Patent Publication Number: US-2012047021-A1

Title: System and method for marketing business leads with white papers

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application, Ser. No. 61/374,737, filed Aug. 18, 2010, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to distributing literature to targeted consumers via the Internet, and more specifically to a system and method for distributing personalized white papers and other technical journals to targeted consumers that access third party websites for goods and/or services via the Internet. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     White papers are used to educate readers and help them make informed decisions in various commercial and governmental fields. There are different types of white papers which address different issues. One type of white paper is directed to business-benefits, which present a business case for a certain technology or methodology. Another type of white paper is a technical white paper, which describes how a certain technology works. A hybrid white paper combines high-level business benefits with technical details in a single document. Yet another type of white paper is directed to policies, such as governmental or commercial policies, which present a case for a certain political solution to a societal or economic challenge. For example, policy makers frequently request white papers from universities or academic personnel to inform policy developments with expert opinions or relevant research. 
     The term “while paper” has also come to refer to documents used by businesses and so-called “think tanks” as marketing or sales tools. These types of white papers typically set forth discussions or arguments claiming that the benefits of a particular technology, product or policy are superior for solving a specific problem. 
     Commercial white papers are almost always marketing communications documents designed to promote a specific company&#39;s or group&#39;s solutions or products. As a marketing tool, these papers highlight information favorable to the company authorizing or sponsoring the paper. Such white papers are often used to generate sales leads, establish thought leadership, present a business case, or to educate consumers or voters. 
     Published white papers are available to interested persons for downloading or viewing on the Internet, usually for free or for a small fee. Alternatively, a publisher of a white paper may provide an interested person with a white paper via the Internet as a promotional marketing tool. However, the distribution of a white paper via the Internet is restricted to consumers accessing the publisher&#39;s web site. There is currently no broad distribution system for disseminating targeted published white papers to consumers based on their consumer profile information and selection of goods and/or services that they are accessing or using while browsing the Internet. Moreover, publishers of white papers often find it difficult to expand their “customer base”, i.e., consumers who may be interested in reading a white paper on a particular subject matter via the Internet. Therefore, there is a need to provide authors and sponsors of white papers with a system and method to enable expansion of the distribution of their white papers and other published documents via the Internet. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In one aspect of the present invention, a novel method is provided for distributing white papers to consumers accessing third party websites as business leads for various products and/or services. The present invention enables authors of white papers to expand distribution of their published white papers by partnering with a white paper distribution center or document service provider (DSP). The DSP establishes business relationships with companies and other entities serving as product service providers (PSP) that offer for sale or otherwise make available products (i.e., goods and/or services) to consumers via the Internet. As used herein, the term “products” includes goods and/or services. 
     When a consumer uses a communications device, such as a computer, smart phone, or other consumer communication device to access the Internet to view or purchase products from a PSP which has partnered or otherwise established business relations with a DSP, the consumer is presented with a web page that offers an opportunity to receive a targeted white paper associated with a product of the PSP. If the consumer accepts the promotional offer of the white paper, it is emailed or otherwise made available (e.g., by downloading) to the consumer. 
     In one embodiment, the present invention includes a method of promoting business leads for authors of literature to a consumer by a document service provider that stores and manages (e.g., identifies, retrieves and transmits) the literature via the Internet, the consumer having a computer device for accessing product information via the Internet at a website maintained by a product service provider, the method comprising the steps of: receiving, via the Internet, profile information of the consumer from the product service provider while the consumer is browsing product information or utilizing services from the website of the product service provider; identifying, at the document service provider, at least one corresponding document associated with a product being viewed at the website of the product service provider by the consumer; presenting, on the consumer computer device, a lead promotional web page graphical user interface (GUI) that includes an offer by the document service provider to the consumer for the corresponding document; and delivering the corresponding document to the consumer in response to receiving an acceptance of the offer. 
     In one aspect, the receiving step further comprises storing the consumer profile information in a database. In another aspect, the literature includes a plurality of white papers associated with various commercial and governmental entities. 
     In yet another aspect, the identifying step includes the step of filtering documents based on the product selected by the customer on the website of the PSP and the customer profile information. The filtering step can include identifying at least one category of interest (i.e., consumer interest) including technology, arts, social sciences, health, geography, politics, history, business, religion and social services. Further, the filtering step can include identifying document lead criteria including at least one of quotas and document payment rates. 
     In one aspect, the presenting step further includes generating the lead promotional web page with prompts for completing a plurality of fields associated with additional customer profile information. Additionally, the presenting step can include generating the lead promotional web page with prompts for accepting and declining the offer for the corresponding document. 
     In yet another aspect the presenting step comprises the step of automatically displaying the promotional web page GUI on the computer device of the consumer from a website hosted by the document service provider in response to URL redirection from the product service provider. In one embodiment the presenting step further includes providing URL redirection at the document service provider to enable the consumer computer device to access a confirmation web page from the website hosted by the product service provider. Alternatively, the presenting step includes the steps of receiving a request over the internet from the product service provider for the promotional web page GUI; and sending data for generating the promotional web page GUI over the internet from the document service provider to the product service provider, wherein the promotional web page GUI is hosted by the product service provider for display on the computer device of the consumer. 
     In another aspect of the present invention, the method includes aggregating a number of occurrences that the document was delivered to consumers; and delivering an invoice to the author for payment based on the aggregated number. Further, the delivery step can include sending the document to the customer via email and/or providing a link on a webpage for downloading the document. 
     In another embodiment of the present invention, a system for promoting business leads for authors of literature to a consumer by a document service provider that stores and manages the literature via the Internet is provided, where the consumer has access to a consumer computer device for accessing product information via the Internet at a website of a product service provider. The system includes at least one computer device having memory for storing a promotional web page module and a processor for executing instructions therefrom, at least one computer device being operable to receive, via the Internet, profile information associated with the consumer from the product service provider while the consumer is reviewing product information from the website of the product service provider; identify, at the document service provider, at least one corresponding document associated with a product being viewed at the website of the product service provider by the consumer; present, on the consumer computer device, a lead promotional web page graphical user interface (GUI) that includes an offer by the document service provider to the consumer for the corresponding document; and deliver the corresponding document to the consumer in response to receiving an acceptance of the offer. 
