In late 2011, we decided to embark on writing a book to debunk the various myths and misconceptions surrounding internet lead generation. Too often, attorneys and advocates have preconceived notions of how lead generation works and the types of cases it delivers. Unfortunately, these presumptions result from a single negative experience with web leads or from nothing more than a “gut” feeling. With this book, we have attempted to show how you can maximize the potential of internet marketing, specifically within the realm of web lead generation, to grow your Social Security practice.

Many readers of the first edition of Taking the Lead applauded its transparency and utility. Due to continuous evolution within the internet lead generation space, we wanted to release a second edition of Taking the Lead. This second edition preserves much of the structure and content of the first edition, but contains updated statistics and recommendations for your lead generation campaigns.

We have divided this edition into two parts. The first three chapters, which encompass Part I, provide a brief introduction to the nuts and bolts of internet lead generation, ranging from how leads are generated to creating your own pay-per-click campaign. Part II focuses on how to succeed with your lead generation campaign. We have shared tips and data from successful disability law and advocacy firms on how to follow up effectively with leads, quantify campaign performance, and render your lead generation efforts more profitable.

The second edition also includes ten important “takeaways,” listed and described at the end of Chapter 6. These takeaways offer a concise summary of the key points mentioned in Part II. Even if you have read the book in its entirety, reviewing the ten takeaways from time to time will serve as a nice refresher and help ensure the constant optimization of your lead generating efforts.

The authors of this book have many years of experience in internet marketing and web lead generation, and for the past eight years have been helping Social Security attorneys and advocates increase their case volume. Whether you wish to venture into Social Security law for the first time or to augment a previously existing practice, an efficiently deployed web lead generation strategy can help accomplish your goals.

While by no means exhaustive in scope, this book highlights some easily avoidable pitfalls when first venturing into the internet marketing arena. Our strategies and suggestions arise from years of dealing with Social Security attorneys and advocates and generating cases through various web media.

We have invested a significant amount of time and effort in creating this publication, so we hope that it will be useful to you. As always, we welcome any feedback that you wish to offer. Please contact publishing@egenerationmarketing.com with any comments or suggestions.

Lastly, and most importantly, we wish to express our most sincere gratitude to the entire eGenerationMarketing team, whose tireless effort and unwavering dedication made this project possible.