Leadpile’s Blog

Has Facebook gone to far by implementing “social plug-ins” on over 100,000 sites?

This plug-in is allowing Facebook to bring users friends lists to external sites and showing them their friends’ activity. For example, a news site could show you which stories your Facebook contacts have been reading and recommending. You can easily “like” a site by clicking the plug-in and not having to actually sign into Facebook.

Some sites like IMDB which allows members to share their favorite movies and TV shows on their profiles have seen more then 350,000 “likes’ since integrating the plug-in.

Facebook recently conducted a poll in the US between adults 18-34 and those over 34 to take a deeper look at the users perception of the Facebook brand. The poll was based on -100 to 100. While the 18-34 demographic rose from 32.8 to 44.8 the older group slid from 26.7 to 21.2

What group do you fall in? Has Facebook gone to far with possibly sharing users private information?

A couple years ago, there was an article that came out about the impact of the Google and does it really make us not use our brains? The verdict on this is up in the air, but one group did a study to detmine the impact the internet has on all of us. This study found that actually the internet helps to make us all smarter. “Most of the respondents also said the Internet would improve reading and writing by 2020, according to the study, conducted by the Imagining the Internet Center at Elon University in North Carolina and the Pew Internet and American Life project. Three out of four experts said our use of the Internet enhances and augments human intelligence, and two-thirds said use of the Internet has improved reading, writing and the rendering of knowledge, said study co-author Janna Anderson, director of the Imagining the Internet Center.”
I think studies like this have come up, determining if the internet really affects our intelligence, because the use of the internet and the power of it are indescribable. What else is there in this world that has so much inpact and access to so many people in this world? Of course there are going to be skeptics that think that it is making us “stupid”, but then again (like this study) many feel that the internet is truly something that is changing the way we think. So what do YOU think? OR don’t you?

Surveys & polls are often times a way to determine the public’s opinion on issues relating to politics, entertainment, business, and sometimes off the wall topics.  There is a website you can go to that allows you to see people’s opinion on literally ANYTHING you could imagine.   Buzzdash.com allows anyone to create a new survey (buzzbites) on whatever topic they want. Some of these buzzbites are about some really off the wall topics, but still very interesting to read about! Buzzbites can even be put on your own website to capture the opinion on any desired topic.

View real-time popular opinion on a range of timely issues.
Express opinions by voting or commenting on individual issues.
Post individual buzzbites to personal web pages, blogs or emails.
Create buzzbites for personal use, for submission to BuzzDash, or both.

Leadpile Lead Exchange should maybe come up with a buzzbite for our website, about various subject matters we are sometimes trying to determine amongst our marketplace.  So, is there anything you want to know the public’s opinion on?  This is the place to go to gather that information! Go take a look…. you might learn something!

Twitter has become a phenomenon. People connect to each other, following each other, and I guess create a different type of network. Even at a point where Evan Williams doesn’t know exactly how to monetize it, he is improving the core of the platform. Slowly, but surely, it’s becoming one of the new “things to do” online. From the networking perspective, Twitter is offering an amazing opportunity for companies out there to keep their readers informed with what is going on at the current moment. Apparently, even the journalists can make some extra money by releasing the news to their subscribers before the article shows in the paper. Of course the subscribers should pay a membership fee.

Leadpile will most likely use Twitter as well, keeping our clients informed with what is going on in the office. We can update the clients on new offers, increase in payouts, or the addition of new buyers in a certain verticals.

If you are using the Twitter, please follow our messages … Just search for vp_leadpile on Twitter, and you will find me.

Exchanges, marketplace, networks, lead providers, lead generators or all the above are places any advertiser/lead buyer can purchase leads.  How ever or where ever you get your leads, there are going to be variations in the conversions you have as a advertiser.  Why is this?  One large factor is the end user- the person/company that purchases the lead has a major affect on how well purchased leads convert.

