Posted in Online Publishing Strategy	October 10, 2007

Here’s another way to monetize your website

Selling products and displaying ads are not the only ways to make money online. People have made millions of dollars by creating websites that generate sales leads for other businesses.

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The Lead Generation website archetype is often overlooked by publishers because it's editorially more promotional than publishing a magazine or newsletter. Although it is different, it's possible to make the transition if you need to generate more website revenue.

Users arrive at lead generation sites to shop while saving time and money. In order to be successful, a lead generation website has to give users good prices and make the shopping experience more pleasurable.

A perfect example of a lead generation site is LendingTree, where a user fills out one form and multiple banks make loan offers. LendingTree receives finder's fees for each loan closed with its banking partners.

Users like the website because they can compare several banks from one website, and then choose which loan is right for them. It simplifies the buying process and lets users choose the best rates—that's why the site is successful.

A lead generation website could not be successful if it was designed poorly. The transaction process has to be quick and efficient to maximize the number of orders placed with the site's partners. A poorly designed orderflow would lose orders, upset partners and drag the site into failure.

If you need to generate more website revenue, maybe a partnership with a relevant business could help. You'd receive a fee for each qualified lead you could send to your partner, and you'd be expanding the number of services your website offers. Remember, though: anything worth doing is worth doing right.

An online lead generation campaign requires a dedicated website to be added to your network. To tack it on to an existing website would not be enough to maximize conversions and satisfy your users and your partners.