Hit Exchange News

Issue 288 – Three Cheers For Creativity

Jon Olson — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:26:25 +0000

Innovation!

It’s what will be the life of this industry and allow it to grow and prosper for the years ahead. I’ve always maintained that the owners and people in this business who ‘get it’ when it comes to innovation will be the ones leading the charge and this week is no different.

Tim Linden has once again gone above and beyond when it comes to providing traffic exchange surfers with something fun and informative, and it’s at the T.E. Live toolbar.

Tim added the ability for owners to broadcast their own surf promos directly from the toolbar, here’s a screen shot;

Pretty cool huh?

Simply download the free toolbar and get access to all the surf promos you’ll ever need from the best performing traffic exchanges on the net today.

Thank you Tim for doing something different, creating a useful tool and something that brings even more validity to the traffic exchange industry!

Thank you very much for being a reader of Hit Exchange News and have a wonderful week!

Jon Olson
The Traffic Exchange Guy

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The News

- We’ve changed things up a bit at T.E. Live. We are still on the air every week day from 3 pm Eastern but instead of doing a two hour show (where we bore many viewers to death) we’ve gone to a one hour format. Expect a lot more focused discussion in the weeks ahead and even more special guests…

- Steve Ayling has something very cool launching today, be sure to check your emails in a few hours because this little program he is about to launch is so simple, you’ll laugh. It’s very nostalgic as well, gave me goose bumps =)

- Thumb Vu just keeps on growing. This week it joined the Super Surf traffic exchanges and you should see another massive boost in activity. Hint, it’s time to create those T.E. specific pages, especially if you plan on surfing Thumb Vu…

- Notice: Cast your vote today for your favorite traffic exchanges at Affiliate Funnel’s Surfer’s Choice ranker. This is YOUR voice and YOUR opinion on what traffic exchanges you feel are the best in the business. Be sure to vote every day and get your opinion heard!

- Splash Page Hall of Fame – Not only is this now a free download but with splash pages like this, you can bet William Brant’s 13 Deadly is a MUST read! Note: Why do I focus on splash pages every week? Simple, you MUST be using them in the traffic exchanges to get results. Get a custom made splash page by clicking here!

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The Famous Hit Exchange News Top 10 (Disclaimer: These are my top performing exchanges for the past week. Alexa rankings and fancy numbers have nothing to do with how I rank my list. This is based on my results and my opinion, nothing more, nothing less.)

1. Thumb Vu
2. StartXChange
3. Tezak Traffic Power
4. Traffic Splash
5. Traffic Era
6. Traffic Witch
7. Dragon Surf
8. Max Traffic Pro
9. Traffic Punk
10. Hit Safari

Note: Analysis and Tracking by T.E. Toolbox – The Official Link Tracking Service of Hit Exchange News!

Question: Hey Jon, how come I Love Hits and SWAT Traffic are never on the top 10 list? Since I own them, I feel it would be a conflict of interest to place it on any of my rankings. (But we all know how great they are anyways lol)

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Deep Thoughts – Jon’s Weekly Ramblings

The Traffic Exchange Revolving Door…

It’s a theory of mine that hasn’t done me wrong yet, and that is to be seen in the traffic exchanges are much in 6 months than you are today. I call it ‘Traffic Exchange Brand Awareness’ or T.E.B.A. for short…

Ask anyone who has made any money or found success in the traffic exchanges and they’ll tell you, you need to be seen as much as possible, for as long as possible, whenever possible. Simple enough yet 99.9% of the traffic exchange surfers still do not practice this.

No, you do not need $100 a week budget to advertise your site. You need elbow grease, some must have tools and the end goal in mind.

However, it’s not as ‘easy’ as it sounds…

I cannot tell you how many times I have heard and seen traffic exchange surfers and owners come online, go all out and put their everything into their business and then simply give up a few months later.

Why did they give up? Could be any reason, but I think the biggest one is that they do not see the results or get excited enough about the potential their efforts could generate.

But here’s the kicker…They always come back!