A recent article on Lead Market Watch brought up some good points about lead buyers providing performance data to the lead provider. As a lead buyer, you want to get the most amount of leads at the least amount of cost to your company. Also, having the highest conversions to sales with the least amount of money invested in these leads is very important. Therefore, would you be cutting off your own feet if you provided how the leads are specifically performing to the company that provided them to you? When things aren’t going so well, the natural thing to do is always complain and express that. However, should you tell the lead company what the results of these leads was, in order to provide them with specific information on the lead providers bringing in the leads? Would providing this information eventually promote the exhange/network etc to increase the cost per lead if they are seeing the specific success you are having? These are a lot of tough questions that I am sure have a lot of different opinions on.
Here are Leadpile Lead Exhange we welcome lead buyers to provide conversions to us and also any potential issues with the leads. The more information we have on the leads the more we can help the next guy that is wanting to buy leads from us.
On a side note, each buyer of leads is going to have different ways of working leads they purchase. Knowing that, it is hard to actually compare apples to apples with leads. Knowing overall specifics of the leads and the companies buying them, will also help us to see any sort of consistancy on that lead type.
Some other questions lead providers might be curious to know are:
1. How long is your sales cycle?
2. How quickly do you call the leads you purchase?
3. How many times to you call the leads?
4. How many leads does it take for your company to get an application?
5. How many applications does it take for you to get a sale?
6. Approximately what kind of cost/fees does the customer absord for your service?
This information can be very helpful to any company that is providing leads, however there could be some information that is just not something that the lead buyers want to provide.

There is generation “X” and baby boomers that we all hear about, however have you ever heard of Generation “V”? Generation V is the generation of the future… the generation that is dealing with online EVERYTHING. Unlike the other generations, Generation V is not defined by an age, gender, social class or where they live. However, this generation is based on what they can and have achieved, accomplishments, and an increasing desire for the use of digital media channels to discover information and build knowledge. If you are a company that is not online… you better be soon!
According to marketingcharts.com, 80% of generation V will be “lurkers”. These are people that will reap the rewards of the online world. Others are trying to be apart of the online world by participating in the activites such as blog posts, forums, and YouTube. Those is previous years did not do such things to keep an online presence, however this is something that companies need to take a look at when dealing with how they market their company online. Defined demographics of consumers are a way of the past, because it is getting harder and harder to determine those that are online and buying the product.
Companies must change around how their online presence is represented, because so many people are using the internet as their only source for information and other key aspects to their daily lives. Why is it though that many create accounts in places such as dating sites, email providers and blogs, that is not themselves (anonymous)? Are they trying to protect themselves from people knowing who they really are? Not sure on why Generation V does this, but we will see how much more the online world really affects various things such as retail, dating, lead generation and other up and coming industries.
I have to say the publishers I work with in the Leadpile Lead Exchange are mostly going to be considered Genration V. These are people that live, breath and do everything around the internet.
We welcome all generations to our marketplace, but I have a feeling there will be much more Generation V making up the Leadpile Lead Exchange!

I am an election board worker at my local polling place, and every year when it gets closer to election time I get excited and a little concerned as to what changes there may be for the  election that I am working. Changes in the law happen every election, even if it is only from September to November, and there are so many laws to remember. Which party can vote this ballot, what time do we open/close the polls, what happens if someone gets sick while working and many other things that may or may not happen.  I always enjoy the day and really have fun mostly when handing out stickers that say “I voted today” to those who voted. Some people even ask for the stickers when they don’t get them right way. Those sticker shows everyone how proud they are to have voted every year when a Senator, Congressman, or Representative gets elected.

To me when I hear people complain about things I often wonder if they are doing something about it. The best way to make your voice heard is to get out and vote. Don’t sit and complain and then if things don’t get better or change think that you can’t make a difference. Every voice heard is one more for change. In Maricopa county we had a large number of independent voters attempt to vote in the Presidential primary and I don’t think that has happened in the past. they were not allowed to vote because it was a party preference election but they still came out to make their voices heard. They wanted to make a difference whether it mattered or not in the final count. It mattered to them.

To make sure that you are registered to vote check with your local recorders office. Also make sure that your records are up to date so that you don’t end up going to the wrong place to vote and have to travel to another polling area wait in another line and then vote.  Next step is to make sure you know where your local polling place is. That information is vital to voting as well as knowing if you are registered.  You also need to check to see what kind of ID is required. In Arizona you need 2 forms of ID.  Remember what dates your elections are on. All elections should be listed on your local recorders web site.  It is very important to learn what you can about the candidates. You want to be an informed voter and not just vote for someone just because you “think” they will do a good job.  You can always volunteer to be a poll worker. Since you are going to the polls anyways. You get to meet your neighbors and I know I always have fun. I get to work at my daughter school so we always eat lunch together. Most important is to get out and VOTE! It can make a difference.

