great tool to collect customer feedback and opinion, this personal one-to-one discussion can be constructed instantly based on the situation without any pre-planning. The conversation could be a couple of minutes or it can be 20 or 15 minutes depending on the customer’s comfort level and positive engagement.

Leadgen Case Study

Coming back to my specific discussion with a client, I inquired about quite a few support requests from him. He responded immediately saying that several of his customers have dropped out immediately and he had to make changes in the system configuration to alter the lead delivery flow for other customers.

When I probed further about the reasons for clients dropping out, he mentioned that they were buying leads from a new internet lead generation media agency and it seems that the conversion rates for these leads were very low.

He immediately started researching the lead sourcing practices. As you know, many leadgen companies will not give you the sources or methods of their leadgen practices. He found out after some research that the leads were generated using co-generation method! Obviously, it was not their first choice of the online subscribers. Probably the visitors were either forced or enticed into opting into the additional service categories.

Generally, the leads generated using co-registration methods will convert less. These could be used  for long term nurturing or up-sell processes, but not for immediate telephone follow-up.

This scenario shows how your lead quality can be affected without even your knowledge. Hence lead sourcing (or buying internet leads) should be taken as a continuous improvement process. The quality of purchased or outsourced leads can change overnight as the affiliates and media agencies change their processes.

Solution

If you want to be successful in lead generation business, you have to leverage third party lead vendors. If you need to use vendors, you have to be proactive in doing the research on their leadgen practices and make sure that the led quality is on par with the leads generated by your own company using pay per click (PPC) or search engine optimization (SEO) strategies. Also, measuring the consistency of lead quality on an ongoing balance is an essential step. As mentioned earlier, you don’t need a special measurement tool for this; just speak with your clients. Another easy check is to see if they are placing repeat orders with you. If not, you have a problem on hand and you need to diagnose the same for treatment. Happy selling!

Higher Education Lead Generation is one of the major verticals in leadgen industry. There are several large, established companies involved in education leadgen business. Since this vertical is matured, several new entrants are coming into the market. The industry which started with catering to the requirements of traditional schools and colleges has now expanded into the online schools and universities.

With the recession in the economy and squeeze on student loan availability coupled with increase in tuition fees has led to significant growth in the online education industry. The lead volume requirement has gone up significantly because of focus in this segment by several universities.

In the education leadgen practice, content is the king. Unlike in other verticals, where lead companies focus on small websites and per per click (PPC) strategies, education lead generation businesses build significant amount of web content in order to attract the potential student community. While this is certainly a barrier to the easy entry into the education marketplace, the same fact serves as an attractive niche if you can build and generate useful content to attract student traffic.

Generally, the education leads are distributed to the schools in real time. Hence using a robust lead distribution and delivery system is a basic requirement. Also, most of the leads are delivered as dedicated, exclusive leads, though there is some market for shared leads.

Of late, there is a lot of buzz in the education lead generation industry. Quite a few M&A activities are also rumored and / or reported. It is reported last month that All Star Directories is in the market. All Star Directories is a Seattle based company which helps educational institutions attract students in a dozen disciplines, from engineering and business to culinary arts and psychology. Founded in 2001 by former Microsoft manager Mike Mathieu, All Star Directories met with early success through its lead generation model first designed to pass on qualified candidates to nursing schools. By 2005, the company was profitable and had annual sales of $15 million. Later on it was sold to Austin Ventures. The company says more than 5,000 schools use its lead generation service, including Johns Hopkins, Columbia University, University of Phoenix and DeVry.

In another development recently, EducationDynamics, higher education’s leading marketing services company, announced the acquisition of Education Connection, a valuable resource that helps prospective students find colleges that are ideally suited for their academic and career interests. EducationDynamics acquired Education Connection from Kaplan which is a subsidiary of The Washington Post Company. The acquisition of Education Connection marks an expanded student prospecting portfolio held by EducationDynamics, which also includes several high-visibility websites such as eLearners.com, EarnMyDegree.com, GradSchools.com, StudyAbroad.com, and more than 50 special interest microsites. The company also offers a full suite of web-based solutions for higher education institutions proven to drive enrollment growth and increase student retention.

