Ernie Geeting

I think splash pages do have a useful function at traffic exchanges, but not many other places. However... 1- You must stand out from everyone else by having your own unique page. If you are just using the same replicated splash page everyone else is using you won't see much of a response. 2- You must capture attention (without being outrageous). Remember most viewers will only see your page from 3-10 seconds. 3- You must have have a simple and direct, but VERY enticing call to action. The idea is to get them to click through to your real offer.

We had an interesting discussion about this on the Mardox video chat today. It's beginning to look like PayPal wants to basically distance themselves from nearly all digital product and service sellers, and not just traffic sites. If that indeed turns out to be the case the PayPal hatchet is not done chopping. And while Payza is the default now for most TE and mailer owners there are many concerns swirling around about them, plus there is no guarantee they won't go down the same road as PayPal. Plans are currently in the works for the design of a new payment processing company specifically geared toward servicing the digital marketing community. If all goes well it could be ready for launch within the next month or two. I hope it all works out because I think PayPal for us traffic exchange and mailer lovers will soon be a thing of the past.

Mardox is a training, networking and resource site for serious internet marketers. Whether you are a total newbie or a seasoned marketing veteran you are welcome. There is something inside for everyone. With training modules, an active Skype group and live video chats 6 days a week it's the ideal place to keep up with all the latest in the industry and interact with other internet marketers just like yourself. These chats even give you direct access to the owner! Mardox also has a daily cash login bonus for upgraded members and a great compensation plan should you choose to refer other marketers who upgrade. Mardox can be joined free if you'd like to 'kick the tires' a bit first before upgrading. But what you see inside is not what you will always get because more features and cool updates are added regularly. If your internet business is important to you, Mardox is the place to be. http://ref.mardox.com/index.php?refid=successonline&tag=checkpoint

Looks a lot like any other forum HOWEVER that's not necessarily a bad thing. The familiar appearance will make it much easier to navigate, I think. No complaints from me, that's for sure. Darren, you ROCK! In a time when so many people create something and then just abandon it, you always work at keeping your properties and creations fresh and relevant. Two Thumbs Up! :)

There are so many good traffic exchanges out there one can't possibly upgrade in all of them. So what are some of the main factors that influence your upgrade decisions?

Thanks Daniel. I joined Traffic Hoopla as a free member a very long time ago had forgotten all about it, then got confused by the TE, SL Hoopla. Guess I'd better take another look.

So basically Traffic Hoopla is a TE downline builder, a safelist downline builder and an "other" downline builder all rolled into one?

What's the difference between Traffic Hoopla and TE Hoopla? Does Traffic Hoopla have more to offer?

Wow Dave, I had kinda forgetten about TE Hoopla. After all these years it is pretty incredible that it is still going so strong and actually pulling in new downline members. Love the concept behind downline builders but so few of them seem effective, upgraded or otherwise. Perhaps TE Hoopla is one of the exceptions. Ernie G

Thank you William, Daniel and Stefan, I would imagine you are correct about the benefits and importance of owning your own 'real estate'. Replicated pages, even great ones get way over-exposed online and quickly lose their effectiveness. Branding replicated pages doesn't seem to help a whole lot either since the base page remains the same. Taking that a step further perhaps actual ad exchange ownership could potentially light the afterburner on one's marketing efforts. Most of the people who do make a full time living (job replacing income) with exchanges appear to be owners as well as members. Just over 5 years ago a operated 5 different text ad exchanges and one traffic exchange while working a full-time offline job and maintaining a hypnotherapy practice. Eventually I closed the TAEs and TE but I did learn that advertising exchanges are an outstanding way of building a list. Most list building I see going on is very self-serving (constant offers, little value to the subscriber -"just send me money") but with the ad exchanges I was able to provide some great stuff (promos and credits) to my members while at the same time having a trusted platform to present good products and services to them. Instead of 'fleecing the sheep' I felt more like a shepherd caring for and 'feeding' them good stuff. I loved that service aspect. In fact, I've been thinking about getting back in to the ad exchange ownership game but am a little bit intimidated by the sheer volume of great sites already out there. Right now it seems like mailers are the hot thing, popping up like mushrooms on a damp day. On the other hand, back in the day I worked out some nice JVs with other owners and met some great people in the process. So maybe it's time for me to jump back in. As much as I love the industry and crave serving and interacting with members it seems kind of silly for me to just be a spectator. Ernie G

