LAS VEGAS – March 7, 2011 – PartnerWeekly [www.PartnerWeekly.com], the leading provider of leads and marketing services to the specialty finance industry, today announced a new program, the Hot Transfer. Transfer offers superior service—for both consumers applying for a loan, and for lenders looking to increase their portfolio of customers. The real-time technology instantly and efficiently connects consumers to a robust network of over 100 lenders to help match the consumer with the right lender.

PartnerWeekly recognized that there was strong need for lenders to easily and seamlessly connect with potential customers that apply over the phone, so the company created its Hot Transfer service with the purpose of offering a fast and efficient conversion environment for both the lender and consumer. The Hot Transfer is a new method for lenders who wish to connect with consumers, which distinguishes this process from the competition. Additionally, the Hot Transfer program operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, addressing the high volume of loan applications.

“The Hot Transfer program drives high value-added opportunities for incremental gains in the lending industry by matching highly qualified and unique consumers to lenders,” said Ron Symon, vice president of Lender Relations at PartnerWeekly. “We’re confident in the operations of this new service and believe it creates a compelling value for our lenders.”

The process of the Hot Transfer Call Center is simplified by means of the customer applying for the loan via a 1-800 number. Once the application is processed and accepted, the consumer is informed that a “match” has been made and is given the contact email and customer service email of the assigned potential lender. Depending on their profile, the consumer will be transferred directly to the lender, or are otherwise put in contact with the lender.

With the high volume of new loan applicants driven from the Hot Transfer Call program, lenders have a greater opportunity to quickly establish a personal relationship with the new applicant.

About PartnerWeekly

Founded in 2001, PartnerWeekly is the largest lender network in the consumer specialty finance market. PartnerWeekly provides a real-time lead distribution system optimized for affiliates and lenders. As part of Selling Source, one of the largest digital marketing companies in the United States, PartnerWeekly is backed by a state of the art infrastructure and cutting-edge optimization technology.

PartnerWeekly helps affiliates scale business through high yielding, diverse offers that are customized and enhanced to ensure premier performance. For lenders, PartnerWeekly drives efficient consumer acquisitions by providing the highest quality leads through advanced targeting and optimization technologies. Utilizing this advanced technology and over ten years of experience, PartnerWeekly increases ROI for lenders.

For more information about PartnerWeekly, please visit www.PartnerWeekly.com.

About Selling Source, LLC
Selling Source, one of the largest privately-held digital marketing companies in the United States, provides customer acquisition and data services. The company operates proprietary, scalable technology platforms to cost effectively deliver a substantial volume of precisely targeted, real-time sales leads while maximizing return on investment for advertisers and publishers. Continually expanding its broad online reach via an array of diverse branded web properties, as well as through external partner relationships, the company attracted over 550 million visitors to its branded web properties in 2010. Selling Source has a strong, varied client base and specializes in two key verticals: Consumer Specialty Finance and Performance-based Marketing.

London Bay Capital, a private equity firm based in San Francisco, acquired a controlling interest in Selling Source in December 2007. For more information, please visit www.SellingSource.com.

The Secretary of State has given the “Missourians for Responsible Lending” group approval to begin promoting a petition that seeks to place the issue on the 2012 ballot.

With the economy currently in tatters, payday lending has become a popular business venture, with several new financial institutions offering the borrowing option. These companies offer paycheck advancements and can get borrowers out of a tough bind – for example, giving them the resources they need to pay rent before they get their next check.

However, the sector has been criticized for the unreasonably large interest rates attached to payday loans. Considering the target audience for payday loans already has trouble managing their funds, the high interest rates put some borrowers even further in debt.

“This business makes money off of people that are in trouble for whatever reason,” said Rev. James Bryan, the group’s treasurer. “They just prey on those poor people that are in a desperate situation.”

Several states in the U.S. have already enacted caps on interest rates. Among 17 states, annual interest rates are limited to 36 percent, while the federal government has also placed limits on payday loans for military personnel. However, in Missouri, the average annual interest rate for short-term loans is 445 percent.

“It’s big companies taking advantage of the weak. People who aren’t able to make a house payment or pay a medical bill, they get trapped under this debt,” Bryan added.

Supporters of the payday lending industry suggest the issue is being exaggerated by opponents. In particular, the 400 percent interest rate is misleading, says Gerri Guzman of the Consumer Rights Coalition, as it represents the compounding of loans over the course of months.

“This ballot initiative is an ill-advised assault on all forms of consumer credit that, if passed, would hurt Missourians by eliminating their only real credit options and forcing them into more-expensive and credit-damaging alternatives,” Guzman explained.

August 21-23, 2011

Hilton New York

August 24-25, 2011

Hilton New York

And while images can add a new dynamic to display advertisements, that isn’t to say they are always a benefit – marketers still need to use specific types of pictures to drive consumer engagement. Search Engine Land writer Mona Elesseily recently talked to FBadsLAB’s Jennifer Sheahan to find out how affiliates could best use images to drive return on investment.