     In one aspect, at least one computer device is further operable to store the literature. In another aspect, the literature includes a plurality of white papers. Further, at least one computer device is operable to filter the plurality of white papers for delivery to the consumer based on at least one category of interest from the fields of technology, arts, demographics, health, geography, politics, history, business, religion, social services, and consumer profile information. In yet another aspect, at least one computer device is further operable to store the customer profile information. In another aspect, at least one computer device is operable to store the profile information associated with the PSP. 
     In still another aspect, the promotional web page module includes programmed instructions to generate the lead promotional web page GUI, where the lead promotional web page GUI includes a description (e.g., title, abstract, synopsis and/or the like) of a document selected from the literature specifically for delivery to the customer and means for accepting or declining the offer. The at least one computer device is operable to receive over the internet a request to accept or decline the offer for the document from the consumer computer device. Alternatively, the lead promotional web page GUI is generated in response to the consumer computer device being redirected from the website of the product service provider to a website hosted by the document service provider. 
     In another embodiment of the present invention, a system for promoting business leads for authors of literature to a consumer by a document service provider that stores and manages the literature via the Internet is provided, where the consumer has a computer device for accessing product information via the Internet at a website of a product service provider. The system includes at least one first computer device having memory for storing a promotional web page module and a processor for executing instruction therefrom, said first computer device operable to: receive, via the Internet, profile information of the consumer from the product service provider while the consumer is reviewing product information from the website of the product service provider; identify, at the document service provider, at least one corresponding document associated with a product being viewed at the website of the product service provider by the consumer; present, on the consumer computer device, a lead promotional web page graphical user interface (GUI) that includes an offer by the document service provider to the consumer for the corresponding document; and deliver the corresponding document to the consumer in response to receiving an acceptance of the offer; and at least one second computer device having memory for storing a product web page module and a processor for executing instruction therefrom, said second computer device operable to present, on the consumer computer device, one or more web pages including descriptions of good and/or services available for selection by the consumer via the Internet; and at least one database including stored literature and communicably coupled to the document service provider. 
     In one aspect, the promotional web page module includes programmed instructions to generate the lead promotional web page GUI, the lead promotional web page GUI including a description of a document selected from the literature for delivery to the customer, and means for accepting or declining the offer. 
     In yet another aspect, the at least one second computer device is operable to redirect the consumer computer device to the at least on first computer device to view the lead promotional web page GUI in response to the consumer computer device sending a request for selected goods and/or services. Alternatively, the at least one second computer device is operable to send a request to the at least on first computer device to receive data for generating the lead promotional web page GUI in response to the consumer computer device sending a request for selected goods and/or services, and the at least one first computer device sends the data to the at least one second computer device which generates the lead promotional web page GUI for display on the consumer computer device. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a white paper promotional lead distribution system in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIGS. 2A-2D  collectively depict a flow diagram of a method for displaying a promotional web page associated with white papers to a consumer currently viewing a web page for a product associated with a produce service provider; 
         FIGS. 3A-3C  collectively depict a flow diagram of another method for displaying a promotional web page associated with white papers to a consumer currently viewing a web page for a product associated with a produce service provider; 
         FIG. 4  is block diagram of a computer device suitable for use by a product service provider in the system  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is block diagram of a computer device suitable for use by a business-to-business service provider in the system  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIGS. 6A-6E  collectively depict a series of web pages displayed by the product service provider in accordance with the methods of  FIGS. 2A-2D  and  3 A- 3 C. 
     
    
    
     To facilitate understanding of the invention, the same reference numerals have been used when appropriate, to designate the same or similar elements that are common to the figures. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     As shown and discussed with respect to  FIGS. 1-5 , the present invention provides a system and method for marketing business leads for authors of white papers or other journals to end-user customers (i.e., consumers) which view product or service information on a web page hosted by a third party product service provider. Unless indicated otherwise, the end-user designations “customer” and “consumer” are used interchangeably and have the same conventional definition of a current or potential buyer or user of a product of an individual or organization, such as a supplier, seller, or vendor (i.e., hereinafter “service provider”). Generally, the system and methods described herein provide an “interstitial” or lead promotion web page that is viewable by a consumer on an end-user computer device having connectivity to the Internet and a web browser, or other well-known software program(s) (e.g., SMS) or protocol(s) (e.g., FTP) to access and transfer information/data via the Internet. As described below in greater detail, the interstitial web page includes an offer for a white paper or other document (i.e., literature) that is pre-selected (i.e., “personalized”) for the consumer and which corresponds to a product being searched by the consumer at a third party website that displays or otherwise offers products (i.e., goods and/or services) for review and/or sale. In this manner, the offer for the white paper serves as a lead promotion for the author(s) of the white paper or other promoted literature. 
     More specifically, and in accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a consumer uses an Internet browser on a computer device to access the Internet and go to a website of a desired vendor or other entity (i.e., product service provider) offering a product for review or sale to the public. The consumer browses the website and selects a particular product of interest, as well as provides consumer profile information, such as name, address, occupation and the like to the product service provider. The consumer profile information is sent via the Internet to a second service provider that promotes business leads by sending selected literature to the consumer based on at least the consumer profile information and the product selected by the consumer on the product service provider&#39;s website. The second service provider can be partnered or have some other business arrangement affiliated with the product service provider to ensure privacy of the consumer profile information. The second service provider (hereinafter “document service provider”) generates a lead promotional (i.e., interstitial) web page that includes at least an offer for a free document, such as a white paper or other journal, along with a brief description thereof and a button or other interactive medium for the consumer to accept or decline the promotional offer on the website. An example of a lead promotional web page generated by the DSP and providing an offer for a white paper is illustratively shown in  FIG. 6D . 
     In one embodiment, the PSP redirects the consumer to the promotional web page being hosted at the domain of the DSP via URL (uniform resource locator) redirection. Alternatively, the data for the promotional web page is sent over the Internet from the DSP to the product service provider&#39;s computer device (e.g. web server), which generates and temporarily hosts the promotional web page for presentation on the consumers computer device in the form of a graphical user interface. 
