Here's the third post on my thoughts around lead and demand generation for early stage companies.  Below are points #7, #8, and #9 and here is the total list linked back where appropriate.

1. Brokered introductions
2. Partner marketing
3. Direct outreach & appointment setting
4. Tele-prospecting/tele-surveys
5. Guaranteed lead generation programs
6. Sponsored email blasts
7. On-line advertising
8. Email newsletter nurture programs
9. Direct mail
10. Events
11. Market awareness – self generated
12. Market awareness – through a PR firm
13. Analysts
14. Print advertising

7.  On-line advertising

• Google Adwords is pretty simple to set up but I'm not sure of the ROI here for enterprise products.  It drives some web traffic & clicks but conversion measuring is tough. 
• It is important to watch your budget as clicks can add up quickly especially as you bid higher and higher on specific keywords to game your placement (I shoot for top 4 or 5)
• It is also a good way to test marketing messaging as ads that get more clicks have more compelling messaging. 
• Other ad platforms: I ran pilots on both LinkedIn and Facebook.  They were pretty cheap to do but not sure how effective for enterprise products.  Facebook really struggled to hit my meager $5 per day budget.  For both I was using links to existing assets (Gartner webcast, whitepaper, and even my blog).
• Banner ads via the publishers previously mentioned:  I'm not sure how effective these are and my experience is that they get thrown into a proposal as gravy (X thousands of banner impressions).

8.  Email newsletter nurture programs

• For all of the above, you will get at least an email address.  Make sure you capture them all and drop them all into nurture program. 
• This can be very complex or way simple.  Use something like Vertical Response  or Constant Contact to manage lists, send emails, manage unsubscribes, and not be a spammer.  I even got a cool one the other day from a company called Emma.  The cost is not high to send to lists of thousands.
  
• The content of these is important as is the timing.  I shoot for every 6-8 weeks but this depends on what I have to share.  Generally I package up press releases, media mentions, and the like. 
• Place a summary in the mail and hyperlink back to your site.  Also, take the opportunity to highlight key technical differentiators, customer quotes, etc. to contribute content.
• The key is to make these meaningful and content rich.  Do not indiscriminately spam your database with each new idea or pitch as this will make people very grumpy.
• Remember, this is an indirect sales pitch platform.  You will know you are on to something when people send you new email addresses to keep receiving it when they switch jobs.

9.  Direct mail

• I’m not a huge fan of this but it can be effective.  Target this to your same nurture list but it assumes you have a physical mailing address. 
• Postcards are cheap but can get lost. 
• A letter with an insert (that falls out when opened) is pretty effective.  The insert should highlight something you can download or other call to action (discounted pricing, special deal, etc.)