First and foremost, the source suggests pictures of happy women. The models need to look overjoyed and be facing directly at the camera. As Search Engine Land notes, the key challenge is trying to connect the picture with the ad – affiliates shouldn’t use women as models if they are promoting a product for men.

Colorful logos also have a high conversion rate. “Here, the key would seem to be extreme relevance and repetition over time to the most targeted audience possible. Involved in a niche sport like lacrosse? A leading lacrosse equipment maker could actually profit by simply showing you their logo every so often over a period of months or even years,” explains Elesseily.

When using logos, it’s important that affiliates leverage striking colors. For example, a blue-and-white logo might not pop on Facebook because it is the same color as the social network’s layout. Instead, bright green or orange may be a better fit.

Finally, Search Engine Land recommends headshots of relevant individuals. For example, a headshot of Bill Gates used with an advertisement for a Microsoft product could yield big results. The goal is to build product credibility by using the public image of a recognizable person.

“Close up pictures work best so try not to cram too much into your images. A good idea is to step away from your computer and see if you can still see your image clearly in the [110-pixel by 80-pixel] format. If not, resize, rinse and repeat,” Elesseily explains.

Facebook is a tremendous source of potential customers. The social network has more than 600 million registered members, and according to recent comScore data, it is one of the top most-visited websites, with 154 million Americans logging in during the month of April.

Moreover, social networks such as Twitter are growing rapidly, giving affiliates a broader reach. According to a new report from Pew Research Center, the number of American Twitter users have surged since last November, increasing from 8 percent to 13 percent in May 2011 – a 62.5 percent growth. While the social network still lags behind its top competitor Facebook, the makeup of Twitter users may be more beneficial to affiliate marketers.

For example, 15 percent of affluent Americans use the social network, which means marketers are more likely to be interacting with well-off consumers. Additionally, these consumers tend to educated individuals, with 16 percent of Twitter users having completed college. Finally, Twitter users tend to be young, between the ages of 18 and 29. This is the ideal age bracket for many marketers, as this demographic has access to the most disposable income.

If affiliates want to reach certain targets with their marketing campaigns, they may also be interested in knowing that racial minorities tend to be more avid Twitter users than Caucasians.

“Non-white internet users continue to have higher rates of Twitter use than their white counterparts; indeed, the Twitter adoption gap between African-Americans and whites has increased over the past six months. In November 2010, there was an eight percentage point difference in Twitter use between African-American and white internet users. By May 2011, that gap was 16 percentage points,” Pew Research Center noted in the report.

What social media marketing ultimately comes down to is knowing your audience. If affiliates are selling luxury products, than Twitter may be an effective platform because of the high number of affluent users. Conversely, if they are trying to sell products to businesspeople, then LinkedIn may be a more effective use of their marketing budgets.

Either way, a social media presence is still vital. Through social media, affiliates can both promote products while developing their role as a thought leader within their industry.

As ClickZ recently observed, a blog shouldn’t be run just so that affiliates can check it off of their marketing list – it should be playing a critical role in the overall promotion process. The source recently offered a number of tips to help affiliates get the most out of their blogs.

First and foremost, marketers need to identify and serve a niche. By fulfilling the needs of a limited number of individuals, affiliates are more likely to generate a returning reader base. They should also keep in mind that people reading their blog differ than those who are interested in the products they are promoting – for example, an affiliate who sells ebooks may have success operating a marketing blog, but the two won’t necessarily crossover.

Another important strategy is to plan blog content. Many affiliates blog on a whim, writing about whatever comes to mind when they think of it. Irregular fluff content, however, won’t help affiliates develop or keep an audience of interested readers – rather, they demand regular, insightful content. The best way to meet their needs is by scheduling content in advance so even when an affiliate can’t write, he or she has ready-made content.

And while blogs can be tools to promote products, that shouldn’t be the primary objective. “While it’s tempting to use every communications platform for product promotion, for social media, which blogs are, this doesn’t work. If all your blog does is shout, ‘buy, buy, buy,’ your blog will turn your readers off,” suggests the source.

A separate article from Search Engine Watch highlights the importance of conducting keyword research when starting a blog. By looking up keywords, affiliates can discover new niches that they can reach, which will help them develop a larger audience.

Furthermore, content should be optimized using these keywords. “Just having content, even great content, on your company’s website isn’t enough to grab the attention of search engines. Businesses must leverage this content using search engine optimization tactics. Maintaining a corporate blog is a good SEO tactic that allows for rapid content creation without the constraints of website architecture and web development teams,” says Search Engine Land.

While that advice is intended for businesses, affiliates could benefit by doing the same – optimized content can lead to more traffic, which in turn will improve the influence and reach of the blogger.