Traffic Exchange Scoop

Today AdvertisingKnowHow has just unveiled a few new features that I think are fantastic.

First, they’ve implemented a new surfbar with a hot new design. But what’s really got me excited is that now the person’s website, name, and picture is displayed! Within the surfbar it will display the users name and picture (if they’ve entered one). This allows you to brand youself with ease. I think this is a fantastic feature that will help a lot of people.

Next, AdvertisingKnowHow has integrated twitter into their system! Twitter is basically a micro-blog, which you can even see on the side bar here at TEscoop. By entering in your twitter account information at AdvertisingKnowHow , each day that you go to surf there, a message will automatically be posted to your Twitter account saying you are surfing at AdvertisingKnowHow with your affiliate link! This is another great change, as it helps you advertise and get referrals without having to do any extra work.

And finally, AdvertisingKnowHow has teamed up with 4 other traffic exchanges and created the Super Surfer Script! What is that? I’m actually going to write about it in a separate post, because this is huge for traffic exchange users.

Like ice cream? If so, this might be the promotion for you. Clicks 4 Education and Surf 4 the Earth are running a new promotion, 31 Flavors of August .

Here’s the info straight from one of the owners, Suzette Hopkins:

"As a way to reward all of our active members we will be giving away $4 gift certificates for Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. The gift certificates can be used at a Ben & Jerrys store or your local grocery store. The gift certificates are in U.S. currency, so they can only be used in the United States. In order to qualify you must surf at least 100 sites for 23 days in August at both Surf4theEarth and Clicks4Education. After you surf 100 sites at either site, a page will come up with an ice cream flavor. Use the contact form to send us the flavor of the day. You need to send in 23 flavors at each exchange during the month of August. "

It should be noted that those who are not living in the United States will win an equavalent valued prize, since the gift certificates are in U.S. Currency.

This is a continuation from a complete series. Please be sure to read the earlier sections if you haven’t already!

3) Create Value

A huge mistake I see is that people try to sell their product, but never create enough value to make people want to buy. I don’t know where it comes from, but I love the concept of "Underpromise and overdeliver." Create value for your customers. They should feel like they are getting a great deal, because that is what will make them buy. Offer superior products, customer service, or whatever it is you think you can offer. But go out of your way to create value and make people say wow.

As an example, just recently I was looking at a PLR product for sale from a very reputable writer. I looked at the description and it sounded like a solid product I can sell. Then the guy says on top of that, he’ll thrown in 2 more PLR E-books he’s written before. I thought well that was nice. But then he tells me he’s also including 4 ready-made squeeze pages to help capture leads. I really liked that. AND then also a rebrandable video where I can add my name and website. And a salespage. And a complete autoresponder series!

So what I started with was a basic PLR product, and what I ended up leaving with was a complete mini-business in a box. By the time I was finished reading, I couldn’t have opened my wallet faster. Why? It’s because he created value.

You don’t necessarily have to go this far, but find a way to create a real value to your customers, and they will be happy to spend their money with you. You see it all the time from every prominent website. You’ll join for their free membership which sounds fantastic. Then you’ll get a one time offer that completely blows your mind! Even if you can’t afford it, it sounds so good that you buy it anyway! Why? They created so much value for your money, you are almost forced to buy it because it would be dumb not to!

When was the last time you made your customers say wow?

Well a brand new traffic exchange opened its doors earlier today:

Promo Lotto!

This is definitely a unique traffic exchange that stands out from the crowd. I’ve taken the time to explore Promo Lotto so you can decide whether it sounds like a traffic exchange you’ll want to join.

It is owned by Ed Tyner and Ryan Hogan, who respectively own Road Runner Surf and Traffic Punk . That starts off with a huge plus, because we are already dealing with experienced traffic exchange owners. But what makes Promo Lotto special?

To me, the most significant change is the way you surf for credits. Rather than earning credits per page surfed, you have lotto numbers that you try to match up as you surf. Depending on the number of numbers you match, you’ll win a certain amount of credits. If you match zero numbers, you win nothing. Overall, you’ll find the credit ratios to be roughly equivalent to any other successful TE.

Another thing that stands out is the unique design and layout of Promo Lotto . It is very different from other traffic exchanges, giving it more of a professional feel similar to Logiscape traffic exchanges.