Western Governors University marketing director announced that she is noticing a surge in online education and they are ramping up online lead generation and conversion efforts.

When speaking about Lead Conversion, a recent survey pointed out that over 30% of the prospects do not receive a call from the school! If the prospects are not contacted within a few minutes, the chances of further follow-up and conversion is very remote.

This is another area of opportunity for small businesses entering into education leadgen vertical. If you can provide additional support to the schools by way of immediate telephone follow-up, that will serve as a value addition. However, engaging generic call center or agents will not help in lead conversion; in fact, you might lose prospects if the agents are not professionally trained. The team has to be a dedicated, fully trained team with a long term perspective.

Here is a checklist with 10 signs that shows your business needs an automatic web lead distribution system. If you are new to the internet lead generation business or a recently established the lead company and you are not using a lead distribution software system, compare your lead gen and delivery operations with this checklist. You might be surprised what opportunities (that will help you in scaling up the business) are being missed.

If you are already using some sort of lead management system and you still some of the problems described in the checklist, then it may be good time to reevaluate your software solution and match with your business requirements.

#1 Too much time spent in emailing leads: Are you spending too much time in emailing the leads received from your lead generation websites? When you started the business, probably it was good idea to focus on lead gen and business development. You could have emailed the few leads received to a handful of lead buyers. But, if you are following the same process, then you are not growing your business.

#2 Leads fall through the cracks: Are you missing the leads and the captured leads never reach the intended customers? Every lead missed is money wasted – in terms of lead generation efforts and cost. When you go on vacation, what happens to the leads? Either you need to subordinate to take care or your customers might slip away from you.

#3 Wasting time in re-formatting Emails to Customers: Even if you are dealing in a specific vertical such as Education Leads or Insurance Leads, each of your customer may be needing the lead data emailed to them in a specific format. If you sign-up more customers, more pronounced will be this problem. Your lead distribution and management system will support multiple email layouts and format to meet each customer’s requirement.

#4 Have to ignore potential buyers since they need automated Lead Delivery: I am sure that every has to avoid signing up one or two clients for some important reason. However, ignoring customers for want of an automated lead delivery management system will fatal to the business. Sophisticated / savvy / large customers will demand more automation features.

#5 Have more than a handful of websites or leads generated: If you have a more than a few websites, then managing the capture and distribution process is tedious. Also, measuring the performance of each website is essential to optimize your leadgen efforts. Even if you have one or two lead capture websites, if the volume of leads generated is high, then you will face the same issues.

#6 Using Google / Yahoo / Bing PPC for leadgen: Are you using PPC (pay per click) programs with Google Adwords, Yahoo Search Marketing and Bing AdCenter to drive web traffic and generate leads? If so, you cannot live without a solid lead management system to manage and analyze the leads captured on your PPC landing pages. Don’t waste your inbound marketing efforts without fully monetizing.

#7 Don’t find enough time for Lead Generation: Are you spending too much time on your operations management? You must be focusing on traffic generation strategies and activities. Another important aspect needing most of your time is the business development and enrolling more customers. Deployment of a lead company operations management system can take care of capture, delivery and tracking.

#8 Lead Buyers complain about delay in lead delivery: Have you heard any complaints from your lead clients that leads are not reaching them on time? If you promise real time leads, the leads should be delivered in real time. It means that the data should be delivered within a few minutes, not after 30 minutes. Remember, the first responders have the advantage of converting the prospect to a customer.

#9 Losing Revenue: Are you leaving money on the table? If you don’t automate the distribution process, you may not route the prospects to all buyers. If you are promising multiple quotes for the prospects, you need to deliver the lead info to multiple customers. For example, if you are generating insurance or mortgage leads and the routing is based on geography (zip code or state), imaging how error prone the delivery routing process will be.

