Perhaps the most difficult problem a company face is to reduce the lead generation cost per lead. One of the main reasons for the failure of business is the lack of enough leads even though they spent thousand of dollars. Here are some options for cost effective (or low cost) lead generation.

• Your website: It is the primary destination of your prospects. It is the fundamental lead generation requirement for a global, national or state-wide company. Make sure that most of your customers end-up in the page (the sign-up or purchase page) you want.
• Blogs, Videos, Social sites: the most cost-effective ways available to make your product/service popular on internet and to direct prospects to company site.
• SEO and SEM campaigns. Works especially well if you are providing product/services internationally or countrywide, if you have reasonable competition over internet, if you are a leader of an industry, when you have unique product or service, etc.
• Seminars, Webinars, Trade shows, Newsletters: all of these are very good and effective tools for attracting new leads, educating existing customers, high-lighting your company/product/brand, and keeping regular contact.
• AdWords, Craiglist, etc. There are many other sites in this category also. But you have to be specific with your targets, strategies and offers.
• Press releases and other cheap tools.