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Bill Rice is the CEO of Kaleidico, a leader in lead management systems. Prior to founding Kaleidico he was the VP of National Home Equity and the Home Loan Benefit program at Quicken Loans and one of the founding executives of DeepGreen Bank, an Internet-only bank that was one of the first and (at that time) largest buyers of LendingTree leads in early 2000.

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Affiliate Marketing, I Hardly Knew Ye!

March 4th, 2008 • Related • Filed Under
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Lead generation is enjoying all of the volatility and uncertainty the mortgage market can dish out. It is often hard to tell if lead providers are sinking or swimming, but there some are certain they are spinning. In covering this turmoil we have talked a lot about the major players: Bankrate, LendingTree, LowerMyBills, some of the new guys: Adchemy, ZipSearch, LeadPoint; but, I think there is another group that is equally important to understand–affiliates.

As the high-volume lead buying market shrinks many are starting their lead trimming in their affliate programs. The first assumption might be that they lead providers and large lenders are trimming poor quality first. However, as I look deeper into this (significant) portion of the mortgage lead generating market I am learning that it probably has a lot more to do with legal liability than quality.

The affiliate market is unquestionably the Wild, Wild, West of lead generation and with that comes risks. However, there are some super pockets of value to be had in understanding this world.

So, that is where I intend to take you for several posts throughout March. If you are a great mortgage affiliate, have a super mortgage affiliate program, or are a crack affiliate manager I would love the opportunity to get your perspective. Post a comment below or email me at bill [dot] rice [at] kaleidico [dot] com.

Here is a great sample of how colorful and interesting the Affiliate Market can be: John Calacanis asking for examples of Affiliate Marketing “done right.”

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