Offline Challenge: Can we come up with a list of 250 Offline Lead Gen Ideas? Here are 53 to start...

I thought this would be a fun challenge that can help grow our businesses. This is not meant to be a How-to, just a list to get some new ideas flowing. A lot require some investment of time and/or money, others won’t be a good fit for you or your clients, but hopefully there are at least a couple that you can use to help grow your business. Let’s see if we can get to at least 250 creative ideas!!!!

A note for long term, smart business growth: Always check regulations before starting any campaign. I see things posted in various threads where it doesn’t look like people are protecting themselves legally before starting something by not understanding the laws. There may be local, state or federal laws that restrict or regulate some of the marketing ideas listed (e.g. cold calling consumers, sign placement etc.) and it is important you check to make sure you are in compliance before you start anything. That’s the smart way to grow and scale a business for the long term.

The First Ideas:

ONLINE
(Since these are all discussed all day every day on WF, I didn’t break them down, feel free to add them if you have good ideas, I wanted to focus on things that are not discussed as much)

1. Rank a website(s) (SEO and all that goes with it, discussed a gazillion times on WF)
2. Optimize Local Listings (e.g. Google Places, Bing Listings, Yahoo Local, local review site, local directories etc.)
3. Social Network Marketing (Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube etc.)
4. Classifieds (Craigslist, Ebay Classifieds, Backpage...)
5. PPC (Adwords, 2nd tier networks)
6. Opt-in Email marketing campaigns
7. SMS campaigns
8. Rank videos
9. Pay-per-lead (find other lead generation companies and broker the calls)

B2C (Business to Consumer)

1. Print door hangers, pay students to canvass local neighborhoods
2. “Old-fashioned” door-to-door sales
3. Send flashy postcards to local neighborhood offering discounts
4. Send classy personal letters from the client to community introducing themselves with an offer
5. Coupons (Valpak, local mailers newspaper inserts etc.)
6. For edible products, pass out samples with a QR code or coupon printed on the packaging for a discount to lunch crowds in business areas (trackable coupon)
7. Leave paper bags printed with your client’s info on the doorsteps for a food drive for a local food bank (pay some people with a truck to collect them and deliver them on a certain date)
8. Share a booth at national trade show with a partner business
9. Print advertising (magazine, newspaper, inserts, local classified papers, local service guides)
10. Ask local businesses if you can post a flyer in their window, offer them some sort of free marketing services in return
11. Line up speaking opportunities for your clients
12. Run Radio or Local Cable Ads during off-peak hours
13. Sponsor a local little league or high school sports team program
14. Do a vehicle wrap with strong call-to-action
15. Advertise on shopping carts
16. Advertise on the side of pay phones (yes they still do exist!)
17. Post fliers on public bulletin boards where permitted (coffee shops, community boards)
18. Work out a deal with a cab company to have brochures placed in the back pockets of their cars
19. Print coasters or placemats for local bars or restaurants for free with client’s info on them
20. Organize/sponsor a local clean-up day at a park or beach. Contact local media to help get the word out via newspaper, radio, tv
21. Co-sponsor a free public e-waste or paper shredding day for the local community. Give out some sort of coupon or offer for each person that brings something in.
22. Get a booth at a flea market
23. Sponsor some part of a local street fair (e.g. get your client to donate something they need for recognition)
24. Partner with an intramural league, offer to underwrite something they need in return for sponsorship
25. Sponsor the prizes for a summer reading program at a local library for a client that caters to children (e.g. tutoring company or gymnastic center).
26. Fly a banner in an airplane at a major sporting or outdoor event (not as expensive as you may think!)
27. Hold a charity auction
28. Get a booth at local art fairs and showcase different client services
29. Sponsor a school band
    

B2B AND B2C (can work for both)

1. Offer free goods/services to local non-profits in return for some sort of sponsorship opportunity
2. Create partnerships with complementary businesses and do a special offer/cross promotion
3. Partner with local service providers who complement your skills (e.g. find a PR firm and do joint presentations for a comprehensive marketing effort)
4. Be a “matching donor” for a local Public Radio Station pledge drive
5. Contact a local college and see if you can give a guest lecture on a relevant topic to a continuing education class (e.g. schedule a local CPA you have as a client to discuss something to an accounting class). Pass out a summary of the talk with contact info for your client.
6. Hold a press conference (if you get the publicity out and you have newsworthy info you’d be surprised how many reporters are looking for an interesting story)
7. Have your client write a letter to the editor of a national business magazine like Inc. Often the business name will be listed underneath
8. Put a unique promotional item in the trade show bag that are given to attendees

B2B (Business to Business)

1. Create a professional workshop series with a panel of businesses around a theme such as “tools for your small business”. (can also be done online)
2. Sponsor an after-hours networking event targeting prospective clients for your client
3. Go door-to-door to local businesses offering your client’s services
4. Join the Chamber of Commerce and schedule to do seminars for members
5. Start your own leads networking group
6. Join other local civics groups and really get involved in the community
7. Talk to people everywhere you go!!!!
8. Write a pamphlet that helps local businesses do their own marketing, give out free and include your contact info on the back (this is for your own lead generation)