One of the newest buzzwords in the Internet marketing niche is co-reg leads (short for co-registration leads). The recent release of a very good product called Pipeline Profits has started a lot of open discussion about something that seasoned Internet marketers have long known about but also rarely openly discussed.


My definition of generating a co-registration lead is "capturing the permission to send someone more information on a topic in the process of them doing something else."

Examples of generating a co-registration lead include:

1) You register a piece of software, and in the process, you check a box on the form asking for information on the products and services of the company or its associates.

2) You download a free piece of software or other gift, and in the process, you check a box requesting any of several ezines offered on the order form.

3) You enter an online drawing or prize contest, and in the process, you check a box requesting more information on building an online business.

4) You sign up for a free email account, or to use an online service, and in the process, you check boxes asking for more information on a variety of niche topics that can range from business, to health, to pets, to... "you name it."

5) You subscribe to an ezine on a webpage, and in the process (or on the confirmation page), you are invited to subscribe to any of several other related ezines. This is a technique that I have used with success. You and your partners jointly grow each other's lists.

All of these are examples of generating a co-registration lead. In the process of taking one action, your prospect can also "co-register" for something else.

The process has been in-place for a very long time and is used by some VERY big companies. The recent product release that dealt with the topic focused on using co-reg leads to generate website traffic. In that system, leads are generated using techniques similar to the ones outlined above, and then in the follow-up process, the person who obtains the leads drives them to a website, and eventually leads them to make a purchase.

The recently released Pipeline Profits is something that I checked out thoroughly, and saw as worth adding to my web business arsenal. They have eight different videos posted on their website that do a great job of explaining what their system is. You can watch all of those videos via "inner circle" connections at: http://TheInternetMarketingInnerCircle.com/co-regs/ Scroll to the very bottom of this page for the links to each of those free videos.

My first in-depth understanding of the nature of co-reg leads was from conversations with Edward Thorpe. Ed is now an old and treasured friend. Ed wrote an ebook, that he most recently updated December of 2006, which is entitled "Co-reg Secrets." Co-reg Secrets is available at: http://CoregistrationMasters.com

In his ebook, Ed asserts that "all co-reg leads are junk." That's a pretty bold statement in an ebook that teaches you how to use co-registration leads to build a list and grow your business.

Ed explains that this is true because until you build a relationship with the individuals behind those "leads" they are worthless. They don't know who you are, don't trust you, and aren't even certain how you got their names and email addresses.

As Ed explains in his ebook, and Buck and Brock explain in Pipeline Profits, there are different qualities of co-reg leads. Some of the factors that distinguish one batch from another are:

1) Whether or not the box confirming that they want to received the additional information was pre-checked. If it's pre-checked, realize that since no conscious opt-in action is required on the subscriber's part, they may inadvertently subscribe.

2) Whether or not they are incentivized to join as many lists as possible. If they get some kind of points or prize just for joining lists, then there's a higher probability that they have no real interest in the topics of the lists.

3) How fresh the co-reg leads are. There are systems that deliver the leads to your autoresponder system as soon as the form is filled in. This is what is advocated by Pipeline Profits. There are many "list brokers" who sell lists that are anywhere from hours old to MONTHS old.

Generally, the older a list, the more "dangerous" it is for an online marketer to use it. The problems with older leads are that the person may not remember having requested information on the topic, AND the person has probably been contacted by so many others that they are now ready to "choke" the next online marketer who contacts them.

There are numerous other factors that determine the quality of co-registration leads and how useful they are in building your online business. There are numerous ways of using them in your business, and some of them can very quickly cause your business to get shut down, or can generate lawsuits from businesses that feel you have tarnished their images.

Seeing all the confusion in the marketplace on the topic of co-reg leads, I tracked down Ed Thorpe, who is semi-retired, and talked him into doing a recorded teleseminar with me. In the teleseminar, I grill him on a topic that he first wrote about at the turn of the century :-)

Like me, Ed has spent a decade online building a very successful business by teaching others what actually works. Like me, Ed believes that you benefit the most by giving. In fact, one of Ed's email signature files reads, "He who helps the most people - wins." That's the person I want in my corner, and when it comes to a topic as confusing as using co-registration leads in your online business, he is the person you should learn from. I consider him "the grand master of co-reg leads knowledge."

You can access the teleseminar with Ed at: http://CoregMasters.com

Hopefully, we have cleared up the confusion of exactly what a co-reg lead is, how it might fit into your business model, and where to learn more on this fairly complex topic.


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Willie Crawford has been uncovering and teaching real internet marketing insider information for more than 10 years. Don't miss his in-depth recorded discussion of co-registration leads
(or "co-reg leads") with Ed Thorpe, author of "Co-Reg Secrets." Get the truth about co-reg leads at: http://CoregMasters.com