Leadpile’s Blog

Chicago, IL: Grades 9-12 (High School)

Our Monthly Donation goes to Chicago, IL for the project “Documenting Student Leadership”.

Here is what the teacher says: “My students are looking for leadership opportunities within our school. I am starting a Student Leadership Committee designed to address student concerns and community building. I have a strong desire to document the process by taping the meetings, projects, events, assemblies and student reflections about the process and the results.” 

We wish them good luck with the project, and we thank all our business partners for helping in making a change in the world! 

MicroClick Ads Turning Affiliate Marketing Upside Down, Reports LeadPile

Phoenix, Arizona -July 8th, 2008 — Within three weeks of announcing the introduction of their new “MicroClick Ads”, LeadPile has created quite a buzz in Affiliate Marketing Circles throughout the United States, Canada, and the UK. Leadpile, The World’s Largest Online Exclusive Lead Marketplace, or Lead Exchange, has reported that the MicroClick Ads have contributed to a 17% increase in production for selected Lead Publishers, and have helped LeadPile to continue its position as the leader in the Lead Exchange Revolution.

What are MicroClicks? Simply put, MicroClick Ads are very small single page mini sites that open a new window enabling Affiliate Publishers to have much more control over their own sites than with “Old Fashioned Affiliate Programs”. The MicroClick ads are a tremendous innovation for Publishers desiring to monetize their traffic. To see what everyone in Affiliate Marketing is talking about, please visit http://www.leadpile.com/microsites.html

The MicroClick Ads give Publishers total control over their own site giving them more compelling monetization opportunities for their content.  For the first time ever, Leadpile’s MicroClick Ads place Publishers in total control of their own sites, and their own income because MicroClick ads are located their own Websites, and secured on Leadpile’s Secured Servers. MicroClick Ads have been designed for those Publishers knowledgeable with HTML and JavaScript, and those who are not. Inserting the MicroClick ads into a website is fast, simple, and easy.

Andy Jacob, Founder of Leadpile, says “There is absolutely no limit to the number of MicroClick Ads a Publisher can place on a site. All they need to do with their site is to target each keyword that they want, add the simple code automatically provided by the LeadPile System, and the LeadPile Lead Exchange does the rest. Jacob says, “This could be a game changer for Affiliate Marketing as we know it.”

About LeadPile:

Leadpile, the World’s Largest Exclusive Online Lead Marketplace/Lead Exchange, offers the Lead-Gen “Space” the Largest, centralized location for Buyers and Sellers of Exclusive Leads to engage in an exclusive  Lead Exchange, or Lead Marketplace. The Leadpile Marketplace allows the Originators of Leads, and the Lead Buyers themselves, to decide what price they are each willing to sell, and buy, their leads at, and the way in which the lead delivery will take place. Visit LeadPile at http:///www.leadpile.com , or visit the Lead Exchange Blog at http://www.leadpile.com/lead-exchange-blog.

Yes, correct! In a lead exchange the pricing is market driven.  Payday and Auto Financing are truly the most critical to monitor.  Why?  Simple, the end user, payday companies and auto groups, are looking for exclusive, unique, and qualified leads.  Top tier bidders will get first look and the opportunity to buy leads that are authentic and precise to filters set up.

Many companies use softwares such as CL Verify or Teletrack, that checks for factuality against SS#’s and DOB, and a few other filters.  Software such as these are a benefit to the online verification method that large organizations entitle to run a smooth and prosperous business.  

In a lead exchange, publishers should be alert at the placement of their campaign and the ranking that they hold.  I would never suggest to pay a price that you are not seeing a good ROI on your campaign, but I am suggesting not to be cheap.  You need great qualified leads? That will consist of becoming aggressive.  See when you do the math its pretty simple.  Your cheap, you pay $10 for a payday lead, and you are not converting as many as you like.  Then your upset.  Well lets talk about reality.  You probably have 20 other companies competing for the same lead, bidding more than you, hence, they are buying your leads! Yes, I said your leads!  The more competent and genuine leads that could have been closed by you.

Be at a comfort level that you are seeing a significant amount of conversions.  Larger companies are successful for one reason! They became aggressive and were in a competitive market.  Come straight to the source and pay less for your applicants that need your assistance now!

One more thought to absorb is that in a lead exchange of advertisers and publishers, publishers have the opportunity to set up their minimum price point, just as advertisers can set up the price to pay.  Therefore, if your bid price is too low, you are missing out on some strong potential publishers that are using their marketing revenue in Google AdWords for example, to generate high quality traffic, and its skipping your campaign due to your bargain bid. 