     In either embodiment, the consumer can then interact with the web browser (e.g., click on the button or other user interface) to accept or decline the offer to receive the free document (e.g., white paper). If the consumer declines the offer, the web page from the DSP automatically closes, and the consumer returns to viewing the previous web page from the product (i.e., first) service provider. Alternatively, if the consumer accepts the offer, the web page from the DSP automatically closes and the PSP generates a new confirmation web page which is presented on the browser of the consumer computer device. The free document is then delivered by the DSP to the consumer as a PDF file (or other file format) by email or a link is provided on the consumer&#39; web browser so the free document can be downloaded directly from the product service provider&#39;s website to the consumer&#39;s computer device. The consumer can then view the document or save it, for example, as a PDF file for future access. 
     The present invention enables a consumer to obtain a free document, such as a white paper, which is associated with or otherwise corresponds to the subject matter of the product that the consumer was interested in reviewing or purchasing at the product service provider&#39;s website. In this manner, the white paper can be more broadly distributed as a promotional instrument for obtaining future business leads for services. For example, if the author of the document also provides consulting services, the published white paper or other document can be useful for promoting the consultant&#39;s name, business skills and qualifications to the consumer. Additionally, the PSP and the DSP can share in revenues received from the author for each author&#39;s document sent to a consumer. Moreover, the white paper can provide additional marketing and promotional value for products of the PSP. 
     The present invention is shown and described by illustratively using an employment service provider that operates (i.e., offers its products and information) via the Internet, and which can be accessed by consumers using any computer device having a web browser. The employment service provider&#39;s product includes displaying job listings, job descriptions, among other products and features via the Internet. Accordingly, this job listing “product” is for illustrative purposes only and a person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the “product” can be any goods or services that are offered or otherwise available by accessing the website of a product service provider via the Internet. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a block diagram of an electronic document distribution system  100  for promoting business leads for authors of literature to consumers via the Internet in accordance with the present invention is illustratively shown. As illustrated, the principal business entities involved in the document distribution system  100  includes a product service provider (PSP)  120 , a document service provider (DSP)  130 , content providers/marketers (CPM)  140 , and a consumer  110  who purchases a product from the PSP  120  and optionally receives a free document from the DSP  130 . The PSP  120 , document service provider  130 , content providers  140  and consumers  110  are electronically coupled to the Internet  102  to enable communications and transfer of information therebetween in a well-known manner. 
     The PSP  120  can be any entity that offers for sale, promotes, distributes and/or otherwise makes available goods and/or services (i.e., “products”) to consumers  110  via the Internet  102 . For purposes of understanding the present invention, the PSP  120  is illustratively shown and described with respect to an internet employment company (e.g., DICE.COM™), which currently provides employment services directed to technological and engineering positions. However, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the PSP  120  can be any entity associated with any public or private interest, such as business, education, politics, or religion, among other interests that offer products for purchase or acceptance by consumers. For example, the PSP  120  can be a semiconductor business offering integrated chips (ICs) for sale, or a museum offering free programs related to artworks and the like, or an accountant offering tax preparation services, or an online music store offering downloadable music for sale, among the many other commercial, governmental or, charitable entities that offer products (i.e., goods and/or services) to consumers via the Internet  102 . 
     The PSP  120  includes at least one computer device  500  with memory devices  514  which are operable to store product information, generate and host web pages on the Internet  102 , transfer/exchange communications and data via the Internet  102 , provide security, and the like. Further details regarding the computer device  500  and memory device  514  are described below with respect to  FIG. 5 . 
     The content providers/marketers  140  include authors and/or their assignees of literary works, such as white papers, trade journals, and the like. For example, the content providers  140  can be individual authors that publish white papers and who also perform consulting services in a particular technological field, such as fiber optics, internet security, among other technological fields. Alternatively, the content providers  140  can be corporate entities that employ engineer sales representatives or other personal to publish white papers or journals related to their field of employment and products that the corporation produces. By way of example, the CPM  140  can be a partnership of surgeons that individually or collectively publish a white paper relating to new techniques for performing surgery or recovery thereafter. Common to all of the CPMs  140  is that they have published a document or set of documents, such as a white paper, journal or other literature related to their field of interest and/or occupation. Each CPM  140  stores their published documents electronically in a memory device  144  that is accessible (i.e., readable/writable) by a computer device  142 . As discussed below in further detail, these documents can be used as promotional tools to entice further business with individuals or other businesses using the Internet to search for related products. 
     The document service provider (DSP)  130  includes at least one computer device  400  having memory  414  for storing a repository of literature, such as the white papers and journals published by the CPMs  140 . Further details regarding the computer device  400  and memory  414  are described below with respect to  FIG. 4 . 
     In one aspect of the present invention, the DSP  130  establishes business relationships with the CPMs  140  and the PSP  120 . The CPMs  140  electronically send their white papers or other published literature to the DSP  130  and these documents are stored in the repository of the DSP  130 . The DSP  130  collects revenues from each content provider upon distribution of the document to an end-user customer from its repository  414 . Various payment schedules can be negotiated, such as payment by the CPM  140  for each distributed document, a flat fee, or any other fee schedule or consideration deemed acceptable to the parties. 
     The DSP  130  also has a business relationship with the PSPs  120 . This business relationship enables the DSP  130  to present a webpage to an end-user customer while viewing the website of the PSP  120 , e.g., via URL redirection. Similarly, various payment schedules can be negotiated, such as revenue sharing for each distributed document, a flat fee, or any other fee schedule or consideration deemed acceptable to both parties. 