I am thinking primarily of Traffic Exchange downline builders, not your typical MLM builders (this thread was originally in the Traffic Exchange group but moved my admin). TE builders are different in the respect that users may be seeking to build downlines simply for credit accumulation at the participating traffic exchanges and not necessarily income as affiliates. Also Traffic Exchange folks are not likely to be picking up a phone and doing the typcial MLM downline thing of follow up and persuasion. Nonetheless I think my question is also a good one to ask of MLM downline builder as well. So your response Daniel was appreciated as it reveals the importance of not relying on a downline builder site do the follow up and support necessary to being a good sponsor. Kenny, I have to agree that the internal downline builders with most traffic exchanges can be just as good, if not better than the third party DLBs. Ernie G

I've tried a number of the autoresponders mentioned here and agree that Aweber and Get Response seem pretty comparable. I like the whole affiliate system over at Traffic Wave but it just feels 'clunky' to me. GVO/PureLeverage may have some deliverablility issues as some of the mails I send to my list end up in my Spam folder. How about integrated systems? Most of them seem pretty weak in the autoresponder department but I've really taken a liking to the EZ Lead Capture System. It is about the simplest way I know to create a fast (but attractive) squeeze page with the form embedded. Their integrated autoresponder is actually quite robust. One tough thing about autoresponders is that one you build a list in one they kinda got you on the hook because it can be a royal pain in the neck to try to move subscribers to a different one. Ernie G

Hey folks, Over time I have joined a number of downline builder sites and even upgraded in some. However no matter how much I've promoted them they just don't seem to work. Anybody out there actually had any success with these things? Ernie G

Great answers everyone! I am blown away by the quality of the responses to my question and the caliber of the marketers represented here. No doubt Evelyn, ownership has it's privilages and the greater potential for a 'job replacing' income. I would think it would be very difficult for an unknown player to get noticed with a new startup mailer (although I do see many new ones popping up daily). Grabbing the JV upgrades in the programs you plan to promote as an affiliate sounds like very good advice. Kenny I would agree that the newer 100% commission sites could dramatically change the picture for mailer affiliates. A few brave pioneers have begun to blaze that trail and I would think some savvy marketers are destined to earn plenty in commissions. It will be interesting to see whether the owners of these sites are setting a new trend for mailers or creating an entirely separate mailer niche. Matt, great analysis. Being the analytical type myself I tend to approach this whole question in a similar manner, "How many people would one need to recruit to get the number of upgrades required to earn $XXXX?", etc. What about attrition, and so on. Really sheds some light on the immense effort required. Darren, I love your perspective. The whole idea of viewing the mailer affiliate business as a store with a variety of products and then selling those products to regular customers (the list) is aweseome. That kind of thinking really resonates with me as I like to imagine myself in the role of a merchant with loyal customers. You guys are awesome! I would like to think that with the right approach and proper effort making a living soley as a mailer or traffic exchange affilate is attainable. Ernie G

Hey Marketers, Here's a question for you... Is anyone here making a consistent residual income through promoting safelists or mailers alone? I would also be interested to know if someone could earn a living soley by being an affiliate of them. Mathmatically it is possible but is anyone actually doing it (besides the owners themselves)? Ernie G

Oh Yeah, I'm getting my best results from mailers (and solos at text ad exchanges). They far out-perform any of the traffic exchanges I use. Some are better than others of course but by tracking your results with each mailing you will soon know which ones work best for you. Ernie G

Hi Paula & Peeps, My problem is I have too many favorites (LOL). But in answer to fast timers I've really taken a liking to John Novak's ListBuildSurf.com with it's 3 second surf. TopGradeSurf.com also has a 3 second timer and is a nice site. In reality though I tend to do more tabbed surfing so I prefer sites with a 6-8 second timer. For those my faves are HitSafari and Traffic-Splash. Although technically not a traffic exchange, the 4 second timer at BucketsOfBanners is a hoot for me. Fun to see just banners (so I'm a little strange, okay?). Happy Surfing, Ernie G