Take this as good advice and monitor your campaigns, you need to be aware that higher tiers will have the chance to accept a lead before you do!

Who could ever imagine Starbucks famous for those fabulous Lattes and Frappuccinos we all love, White Mocha being my personal favorite,  would be closing down 600 stores by 2009 according to NY Times.  Initially, Starbucks plans were to only close 100 stores but with the housing crises that affected California and Florida the hardest, which is a large region that Starbucks covered, Starbucks has definitely been struck as well.

Starbucks is now closing 70% of their newest stores that have been open less than 3 years.  As of Sept 30th, 2007 they had 6,973 stores worldwide.  That’s leaving 12,000 people unemployed, doing the math its  7% of their global workforce.  Sad to see so many cheerful employees go. 

So not only is gas pricing going up, housing going down, cost of food increasing but now Starbuck is shutting down doors.  Well, with a cup of coffee averaging $4-$5 society simply cannot afford it. 

So your asking how is this related to the Lead Industry? 

• JOBS – More Home Based Business Opportunity Seekers
• DEBT – Credit card debt will rise as some will continuously charge their credit card to get by.
• MORTGAGE- More consumers taking equity and refinancing to pay bills.
• PAYDAY LOANS – Loosing your job is not easy, the average person lives paycheck by paycheck more payday loan request will be demanded. 
• INSURANCE – More demand for health insurance and life insurance coverage.
• BANKRUPTCY-More consumers filing bankruptcy buried in debt.   

Consumers will be in big need of your help!  Starbucks is just an example of how the economic struggle is affecting not just individuals but companies as well.  A lead exchange will help companies offer services to consumers in need.  More demand in the financial space that’s for sure.  

Welcome back to an innovated blog that I hope you will find useful and enjoy!

I wanted to show you how LeadPile’s delivery schedule works.  When creating a real time campaign in your account our lead exchange is design to fit your schedule.  If you are looking for specific times or dates, it can be done!  We are honored not only in providing you with quality real time leads but also to providing leads that will meet your best time to communicate with consumers.  We understand that because these leads are real time, you most likely want to be present when you get the lead.  Therefore, you can update your campaigns to fit your days or hours.  

Its easy, so simple you’ll love it! Here’s how to set it up.

• Click on the name of your campaign
• Click on the option called “Delivery Schedule”
• Select your hours prefer
• Select your days of preference
• Exclude or include any important dates.

That’s it.. Its that simplistic.   LeadPile, lead exchange the worlds largest lead marketplace is unique in making it easy to get started. You will benefit from using your delivery schedule to contact consumers in a timely manner, touch base when their interest is the hottest, have an opportunity to get them on the phone instantly and of course make it effective for you to work leads within your hours of work. 

It’s a pretty amazing world we’re living in!!. Globalization is more real than ever. Everyday. our Lead Exchange is seeing people from all around the globe joining our Marketplace.

 They start just by creating an account with us and the next day we see hundreds of leads generated by their websites targeting US traffic.

 Thomas L. Friedman, in his book entitled “The World is Flat”, has captured the idea of globalization in a very distinctive way, and now we can see it materialized inside our business.  “The world has been flattened. As a result of the triple convergence, global collaboration and competition — between individuals and individuals, companies and individuals, companies and companies, and companies and customers — have been made cheaper, easier, more friction-free, and more productive for more people from more corners of the earth than at any time in the history of the world.”

The stories you hear from these people are very inspiring, and we are more than proud to be involved in an industry that can create opportunities and give people a chance for a better life, no matter where they are on the globe. 

This is a testimonial by one of our publisher who has received rave reviews for their Lead Exchange quality from Thailand: 

“I would just like to say, Leadpile.com is the best, I’m more than happy with Leadpile’s lead sellers program. Leadpile’s customer support is excellent and they are always willing to help. As high conversion rate and high payout on selling leads at Leadpile.com, I would recommend Leadpile.com to everyone!”

Nanthawan K.

We thank NK., and all the other thousands of publishers around the world  who have become part of our lives.

What do you find in a lead exchange?  Do you know if a lead exchange is the right place for you?  Need leads for your team or even for yourself? 

Well, let me tell you!  A lead exchange is a perfect place to fill in all your needs.  Whether you are a big corporation with hundreds of staffs or just a casual starter working from home, a lead exchange is right for you!  See, here is where you can find leads on a real time basis or simply hand select the ones you prefer.  It will assist you in increasing your business. 

