Leadpile’s Blog

I am not sure how you could have missed what is going on with the economy, however each day there is new news. The latest news involves the government bailing out IAG Insurance Company with a 85 billion dollar loan. Last week the government was bailing out Fannie May and Freddie Mac. We are in a position of having to have our government save these mega giants. These bailouts show what kind of situation we are in now, but what could happen next?
The unfortunate side of this is that none of this has caused any major “positive” changes with our housing crisis. However, the Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae bailout has allowed rates to go down and maybe have a few more people go out and get a new mortgage loan. The latest news is the possibility of changes with Washington Mutual. Hurricanes, takeovers, bailouts, high gas prices, loss of jobs, foreclosures… is there something good going out there? There has to be! Let’s find the positive.
No matter what happens with the economy, Leadpile Lead Exchange will be right there trying to connect consumers needing services with advertisers that can provide that service to them.

How many of you have been approached to get a life insurance quote from your insurance agent? Let me guess, you said I am too young to buy life insurance. Any successful life insurance sales person will tell you the key to life insurance is really “understanding” it. There are a lot of misconceptions out there regarding life insurance. There really are a lot of specific reasons consumers take out a life insurance policy, besides just to “be covered” when they pass away.

1. Business owners can take out policies to take care of their key employees, so the business can run smoothly if the business owner passes away. Is the deceased person’s spouse really going to be able to run the business if they passed away? Probably not.
2. Spouses take out a policy to cover their spouse so they can try and maintain a similar lifestyle, if their spouse passes away.
3. Some take out policies for a short period of time to cover loved ones, because they took out some extra debt and they want their beneficiaries to not incur this debt if they pass away.
4. Some take out a life insurance policy because they want to have their loved ones to not have to take care of paying for their burial expenses.

Overall, there are so many reasons why a person has to consider taking out a life insurance policy. The most common types of life insurance policies are whole life and term life.
Whole life insurance generally is more expensive because it generates cash value, and it remains with you till you pass away. However, term insurance is an insurance policy that generally lasts for 10,20, or maybe even 30 years only. These policies expire at the end of their designated time frame. Unfortunately, if you take out a policy and then cancel it or don’t pay, it can expire and if you wanted another one, you then will be rated on the age you are now. Buying life insurance at a younger age can have some long term benefits for individuals, because life insurance premiums are based on your age (and health condition too).
According to Yahoo.com, 94% of life insurance that is sold is sold over the kitchen table. This means that most consumers who get life insurance have chosen to get it while meeting face to face with their insurance agent. 4% of consumers feel comfortable getting a life insurance policy over the internet. This is where Leadpile Lead Exchange comes in.
We work with some of the best publishers out there, and they are ready to embark on generating more insurance leads. Not only will we want our publishers to bring in auto and home insurance, we will ask them to bring in life insurance. This is a very important lead type that is a very important insurance for every American. We ALL need life insurance at some level. Just like in any loan you take out… do your research with life insurance. Ask a lot of questions.

According to The East Valley Tribune Saturday, Scottsdale City Council has voted to impose tougher regulations on payday loan stores that are in Scottsdale, AZ. This was imposed to try and decrease the number of stores in the city. The Scottsdale City Council had agreed to implement minimum distance requirements between these payday loan stores. The specifics of the new restrictions will be determined in upcoming council meetings. Mayor Mary Manross had previously requested the council to pursue new regulations, saying she wanted to avoid an increase in stores that do not “lend themselves to uplifting neighborhoods and centers.” Also, Proposition 200 will be voted on by the public in November to determine whether to allow payday loan operations to continue past their current expiration date of July 1, 2010.
Should Scottsdale be able to control the number of payday stores doing business in it’s city?

While the record labels are struggling to bring in revenue, social networking sites are where many companies are turning to help save them. According to Business Week, “The record industry has been hammered in recent years by online piracy and a dearth of mega-hits, with sales sliding steadily since their peak of $14.6 billion in 1999. As CDs sales have dropped, the labels have tried repeatedly to develop digital strategies to make up the difference, and they’ve all come up short. Last year was the industry’s worst yet in terms of revenue losses. The total value of digital and traditional sales dropped 12% in 2007, to $10.4 billion, compared with a 4.4% slide the year before, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).”
Record labels are looking to utilize the internet to help this struggling industry, and why not partner up with social networking? Will MySpace Music be able to handle such a large partnership? They certainly have the audience for the record companies, but will it be used effectively? I guess we will all see how successful this partnership is, and if it works I am sure the rest of the record labels will be looking at social networking to increase sales.
Leadpile Lead Exchange works in affiliate marketing, and this sounds like another form of affiliate marketing that could also work effectively.

