Leadpile’s Blog

In past years, the internet did not play a big part in a company’s product sales.  Today, this is certainly not the case. The internet is a major player in generating revenue for all industries. Specifically, financial related websites are very popular for consumers to find out information and also purchase items. Leadpile Lead Exchange is no different. The highest demanded leads in our marketplace are financial related lead types. These are companies wanting to provide financial services to consumers looking for assistance.
The auto industry is also no different than our marketplace, and other companies generating business online. According to DMNews, internet generated car sales will rise from 5.1 millions in 2007 to 7.7 million in 2012. This means that auto makers, no matter what their future status is, need to be visible on the internet in order to generate car sales. This would mean that with the tight economy and not as many people out shopping for a car, auto makers must utilize search engines and SEO efforts to get the much needed attention of consumers. DMNews also stated that Nissan North America, Chrysler and GM have done the best with utilizing search marketing.
So does this also mean that those auto lead exchanges that are not focusing on any other lead type are suffering right now? My guess would be yes. Leadpile Lead Exchange is also feeling the effects of less consumers online looking for a new car, however that is why diversifying the lead types we generate is so very important. People are in dire need of other financial services besides just getting a new car, and we want to be able to help with that.

   Well it is that time again, Ad-tech New York is happening in a little over a week, and it will be represented by all the top advertisers in the country. This conference has been around for more than 10 years bringing together media, marketing and technical professions. According to ad-tech.com, “As the digitization of media continually redefines the business of marketing, it is ad:tech’s mission to provide brand advertisers, agencies, portals, online publishers and technology providers an unparalleled forum – one that supports the exchange of ideas, experiences, new practices, emerging models and expert opinion.”

Leadpile Lead Exchange will be attending the conference. This conference allows businesses to meet current partners and also look at setting up new partnerships. We look forward to seeing old faces and new faces. If you are planning on being there, we would love to see you! Let us know!
Leadpile would also like to say thanks to all the affiliates we are currently working with, and those that come on board with this Brilliant Lead Exchange!

The PPC gurus love the MicroClick ads and especially the MicroClick Form. Why? Because no PPC expert would want their traffic wasted, especially on broken links, or crowded pages with banners and text links. 

We all know that the CVR is extremely important when we pay for clicks. If we pay $3.00 or more on a click, we want to make sure that the consumer is going to click on an add, and go all the way to a conversion – a lead. That is going to determine the profit we make out the money spent on Adwords or any other PPC search engine. 

Our affiliates love the MicroClick Form because it’s co-branded and not only that, it’s compact. Being compact and easy to integrate in a website will maximize their CVR. The “call to action” is there, and it can be added on every single page of your site. That’s important, because you will have the consumer focused on the Form no matter what they read or on what page they are. 

In addition to the Form, we have added the MicroClick Ads. That helps the publishers that have blogs, or any other sites with a lot of content (and the SEO experts know what I am talking about). 

The PPC gurus know how to generate leads, drive traffic and optimize their campaigns. Not all are good designers, or some they are, but don’t have the time to waste time designing new sites. That’s where Leadpile can help again – we design the sites for them, host the site for them, or zip it and send it to them. All the ads and forms are integrated in their site, with no cookie tracking needed – that’s what we call an Affiliate Marketing Revolution. 

Leadpile can give you the real deal, exquisite treatment, no matter how small you are. 

In today’s world there are many things that have changed in a advertising sense. One of the largest changes that has happened is in the way in which advertisers advertise towards women. There are more women in the career role, running a business and buying high priced items for their home. I found this article on Phoenix Business Journal very interesting. For instance, they stated:

*Women business owners spend $1.5 trillion on business purchases.
*In today’s world, age is less important than life stage, e.g., 60-year-old women are dating, 50-year-olds are starting new careers and 40-year-olds are having children.
*Women purchase (or influence the purchase of) 85 percent of all consumer goods including automobiles, investments and computers, which were traditionally viewed as male-domain items.
*Advertising that makes a woman feel uncomfortable about her looks or health will have a hard time reaching an audience willing to purchase its product.

More businesses are realizing these facts and starting to adjust how they market their products online, through television, and print media. In previous years, selling your product or service was something you had to appeal to a man, however as we can see things are changing.
With the Leadpile Lead Exchange we deal with all sorts of lead types and all sorts of demographics of consumers and advertisers. The key for our marketplace to be effective is not only diversify what lead types we are working with, but also understand that publishers doing effective marketing to generate the leads is really important. To do effective lead generation, you must know details about the product and service you are generating leads for, AND you must understand who are the potential people you need to attract in this market.