     Finally, the consumers  110  purchase goods and/or services (i.e., products) using an end-user computer device having internet connectivity and web browsing capabilities, such as a desktop computer, laptop, cellular smart phone, or any other well-known computer device having capabilities to access and browse the Internet. As noted above, the consumer utilizes his/her computer device to access and browse products offered by the product service provider  120 . In accordance with the present invention, when the consumer  110  selects a specific product, the DSP  130  generates and presents a new “interstitial” webpage to the consumer, which includes information regarding a selected white paper or other document that corresponds to the customer&#39;s profile, as well as the product being viewed and selected by the customer. In one embodiment, the customer is redirected to the website domain of the DSP  130  from the PSP&#39;s  120  website via URL redirection. Alternatively, the PSP  120  generates the interstitial webpage from data received from the DSP  130  over the internet. In either embodiment, if the customer accepts the offer for the white paper from the DSP  130 , the PSP  120  displays a confirmation on the consumer&#39;s computer device  112  regarding the selection of the product, and the white paper is delivered electronically to the customer. Details of the operation of the document distribution system  100  of the present invention are discussed below with respect to  FIGS. 2A-2D ,  3 A- 3 C, and  FIGS. 6A-6E . 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , a block diagram of a computer device  400  suitable for use by the DSP  130  of  FIG. 1  is illustratively shown. The computer device  400  can be one or more servers that centrally manage white papers and other documents of the CPMs  140  at the website of the DSP  130 , as well as execute programs to store customer profile information  440 , store content provider information including author profile information  436 , brief descriptions or abstracts  434  of the stored documents, and routines to select a particular document based on the product and/or customer profile information. Additional programs that assist in managing accounts, communications and other functions of the DSP  130  include authentication, authorization and accounting processes  420 ,  422  to ensure secure transactions and exchange of information, and a web page generator  424  to generate a promotional web page that includes a brief description or abstract of a selected white paper or other documents based on product and/or customer profile information, database fields for providing consumer profile information, and interfaces (e.g., clickable web browsing buttons) for accepting or declining the free white paper. The computer further stores product service provider profile information  438  and the author information  436  to manage accounting and other business relations and interactions between the DSP  130 , the PSP  120  and the CPMs  140 . The computer device  400  includes a multitasking, real-time software technology that can concurrently handle hundreds of thousands of queries and updates. 
     The computer device  400  can be any computer device such as a personal computer, minicomputer, workstation or mainframe, or a combination thereof. While the computer device  400  is shown for illustration purposes as a single computer unit, the computer system can comprise a group/farm of computers which can be scaled depending on the processing load and database size. Further, the group/farm of computers can include various computer devices or servers for performing designated operations, such as hosting websites, providing email services, data storage services, printing, authentication/authorization/accounting (AAA) services, among other services. 
     Specifically, the computer device  400  comprises at least one processor  402 , as well as memory  410  for storing various control programs  412 . The processor  402  may be any conventional processor, such as one or more “INTEL” processors. The memory  410  can comprise volatile memory (e.g., DRAM), non-volatile memory (e.g., disk drives) and/or a combination thereof. The processor  402  cooperates with support circuitry  406 , such as power supplies, clock circuits, cache memory, among other conventional support circuitry, to assist in executing software routines (e.g., methods  200 ,  300 ) stored in the memory  410 . The one or more processors  402 , memory  410  and support circuitry  406  are all commonly connected to each other through one or more buses and/or communication mediums (e.g., cabling)  408 . 
     The computer device  400  also comprises input/output (I/O) circuitry that forms an interface between various functional elements communicating with the computer device  400 . For example, the computer device  400  can be connected to a communication link such as the Internet  102  or other computer network through an I/O interface  404 , which receives information from and sends information over the communication link to various content providers  140 , product service providers  120 , and/or end-user customers  110 . 
     The memory  410  includes program storage  412  and data storage  414 . The program storage  412  stores an operating system (not shown) such as a “WINDOWS” operating system commonly available from “MICROSOFT” Corporation of Redmond, Wash. or any other well-known operating system, an authentication/authorization module  420 , an accounting module  422 , a document promotional web page generator module  424 , among other application programs and data retrieval modules. In one embodiment, the web page generator  424  is an application program provided on a MICROSOFT.NET FRAMEWORK platform, although such software platform is not considered limiting. It is noted that the operating system and optionally various application programs (not shown) are stored in the memory  410  to run specific tasks and enable user interaction. The data storage  414  can be an internal or separate storage device, such as one or more disk drive arrays that can be accessed via the I/O interface  404  to read/write data. The data storage  414  includes one or more databases, such as a central database  430  that can store information pertaining to the white papers (documents)  432 , document abstracts  434 , document authors  436 , product service provider profile information  438 , customer profile information  440 , among other information. The data storage  414  and/or central database  430  can be provided internally (as shown in  FIG. 4 ) or externally (as shown in  FIG. 1 ) to the computer device  400 . In one embodiment, the administration modules  420  and  422 , as well as the database  430  are provided on a LAMP platform, which is an open source program based on Linux OS, Apache HTTP server, MySQL and Perl/PHP, as is well-known in the art, although such software is not considered limiting. 
     Any of the software program modules in the program storage  412  and data from the data storage  414  are transferred to specific memory locations (e.g., RAM) as needed for execution by the processor  402 . Although the white papers  432 , abstracts  434 , and author data  436  have been described as individual databases, a person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that these databases are not considered limiting. For example, one or more relational databases can be implemented to store and retrieve information as required. 
     As such, it is contemplated that some of the process steps discussed herein as software processes may be implemented within hardware, for example, as circuitry that cooperates with the processor  402  to perform various steps. It is further noted that various modules, such the authentication/authorization and accounting (AAA) module  420 ,  422  can be implemented on a separate computer device, such as an AAA server. The AAA server enables tracking the amount of network resources users are accessing and the types of services they are using. For example, system administrators might need to invoice departments or customers for connection time or resources used on the network (for example, total time connected). The AAA server can also be used to track suspicious connection attempts into the network. AAA authorization permits control of the network services available to each user and helps restrict access to internal networks. Further, the main authentication methods considered are username and password, S/Key, token card and server, Password Authentication Protocol (PAP), among other authentication techniques. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , a block diagram of a computer device  500  suitable for use by the product service provider  120  of  FIG. 1  is illustratively shown. The computer device  500  can be one or more servers that centrally manage product information at the website of the product service provider, as well as execute programs to process product orders from the consumers  110 , store customer profile information, provide authentication, authorization and accounting processes  420 ,  422  to ensure secure transactions, and store document service provider profile information  536  to manage accounting and other business relations and interactions between the PSP  120  and DSP  130 . 