We all have a grandma and grandpa that we like to go visit. However, the last thing we want to see is them struggling to pay their bills. Unfortunately, with the reduction in income, increased health problems and sometimes loss of full medical benefits, many elderly are facing hard times in their later years. According to MSNBC, the older the individuals get the higher risk they are at potentially filing bankruptcy.
In 2007, 22% of the bankruptcies filed were those individuals that are 55 years old and older. The number of bankruptcies filed by younger individuals actually dropped. There could be various factors that are contributing to this increase in bankruptcy filings for 55+. For example, consumers could be retiring at a normal age, however entering retirement with a lot more outstanding debt then in years previously. Also, increased cases of fraud happening in this country has also affected the elderly, who tend to be targets of scammers.
Eldery or not, consumers survive through life and hard times with credit cards and other forms of debt. Unfortunately, that catches up to everyone at some point or another. Bankruptcy is one option consumers have, but also services such as debt consolidation, debt settlement, refinancing your home and taking cash out, which should be attempted before resorting to the bankruptcy option. Leadpile Lead Exchange deals with all these lead types and fully understands companies need leads of these individuals to assist.
Let’s all try to take care of our grandmas and grandpas!

The paydaypundit.com has an interesting blog post regarding payday loans. Some articles on the internet are talking about payday loans related to predatory lending and college students. This blog made a good point about students not being able to get a payday loan. A payday loan is based on a “payday”, and the only way a person can get a payday loan is to have that loan linked to a “pay day”. How can a student get this type of loan if they do not work, like many other students?
Predatory lending is very much something that can be controlled by the consumer, if they ask a lot of questions and make sure they know what they are doing. Students or not students, payday loans are something many people need, and lenders will not give a loan to someone if they do not have a “pay day”. Leadpile Lead Exchange wants to work with students needing loans, and also payday lenders wanting payday leads. Unfortunately, the two will probably not be a match.

A large portion of online advertising is done through search engines. However, getting ranked HIGH on the search engines is every company’s goal. Unfortunately, it is easier said than done to get ranked well.
According to onlineadvertisting.net, there are some facts regarding search engine ranking:

1. 80% of consumers click on the first 3 listing in the search engine listings.
2. 54% of consumers will only look at the first page of results.
3. 19% of consumers actually click through to the 2nd page of results.
4. 10% of consumers got to the third page of search results.

To really be effective you have to be listed well on the major search engines. However, businesses sometimes do not have the resources or money to get there. The key is to do your research. Search engine optimization companies are out there to help businesses understand how to get ranked higher. Unfortunately, like what makes up a credit score….. EVERYTHING that makes up your search engine ranking, is an unknown.
Search engine rankings are a key factor when dealing with lead generation and Leadpile Lead Exchange. The advertisers often times don’t want to deal with SEO (search engine optimization) or PPC (pay per click campaigns), so they turn to a more effective source for potential customers. They turn to Leadpile’s lead sellers. Many of our sellers are experts on getting ranked well on the search engines and other forms of online advertising. We are a common place for both sides to come together.

Jet Blue Airlines has rolled out a new innovative way to try and sell some flight fares.  According to Fox News, Jet Blue Airlines will be auctioning off 300 roundtrip tickets and 6 vacation packages on Ebay this weekend. The bids start as low as .05 cents, however they anticipate the ending price will be valued at 85%-90% of the actual value of the flight. Is this for real?

They are looking at promoting cheap flights, but looking at earning the actual value.  What would happen if this goes sour?  Can you imagine three dollar flights being sold?  Jet Blue Airlines is pretty brave to initiate a marketing technique of this nature.  The Marketing Director is probably getting a pat on the back for this one. Pretty impressive if all goes well!

I’m curious to see the end results.  I’ll keep you updated!

