Leadpile’s Blog

As the Affiliate Summit Boston 2008 comes to a close, we would like to thank all of our affiliates for a great show. We would also like to say thank you to the city of Boston, for providing a beautiful place to have an Affiliate Summit.
We enjoyed some good conversations, nice business meetings, site seeing, GREAT food, and nice hospitality. We all look forward to speaking further with the affiliates we met, and potentially doing some business together. Also, Leadpile Lead Exchange would like to thank all those for coming by our Meet Market booth!

AND…Thanks Boston for the great lobster!

Insurance leads can be so targeted.  I’m starting to think its an actual sign up versus just the contact.  Everyone needs insurance, for your car, health, life, and even home.  But the criteria that’s required can be a bit hectic.  In my view all you really need is a contact that is interested, find a solution to helping that client.  Provide a service to consumers looking for insurance. 

Lets talk about car insurance for a minute.  If I can give you ten people that are truly interested in getting insurance for their car does it really matter what make and model? Are advertisers just being choosy where they can make more money or all in all, is it about helping the consumer find the services he/she needs? Let’s bring up health insurance.  Everyone needs health insurance.  When people are going online and they need an agent to assist them with more information so that a comfort zone can be built and they can understand what type of health insurance would work best for them? Is that a bad lead? No, I think not!

A lead, everyone has a different definition.  The true definition is simply a consumer that is interested in the product or service and need your help! So are leads with name, phone numbers, email, and address in a lead exchange a bad lead.  For a lesser price I actually think its a steal! Be thrilled that you can actually talk to someone on the phone. Its better than picking up the yellow pages and aiming at getting yelled at.  Contact is all you need, cross sale, offer a relative of theirs that service as well, make a quality impression that the consumer will tell their friend how helpful you were.  A lead is only as strong as the person working it!

Let’s really look into insurance, we all need it and its a necessity.  Its a healthy part of life. 

We are happy to welcome everyone attending AffiliateSummit this year in Boston to come and stop by our Meet Market table.

We will definitely check you guys out and discuss any opportunities to do business together. 

Boston – Great city to host the AffiliateSummit and I can say that even the Hotel is not that bad. Other than the fact that Meet Market is in a different location than the Exhibit Hall, which creates some confusion between the attendees, everything seems to be really nice and well organized. Well, I have to say that printing the badges was a little disappointing and got us a little nervous before getting everything started. 

The show haven’t even started and we were approached by people that are looking at working with us – first vertical – Education leads. 

We will keep you updated! Stay tuned!

According to MSNBC today the numbers are in and retailers lost money, even though the 100 billion dollars worth of stimulus checks have been mailed out by the government. So where did all that money go?
A little over 1/4 of the Americans who received these checks used it for paying off some credit card bills. Only 11% used the money on discretionary items such as electronic items and travel.
Grocery stores to retail stores were offering discounts to come into their stores, to spend their stimulus money on THEIR products. Some retailers placed radio and television ads with reference to spending their stimulus checks at their stores. They all have reached for a piece of the pie.
It appears the winners were discount retailers such as Walmart, Target and Costco. The loosers, that were unfortunately not able to benefit, were department stores and clothing stores. So maybe it is a good time to go out there to get some REALLY good deals!!!!!
Another area that felt some negative effects of the stimulus checks was the payday loan industry. If consumers are getting checks from the government, then they don’t necessarily need a payday loan. However, everything seems to be headed back in the right direction for payday lenders/lead generators. Leadpile Lead Exchange focuses a lot of the payday vertical, so our heart goes out to all our affiliates that felt any negative effects of the stimulus checks going out.

Publishers are spending a lot of money on PPC campaigns through Google AdWords.  Have you ever researched the cost of producing a real time quality lead? Depending on the vertical, it can get really expensive, especially if you are looking for quality and genuine interest.

Capturing a name, number, email, address, best time to call, can get really expensive. If you want to target geographically, by zip or state, it will increase your price and lower the amount of traffic you are getting. A lead can be really inexpensive, if you are just capturing email address, and you incentivize it, but if you are looking to attract customers that are genuinely interested in your service, its not going to be .20 cents or .50 cents, it will be way more expensive. You can expect prices as these if you are looking for lists, but why would you do that when you have the Yellow Pages and costs you nothing. You can definitely get leads for such a price, but those will be leads that are generated from the yellow pages, or aged data (lists) of consumers that showed an interest in your service years ago.  So what is the price for a good, real time, exclusive leads? It depends, it can be very expensive, depending how competitive is your vertical.  You will get what you are paying for. In other words, you are going to be happy with the return on your investment (ROI).

Advertisers have to consider that publishers or lead exchanges are eating the cost of any leads that are invalid.  Paying anywhere between .25 to $1.50 per click, or even $15, does not guarantee a conversion. Even if we get a conversion, it will not necessarily mean that you, as a buyer, will accept the lead. If you are a Debt Settlement buyer, you might want only want $15,000 and above in Unsecured Debt, which will significantly increase the price to produce that lead. 

