Leadpile’s Blog

If 85% to 95% of all emails being handled by the ISPs represent spam which mostly are unwanted messages abusively and indiscriminately sent by unscrupulous marketers or scam artists, and the costs associated with the necessary bandwidth and network maintenance are supported by the ISPs, which in turn get paid by everyone that’s using the internet one way or another, then spammers are really picking our pockets.

Someone has to pay for creating and supporting the infrastructure required by 100 BILLION SPAM emails PER DAY!!! And that’s not cheap: the estimated costs were about $100 BILLION in 2007. So with 1,412,489,652 internet users worldwide (http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm) and $100 billion in money spent/lost in connection with the spam, it comes to about $70.79 per person using the internet per year.

Incredibly, about 80% of all spam is sent by fewer than 200 spammers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-mail_spam), which would mean that each spammer steals nearly $500 MILLION per year from everybody else. Now is that grand theft or what? If a bank had HALF A BILLION stolen by 200 different people in a year I would tend to believe these people would be caught pretty fast.

LeadGen companies and Publishers that specialize in internet marketing do need to have an ethical conduct and refrain from spamming. LeadPile has built its reputation as a lead marketplace / exchange that strictly prohibits the practice of spam or any other abusive or deceptive marketing methods. All marketplace participants have to abide by strict rules which ensure that consumers are protected, and the lead exchange continues to grow based on the benefits it brings to consumers, lead buyers (advertisers) and lead sellers (publishers). All accounts have a dedicated account manager who is in constant communication with lead sellers and our quality control division is closely monitoring the leads production. Confidence in using the LeadPile Lead Exchange is critical to its success and the marketplace proved to be incredibly successful at attracting both quality lead sellers and lead buyers (http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS215372+06-May-2008+MW20080506).

I just finished reading that The House is expected to pass a $300 billion housing rescue bill aimed at aiding homeowners in trouble and help them avoid foreclosure and supporting mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

If the Senate passes the bill and Bush signs it, thousands of borrowers will be able to refinance their unaffordable old mortgages into new, low-cost fixed-rate loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration.  

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that 400,000 borrowers with $68 billion in loans may benefit from the program. The bill will only allow as many as 1 through 2 million borrowers to participate in the program.

Some of the qualifications for these loans are as followed:

• Prior loan issued during Jan 2005 – Jun 2007
• Have an up to date mortgage or in default
• Once loan is reissued you will not be able to take home equity from your home for 5 years unless used to pay for up keeps on home.

This will definitely help the mortgage industry.  More loans officers will start focusing on purchasing mortgage leads from lead exchanges as they will now be able to help the consumer. 
 

Last year first half of 2007, Toyota sold 4.5 million vehicles while General Motors came out winning selling 4.54 million vehicles.  Pretty close in sales.  

2008, first half the year, the numbers have arrived.  Toyota automaker sold 4.8 million vehicles for the first half.  That’s about a 2% increase from the same period of last year while GM sales drop 3% the first half.

With the gas price increase more consumers are staying away from the bigger trucks and SUV’s that GM is well known for.  The percentage difference on Toyota’s increase and GM’s drops are somewhat related.  My theory is that consumers are going after the gas saving cars that gives the more miles per gallon.  GM, being a leader in sales until this half of 2008, should  take different approaches to catch the consumers interest?  Maybe it’s time for the engineers to start developing more smaller cars to bring out, less expensive with more miles to the gallon.

All in all the economy is not doing that horrible as critics are proclaiming.  Look at the sales, they are pretty steady, meaning consumers are still spending and they are still buying new vehicles. 

Great time for Auto Groups to take advantage of leads in a lead exchange.  More cars to sell!

I just love a recent article from eMarketer. They say that  an online survey by Ipsos Reidfound that Internet users in Canada ages 12 to 17 spent an average of 13 hours per week online in early 2008 (compared with 19 hours for adults). That number has not increased since Ipsos began measuring online teen behavior in 2004.

Emarketer says that “Several factors may account for the relatively little time teens spent online. One is the significant number of daytime hours devoted to school during most of the year. Another is the influence of parents—54% of online teens surveyed said their parents placed time limits on their Web use”.

Isn’t it a great time to be involved in Internet Marketing and a lead Exchange when people say that  Internet users in Canada ages 12 to 17 spending an average of 13 hours per week online is a “relatively little amount of time!”

Love it!

Many in the world would be so jealous of a particular women who had a lot of debt (20k), created a website, and asked for help. This equaled HUGE success for a lady named Karyn. You have to hear about this success story and really how effective the internet is…. and that there are lots of other people in the world with lots of debt! The difference is: Karyn asked for help and got it!