Some of the other features are:

• Customizable Surf Bar (Background of the surfbar can be changed to your liking)
• Messaging System
• Team Surfing
• Chat Function
• A List building Feature

My only concern is that I wish there were a more detailed tutorial, particularly explaining how you win credits, the potential credits you can win, and how to customize the surf bar. This would help people who are newer to traffic exchanges understand how the entire system works. It took me a bit to figure out what I was doing, and I have a fair amount of experience with traffic exchanges.

In the end, I’m very happy with what Promo Lotto offers. If you’re looking for a unique traffic exchange experience (or maybe love to play the lotto ), you will find Promo Lotto a fun place to surf!

Click Here to Join Promo Lotto

This is a continuation from a complete series. Please be sure to read the earlier sections if you haven’t already!

2) Network

When I say network, I mean making an effort to meet and befriend new people. Do you think business would be easier if you could ask experienced people for help and advice? It sure is a lot better than buying several E-books trying to find the answer. What if you launched a new website and had 5 friends with a total of 25,000 subscribers promoting your website to their list? Do you think that would help your business? Building a network is probably one of the simplest things you can do to ensure your success. I highly recommend going out there and meeting new people at the hot spots for Internet Marketers. These are my favorite forums to visit:

• NetMarketingForum
• Warrior Forum
• Conquer Your Niche

Here are some tips to keep in mind when networking at forums:

• Don’t argue about things you don’t know anything about, it kills your credibility
• See someone successful there? Listen to what they say!
• Don’t believe to everything you read. Make sure you realize who you’re getting your advice from. (Hint: Read the above bullet point again. )
• Be honest. You don’t necessarily have to be nice, but be honest in your advice and tips to others. If you’re knowledgeable, it will shine through.
• Look for the topics you have strong knowledge about and and contribute to those threads.

One huge mistake I made was not networking. To this day I can’t believe just how helpful it is knowing great people that are willing to take the time to help. People like me would be nowhere without the guidance I’ve received by meeting great people. Again, take a look at the "gurus". Doesn’t it seem like they seem to know everybody? That’s because they understand the value of a network!

Folks, I’ve failed a lot. Up until about a year or two ago, I was doing everything wrong. And I think that is why I’ve made it as far as I have today. I’m a big failure who is willing to take a look at my mistakes and learn from them. I had what some would consider a very successful launch with my new website EliteSafelist, but man if you could see all the stuff behind the scenes I did wrong during that launch!

But you don’t have to make the same mistakes. So many experts have already done the hard work for you and laid out a path, all you really need to do is listen to them and follow what they do. It is guaranteed that you will make mistakes, but I’m hoping you can take what I plan to share with you and make less errors than I have. I’ve learned so many things and there is so much information out there that this could be a 7,000 part series and not truly be complete.

I say it all the time and I will continue to say it - 6 months ago no one knew who Solomon Huey was. Anyone can become a trusted a name in this business. Today you could a "nobody" and in a few months time find yourself being recognized by thousands of people!

The concepts of success are simple, but the fact is that most people don’t do them. I know I didn’t! However you’ll find all the people that make money do all of these. What I’m going to do is share with you four simple things that truly helped me change my business overnight. I hope you enjoy it…

1) Have a plan

You want to make more money? There’s nothing wrong with that, but how do you plan to do it? What’s your strategy? Who are you targeting? How much time do you have to invest each day? How much money do you expect to make? How long will it make you money? Do I have the skills to offer this product/service? If you don’t have the skills, do you know someone who does? How much will it cost you to develop?

I finally went to the SWAT Traffic seminar for the first time. Soren Jordensan touched on something that I strongly believe in, and that is to have a plan. If you want to make money, you need to map out a plan for success! Even better, write out a detailed business plan. I know it sounds like a lot of work, but I’d rather spend the next 3 months writing out a plan that I know will succeed than spending the next 6 years with little to no success (which is exactly what I did in the past ).

Does this sound familiar? I would buy some product or come up with a "great" idea. Then I’d say, ok I’m going to sell this! I’d put the website together and realized that I had no way to get traffic. So now I need to figure out where to sell it. Now how do I get these people to buy it? Then after awhile, I realize these people don’t even want my product to begin with, I just thought they wanted it!

I heard this quote a long time ago somewhere and sadly I lived by it for many years, "Failing to prepare is preparing to fail."

By planning ahead, you are creating a plan for success. Or maybe as you plan everything, you realize it won’t work. That’s ok, because you have just saved yourself a lot of wasted time, money, and effort. You don’t need to take my word for it, just look at the successful people and watch how every launch seems to be perfect down to the finest detail. That’s not an accident, they planned it that way.