#10 Spending time on analyzing leads: Do you know where the leads are coming from and how these are distributed? What is your profitable lead source? Unless you know answers for these questions you cannot optimize your investment and generate revenue. If you are not using a good lead distribution database system which will provide instant answers on questions such as these, you will be wasting time in trying to get a grip of the business operations.

If you think that even one or two signs are visible, then it is time to take an in-depth look at your business operations / practices and analyze if an automatic lead distribution system can help you.

There are tons of recent news items in the internet on online lead generation industry. Social media, coupled with web 2.0, revolution is increasing the decibel level. It is often difficult for newbies to select a niche and get into the web lead generation and distribution business.

Even experienced professionals and established businesses have to play catch up at times. Online scams and poor oversight bring in a lot of bad publicity for online lead vendors. However, invention and popularity of devices such as iPhone and iPad are bringing in more tech savvy consumers into the internet as potential online prospects. The number of areas of lead generation possibilities is growing rapidly. This provides new opportunities for entrepreneurs and small businesses in online marketing world.

Traditionally, online lead generation is restricted to very few verticals with large market sizes but ultra competitive environment. Newcomers may not even go near these business segments, unless they have deep pockets and business background. However, things are changing overnight and enormous new opportunities are opening up.

This is a good time to take stock of the industry scenario and review lead verticals, both old and new. Let us look at each one of these verticals (and possibly more) in the upcoming posts. Here is the list of vertical segments (or niches, as some would like to call these), both traditional and recent ones.

• Financial Services
  • • Mortgage leads
    • Insurance leads
    • New Credit Card leads
    • Pay Day Loan leads
    • Business / Commercial Loan leads
    • Loan Modification leads
    • Debt Settlement leads
• Franchise Opportunity Leads
• Biz Op / MLM leads
• Real Estate leads
• Education leads
• Satellite TV leads
• Time Share leads
• Auto Warranty Leads
• Home Warranty Leads
• Home / Improvement Services
  • • Windows and Siding leads
    • Basement Finishing leads
    • Remodeling leads
    • Pools and Supplies lead
    • Lawn Care leads
    • Painting leads
    • Solar leads
    • Home Security leads
• Home Care leads
• Home Care Medical Device leads
• Accounting Services / CPA leads
• Onsite Catering leads
• Auto Loan leads
• Automotive / Vehicle leads
• Medical Spa Service leads
• Dentistry Service leads
• Legal Service leads

If you are already in the lead generation business, you may be looking for expansion and diversification opportunities. If you are new to the industry, you must do in-depth research in the niche market you are planning to enter. Keep in mind that as a lead generation and distribution company, you need to find your customers as well as the leads for your customers.

Our LeadPro 24|7 Lead Distribution and Management Software System customers leverage the technology, internet industry knowledge and domain intelligence to succeed in their lead gen businesses. I am sure that everyone can succeed in their venture by applying the knowledge and right skills as there is enough space for growth. The industry will grow furiously in the coming years, although some niches may see growth fluctuations.

P.S. If you are an expert in a niche or vertical segment (whether listed above or not) or in the leadgen industry, please share your ideas and thoughts here.

Choosing a lead distribution software service provider is a critical decision to be made by lead generation companies. If you are new to the online lead generation industry, you may be facing a number of options while considering a decision in this regard. Especially, the fees charged by various software providers may be all over the place and zeroing in on a provider based on pricing alone will lead to issues and consequences in future. Once you have selected a system provider and invested significant efforts, switching to another system is a time taking process in terms of the learning curve.

Here are 5 key considerations that you should take into account while choosing a Lead Distribution Software Service for your business.

#1 Flexible Software System

The lead distribution software should be flexible to accommodate all your requirements. A large / complex system may not necessarily mean it is flexible. You should weigh your current requirements and needs in the near future. If you are new to the lead generation and distribution business, invest some time in understanding the systems in the marketplace, industry practices, and technology developments. Remember that online lead generation and distribution business is closely tied to the internet technology trends.