     The block diagram and description of the computer device  500  shown in  FIG. 5  is essentially the same as described above with respect to the computer device  400  shown in  FIG. 4 , except that instead of storing a white paper promotional web page generator  424 , a product web page generator  524  is stored in the program storage  412  to generate web pages that include information associated with the PSP  120 . The information to generate the PSP&#39;s web pages is stored as product/service data  532  in memory  414 . The product/service data  532  can include descriptions, features and/or specifications of products being offered, product reviews, warrantees, return policies, contact information, brick and mortar store locations (if any), legal notices, financial information, customer service policies, and other well-known product service provider information. Other data stored in the database  430  of the PSP computer device  120  can include DSP profile information  536 , customer profile information  440  and optional DSP promotional web page (interstitial web page) data/metadata  534 . The DSP profile information  536  can include information associated with the DSPs  130 , such as name, address, contacts, URL, PSP/DSP fee schedules, and revenue tables, among other DSP related information. 
     Preferably, the PSP  120  redirects the consumer  110  to the website of the DSP  130  to view an interstitial web page for promoting a white paper, as described below with respect to method  200  of  FIGS. 2A-D  and  FIG. 6D . In an alternative embodiment described below with respect to method  300  of  FIGS. 3A-3C  and  FIG. 6D , the PSP  120  sends a request message to the DSP  130  instructing it to send the interstitial web page information/metadata to the PSP  120 , which then stores this information as DSP promotional web page data  534 . The DSP promotional web page data  534  includes information that enables the PSP  120  to generate and temporarily host the interstitial web page. In particular, the web page generator  524  of the PSP  120  subsequently retrieves the data  534  to generate the interstitial web page illustratively shown in  FIG. 6D  for viewing and interaction by the consumer  110 . It is noted that for the preferred embodiment implementing URL redirection, the DSP promotional web page data  534  is not required. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 2A-2D , a flow diagram of a method  200  for providing free promotional white papers or other documents to a consumer via the Internet in accordance with the present invention is illustratively shown.  FIGS. 2A-2D  include four columns, where the first column illustrates steps or actions taken by a consumer  110 , the second column illustrates steps or actions taken by the product service provider (PSP)  120 , the third column illustrates steps or actions taken by the document service provider (DSP)  130 , and the fourth column illustrates steps or actions taken by a content provider/marketer (CPM)  140 . The flow diagram of  FIGS. 2A-2D  should be viewed in conjunction with the system block diagram shown in  FIG. 1  and the illustrative web pages shown in  FIGS. 6A-6E .  FIGS. 6A-6E  depict examples of web pages from an employment firm that conducts business by posting job listings (i.e., the “product”) via the Internet, and a person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that these illustrative product web pages are not considered limiting. 
     The method  200  begins at step  201 , and proceeds to step  202  where the individual CPMs  140  publish their white papers or other documents. The white papers can include discussions directed to studies, experiments, opinions, predictions and the like regarding subject matter in any field of interest, and which can be used by authors or other CPMs  140  as marketing tools to promote further discussion, investigation, opinions and business leads from others (i.e., potential customers) interested in the subject matter. 
     At step  204 , the CPMs  140  send an electronic copy of the white paper or other document to the document service provider (DSP)  130 . At step  206 , the DSP  130  stores each white paper in a repository  414 . The DSP repository is operable with one or more computer devices such as described with respect to  FIG. 4 . In one embodiment, the DSP  130  includes a database  430  with fields that identify classes and subclasses associated with the subject matter of the white papers. A brief description or abstract is also stored in the database  430  for each white paper. In this manner, the DSP  130  can expediently perform searches to identify white papers associated with a specific topic, and the searches can be refined with various filtering techniques, such as with Boolean operators, word searches, among other well-known searching techniques. 
     At step  208 , the product service provider (PSP)  120  hosts a website for consumer products (i.e., goods and/or services) offered by the PSP  120  or affiliate thereof. The PSP website is hosted on one or more computer devices  500  such as described with respect to  FIG. 5 . The PSP website includes one or more web pages that provide graphical and/or textual information relating to the PSP  120  and the goods/services offered to consumers  110 . The web pages are accessible in a well-known manner by any consumer having internet and web browsing capabilities, such as with a laptop computer having an INTERNET EXPLORER® web browser from MICROSOFT or any other computer device having web browsing capabilities. 
     At step  210 , a consumer can accesses the PSP&#39;s website using a computer device  112  having well-known internet browsing capabilities. At step  212 , the consumer accesses and browses one or more web pages hosted by the PSP  120  to search for one or more products (i.e., goods and/or services) offered by the PSP  120 . The web page generator  524  of computer device  500  generates for display on the consumer&#39;s computer device  112 , an illustrative first web page which illustratively includes a list of job positions from different companies, as illustratively shown in  FIG. 6A . 
     Referring to  FIG. 6A , the illustrative web page  610  is hosted by an internet based employment firm (DICE.COM). One product of this illustrative product service provider  120  is to provide a service for matching employers and potential employees together to fulfill an employment position, illustratively, in the field of technology. An employer posts the employment position on the website of the PSP  120  such that the consumer can then search the job listings using various searching techniques including entering alphanumeric characters into search fields, scrolling among other browsing and searching techniques. Each job listing can be hyperlinked to another web page so that the consumer can select a specific product, i.e., job listing from the web page of  FIG. 6A  and a new web page will appear on the consumer&#39;s computer device  112 . For example, the web page generator  524  of the PSP (DICE.COM)  120  illustratively presents a second web page  620  as shown in  FIG. 6B . 
     Further, at step  212 , the consumer  110  can submit a request from the web page of  FIG. 6A  for detailed product information by clicking on, for example, a specific job listing such as the “ERP Business Analyst (SAP) Functional Consultant” position identified by reference number  612  in  FIG. 6A . As a result, a second web page  620  is displayed on the consumer&#39;s computer device  112 , as shown in  FIG. 6B . The second web page  620  includes a detailed description of the product (e.g., the selected job position)  622 . The consumer can continue to browse through the web site of the PSP to find a desired product shown on a web page of the PSP in a conventional manner. Although two web pages ( FIGS. 6A and 6B ) are illustratively shown, the number of web pages presented by the PSP  120  is not considered limiting. 
