Leadpile's Blog» Financial

To No Surpise, Personal Bankruptcies Still Rising

Mari H. — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 17:54:08 +0000

Going a day or two without hearing something on the news about our unemployment rate or consumers buried in credit, has not really happened lately. So it really was not a surprise for me to see MSNBC.com reporting that, in the month of September, there were almost 125,000 bankruptcy filings. This is one of the highest months ever, since the bankruptcy laws had changed back in 2005. We are all waiting to see if the housing market is really starting to become more stable, and this then could help us to see this bankruptcy filing statistic go down, not up. It’s like a domino effect, once the housing market truly becomes stable, more people will hopefully be keeping their jobs because our nation’s consumers will begin to feel okay to spend money to keep our businesses open.
Leadpile will continue to monitor the legal industry, and will continue to try and connect some of these consumers needing legal help. Sometimes it is not a matter of filing bankruptcy, but just a case where someone needs to be connected with someone that can give them some much needed advice. Leadpile is generating bankruptcy leads, and will continue to do this as long as there is a need for these consumers to get help online.

Government Trying To Offer Customer Protection

Mari H. — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:05:48 +0000

With everything that has happened in the financial market in the last few years, many question if the responsibility falls on the consumer or the lenders (or both)? Is the responsibility of the lender to make sure the customer 100% know what they are signing, or it is the responsibility of the customer to ask questions if they do understand what they are signing? There are advocates on both sides, however the government now feels it needs to step in. NPR is reporting that Congress has drafted legislation that would allow the government to oversee all consumer financial products such as credit cards, mortgage loans and payday loans. This measure would prevent consumers from getting any sort of “loan” that they did not fully understand what they were signing. I am not quit sure how something like this can be regulated, but the government wants to step in and try to protect consumers in these sorts of situations. Many legislatures feel that the past behavior of our banks was that they would shop around till they found a lender that would take on their “unique” client situation. Unfortunately, what this caused was those “unique” consumers to then fall behind on their mortgages because they really can’t afford that mortgage.
No matter what, if you agree with government intervention in our financial market or not, the bottom line is our country needs something to change. The right answer is not always that easy to figure out, however one thing I do know is that to change our financial market there needs to be a combination of many people/groups that need to come together to protect customers…and sometimes protect the lenders (the good ones).

LeadPile Announces 61 Lead Verticals Served in past 30 Days

Eugen I. — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:36:25 +0000

*Phoenix June 30th, 2009* — LeadPile, The World’s Largest Online Exclusive Lead Exchange announced today record results for its [MicroClick Form](http://www.microclick.com) in June, 2009. LeadPile reports a record number of Lead Verticals being served by its MicroClick Form with Lead Sellers producing leads in 61 different verticals in the month of June. This makes the LeadPile MicroClick Form the most widely used Multi Vertical Lead Generation Form in the lead Marketplace and Lead Exchange Industry.

LeadPile’s Centralized Online Exclusive Lead Marketplace supports thousands of affiliates that use the exchange to sell to suitable lead buyers. By using the LeadPile MicroClick Form, Affiliates can focus on driving traffic to their pages and not on managing lead buyer relationships. Over 90% of LeadPile’s active affiliates are currently using the MicroClick form, offloading the responsibility for lead collection, management, technology infrastructure, and quality control to LeadPile.

Astoundingly, LeadPile’s MicroClick form has been used to produce leads as diversified as Tax Debt Relief, Home Improvements, Business Loans, Health Insurance, Equipment Leasing, Credit Card Processing, Cash For Gold and more.

Andrew Jacob, CEO of LeadPile says, “The LeadPile MicroClick Form allows us to handle leads across multiple verticals, including payday, starter credit, debt consolidation, credit repair, bankruptcy, auto financing, and homeowner. While the majority of leads currently being exchanged in the Marketplace are in the Financial sector, the fact that Lead Sellers are using the MicroClick form to produce leads in over 60 verticals is very rewarding for our team.

Jacob adds, “I would like to personally thank our existing Lead Buyers and Leads Sellers for their business, and it is our promise to everything we possible can to help them in their efforts by continuing to provide the type of technology infrastructure and transparency that they have come to both expect, and deserve, from LeadPile.

About LeadPile:

LeadPile (”LeadPile” or the “Company”) is the premier Lead Exchange, providing a central marketplace for the buying and selling of targeted consumers or “leads.” The Company’s system sits between lead buyers and sellers allowing them to conduct business in an efficient, exchange-driven environment providing value to both parties. The Company’s MicroClick form allows high traffic affiliates to merely place LeadPile-generated code on their pages in order to immediately produce leads. These leads are directly routed to the exchange for sale, thus the system allows affiliates to generate leads without creating a backend management system or managing lead buyer relationships. To read more, please visit http://www.LeadPile.com

Phoenix June 30th, 2009 — LeadPile, The World’s Largest Online Exclusive Lead Exchange announced today record results for its MicroClick Form (http://www.microclick.com) in June, 2009. LeadPile reports a record number of Lead Verticals being served by its MicroClick Form with Lead Sellers producing leads in 61 different verticals in the month of June. This makes the LeadPile MicroClick Form the most widely used Multi Vertical Lead Generation Form in the lead Marketplace and Lead Exchange Industry.

To read more, please visit http://www.LeadPile.com/

Google Dominates Search Engines, But How Much?

Mari H. — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 14:16:46 +0000

According to Hitwise.com, in the last month of 2008 Google accounted for 72.07% of US searches. I know, this is no surprise, but the part that caught my eye was what categories people were searching.