#2 Match your business requirements

As mentioned above, a ton of features in the lead system may not address your business specific requirements. Understand your verticals, do some research or consult with couple online lead generation and distribution consultants. Money spent on these aspects will be worth the investment in terms of risk avoidance and mitigation.

#3 Agile technical support and services

If the software service provider is a behemoth and you are small business organization, probably they may not match your speed. Success of internet lead generation and distribution is all about timing and great customer support. You cannot be waiting for days and weeks to address specific technical support requirements. Remember that the internet works 24X7 and consumer lead requests are generated 24X7. If someone says that “our implementation team lead is on vacation for couple of days and hence the lead posting integration has to wait until next week”, better watch out. You customers (lead buyers) can just opt for another lead provider in a matter of minutes.

#4 Full Service as an option – a must

While you may prefer to go with self service options in the initial phases of your lead business, full service option will be way to go once you establish yourself. You must focus on generating leads and signing up customers, not on day to day technical operations management, unless you are restricted to a small niche which will leave you with plenty of free time. Make sure that your lead distribution software provider has the full service option when you need it.

#5 Double as your Business Consultant

As I mentioned above, the internet industry and online lead generation practices undergo constant change. You might be often needing help in using the technology trends to your advantage. A good lead system service provider can help you leverage the technology in terms of lead generation as well as distribution and delivery improvements. Small customizations and tweaks to the processes would be able to bring in significant benefits and maximize profit. For example, if you are generating internet leads using Pay Per Click (PPC) method with Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc., managing the campaigns could be integrated with the real time lead delivery system, so  that you can save money when sufficient lead orders are not available. If your system can help in Tracking and managing the demand for real time leads, it will be a great help for you as a business owner / executive. You would be able to figure out other improvements and benefits by working with your service provider acting as a consultant.

While there are several other factors to be considered while choosing a lead distribution system, these five key considerations should be the top ones in your mind. Whether you are operating in one lead vertical or in multiple industry segments, you can leverage lead distribution the tool to grow your business.

If you have got into the blogging world recently or slow in catching up with leading bloggers and pros, you may be wondering how these folks are turning in so many blog posts. The primary motivation for prolific blogging is that it pays; provides great return on investment; number of leads generated can be multiplied.
Here is the link for a presentation on this subject by HubSpot and Vovici. While the presenters refer to HubSpot’s blogging tool, you can follow the best practices with any blogging platform. If you use WordPress, the most popular blogging software platform, make sure that you are using the self hosted version. Most of the web hosting service providers include WordPress as part of their hosting services and the entire blog system can be setup in about 10 minutes with simple clicks.

The following sources could be tapped to gather ideas and information for writing blog posts. Depending on the nature and objective of your blog, blog ideas can be generated from a number of internal and external sources.

• Your business whitepapers can serve as great inputs. However, the blog posts should be short and should not be mere reproduction of the content.
• If you are (you should be)  listening to the social media conversations around your business and industry, you can develop blog posts using the theme.
• You own customer surveys or subscriber / prospect surveys can be leveraged to create multiple blog writings. If you are using a web based survey software tool such as LeadPro247, it will be great addition to your idea gathering arsenal. However make sure that you are not over doing the survey strategy, which may backfire.
• New additions and enhancements to your product / service can provide basic ideas to explore on blog posts.
• You marketing and customer support teams are important sources to gather information that is relevant to the prospects and customers.
• If a particular idea / subject is large in scope, split the same into multiple posts. Long posts are generally ignored by blog readers. However, make sure that individual posts can standalone and will make sense, though all may be related to a specific subject.
• Keep an eye on the feedback and comments to your own posts. These could trigger ideas for additional posts explaining / improving the concept.
• Finally, blogging need not be an individual project. Your colleagues can contribute to the ideas as well as developing and publishing efforts.

By sparing a few minutes a day and keeping your eyes and ears open for blogging ideas will not only help you become a pro blogger but also bring a good number of leads leads to your business. Happy blogging!