http://www.canivote.org/

According to DMNews last week, recent correspondence sent out by some lawmakers, internet and broadband companies will be taking a look at the advertising they are doing. For example, internet companies track what websites and other details of what their customers are doing online. This information is then used by the internet companies to provide some targeted advertising. Depending on what websites the customer goes to, the internet companies will send out target ads that they think the consumers will be interested in.
Should internet service providers be able to capture all the websites you visit on a daily basis, and use that information to then target specific advertising? Is this considered going too far in order for them to do their advertising?
Yahoo is now allowing you to make that decision and choose to opt-out of them doing this sort of “information gathering”. Maybe other internet service providers will follow in their foot steps. There has to at some point some guidelines that should be followed in order to have some level or privacy, in this BIG BIG internet world.

To build your business you must come up with ways to bring in new clients, however each business will have their own “right” way of generating this new business. A few options businesses have is to work with list brokers and to work with lead exchanges.
List brokers are companies that gather data of things such as home owners, consumers information in certain geographic regions, fax numbers, email lists, businesses and many many more. These are lists of people or businesses that meet the specific requirements the business is looking for.
Lead exchanges are a common platform for buyers AND sellers of WEB based leads. These are consumers specifically looking for a particular product or service.

The biggest difference amongst these two sources, of generating business, is the consumer/business is expressing the interest in something. They are “opting in” to receive more information about the particular product or service. Things such as the Do Not Call list do not apply to these consumers that are filling out a request for information. However, list brokers are dealing with general lists and MUST be scrubbed with the Do Not Call Registry. Those that are purchasing lists for various email marketing, SMS marketing, or other advertising purposes need to make sure that they are scrubbing their lists, to prevent any penalties being enforced.

Purchasing leads that are very targeted, real time, exclusive, and consumers/businesses that are WANTING information is probably going to show more success. One is like working a “warm” lead VS a “cold” lead. Why not call someone who wanted your product or service VS trying to add the extra step of trying to hard sell a consumer, and then have to deal with a potential longer sales process?
Leadpile Lead Exchange works with intelligent advertisers who know working with high quality web based leads, produces a higher return on their investment, versus buying lists and making the “cold” calls.

According to CNBC there is a great new website being rolled out by the same company that owns Lending Tree and Ask.com- LIFE123.com.

We all use the internet as a source for information no matter what the topic is. Searching for information on the internet has truly become something we are “addicted” to. Well, there are a lot of resources available to search for information, besides just the search engines.
This great new website is a source for information that you will want to know more about. This site could be compared to such sites as About.com or chacha.com (which I did a previous post on).

What is Life123.com?
Life123 is the place to start when you need some answers to some questions you have about pretty much anything. The web site is full of experts that can help people quickly find information on a wide range of life topics.

Why Life123?
More and more, people are using search engines, however we are not always getting the information we need. According to the life123 website, roughly 75% of Americans experience search engine fatigue. Everyone has spent hours looking for information without finding what they really need.

What does Life123 cover?
Life123 covers 11 life categories: Beauty; Style, Celebrations, Food; Drink, Health; Wellness, Home; Garden, Money, Parenting; Family, Relationships, Technology, Travel; Leisure, and Work.

Enjoy LIFE!

I heard about this service called Ask Sunday on the radio and I was curious about it so I checked out the website.  It’s a personal assistant for those of us who can’t afford one like the stars or the truly wealthy have. NOW WE CAN! with Ask Sunday we can get the help of a personal assistant, someone who schedules appointments, makes general purchases like flowers and small gifts purchased online or over the phone, search for a plumber, electrician or a guy to re-roof your house for you. 

They can also work on those pesky projects we all lose time working on. Gathering information off of all those websites to put into 1 page of info for your boss, transcribe a meeting, or many other things that they have listed on the web site.  They also have full service travel agents who can help plan your next vacation. No matter what it is. Need help Fixing your computer. They can also help with that.

All this does come at a price though. They have packages that you can choose from depending on what your needs are.  Lite, Silver and Gold. Silver is the most popular at 30 days for 15 requests at $39.00 and 90 days for 45 requests at $89.00. Each additional task is only $1.75.

Here at Leadpile we can help you with all your lead buying and selling requests and it does not cost a thing. Just a phone call or an email and we will assist you the best way we know how. The Leadpile Way!