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!

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!

According to DMNews Friday, Chrysler announces that it is going to be launching 3 different campaigns to excite female buyers to go out and purchase a new Chrysler. Chrysler realizes that the female has a large part in the final decision, when couples purchase a car. This new marketing plan is also a direct response to a down turn in sales through July. “Chrysler sales were down 23% through July (compared to 11% for US car sales overall) and Chrysler brands ranked at or below the industry average in a Uni­versity of Michigan consumer satisfaction survey, according to The New York Times. Sales for the Jeep Grand Cherokee fell 48% this July and those of its flagship sedan, the 300, slipped 39%,” according to DMNews.
Bottom line is sales for cars are down, and sales for SUVs are down dramatically. Chrysler is trying to maybe narrow down where there is some room to get some sales going, in this struggling car industry. However, can it work?
Chrysler is utilizing a direct mail campaign to millions of women in hopes of sparking some interest. Combining incentives from some partnering companies, in addition to pre approvals, this should hopefully spark some women to go out and get a new car, or at least sway the decision their spouse was looking at for their next new car. We shall see if this campaign is effective, and also if some other auto makers try to get creative on their marketing to lure in more customers.
Hey Chrysler… if you need some auto finance leads contact Leadpile Lead Exchange. We are generating a lot of volume in this arena and would love to help you get your sales up!

There has been some recent blog posts by myself and my peers, regarding the Affiliate Summit Boston we recently attended. After attending this particular show, I could not believe all the new companies that are becoming a part of the Affiliate Marketing world. Companies that you would not expect are getting into affiliate marketing. The fact is these publishers and advertisers are realizing they are going to reach more people through the internet, versus other advertising methods.

According to Jupiter Research, “In 2008, online marketers will spend $2.1 billion on affiliate marketing fees, with US online affiliate marketing spending reaching $3.3 billion in 2012.” Companies from Sandels Vacations to Overstock.com are getting in on affiliate marketing. Companies like the idea of getting involved in affiliate marketing because there is not much cost to them to do this, and the cost that is involved is performance based. This means that if you have an affiliate program and there is no success, than there is no loss of revenue for the company. This low risk advertising is one of the reasons affiliate marketing is becoming such a large part of the marketing world.
Unfortunately, with the greatness of affiliate marketing there comes some bad. There are some unethical affiliates who are not always doing the “right” thing. This sort of behavior is something companies will just have to continue to monitor, to maintain the greatness of their affiliate programs.
Searching forums, blogs and other online information about affiliate marketing is key to perfecting it. Leadpile Lead Exchange will continue to be involved in events such as the Afffiliate Summit, and other online affiliate marketing forums.

KNOWLEDGE = power
AFFILIATE MARKETING = building your business

As the Affiliate Summit Boston 2008 comes to a close, we would like to thank all of our affiliates for a great show. We would also like to say thank you to the city of Boston, for providing a beautiful place to have an Affiliate Summit.
We enjoyed some good conversations, nice business meetings, site seeing, GREAT food, and nice hospitality. We all look forward to speaking further with the affiliates we met, and potentially doing some business together. Also, Leadpile Lead Exchange would like to thank all those for coming by our Meet Market booth!

AND…Thanks Boston for the great lobster!

Those that have them, love them! Those that don’t have them, WANT them! I am referring to the Apple computer. They are trendy, user friendly, and just an all around GREAT computer to have.
According to Business Week “Apple’s share of the U.S. PC market jumped to 8.5% in the June quarter, from 6.4% a year earlier, helping Apple narrow the admittedly wide gap with Dell (DELL) and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ). Apple could grab even more share by trimming prices on Macs, which tend to cost more up front than other machines.”
So, this means potentially Apple will add some new features to promote others to take the Apple route, or lower their prices to get some new potential Apple buyers. Experts say potentially rolling out maybe a smaller version of the Macbook, or maybe even a multi-touch display to enhance the current Computers. Either way I am anxious to see what the future holds for this company! Some employees at Leadpile Lead Exchange have Apple computers or Apply Macbooks at home. We all love them, and are looking forward to seeing all the new and innovative products to be rolled out by Apple.