We have leads that are full applications when you consider all the information that is captured, as well as basic general contact information that you can feed to your sales force that will bring in more business.  Whether you are a broker, loan officer, realtor, sales person, consultant, or even a financial institution, a lead marketplace is right for you.  

A well known lead exchange such as LeadPile focuses on so many different lead types you would truly be amazed at what we have done and have to offer.  We can easily get integrated, or just send leads in simplistic email format.  We can even start up a new lead types if you demand it!

You can buy as you go.  You can even sell as you go.  Wow, what technology in this day in age has conquered.  A lead exchange works with advertisers and publishers and find the right solution to increase your ROI (return on investment) and helps monitor your traffic to get the best possible out of your traffic.

It decreases the headaches of having to figure out how to generate your own leads.  You can save time and money by simply investing your marketing dollars and receiving consumers needing help immediately! The lead exchange is a true benefit for your company!

Just in one week after the Offers and MicroClick ads were released, the volume of Payday/Cash Advance Leads, have exploded in our Lead Marketplace/Lead Exchange. The Buyers we currently have are very excited about the new developments, and as a result of our continuing effort to bring valuable leads in the lead-gen space, we’ve seen a tremendous increase in quality and volume.

Thanks to our publishers and their amazing creativity, our Offers (banners and text ads), together with the MicroClick Ads, are placed on spots that we never thought of, starting with confirmation pages, exit traffic or direct traffic to pages that have an amazing volume of traffic. Two of the things that were very attractive to our publishers, was the fact that our MicroClick ads would load really fast and that our Microsites are on secured sites (HTTPS). The secured sites alone has increased the CVR (conversion rate) with almost 14%.

Faster, better and more alternatives is the key to succeed in an industry where everything changes continuously.

Any suggestions are welcomed, as our commitment is to make the Payday Leads vertical a stronger and better vertical for every everyone involved in Leadpile’s Lead Marketplace/Lead Exchange.

I saw a news story last week that reminded me of something else I had recently read on Andy Jacob’s SuperCloser that I had to check out. Mr. Jacob stated that he read in the LA times a story about a San Diego Developer that was giving away a house in Escondido to whoever purchased a house in the San Pasqual Valley.

 Ironically I then heard an ad on the radio about a Phoenix builder, giving away a Toyota Prius if you purchase “green” home in Queen Creek, Arizona, or in a 55+ community in Peoria, Arizona. No other upgrades just a new Hybrid car.

 There was then a man that was trying to sell a 2 million dollar home. As an incentive he partnered with a local BMW dealership to let the buyer choose 1 of 6 of their $65,000.00 BMW’s, and the homeowner was going to pay for it.

 These are all genius ways to get their names out there to the public.  These stories have been done in the news or on the internet in hopes to generate some interest in selling some homes in this slumping housing market. Is this a new and creative way to generate interest in selling a home?  Other ways of selling the home were not successful?  I guess the logic is the more people talking and reading about this interesting scenario, the more their name or brand will get out there to people who may not have heard of them. Free advertising? …….or is it really desperate measures to get rid of a home that would not sell any other way?  I will say one thing:  very creative!  They caught my attention.

Who are the underbanked?

Pamela Yip of the Dallas News had a very good article about the underbanked. According to Yip, The Center for Financial Services Innovation recently released the results of its study that attempts to more closely define who are the underbanked.

According to Yip, they fall into 8 categories.

•“Cash Is King” – These consumers are most likely to rely on cash for their financial transactions and are the least likely to have bank accounts. They have much lower household incomes than other segments and are more apt to be struggling to make ends meet.

•”The Next Wave” –Consumers in this segment are trying their best to make ends meet and hope to reach financial goals, such as owning a home. Cash plays an important role for them. They want to save money and are interested in earning interest but are still less likely to have banking relationships.

•”The Strivers” – Strivers take an active role in their money management. They’re active users of bank accounts and engage in many financial transactions. But some strivers don’t have checking accounts, citing privacy concerns.

•”Middle of the Road” – Middle of the Road adults are also active financial money managers. Most have bank accounts.

They are less likely to have come from families who have banked. They’re most likely to make their financial transactions in a stand-alone bank or credit union because they find the employees most friendly and helpful.