This article breaks down the subject matters that consumers searched for on Google, and I was a little surprised financial related searches were so far down on the list.

Of the people who searched on GOOGLE, here is what categories they searched:

Health and Medical 44.45%

Travel 36.24%

Shopping and Classifieds 25.81%

News and Media 20.54%

Entertainment 24.83%

Business and Finance 19.19%

Sports 13.33%

Online Video 33.69%

Social Networking 17.87%

Leadpile Lead Exchange deals a lot with financial lead types so this is a little surprising to me. People searching for a payday loan, new car, debt help and other finanicial assistance I would have thought would have more people looking versus the “travel”? Are people traveling these days and trying to find deals still? Maybe it is time to promote our vacation offer.

Big 3 Auto Makers Begging Congress For Help

Mari H. — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:02:04 +0000

According to Forbes.com, the big 3 auto makers have concluded testimonies in front of Congress. They are requesting emergency financial assistance and failed in their first attempt in front of Congress. Round 2- they get another chance to plea their case. However, Congress is looking to see if these big 3 auto makers actually have a plan in place. According to Forbes, “What they likely want to see is how the carmakers will lower their labor costs and develop more fuel-efficient cars U.S. consumers will want to buy. The companies are happy to lay out their future product plans, which include more hybrids, plug-in electric cars and new turbo-charged gasoline engines that sip fuel. But the rest is tougher to do.” Let’s see how the next week or so pans out for GM, Chrysler and Ford. My fingers are crossed for you.

Leadpile Lead Exchange, and I am sure all other lead companies, are hoping something positive comes out of the meeting with congress. We would love to see the demand pick back up!

Interest Rates Were Cut, But Will It Help?

Mari H. — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 21:18:41 +0000

Did you hear? The Fed cut a key interest rate today to 1%. This is the second time in 3 weeks that the feds have done this. So how is it going to affect the average consumer? The immediate answer is there is not going to be an immediate affect on consumers. However, there is some potential to see this benefit you in some way (maybe indirectly or down the road).

The problem is not necessarily that the rates are too high, however a lot of the issue is consumers who just don’t know if they can pay back the loan. This is a concern of the consumer and also for the lenders. At some point or another money has to start flowing through to consumers for loans and lenders have to lend it. Where does the waterfall effect begin so the economy can start heading in the right direction? I am not sure anyone knows the answer, but in the meantime Leadpile Lead Exchange will generate those leads of people looking for various financial assistance.
Stay tuned……………..

FACT or FICTION: Regulating The Payday Industry

Mari H. — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:16:14 +0000

The payday loan industry is getting a lot of attention, especially in the states of Ohio and Arizona. Those on the outside possibly do not fully understand the payday loan industry and there are some misconceptions about the short term loans.

Myth: Payday loan lenders do not want to be regulated.
FACT: According to CFSA, this is quit the contrary. Most payday lenders do want to be regulated and have certain industry guidelines. However, there are those that are trying to eliminate the industry as a whole, and not deal with keeping the “good guys” in business.
Currently, there are 37 states + the District of Columbia that have payday regulations. CFSA is working on trying to get regulations implemented on the remaining states, however they are not wanting to see the industry go extinct. Therefore, the question is… why is the payday loan industry going through such tough scrutiny, when in comparison with credit cards and other financial services there are similar costs/fees associated with them?
Leadpile Lead Exchange understands there are a lot of myths about payday loans, however the key is for those that are not fully educated on the industry, to read up to fully understand all aspects of this financial product compared to others. There is good to these types of loans, and they are sometimes very much needed.

Direct Mail Credit Card Offers

Mari H. — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:12:05 +0000

In light of what is going on the economy, direct mail credit card offers have continued to see a decline. According to DMNews, direct mail production has been continuing to fall since the 3rd quarter of 2007. Now things are probably getting worse for those issuing the credit cards, because of the tighter belt on lending guidelines. With costs high to do direct mail campaigns, and the inability to lend to as many people as they want, credit card issuers are having to face the idea of either cutting back, or looking at other options to generate business.
Leadpile Lead Exchange works with a lot of lead types relating to the financial industry, however generating credit card leads is not something we have had a recent demand for. Is this maybe something that will now change, as advertisers look for more cost effective ways to generate business? We certainly can look at generating this lead type if we have a high enough demand. However, maybe consumers overall will shy away from even applying for a credit card. I believe the payday loan industry will continue to strive to be the go-to lender consumers lean towards. Trying to get qualified for a “standard” credit card or loan, is going to be harder and harder these days to get.

Typical Payday Loan Customer

Mari H. — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 14:35:58 +0000

We all say…. ” I would never get a payday loan”, however do you realize who the standard payday loan customer really is? According to paydayfacts.org, there are some common factors about those taking out a payday loan.

1. The majority of payday advance customers earn between $25,000 and $50,000 annually.
2. Sixty-eight percent are under 45 years old and only 4 percent are over the age of 65.
3. Ninety-four percent have a high school diploma or better, and 56 percent have some college or a degree.
4. Forty-two percent own their own homes.
5. The majority are married and 64 percent have children in the household.
6. One hundred percent have steady incomes and active bank accounts, because both are required to receive a payday loan.

Do any of these statistics surprise you? At one point of another we will all go through some sort of hardship, and potentially a payday loan or other short term loan might be your saving grace.
Leadpile Lead Exchange understands there are many people who need a little extra “help”, in receiving a payday loan. We generate thousands of payday loan leads each day, and these people I am sure really need the assistance.

Ohio Payday Lending continued….

Mari H. — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:22:59 +0000

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.