By far, the fastest growing trend in building email lists today is using lead generation. I know what you’re thinking, but you’re flat out wrong. Today’s lead generation programs have little to do with the forced, fraudulent and utterly shameful practices of the past. Today’s methods are highly sophisticated, highly transparent and highly permissioned. What’s more, lead generation makes perfect sense for email marketers. You want someone to sign up for your newsletter? Why not put your offer at the end of another newsletter path? Brilliant. Add in a little geographic/demographic targeting and you’ve got a nice, targeted acquisition machine that runs all day long and has the potential to build tremendous volumes in very short periods of time. Pure genius!

Still not convinced? Consider this: lead generation has a paid-performance model. This means your offer and brand sit in front of the right audience "for free" until you score an acquisition and then you only pay on a per lead basis (minus any rejects). Can you give me one other example of "free" targeted branding? Sweet!