Lead exchanges welcome advertisers to join the marketplace to HOST their offers. Paying the right price for the lead, working with the lead exchange to optimize your campaign and filter the lead sources, will ensure a successful campaign for you, as a buyer, and for the Lead Exchange and its publishers. 

Think of it this way, lets say you need to travel to a different state.  Would you rather rent a bike or a car? By renting a bike, you will save money on gas and get in a better shape If you are concerned about the time you need to get to your destination, this will not work too well for you, and renting a car might be more suited for you. Time is money, and we all know it very well.

Make great choices and you will see more money coming into your business! Buy quality, real time exclusive leads, and you can be assured that Leadpile will be on your side from start to end! Pay the price that they are worth and you will get the satisfaction that you are searching for!

Leadpile’s Motto: “Good is the Enemy of Great!” – Jim Collins, Good to Great

I have had multiple calls these last few weeks, and one of the things I observed was that Loan Officers’ main focus is becoming the “credit repair”.  LO’s are looking at different avenues to assist their clients in need. We all know that a large percentage of consumers are having credit problems. Unless you have good or excellent credit, you won’t qualify to refinance your home. After Loan Officers are attempting fixing your credit, they are assisting the client to refinance their homes. 

That’s a smart move for LO’s.  First they charge to fix your credit, then they help you refinance.  Realistically speaking I think its a brilliant idea. It’s not coming fast, but do we have other options? Adapt to the new situations, look for what the consumers need, and you will be able to succeed, even in this market. 

The demand for credit repair in these last few days have gone up.  Finding new ways to make a living and to survive even when the economy is struggling is fabulous. 

Any thoughts on this?

You need god quality leads… Leadpile has them! I think most people do not realize the different types of leads that we do generate, and the benefits of a lead exchange.
We are currently generating more than 20 lead types.
Some lead types we are generating:
Payday loan
Auto finance
Debt settlement
Debt consolidation
Credit repair
Refinance
Home purchase
Foreclosure
Security Systems
Bankruptcy
Business Cash Advance
Equipment Leasing
Business Loan
Web Design
Credit Card Processing/merchant account
Health, auto, life and home insurance
Car warranty
Student loan loan/student loan consolidation
Credit Card
Home Based Business

If we don’t have the lead type you were looking for, we are always open to new ideas. JUST ASK!
I read a great statement on the Pontiflex blog, stating something about the fact that online advertising (also lead generation) is like drilling oil… either you hit the oil right away or you move on. The key is to diversify what lead types you are working with, and “hitting oil” is more likely to happen. Take risks as a company, get into new lead types, and create new ideas to change up how you work.
There are many lead companies out there that might just focus on a couple lead types, however Leadpile excels because we have so many lead types to meet so many different demands. One of the things we have learned is that making an effective lead exchange, you need to work with various lead types. Really there is just about any type of advertiser we can work with. We are also able to work with the various types of affiliates that are currently out there.
Think-outside-the-box if you are planning on working with us!
You won’t regret it.

In recent weeks the 3 largest automakers have pulled out of leasing. This seems to be affecting the industry already. According to Automotive News one in every 5 vehicles sold was a lease. This is up from 2003 when 1 out of 3 vehicles sold was a lease.

What might happen with these leasing numbers in the near future? Unfortunately, with Chrysler, their leasing partner Chase had pulled out of offering leases, so this took them away from the leasing arena. Knowing this, that means that a few things we could see starting to happen:
1. Consumers begin to purchase vehicles by foreign auto makers.
2. Auto lenders offer lower interest rates.
3. Longer term auto loans becomes a much more common practice.
4. More motorcycles and scooters sales.

What happens in the up and coming months will most likely determine what the actual affect is, and who will survive these changes.
With these auto industry changes it could also affect lead generation companies. Will it increase the number of consumers going online to get an auto, or will it not really have too much affect on the overall lead generation industry? Time will tell.
Leadpile Auto Lead Exchange will have open arms no matter what the outcome is.

IDEA: Maybe with all the changes going on in the auto industry and gas being so high, Leadpile might want to consider bringing in “scooter” and “motorcycle” leads? ummmmmmm?

Those that have them, love them! Those that don’t have them, WANT them! I am referring to the Apple computer. They are trendy, user friendly, and just an all around GREAT computer to have.
According to Business Week “Apple’s share of the U.S. PC market jumped to 8.5% in the June quarter, from 6.4% a year earlier, helping Apple narrow the admittedly wide gap with Dell (DELL) and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ). Apple could grab even more share by trimming prices on Macs, which tend to cost more up front than other machines.”
So, this means potentially Apple will add some new features to promote others to take the Apple route, or lower their prices to get some new potential Apple buyers. Experts say potentially rolling out maybe a smaller version of the Macbook, or maybe even a multi-touch display to enhance the current Computers. Either way I am anxious to see what the future holds for this company! Some employees at Leadpile Lead Exchange have Apple computers or Apply Macbooks at home. We all love them, and are looking forward to seeing all the new and innovative products to be rolled out by Apple.

