Learn from BrightWave Marketing how to maximize email's role in your lead-generation program.

The goal of any lead-generation program is clear: generate new prospects for your company, client or promotion. For many of these online programs, the email address is the most important piece of data collected, because it enables you to continue to cultivate this new relationship. Often, the program's success is based off of how many email addresses are available for future email marketing and other channel campaigns. More often than not, these programs are set up ineffectively or miss the mark completely. A poorly executed lead-generation program can do more harm than good and defeat the purpose of the original game plan.

Below are seven specific steps to ensure your online lead generation works to its fullest potential.

1. Ensure all involved in setting up the program, even third parties, realize its goal. Before you start designing the microsite or promotional material and buy the media to drive traffic, make sure the main goals of the program are clearly defined. If the goal is to build or grow an email marketing database, make sure that all the strategy is geared toward effectively collecting emails and making it simple for the user to do so. Then ensure you have clearly defined what will happen next for the user and your marketing team.

2. Choose the appropriate method of collecting Personal Information (PI). Make it very clear to consumers what is going to happen with their PI once they hit the submit button. Here are four methods generally used to collect an email address during an online promotion.

• Opt-in: An unchecked box, which contains language clearly stating what it means by checking the box.
• Opt-out: A pre-checked box. It also contains language clearly stating what it means by checking the box.
• Requiring that the user must provide an email address to participate in an online program: If used, the language should clearly state that the user should expect future communication and can opt-out at any time. This is often used when the participant is getting something of value in return.
• Implied consent: Often the path of least resistance but not a best practice as there is no permission granted and you are not stating how someone's email will be used. You should not assume your participants know that they will receive emails from you in the future by providing their email address during a sweepstakes or promotion.

3. Make sure you cover your legal bases. Many companies have an outdated privacy policy on their sites or don't address data capture or email marketing. If you are collecting any type of personal information online and are intending to use it in any way, internally or with third parties -- especially email addresses -- you should clearly state this in your privacy policy.

In addition to the Privacy Policy, you should address the future use of any PI collected in the specific Terms and Conditions of the program or sweepstakes, especially if you are using the above implied consent method. When the participants know up front what your intentions are with their information, and they trust your brand, you are going to cultivate a stronger, more valuable relationship with those customers.

4. Identify all possible points of communication. Any time you are driving traffic to your site, make sure to maximize your investment and the participants' time.

• Use all possible real estate on your content, sign-up and confirmation pages.
• Make all microsite pages and forms standalone pages; pop-ups often don't work.
• Make sure the main marketing goal and its messages are well positioned above the fold on your pages and are clear to the visitor. Also be sure to supply alternative actions (clicks) for the visitors in case they are not ready to commit to the lead generation part of the program. While single-focused marketing messages work offline, the online medium offers the unique opportunity to explore your program through a robust microsite and/or additional content offerings. So be sure to include cross-promotional messages, offer site navigation and supply other user-friendly links.
• If collecting email addresses, make sure you email them within an effective timeframe. Many companies sit on this data for months, which can result in consumer confusion; after all, who remembers if they opted-in for a promotion six months ago?

The first, often overlooked, step is to make sure to send the participant a "Confirmation/Thank You email" shortly after sign up. The details of this email, beyond the slick story board design, are very important and should not be glossed over. Choose a logical From Line, Subject Line, and email header and footer so that it is clear to the recipient who it is from and what it is about. Lastly, test to see what the email looks like without images. Many email clients have default settings that block images in the email. What's a slick design worth if the person never opens it or sees only red Xs?

5. Examine the viral capabilities of the program. Web 2.0 is all about using the social aspects of the web to your advantages. What's more valuable than having participants recommend your program to their friends? Again, go through the viral functionality to unsure it maximizes the effect of social marketing rather than hurting your effort. Confirm that the viral messaging is as personalized as possible from the participant to their friends. Clearly state to the "friend" that her information is not going to be used in future emails but do allow her the opportunity to opt-in. These are free media buys that should not be overlooked. Additionally, the From Line, Subject Line and other marketing messages should be well thought out. Lastly, don't forget CAN-SPAM compliance issues on all aspects of your email program, including F2F (Forward to a Friend) emails.

6. Ensure a pleasant user experience. Test before you launch to ensure every aspect of the user experience is seamless. This will help your team identify what functionalities need to be improved before you go live. A bad user experience can have a negative effect on not only the single program but the brand as a whole.

7. Optimize. As with any online program, the ability to change, edit and add additional elements is quick and easy to implement compared to offline counterparts. Do not just assume it can be turned on and left as is, especially if running inefficiently. Continually analyze and make adjustments as the program matures and the metrics and consumer feedback stream in. If you are unimpressed with the numbers being driven to your site, you can easily increase traffic by quickly setting up SEM (Cost-Per-Click) search campaigns that drive relatively low-cost leads right to the program site.

By utilizing these seven steps, your online lead-generation efforts will receive the extra examination they deserve and you should have mitigated the risks and capture as many prospects as possible.

Remember, do not forget the main goal of the program -- to generate leads -- but don't overlook the user experience and the many ways that a poorly executed program can cause more damage and negate the program's ambitions. The online marketplace is much more nimble than traditional media so don't waste the opportunities that are staring you in the face.

Brent Rosengren is director of client services for BrightWave Marketing. Read full bio.