     At step  214 , the consumer can click on a button or other well-known browser interface  624  on the illustrative web page  620  of  FIG. 2B  to select, request or otherwise order the product. At step  216 , the web page generator  524  of the PSP  120  optionally presents a third web page (e.g., job application landing page)  630  as illustratively shown in  FIG. 6C . Referring to  FIG. 6C , an illustrative “Job Application Landing Page”  330  is displayed on the consumer&#39;s computer device  112 . The optional third web page  630  is hosted by the PSP  120  and includes various fields for providing consumer profile information  632 , such as customer name, email contact information, and/or other personal identifiable information (PII). At step  218 , the consumer can submit (login/register) the consumer profile information to the PSP  120  by clicking on the login/registration button  634 . The method  200  then proceeds to step  220 . 
     At step  220 , the PSP  120  receives the submitted consumer profile information, and at step  222 , the consumer is automatically redirected (i.e., forwarded) to a website hosted by the DSP  130 . That is, the PSP  120  will redirect or forward the consumer (e.g., job seeker) to an interstitial web page being hosted at the website of the DSP  130  in a well-known manner. An example of an interstitial web page  640  generated by the DSP  130  for display on the consumer&#39;s computer device  112  is illustratively shown in  FIG. 6D   
     At step  224 , the DSP  130  receives the customer profile and product information which can be used to generate the interstitial web page  640 . During the process of URL redirection to the DSP  130 , the consumer&#39;s PII is transferred to the DSP&#39;s Lead Generation Interstitial  640  via the query string of the URL. At step  226 , as the Lead Generation Interstitial  640  is being loaded by the consumer&#39;s (e.g., Job Seeker&#39;s) browser on the computer device  112 , the Interstitial  640  is programmed to pre-populate its demographic form fields (e.g., first name, last name, e-mail address, mailing address, city, state, zip, phone number and company name) with the PII included in the query string of the URL. If one or more fields of PII are not passed to the Interstitial  640 , it will leave the respective form fields blank. 
     During or immediately following the pre-population of the PII fields, at step  228 , the Interstitial  640  retrieves an asset (e.g., white paper) from the DSPs queue to serve to the consumer (e.g., Job Seeker)  110 . The search criteria for selecting an appropriate white paper can include, but is not limited to any one or combination of criteria including the customer profile information, the product selected by the customer, and related technologies or subject matter. Additionally, selection of a particular white paper can be based on financial incentives of the content providers, such as fee rates and/or quotas for white paper distributed by the DSP  130 . Other criteria for selecting a particular white paper for a customer can include inventory quotas, alignment with a PSP brand or product, among other criteria. The drivers for performing the retrieval process (force and default flags and sequence order) of the assets (e.g., white papers) are fully controlled by DSP  130  through a protected, administrative web site. Assets may be forced to the top of the heap always or sequenced by business priority. In one embodiment, assets are bypassed in the queue if they do not have positive inventory. Once an asset is selected, the webpage generator  424  will dynamically retrieve the meta-data (e.g., logo, title, description, inventory, survey and other information) from the DSP&#39;s asset database to generate the interstitial web page  640 . The asset meta-data is fully controlled by DSP  130  through a protected, administrative Web site. The interstitial web page  640  includes a brief description or abstract  642  of the white paper or other document selected for the consumer  110  in step  228 . The web page generator  424  retrieves the abstract information from storage  434  in the central database  430  and inserts the content into the web page  640 . 
     Following retrieval of the selected asset (e.g., white paper), the web page generator  424  dynamically builds the asset&#39;s survey form or section  646  of the interstitial web page  640 , which the consumer must complete to receive the asset (e.g., white paper, webinar, or other literature) selected from the database  432 . The DSP  130  will provide the survey information from the survey section  646  to the CPM (e.g., IBM or other vender)  140  associated with the asset that was selected for the consumer  110 . The CPM  140  can use the survey information  646  to determine if the consumer  110  is appropriate and/or likely to be open to receive further solicitations for products (e.g., services) from the CPM  140 . 
     The fields of the survey  646  can include questions, answers, and/or presentation, etc., and is fully configured by the DSP  130  through its protected administrative website. For example, the survey  646  can include questions such as “what is your job title”, company size, company location, and the like, as well as a choice of answers, such as “Director”, “Officer”, “Manager” and/or “Engineer”, among other answers the consumer can choose. The survey  646  can contain any number of fields in varied formats such as, e.g., drop-down lists, radio buttons, checkboxes, open text fields, and the like. The survey  646  can also include grading rules which are used by the CPM  140  to determine which “consumer leads” the CPM will  140  accept. For example, the grading rules may dictate that only persons having job titles of “vice president” or “directors” with particular job functions related to engineering for companies having greater than 100 employees and located in a particular geographical area (e.g., Northeast USA) will be selected for further solicitation of services by the CPM  140 . 
     At step  230 , once the Interstitial page  640  is generated and displayed on the consumer&#39;s computer device  112 , the consumer (e.g., Job Seeker)  110  can complete the survey form and either accept or decline the offer by clicking on one of the corresponding buttons  644 . From the perspective of the consumer  110 , the interstitial web page  640  is presented seamlessly after submitting the consumer profile information  632  from the third web page of  FIG. 6C . If at step  232 , the consumer declines the offer for the white paper (i.e., promotional lead), the method proceeds to step  234 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 2C , at step  234  the website server  400  of the DSP  130  receives the decline signal from the consumer&#39;s computer device  112 . At step  236 , the consumer is redirected back to the PSP&#39;s website again via URL redirection. In particular, the URL of the PSP  120  is included the query string sent by the PSP  120  to the DSP  130  during step  224 . The method  200  then proceeds to step  238 . 
     At step  238 , the PSP  120  web page generator  524  of the PSP  120  generates a confirmation webpage for display on the consumer&#39;s browser  112  to notify the consumer that the product ordered on the PSP&#39;s website has been received and/or accepted. Referring to  FIG. 6E  for example, an illustrative job application confirmation web page  650  is illustratively shown. The illustrative web page  650  includes a text message  652  indicating that the consumer&#39;s job application has been sent (e.g., emailed) to the employer of the selected job position. The method  200  proceeds to step  299 , where the method ends and the consumer can browse for products at the same or other PSP  140  in a well-known manner. 