Companies in all industries are experiencing the pressure of having to come up with new ways to get consumers attention. Online lead generation has been a tool for helping companies find consumers needing a new home, a new car, or various types of loans. However, with the economy the way it is now, companies are working on trying to attract online customers to “new” types of products.
Gone are the days of focusing all your marketing efforts on high profit margin items such as home sales, new car sales and other high price ticket items. According to leadmarketwatch,“The time between major purchases is growing larger due to market pressures as well as improved quality and higher prices. Therefore, marketers need to capture the client in between purchases and it is through micro-needs like chrome wheels, new tires, paint jobs, etc.” This means that companies such as GM are focusing on bringing in leads of consumers wanting new tires and accessories, versus getting the new car. This is also in line with Leadpile Lead Exchange and the need for lead types such as car warranty, car refinance, and home security system leads that are becoming more and more in demand. Service providers could be the ones reaping the rewards of the slower economy… don’t buy a new car or house… fix up the one you already have!

The lead-gen, as many knows it so far, refers to the generation of prospective consumer interest or inquiry into a business’ products or services – generating a lead. The characteristics of lead-gen are changing, and same as the web, it has certain phases, which makes it evolutionary. 

In the beginning of 2000, the lead-gen has become more popular in the online channel, and with it, more and more companies started to allocate a certain budget for lead-gen, finding it as a good alternative or addition to their own advertising channels. 

A GP Bulhound Research report states that from 2006-2007, the online lead generation market grew 71% YTY. That’s more than twice as fast as the online advertising market. 

The growth, it’s of course, determined by the increasing demand for leads, but also the effectiveness and low costs offered by Lead Exchanges compared to the SEM. 

The Lead-gen 1.0 is considered as being a fragmented, not scalable, where the pricing for leads and volume needs to be artificially managed in order to create profit. 

Leadpile, has started as being a lead generation company, and by knowing the ins and outs of this industry, created a unique Exchange where the price and volume are market driven. The platform has arrived to a mature state, and that’s due to the years of experience and being on the right track from the start. And so, the Lead-gen 2.0 is here. Below you will see certain tools available in the Leadpile Exchange, making it a true Lead Marketplace/Exchange with the technology to be considered Lead-gen 2.0: 

1. Real Time leads and Cherry pick leads:

- the ability to choose between real time delivered leads (Lead Direct) and cherry picking the leads (Self Select)

When it comes to Real Time leads – you can choose the preferred price, volume, schedule and any other filters you want. 

A true lead-gen platform would also enable you to filter the sources of leads (producers/lead sellers): 

No matter how small or big your company is, a true lead-gen platform would also allow you to receive the leads in your own way, that can be from the most complexed integration to the most simple delivery method, like email. 

Of course, you need to have the freedom to receive the leads whenever you want to: 

Also, a complete lead-gen platform would allow you to “talk” to your consumers as soon as they finish the application. That’s where the confirmation page, or redirect to your site, comes handy and really crucial when it comes to customer acquisition:

We are sure that more lead-gen companies will come along, as they already did, following our model. That’s the beauty of this business! We are all working together and we will inspire each other in order to create a better business model for everyone. Leadpile, as the first company to launch a real integrated system for buyers and sellers of leads, will never stop to grow and improve. Out motto is and will always be: “The Impossible is our Expertise”. 

We look forward to your comments and suggestions – We Need You!

Easy Money, a payday lender with stores in Alabama, recently joined Borrow Smart Alabama – a TV  campaign aimed at encouraging borrowers to use loans wisely.

The title loan and cash advance industry, under fire for high-interest rates, have smartly recommended regulatory oversight which will help to promote legitimacy. Borrow Smart Alabama is comprised of more than 225 cash advance and title lenders in the state who have committed to a Code of Fair Lending.

Smart Move by Payday’s in Alabama.

The signatures are in……. 422,000 consumers in Ohio signed a petition in order to have the payday lending issue on the November ballot. The governor signed in June a law that puts some limitations on the annual percentage rate the payday lenders can charge. The governor capped the APR at 28 percent, and put a limit on the number of loans customers can take to four loans per year.
Based on the petitions submitted, consumers think they should have the right to make their own decisions when it comes to their personal financial matters. Those that signed the petition also think that allowing the restrictions to go through will force businesses to close and 6,000 employees to lose their jobs.
According to paydayfact.org, all Americans should have the choice to make their own decisions about getting a payday loan. High costs to doing the loan or not, consumers in Ohio want to decide on their own if they need these payday loans. Many Americans are in dire need of some quick cash, and to them these payday loans are the temporary fix. We shall see what the final decision is on this matter come the November election.