Debt is a common part of what each person in America has, but have you ever thought about taking control of it by asking for help through “other” means? Most of us have not, however what we do do is either continue to struggle paying the minimum payments each month, or we just stop paying them. However, maybe more of us need to get creative and use some different resources to get help.
Then again, there is the traditional way and that is to try and work with specialized debt consolidation/debt settlement companies that help customers in this situation. I know a lot of people are submitting their request for more information about debt help, because the debt lead type is a HUGE lead type in the Leadpile Lead Exchange. Not all of us are as bold and entrepreneurial as Karyn! Either way, I give her props because she is now debt free and continuing her life now as a successful author.
IF YOU WANT IT… GO OUT & GET IT!

LeadPile Lead Exchange are true team players! You hear a lot about the workforce and unhappy employees among other companies but not in LeadPile.  LeadPile has a strong team assembled.  We are a unity! Happy employees that get along great! Our lead exchange has grown with high recognition, and part of its success has to do with the time, energy and effort that LeadPile’s team creates to be the top notch Lead Exchange.  From Customer Service, to IT, to Accounting, and Marketing I can honestly say that we all get along.  We enjoy working with one another and the work environment and synergy that gets created in the office is beyond exceptional!

We are true professionals that blend in together with unique ideas to continue to grow at a fast pace.  We thank our Advertisers and Publishers for allowing our lead exchange to be a part of there company, we will continue to strive to providing you with quality as well as nourishing you with the highest ROI in the industry!

LeadPile team would like to wish Marketing Director Eugen a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  We love what he brings to the table with his cheerful demeanor and friendly attitude.  His creativity is off the charts! Happy Birthday Eugen best wishes from the LeadPile team! You ROCK!

What if television was like search engines? Let’s say you have basic cable with 46 channels… can you imagine the reaction and the uproar if everyone was watching only four of those channels? What if they were really only watching one channel with a few (crazy?) people watching the other three channels. Well, this could be the old Soviet Union or the current situation with today’s search engines.

Surprisingly, little is said about just how dominant Google is in this very important part of everyday life. The Hitwise numbers for the end of June are out and Google’s control of the search activity continues to GROW. They are up 8% over last year, and almost 7 of every 10 searches are done on Google. It’s even worse in Australia and the UK where Google almost accounts for 9 of 10 searches. Can it possibly be good that one company has such huge market share?

There has been a lot of talk about Yahoo and Microsoft combining their search efforts. Well, those two giants combined account for 25.08% of recent search activity. (Yahoo – 19.62% and MSN – 5.46%) The fourth channel, I mean search engine, is ask.com accounting for 4.17% of the searches.

We do have at least 42 other search engine options…sadly, only 1.7% of all searches were done on these other sites. Search engines are the primary way that people navigate the internet, and Google continues to dominate and even grow their market share. How is it that we are presented with more options in most facets of everyday life, but the emerging internet presents us so few options. Can this domination be good for anyone other than Google shareholders?

I love this tab! Its new, a space specifically for U.S. gas pricing rates. Great marketing Idea!  I’m now in http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/page/gasprices everyday comparing gas prices.

It allows you to see the “crude oil price” and the fluctuation of the gas rate. It defines the average gas price in the U.S. currently at $4.10 the highest gas price in Beaver Island, MI at $5.49 as well as the lowest in Lordsburg, NM currently at $3.69.

You can click on a city and state and it will list gas stations and the pricing per gas.  Its a phenomenal site.  Not only is East Valley Tribune going to get more hits for this tab but now consumers going to there site will browse, market, fill out request, and bookmark them. An ideal place for marketing that’s for sure!

In the lead exchange, great place to start marketing can define the quality of the leads generated, getting more serious consumers to your sites will effectively ensure higher quality leads.  I must say to catch the attention of the audience is in high demand for lead generation.  What better way than to give your consumer facts about the best place to pump gas!

The American way is to live beyond our means, however it is not the “right” way to live.
Think back to when you were in college and those credit card companies had tables set up to issue some new credit cards. Who didn’t want to get a NEW credit card to go shopping with. That is the problem, people don’t think past that initial “GREATNESS” about the credit card, and really this mentality helped to create the debt troubles we all face.

According to Investopedia.com there are signs to look for to determine if you are not in an ideal situation financially.
1. Your credit score is below 600.
2. You are currently saving less than 5% of your income.
3. Your credit card balances are just getting larger and larger.
4. More than 28% of your income goes towards paying for your home.
5. Your bills are just out of control (robbing Peter to pay Paul situations).

Overall, there are ways to prevent situations like this, however there are also situations in our lives that are out of our control. There are options out there to help educate consumers, help them get out these situations, and possibly teach consumers how to prevent them from happening again. Leadpile Lead Exchange generates a high volume of debt leads. These consumers are on the internet looking for this help, and want that help NOW!

Let’s go into Dynamic Pricing and its advantage.  Let’s say you have a network of advertisers but they all pay different pricing on leads.  How do you integrate this in a dynamic pricing tier for the auto and payday vertical?  Everyone wants first look. In a lead marketplace top bidder will get first look.  Segregate your advertisers by pricing.  