     Referring back to  FIG. 2B , if at step  232  the consumer accepts the offer by clicking the “Submit” button, which sends the survey information  646  to the DSP  130 . The method  200  then proceeds to step  240 . Referring now to  FIG. 2C , at step  240  the website hosted by the computer  400  of the DSP  130  receives the acceptance signal from the consumer, and at step  242 , the DSP website validates the form field data by ensuring that the survey  646  does not include false information e.g., faux names such as “Mickey Mouse” and the like, or other false or inconsistent information, such as mismatched zip codes and addresses, phone numbers, and the like. Once the submitted consumer information is validated, the DSP  130  and stores the order request for the asset (e.g., white paper), as well as the consumer&#39;s PII/profile information, order IP address from the source (i.e., consumer computer device), among other consumer information in the DSP&#39;s fulfillment database  442 . 
     At step  246 , the free promotional white paper (or other document) is sent to the consumer  110 . In one embodiment, the DSP  130  directly emails the white paper to the consumer, for example, in PDF format. Alternatively, the white paper can be presented as a link on the confirmation page  650  ( FIG. 6E ) such that the consumer  110  can download the white paper as a file (e.g., PDF, hypertext, among other formats). Once the consumer  110  receives the white paper, the method  200  proceeds to step  299  where the method ends and the consumer can continue browsing the PSP website for other products or log off. 
     Although the present invention has been described and shown using five web pages to illustrate the consumer interaction with the PSP  120 , a person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the number of web pages displayed to the consumer  110  is dependent on the architecture of the PSP&#39;s website and is not considered limiting. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 3A-3C , a flow diagram of a method  300  for providing free promotional white papers or other documents to a consumer via the Internet in accordance with the present invention is illustratively shown.  FIGS. 3A-3C  includes four columns, where the first column illustrates steps or actions taken by a consumer  110 , the second column illustrates steps or actions taken by the product service provider (PSP)  120 , the third column illustrates steps or actions taken by the document service provider (DSP)  130 , and the fourth column illustrates steps or actions taken by a content provider/marketer (CPM)  140 . The flow diagram of  FIGS. 3A-3C  should be viewed in conjunction with the system block diagram shown in  FIG. 1  and the illustrative web pages shown in  FIGS. 6A-6E . As noted above,  FIGS. 6A-6E  depict examples of web pages from an employment firm that conducts business by posting job listings (i.e., the “product”) via the Internet, and such product web pages are not considered limiting. 
     The method  300  begins at step  201 , and proceeds to step  302  where the individual CPMs  140  publish their white papers or other documents. The white papers can include discussions directed to studies, experiments, opinions, predictions and the like regarding subject matter in any field of interest, and which can be used by authors or other CPMs  140  as marketing tools to promote further discussion, investigation, opinions and business leads from others (i.e., potential customers) interested in the subject matter. 
     At step  304 , the CPMs  140  send an electronic copy of the white paper or other document to the document service provider (DSP)  130 . At step  306 , the DSP  130  stores each white paper in a repository  414 . The DSP repository is operable with one or more computer devices such as described with respect to  FIG. 4 . In one embodiment, the DSP  130  includes a database  430  with fields that identify classes and subclasses associated with the subject matter of the white papers. A brief description or abstract is also stored in the database  430  for each white paper. In this manner, the DSP  130  can expediently perform searches to identify white papers associated with a specific topic, and the searches can be refined with various filtering techniques, such as with Boolean operators, word searches, among other well-known searching techniques. 
     At step  308 , the product service provider (PSP)  120  hosts a website for consumer products (i.e., goods and/or services) offered by the PSP  120  or affiliate thereof. The PSP website is hosted on one or more computer devices  500  such as described with respect to  FIG. 5 . The PSP website includes one or more web pages that provide graphical and/or textual information relating to the PSP  120  and the goods/services offered to consumers  110 . The web pages are accessible in a well-known manner by any consumer having internet and web browsing capabilities, such as with a laptop computer having an INTERNET EXPLORER® web browser from MICROSOFT or any other computer device having web browsing capabilities. 
     Referring to  FIG. 6A , a first web page  610  posted by an internet based employment firm (DICE.COM) is illustratively shown. One product of this illustrative product service provider is to provide a service for matching employers and potential employees together to fulfill an employment position, illustratively, in the field of technology. An employer posts the employment position on the website of the PSP  120  such that at step  310 , a consumer can first review general information and then review more detailed information by browsing different web pages of the PSP  120 . More specifically, the web page generator  524  of computer device  500  generates the illustrative first web page which illustratively includes a list of job positions from different companies as shown in  FIG. 6A . In order to view specific job positions, at step  312  ( FIG. 3A ), the consumer may be asked to register and provide the PSP  120  with consumer profile information, such as his/her name, address, education degrees, contact information, occupation, and the like. Optionally, at step  314 , the PSP  120  authenticates the consumer. Alternately, the consumer profile information and/or login procedure/authentication steps can be performed at a later step, for example, as described below with respect to steps  320  and  322  and  FIG. 6C . Where the consumer  110  is authenticated, at step  316 , a home web page is presented to the consumer on the consumer&#39;s computer device  112 . In either embodiment (optional login/authentication or no login/authentication required at this time), at step  318  the consumer can then search the job listings using various searching techniques such as search fields or scrolling bars as shown in the illustrative web page of  FIG. 6A . Each job listing can be hyperlinked to another web page so that the consumer can select a specific product, i.e., job listing from the web page of  FIG. 6A  and a new web page (e.g., the web page shown in  FIG. 6B ) will appear on the consumer&#39;s computer device  112 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 3B , at step  320 , the consumer  110  can submit a request for detailed product information by clicking on, for example, a specific job listing such as the “ERP Business Analyst (SAP) Functional Consultant” position identified by reference number  612  in  FIG. 6A . At step  322 , the web page generator  524  of the PSP (DICE.COM)  120  presents a second web page  620  as shown in  FIG. 6B . The second web page  620  includes a detailed description of the product (e.g., the selected job position)  622 . At step  324 , the consumer can request or otherwise order the product by clicking on a button or other well-known browser interface  624  on the web page  620  of  FIG. 6B . In one embodiment, the web page generator  524  of the PSP  120  optionally presents a third web page (e.g., job application landing page)  630  as illustratively shown in  FIG. 6C . The optional third web page  630  includes fields for providing consumer profile information  632 , such as customer name, email contact information, and/or other personal identifiable information (PII). This consumer profile information can be used for authentication purposes at product service provider websites, which did not initially require the consumer to login as described above with respect to steps  312  and  314  of  FIG. 3A . 
