Lead Market News
LeadsCon: Internet Lead Market Up-close
I remember the first time I went to my Dad’s laboratory at the University of Kentucky and he showed me the magic of looking very closely at common everyday objects. You see, he had a scanning electron microscope and things you would think as simple as a common housefly’s eye are amazingly complex and interesting.
That […]
Zillow Mortgage Gets Negative Reviews (from Non-Adopters)
I have been following the Zillow Mortgage discussion with great interest. By reserving follow-up to my early commentary in BusinessWeek I have an opportunity to survey the discussion and distill a few important observations:
Zillow did something radical
The harshest criticisms are from non-participants
Smart folks are observing and participating with the intent to learn
This is an important […]
Reply.com Launches Blog and Lead Exchange
Reply.com just launched a new blog and revealed their new lead exchange. It appears the lead marketplace concept is about to get a bit more competitive, with Reply.com being one of two new entrants that I have heard whispers of emerging.
The concept of a lead exchange seems simple, but I think the challenge is in […]
Are You Creating a Customer Army?
We live in unique times. We are increasingly connected to the Internet. That connection is increasing social. That social connectivity is community.
The question becomes are you still trying to gather customers and make sales? Or are you creating a Customer Loyalty Army?
Wired featured Legos’ community strategy back in 2006, but we are still trying to […]
Qtopia Takes Mortgage Clients to Another World
Client loyalty takes on a whole new reality with Quicken Loans’ Qtopia. Developed using synergies with ePrize (another Dan Gilbert investment)
Stepping outside the mundane paradigm of email blasts, online newsletters, and birthday cards Qtopia creates, quite literally, a new world of possibilities for client loyalty and retention:
Qtopia is designed as an entertaining way for users […]
Where Have All of the Local Real Estate Ads Gone?
Have all of the real estate agents and brokers in your community lost faith and closed up shop? What happened to all of the local real estate ads in your local newspaper?
According to a new report from Borell Associates, they have moved their real estate marketing dollars online:
Total ad spending on real estate has declined […]
Nature or Nurture? Debating Math or Conversation in Advertising.
ESPN’s move to kick ad networks out of their premium content and brand has sparked several classic debates about publisher monetization. What is the best, and most profitable, way to monetize your content?
There are certainly two strong positions to be debated:
Commoditization of ad inventory can dilute the perceived value of the content and brand
Unsold […]
What Would a Jason Calacanis Mortgage Startup Look Like?
A pondering post by Jason Calacanis (Mahalo) about a camp to help startup entrepreneurs got me thinking. What would a Calacanis trained entrepreneur’s mortgage or real estate business look like?
Here is my guess:
It would be efficient with it’s capital and startup costs
It would have an expensive expresso machine
It would leverage the Internet
It would blog
It would […]
Morning Market Reads
Friday around the Web in lead generation:
FTC swinging big fines (settlements) and changing online lead generation
UK mortgage lead marketplace kicks off series on sales best practices
Is your online marketing and advertising asking customers to buy?
Ever want to ask a top affiliate marketer anything?
Learn to write a better blog for your company
What else should we be […]
21Mar2008 | Bill Rice | 0 comments | Continued
Who Sells FHA Leads?
LeadCritic has done a little digging and discovered who is generating FHA mortgage leads.
Many lead providers are doing a nice job of making sure their marketing approaches filter this increasingly tight niche of qualified borrowers. For example, Bills.com just announced their FHA Select and FHA Stimulus Select lead programs that a being generated by their […]
Morning Market Reads
Here are some quick reads to get you oriented in a crazy week of market change:
Mahalo: Subprime News
BlownMortgage.com: Fed Cuts Rates .75%-Running out of Ammo?
MediaPost: FTC Sending Million Dollar Messages Against Deceptive Ads
MarketingSherpa Blog: Recession co-registration barters
LeadCritic: LeadsCon is Fast Approaching with a Great Line Up
PRWeb: Consumer Inquiries Up, But Mortgage Applications are Down […]
What if I Bought Mortgage Leads in the UK?
Recently, I have been following the LeadPointUK blog with great interest. Not all lead markets are built or evolve in the same manner. Here are a few notable differences:
The UK lead market did not grow up on the “When Banks Compete, You Win” LendingTree consumer mantra
The resulting expectation of exclusive leads is subject to debate […]
Zillow Giving Out Free Mortgage Leads
Has Zillow gone mad? They are obviously pursuing an innovative path.
Zillow is not yet revealing the whole strategy, but here is a peek at what to expect from Zillow Mortgage:
“…our new mortgage offering is coming soon. While we’re still several weeks away from an official launch, effective today, lenders can apply to be one […]
IAC/Interactive Cooking Up Something New?
Is IAC/Interactive Corp cooking up something new and multi-cultural from the LendingTree Ballantyne offices on Rushmore Drive?
The Charlotte Observer seems to have caught wind of something:
The site is the first ethnically themed initiative for IAC/InterActiveCorp, the New York-based Internet conglomerate that operates sites such as LendingTree and Ask.com. Although the site is meant for a […]
The Cluetrain Manifesto is Modern Marketing
I came across this pointer from Doc Searls blog this morning. It references a professor at Kent State using The Cluetrain Manifesto as core curriculum in his PR course(s).
(By the way, Kent State is a great place to get smart people from. One of our senior software engineers who has been with us since the […]
I like the Lead Exchange model but how can a lead exchange make money to survive? The generator gets ...
Don't know salestwit will gonna make a impact or can replace the bulky hosted CRM's but anyway I like the ...
Those are some great tips on using the internet for leads! 
I have to laugh at someone putting an affiliate link to LMB here... Come on people... 
My pleasure Dan. Glad you enjoyed it. Bills.com is a pretty smart company. 
THat was a really nice write up, I read about this BillsIQ thing today online and when I searched then ...
Just to clarify - the highest bidder in your search above is a lead gen company! 
I'm seeing PPC costs go way up because of people cross-monetizing them; i.e. selling and upselling them using squeeze pages. ...