Blogs and podcasts have joined free demos, webcasts and white papers as the best business-to-business (B2B) lead generation tactics, according to new market research from MarketingSherpa.Sweepstakes are the worst B2B lead generation tactic.

These findings are among the highlights that I found in MarketingSherpa's third annual Business Technology Marketing Benchmark Guide, formerly known as the IT Marketing Metrics Report.The Guide is packed with new market research, including a survey of 1,900 marketers of business technology – software, hardware, and related services – conducted in June 2006.

Marketers were asked, "Which offers are 'very effective' for generating high-quality leads?"Their top five picks, ranked in order, were:

1. Free trial demo or download – 54% of software marketers and ASPs ranked free demos as highly effective B2B lead generation tactics, compared to 28% of hardware marketers and 24% of those marketing services calling them 'very effective.'

2. Webcast or webinar – 41% of business software marketers and ASPs ranked webcasts as highly effective, compared to 31% of business-to-business hardware marketers and 33% of those marketing business services.

3. White paper -- All business technology marketers rated white papers as highly effective B2B lead generation tactics, with 35% of software marketers, 36% of hardware marketers, and 31% of those marketing services calling them 'very effective.'

4. Blog -- 35% of business software marketers and ASPs as well as 33% of those marketing business services rated blogs as highly effective.However, just 19% of business-to-business hardware marketers felt that blogs were 'very effective.'This may be because business executives are more likely to read blogs than IT professionals.The former are often decision makers for business software and services, while the latter evaluate and specify business-to-business hardware.

5. Podcast -- Last year, the concept of podcasting was barely on the technology marketing map.By June 2006, 22% of software marketers and ASPs called podcasts highly effective B2B lead generation tactics.By comparison, 13% of hardware marketers and only 9% of those marketing services rated podcasts as 'very effective.'

While this year's market research by MarketingSherpa marks the first time that blogs and podcasts have been rated as two of the best B2B lead generation tactics, other recent surveys confirm their growing popularity.

According to a random-digit dial survey conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project in January, 39% of internet users age 18 and older, or about 57 million American adults, report reading blogs – a significant increase since the fall of 2005.According to an online survey of more than 4,000 B2B buyers conducted by KnowledgeStorm and Universal McCann in June, 41% of respondents said they had listened to podcasts on more than one occasion, while 13% said they "frequently" downloaded them.

While blogs and podcasts are growing in popularity, why were sweepstakes rated so low by the 1,900 marketers surveyed by MarketingSherpa?Don't sweeps and freebie offers like T-shirts and iPods tend to generate very high response rates?

In a free excerpt of the Benchmark Guide, Anne Holland, President of MarketingSherpa, says, "Remember, we asked respondents to rate the value of the effort – meaning the quality of the leads – rather than merely the quantity of leads.Dumping a mountain of extremely low-quality leads into your sale team's inboxes will only earn you their wrath and distrust.And, adding $5 to $20 or more per lead for initial telephone qualification and scoring can bust your marketing budget."