I couldn’t count how many home based business exist.  Truly its so diverse that its unbelievable.  Think about it, home based business have been around for ages.  Remember Avon? Most women will.  Yes, that’s a home based business, earning 50% of what is sold. 

In this day in age society has expanded to different types of home based business.  From selling cosmetics, to vacation packages, to Tupperware, software, natural products , home improvements, to juices and vitamins and insurance to web development and much, much more.  So many people across the world are taking advantage of their own unique home based business.

Home Based Business is diverse for men and women to make some extra cash.  Believe it or not, many people actually live off the earnings in a MLM.

But part of the catch is the majority of these business needs a down-line to actually see earnings.  You need to sign more people up to be part of your down-line and you also benefit from there sales.  How do you think some of these MLM or HBB consumers actually make it in the day to day life.  Well, think about it, they are not spending gas money so they are saving cash on gas alone.  They are also, setting up there own hours and times that they want to work.  They are responsible for their own advertising.  And best, of all they are getting paid to work from home. 

Independent consultants are marketing and spending some of their own revenue to buy leads.  Yes, most Home Based Businesses are using leads to get more people to sign up within their network.  Its an investment that for many have been well work it.  With some extra cash in your pocket and an effective process to pay your bills, is a home based business right for you?

In the next few days our world’s top athletes are going to compete for gold medals. Hats off to all the hard work of our fellow Olympians, and for what they are doing for their country!
Advertisers worldwide are also getting ready to see their products showcased in front of more people than probably any other event. Is the money spent on the advertisting worth it?
According to MSNBC yesterday, some advertisers have chosen not to sign up for the next Olympic Games. They feel their might be a “better” place to spend their advertising dollars. The cost (up to almost 900 million dollars) to do advertising with the Olympics is becoming too costly for some companies that are on a tighter budget. Companies have numerous options on how to spend their advertising dollars, however the Olympics might not be the best option for them.
Either way, let’s all support our fellow athletes that have been training for months and months……… no matter what country we are all in! Leadpile wishes all Olympians…..
GOOD LUCK!

The deal with Microsoft has been going on for months (Jan 31 to May 3), and it looks like both companies blame each other for the failure of this deal. “Right from the beginning we were open to doing a deal,” said Mr. Bostock, the Yahoo chairman. “It was simply a matter of getting the right price and getting the deal terms negotiated. They started backing off early on in the process.”

Microsoft sees it differently. “Microsoft diligently pursued a proposed acquisition from the day we made our offer on Jan. 31 to the day we withdrew it on May 3,” Bradford L. Smith, Microsoft’s general counsel, said by e-mail. But Yahoo’s management and board failed to engage in meaningful negotiations for weeks, Mr. Smith added. 

If we go back and re-evaluate Yahoo’s approach on Advertising, we might find few things that many of Yahoo’s shareholders are looking at and they should actually look closer. 

Yahoo has purchased Overture in 2003, search engine that was launched in 1998 (known as GoTo). Overture brought to the Internet Advertising the PPC (pay-per-click) model, and they key of their success was when Overture decided not to bring traffic to their site, but to offer its paid listings to other search engines. It was a very smart move, which made us all happy, as we could really bring more leads into our business, just by using one source – Overture. 

Once Overture became Yahoo Search Marketing, our PPC experience with this company took a drastic turn, and I wouldn’t say a positive one – I remember how all the campaigns were changed so it reflects the Google AdWords structure. I am sure that all of us spent days to re-organize the campaigns and get our level of production to the same level. I would have to say that now, in certain cases I prefer them against AdWords, not because they are better, they are slower, so the most patient Advertiser wins, so as the competition struggles, the prices go down. I am sure these are not good news for the shareholders. 

The Content Network has been inexistent in the beginning, and when it got started … gosh, watching it constantly wasn’t enough. It took another week to clean the mess. More updates and changes into Yahoo Search Marketing system, seemed to be like a Deja-Vu, for following Google’s steps and for another, getting again into the same struggles as before. 

Yahoo’s plan… we will wait and see, Microsoft is probably going to make a move, most likely they are going over their Search, but apparently Mr. Yang is for all or nothing. Is it going to be a $33 a share or $37? My guess is that if this comes to a deal, it will be for less than $33. They lost the boat once again, but it will come around. We’ll see if Steve Jobs’ interview to 300 vice presidents, held last September, was fruitful at all. Mr. Jobs spoke about the ingredients of his recipe for reviving Apple in 1996 – painful cuts and the reserve of “dry powder” – to be able to seize new opportunities (as Apple did with the iPod). 

The Lead Generation is going to keep an eye on their progress. The Lead Exchanges are part of Yahoo’s business – we are all connected in so many levels. 

We know that Google is pretty much out and the latest news are confirming the “no go” in Google-Yahoo deal: 

“I am writing to urge you to direct your office to take quick and decisive action by launching a formal investigation into the proposed business transaction between Google and Yahoo’s search-advertising business,” Joel Anderson, a Republican assemblyman from San Diego, said in a letter to California Attorney General Jerry Brown released this week. Google controls already  70% of search-related advertising market. This coalition could give Google even more power towards consumers browsing habits and choices.