•”My Way” – Members of this group are more likely than other groups to have a bank account. But they make frequent bank and nonbank transactions at various places – including convenience stores. They want convenience. And they’re leery of hidden fees or high minimum balances.

•”The Savers” – As the name implies, saving money is their key reason to have bank accounts. Keeping money secure is also a key reason for these accounts. They make frequent transactions at nonbank places like supermarkets, convenience stores and discount/dollar stores.

•”Almost There” –These consumers are more likely than others to be part of traditional financial institutions and are more comfortable making transactions in a bank/credit union than nonbank settings. They prefer banks or credit unions that are contained within a store rather than stand-alone buildings.

•”Borrowers” – These consumers borrow money frequently. They have had student loans, personal loans, lines of credit, home equity loans, payday loans, and auto loans – all at higher rates than the average adult. They still make transactions at supermarkets and convenience stores but most have bank accounts.

The underbanked study is very good information for lead buyers and sellers attempting to increase their ROI’s.. According to Yip, there are  40 million underbanked households . For Internet marketers, this may be an incredible long-term opportunity to assist these important, and underserved customers.

After reading an article today on DMnews I found it very interesting when they were discussing an additional way for business owners to monetize their websites more with an automative system.  For instance, there are consumers that navigate around on websites and would like to speak with a live person about questions or needs they have.  The product or service the website is offering is maybe not cut and dry like buying a new pair of shoes. Therefore, companies are now implementing a new telephone application system called TAP (telephony application provider).  This is a system that can be integrated with these website owners that allows them to put a “call” button on their website for consumers to click on.  This button does not ring the consumer to their office or phone, but instead it routes them through an answering system that filters the calls properly.

A phone system is a high expense potentially for business owners, however with this system it is rented by the business owner.  This saves some cost for the business, yet allows the consumers looking for help to be converted to potential sales.  So why not just get an 800# and have consumers call that number when they are on the website wanting questions answered?  Some websites might have too much traffic on their site and not be able to handle the calls themselves, and can not afford routing the calls to a call center.  Some website owners are simply that – website-owners not offices with a bunch of employees and an office full of people to take care of calls.  However, this website owner wants to not let potential clients slip through the cracks and not get questions answered if they are on the website.  This system can potentially save money for that business by directing the phone traffic correctly,  and this system will also help with the lead generation follow up.  These systems have the ability to be programed to answer some basic questions and properly direct the consumers.  Is sounds to me like an automative receptionsist, but costs the business a lot less money.

So how does this impact money made on the website and lead generation?  Businesses have websites because it is less expensive to run a business through a website, instead of through a regular office.  However, if there is business on the table and clients coming to the website, these companies will not always have the people just submitting the request to purchase the produce or service (lead).  Therefore, businesses must come up with cost effective ways to capture the attention of those that need additional help.  This system allows them to generate leads from their website, in addition help confused customers become sales also.  Some consumers would simply leave the website if there was no phone number to call or to get any kind of help.  Sounds like a great idea for the average small to midsize business with limited funds, but looking to make the most money they can on their website!  Every customer is just as important as the next……

What is an actual valid return in the a lead marketplace?  Did you know that some Companies have a certain percentage or a number of leads that you are allowed to return?  We always talk about the lead gens, but what about the companies that are buying these leads?  Are they truly returning invalid leads or are they trying to return good valid leads?

Aside from a disconnected phone number or wrong number, what is a valid reason?  It will definitely depend on the lead type.  

If your buying leads on a CPL basis don’t expect every lead to close. So you come across these companies that when they don’t make a sale they want to return the lead for any whimsical reason.  We need to be fair.  If our not buying leads on a CPS basis then take it as a cost of doing business.  Protecting publishers that are spending revenue to generate leads is also an important factor.  Advertisers must be fair in what they return.  If the lead acknowledges submitting the request but they just don’t qualify for YOUR program.  That is still considered a valid lead.

Remember that some marketplaces have certain percentage or number of leads to return.  That’s not right. If a lead a bad its bad return it.  But if its good then make the sale and buy more.  

I know that the economic crunch right now affect part of our society, but for God’s sake lets be clear on how business should be done. 

Here are valid reasons for returns:

• Not a working number
• Wrong number
• Person did not fill out request
• Bogus contact information

That’s it! Ask yourself.  Are you here to cry about the leads or work the leads?  If you have leads that are interested, CLOSE THEM! A strong company doesn’t complain they ask for more! They are here to do serious business and they need our help to increase their ROI. So get back to work an close those leads!