Here’s an example.  You have 5 companies buying from you.  Comp.1 can pay $6, Comp.2 can pay $29, Comp.3 can pay $40, Comp.4 can pay $10, and company 5 can pay $23.  Set up 3 campaigns in our lead exchange.  Campaign 1 set it at $6 Campaign 2 set it at $23 and Campaign 3 set it at $40.  Set up different affiliate IDs and put Comp 1 and 4 on campaign 1, company 2 and 5 on campaign 2 and company 3 on campaign 3.  This way you, we PING leads for your advertisers within the price they can afford to pay and you PING back a response with the price you accepted the lead and sold at.

Dynamic pricing works in different ways.  We can set up a unique tier that we will PING a lead at and you can POST back the price the lead was sold at. In addition, you can set up various parameters as filters, such as if you have zip codes that will pay a higher amount than others we can set up campaigns for higher paying zips and a different campaign for lower paying zips. We can also set it up by states, or even customers.  Whatever works best for you we can do.

The technology within our marketplace is so extreme that our integration and the variation of methods that we can assemble is quite intense.

With Tier Pricing, you set up the tier that you feel comfortable paying, we PING you at that price and you POST a reject or accept response letting us know if you will buy the lead or not.  You will pay the price the Tier is set for that we receive accepts on.  The lead exchange works fantastic, you can up your bid to subscribe you in a higher placement or you can go lower if you need too.  

Take into consideration that you are also taking advantage of the redirect feature that is available when we are doing the POST. 

If you need ideas or suggestions on how to set up your dynamic pricing or tier structure give our friendly experienced staff a call.  We will work with you to make this the best experience in the history of lead gen and find the solution that will best fit your companies platform.  And, finding the best way to set up your campaigns for your network of buyers!

Sure, all Cash Advance and Auto Groups want the SSN on the leads.  My question is, are they truly necessary?   Many may say, “well, sure it is!”  It’s needed to run a credit check when applying online.  What happens to leads that don’t provide an accurate Social or that become skeptical and refuse to provide it.

With identity theft in the U.S. affecting over 10 million Americans a year across the U.S. according to a study by the Berkeley Law School, you will experience less people providing their social on leads.  Especially, if they have been victims of identity theft.  Wouldn’t you agree?

What does this mean?  In a lead exchange, we provide safe, secured sites that are developed to ensure that the consumer feels comfortable.  Even then we will get leads where the consumer did not provide the Social.  Realistically, this doesn’t mean the lead is bad.  Payday lenders and Auto Dealers, can purchase leads of such and call them.  Making the consumer comfortable in providing sensitive data.  Consumers will need to earn your trust and understand that their information will not just be floating around and getting to the wrong hands. 

Buying leads with no SSN will bring in more business.  You will close more deals.  Lead exchange will increase your ROI, when you use all aspects to them.  Getting full applications is a great benefit, but don’t forget about the consumers that are interested but become uneasy with just providing all their personal information online.  They are a sure candidate to close more deals, I’m sure.

Its always easier when you can talk to a person directly! Keep that in mind.

I was on the EcomXpo online trade show this week and WOW, pretty amazing people.  So I’m at the lounge to interact and market, yet you see a few attendees craving attention.  Being mean, to put their name out there.  Yes, being indecent, vulgar  and obnoxious.  But for the most, part it was a phenomenal show and the interactions with some more serious players were beyond concrete.  Of course I got a good laugh in the lounge. 

I must say trade shows are hard work, even online.  Great experience it is but next week follow ups will be constant dialing to reach out and indulge in making new partners.  

Trade shows respect has moved into different directions.  

Working with advertisers and publishers, many might think its a waste of time to attend the trade shows. What matters is what works, not what its “thought”.  The facts count.  The facts are that they work, get a feel for the networking inside trade shows and how it will bring in business and strategic partners.  

I remember going to ad-tech, sure the interaction is there.  Nothing like talking face to face and meeting the person on the other side of the phone.  But one thing that bothers me is some of these attendees are just their for the booze!  Each time I talk to them, they are with a new company, they talk a big game but talk is cheap and when it comes down to business they are shady.  Its ridiculous that one person has been with 5 different companies within the industry in a short period of time.  

I scratch my head and ask myself “who hires them?”.  Now, now, I’m being honest not offensive, but realistically why would you hire someone that has been with a multitude of lead exchanges in such a short time and doesn’t fit in.  

Ad-Tech, Affiliate Summit, EcomXpo and all other trade shows believe it or not is a perfect place to network and create new partners.  Over 10,000 exhibitors and attendees go to these social networks so that’s a lot of business.  

When you do get a chance visit some of the conferences and discussions that are offered. You will learn valuable information that all in all will be beneficial to your business.  

In the lead exchange open doors for new opportunities, there is a need for leads in almost every industry, you just have to know how to approach it!