Many companies think that one of the best ways to get new leads is by purchasing them. However, there are some other ways to obtain new leads without investing a fortune:

1. Contact the business or entrepreneur’s group (e.g., on LinkedIn) in the online community. Join in and participate in their activities and promote the company’s products and services.

2. Participate in small fairs and community events. Find out who will attend in person and who can be reached online. This also helps a company to be visible in the community and to build its brand and business reputation.

3. Offer to teach or talk at the local community college on entrepreneurship. Contact any local interest groups and offer a one-day coaching session on starting a business. Participate in job fairs and online groups and forums.

4. Invest in low-cost advertisements in local newspapers and online ezines. There are quite a lot of people who will take advantage of offers posted in these publications.

5. Share your expertise online. Write articles and publish them on content sites such as e-How.com and ezinearticles.com.

6. Participate in online forums and public bulletin boards. Take the time to ask and answer questions to establish the company as an expert.

7. Create a blog or dedicated website for specific products or services. Promotion can be done via Google Adwords, pay-per-click, and other SEO services.

8. Create and publish professional-looking e-zines and e-mail updates. Send them to the company’s mailing list and those who seem interested through contacts in the website’s forums.

9. Open an account on Twitter, Facebook, and other socia- networking sites.

10. Start a networking site with your downline on ning.com or squidoo.com.

It might seem like a lot of work, but building a corporate network is essential to marketing.

Two weeks after it began confiscating Apple iPads being brought into the country, Israel has lifted its ban on the tablet computer.

“Following the completion of intensive technical scrutiny, Israel Minister of Communications Moshe Kahlon approved the import of [the] iPad to Israel,” Yechiel Shabi, a spokesperson for the Communications Ministry, said in a statement.

Israel prohibited the devices from being imported into the country over concerns its wireless signal could disrupt local Wi-Fi networks (including some that might be used by the military) as sell as other devices. At least twenty iPads purchased in the United States had been seized at Ben-Gurion Airport, confiscated, and held in storage for 45 shekels ($12) a day — a fee that legally must now be paid by the owner. The Communications Ministry said iPads would be allowed to be imported beginning Sunday, limited to one per person, and that confiscated devices would be returned.

The iPad Wi-Fi only model went on sale April 3 in the United States, selling more than 300,000 devices on the first day. The strong, domestic demand for the device led the company to delay international shipments until the end of May, a month later than previously expected. Apple will begin taking international preorders on May 10.