So what’s your plan for success?

Visit again or join my mailing list so you can read the next thing that helped me change my business overnight!

I know I’ve been talking about Traffic Dynamite a lot, but what can I say, it’s the hot topic.

Just the other day I ranted about a lack of value and creativity and used Traffic Dynamite as my example. Now I’m taking their launch as an example again, but this time for something good. It doesn’t mean I like or dislike Traffic Dynamite , I’m simply using them as an example.

The other day I talked about the need to innovate when launching a new traffic exchange. It’s necessary because as a new TE, competition is tough when you’re trying to get people to sign up. When I say innovate, I don’t mean it has to be some revolutionary new concept that changes the TE world. I just want to see something different that makes me want to surf! If I’m interested in surfing, maybe others will be too.

I read the 24 hour update that Traffic Dynamite sent, and out of everything I read, the one thing that caught my eye was a comic that will display every 20 pages. It’s nothing crazy, but it’s a simple idea that made me curious enough to surf their traffic exchange today. It is something that can set itself apart, and makes me think that perhaps it will encourage others to surf as well.

This is a small example of what I’d like to see the traffic exchange industry evolve into. The idea that new and better ideas get introduced into the mix. I think it is especially necessary for the new traffic exchange that is trying to establish itself in the marketplace. It could be Savvy Clicks’ Memory game, I Love Hits’ new member page feature, Blue-Surf’s option for number of page views per nember, or a simple comic. These establish more value to their respective exchanges and make for a potentially better user experience.

Despite some early issues with confirmation emails being received, Traffic Dynamite has had an excellent first day of existence and grown to over 800 active members! To keep the momentum going, they are now giving away cash for every referral! If you are an upgraded member, you will earn $1 per referral and free members earn $0.25 per referral! This will run until they reach 1500 active members.

I’ll be honest with you, if it wasn’t for the fact that I run TEscoop, which is a blog dedicated to Traffic exchanges, I wouldn’t have even joined Traffic Dynamite . I want you to know that this isn’t a rant against Traffic Dynamite . It’s just that this launch exemplifies a problem I’ve been seeing lately, and it prompted me to write about it. The problem I see with the Traffic exchange industry right now is everyone is launching new TE’s with lots of flash and no substance.

The idea of giving away cash for the Gladiator Hits Launch was a nice touch in my opinion. However once one person has a successful launch using a particular method, everyone jumps on the bandwagon. Dragon Surf did its relaunch awhile back and it had amazing results because they were giving cash for all referrals. Once everyone saw what Dragon Surf did, I’ve seen several websites launch with the same concept and mild success.

The reason these ideas were successful in the first place is because either no one did them before or no one did it as well. Once someone comes along and copies the same idea, it doesn’t have the same effect. Launches should be big and it’s ok to use another idea, but please add your own twist to make it special. Being unique is what helps a launch become successful in the first place.

The other problem I’m seeing is a lack of value. I’m going to use Traffic Dynamite as an example, but again this is not anything against them. They are giving away $7 to the first 700 people who join, but I’m not interested in joining for cash … I’m there for quality traffic! The $7 is meaningless in the big picture, because I’m using the traffic they provide to help me make money. This $7, while a great incentive, doesn’t assure me in any way that I’m getting good traffic. You know what really gets me excited about a TE launch? It’s knowing that you’ve done something that will make your traffic convert better than others. If you’ve done that, I’ll make a lot more than $7.

Yes, these old giant Traffic exchanges don’t have much that makes them unique, but they deserve their place for being first to the market. We’ve established the industry standards, and now I want to see innovation and value, so that I know you’re willing to invest as much time and effort into your business as I’m willing to put into surfing at your exchange.

I don’t know if anyone else feels the same way, but I think it is something that all Traffic exchange users should be paying attention to before joining a new TE.

Traffic Dynamite just launched today with an exciting promotion, a $7 cash bonus to the first 700 members who join! Owner Rian LeBlanc is a brand new Traffic Exchange owner, but was assisted by Dan Moses who helped with a fantastic Gladiator Hits Launch. Although the Gladiator Hits Launch was met with some criticism, most will agree that the launch was a massive success.

However the intended explosion for Traffic Dynamite has been a fizzle so far, with some people not receiving their confirmation emails. I have received mine though, so hopefully any issues have been resolved.

Click Here to Join Traffic Dynamite