     At step  326 , once the consumer submits the personal profile information, the PSP&#39;s  120  computer device  500  is programmed to insert a “Lead Generation Interstitial” web page  640  (e.g.,  FIG. 6D ) from the DSP  130  into the browser of the consumer&#39;s computer device  112 . The PSP  120  sends an electronic message via the Internet  102  to the DSP  130  containing customer profile information and the product selected by the customer. In yet another embodiment, the customer can directly send an electronic message via the Internet  102  to the DSP  130  containing customer profile information and the product selected by the customer. At step  328 , the DSP  130  receives the customer profile and product information, and the method  300  then proceeds to step  330 . 
     At step  330 , the DSP  130  searches for and selects a white paper or other document that is personalized to the customer. The search criteria for selecting an appropriate white paper can include, but is not limited to any one or combination of criteria including the customer profile information, the product selected by the customer, and related technologies or subject matter. Additionally, selection of a particular white paper can be based on financial incentives by the content providers, such as fee rates and/or quotas for white paper distributed by the DSP. Other criteria for selecting a particular white paper for a customer can include inventory quotas, alignment with a PSP brand or product, among other criteria. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3C , at step  332 , the promotional web page generator  424  of computer device  400  generates a lead promotion web page  640 , as illustratively shown in  FIG. 6D . The lead promotion web page  640  provides a brief description or abstract  642  of the white paper or other document selected for the consumer  110  in step  330 . The web page generator  424  retrieves the abstract information from storage  434  in the central database  430  and inserts the content into the web page  640 . The web page generator  424  also inserts the received consumer profile information into the appropriate fields of the survey section  646 . The web page  640  also includes one or more interface buttons  644  to accept or decline receiving the white paper. At step  334 , the DSP  130  sends the lead promotion web page  640  to the PSP  120 , and at step  336 , the PSP  120  presents the lead promotion web page  640  on its website for viewing by the consumer  110 . From the perspective of the consumer  110 , the promotion web page  640  is presented seamlessly after submitting the consumer profile information  632  in the third web page of  FIG. 6C . 
     At step  338 , if the consumer declines the offer for the promotional white paper, then the method  300  proceeds to step  342 , where the PSP  120  displays a fifth web page  650  which shows confirmation that the product ordered by the consumer has been accepted by the PSP  120 . With respect to the present example, the product web page generator  524  generates the web page  650 , which includes text  652  to confirm that the application for the job selected by the consumer  110  was sent. Once the confirmation page  650  is presented to the consumer  110 , the method  300  proceeds to step  399  where the method ends and the consumer can continue browsing the PSP website for other products or log off. 
     Alternatively, if at  338  the consumer decides to accept the offer for the promotional white paper, then the method  300  proceeds to step  340 . At step  340 , the consumer  110  completes the additional consumer profile information of the survey section  646  shown on the web page  640  of  FIG. 6D . The additional consumer profile information is used by the CPM  140  for soliciting business, as opposed to the consumer profile information being used by the PSP  120  for there own business purposes. The consumer submits the completed form of the promotional web page  640 , and the method proceeds to step  342 . At step  342 , the PSP  120  displays the fifth web page  650  ( FIG. 6E ) as described above, which provides confirmation that the product ordered by the consumer has been accepted. Once the web page generator  524  generates the web page  650  which includes text  652  to confirm that the application for the job selected by the consumer  110  was sent, the method proceeds to step  344 . 
     Although the present invention has been described and shown using five web pages to illustrate the consumer interaction with the PSP  120 , a person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the number of web pages displayed to the consumer  110  is dependent on the architecture of the PSP&#39;s website, and is not considered limiting. 
     At step  344 , the free promotional white paper (or other document) is sent to the consumer  110 . In one embodiment, the DSP  130  directly emails the white paper to the consumer. Alternatively, the white paper can be presented as a link on the confirmation page  650  ( FIG. 6E ) such that the consumer  110  can download the white paper as a file (e.g., PDF, hypertext, among other formats). Once the consumer  110  receives the white paper, the method  300  proceeds to step  399  where the method ends and the consumer can continue browsing the same or other PSP website for products or log off. 
     The present invention advantageously enables CPMs  140  such as authors of published white papers or other documents to expand publication to consumers who would not otherwise have an opportunity to receive the white papers. Broadening the distribution of white papers to the general public is accomplished by partnering with a document service provider  130  or publisher that has contacts or business relations with product service providers  120 . When a consumer accesses a products service provider&#39;s website via the Internet  102 , the consumer is given an opportunity to receive a preselected white paper that can be personalized for the consumer based on various criteria including the products being viewed by the consumer and consumer profile information. 
     From the perspective of the consumer  110 , the consumer  110  benefits because they have an opportunity to receive a free white paper or other document that is related to the topic of interest that they are searching for on the Internet. Accordingly, the free white paper provides additional knowledge and/or opinions with regard to the product being searched. Further, the content of the white papers are current and relevant to the consumer&#39;s interests, thereby assisting the consumer in making an informed purchasing decision. 
     From the perspective of the CPM  140 , the content provider  140  benefits because the white paper has greater public distribution than previously available to the CPM. Further, the CPM  140  receives better qualified business leads, since the white papers are distributed to targeted consumers. The increased distribution of the white paper enables the author to promote or otherwise market the content provider&#39;s name and skills to individuals and entities that may find such talents useful. Accordingly, the CPM  140  can see a higher conversion of sales for services based on increased consumer interest. 
     With regard to the product service provider  120 , such entity can help enhance sales or promotion of their own products by offering the additional service of providing free literature on subject matter related to their products. For example, the white papers that are directly relevant to the products the PSP sells will enhance sales of the PSP&#39;s products. Additionally, the PSP  120  can participate in revenue sharing or other consideration for contributing to the distribution of the free literature. For example, the CPMs  140  can agree to pay a fee for sending a white paper to an end-user consumer. 
     From the perspective of the document service provider  130 , the DSP  130  benefits by receiving a fee or other consideration for promoting the white papers from the CPMs  140 . For example, the distribution of the white papers is helpful to create a robust partnership network between the CPMs, DSP, and PSPs, which builds a better business channel for distributing products. 
     It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention that come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.