Yes, whether it’s a month, 6 months or a year later, these people seem to always return and give it another go. They are filled with desire and the will to succeed but one has to ask if they would have been further ahead if they stuck with it…

Case in point, don’t give up if you do not see results right away. Learn what you may be doing wrong. Ask questions. Get answers. Make sure you KNOW where you are advertising and what you are advertising.

You will see results, you WILL get excited about this business…Don’t forget that and don’t give up =)

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Things That Make You Go Hmmm…

- Fontoon is back and they got a new forum in NMF…

- I’m still looking to giveaway a book this week from NetMarketingBooks.com. Last week Leonard Aberts won for simply…Posting a comment! Leonard, send me the book of your choice along with your mailing address to teamtechinc at gmail dot com for your prize. Keep the comments coming folks =)

- “Life is the art of drawing without an eraser…” – John W. Gardner

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Issue 287 – The Longest Seven Days In Traffic Exchange History

Jon Olson — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:59:36 +0000

Are you a member of I Love Hits?

If so, I need your help this week and I promised I will make this as easy as possible. Basically I’m changing email services for the ENTIRE traffic exchange and I’m attempting to move everyone over to the new list.

So far, it’s been smooth with just one little hiccup. This will not change your account information, it’s just an easier way for me to manage my communication with members using the service provided by Traffic Wave.

I know it’s a bit of a hassle and I do appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding. This will NOT be a habit and I won’t be changing things any time soon. But after 9 years, it’s time for I Love Hits to have a reliable email provider.

Thank you very much for being a reader of Hit Exchange News and have a wonderful week!

Jon Olson
The Traffic Exchange Guy

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The News

- Looks like the traffic exchanges aren’t the only programs that deal with shady software, a recent post in Net Marketing Forum shows us that even the safelists can be hurt by ‘the easy way out’.

- Here’s a ’steal’ if I ever saw one. William Brant’s famous 13 Deadly T.E. Tragedies has now become a free report. That’s right, you no longer need to pay the 7 dollar fee and you can grab your copy right now by clicking here!

- There’s some very cool stuff on the horizon at Traffic Exchange Live. Not only are we STILL streaming every week day, we’ve got some cool things coming up for the toolbar. Only way to stay up to date is to tune in…3pm Eastern every weekday!

- Splash Page Hall of Fame – Personal branding and list building, done RIGHT! Lynn McCutcheon gets it! Note: Why do I focus on splash pages every week? Simple, you MUST be using them in the traffic exchanges to get results. Get a custom made splash page by clicking here!

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1. Traffic Splash
2. Thumb Vu
3. StartXChange
4. Max Traffic Pro
5. Tezak Traffic Power
6. Traffic Era
7. Hit Safari
8. Traffic Punk
9. Dragon Surf
10. Traffic Witch

Note: Analysis and Tracking by T.E. Toolbox – The Official Link Tracking Service of Hit Exchange News!

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Deep Thoughts – Jon’s Weekly Ramblings

I’m sitting in front of my computer today, preparing another issue of Hit Exchange News and I’ve got to admit something, this week it’s been VERY tough to find things to write about.

Usually I can find tidbits here and there, but during the past 7 days the traffic exchange industry has been, well, dull.

There’s usually some kind of promotion, some new feature, something of note. This week, it was very tough to find news. And I’m not pointing fingers at all, just trying to give us all a kick in the rear end.

We need innovation. We need stuff that will keep us surfing, keep us talking, keep us focused. Where are they? Where are the owners who are stepping up and creating something to rave about in this industry. We need more of them!

And don’t get me wrong, I think I’m writing this to remind myself that I can’t be ‘comfortable’ with what my programs are. I need to keep them growing, keep them in front of people. This is industry wide, not one or two owners, all of us.

Are you a surfer? Demand to see changes. Make your ideas known. Let the owners know what you want to see. If you are an owner, get in touch with your members and ask their opinions.

We all benefit when we see innovation, the industry grows and more people get excited about the potential these programs can bring. Let’s get busy!

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Things That Make You Go Hmmm…

- Down line integrity doesn’t exist. Even the companies that preach it will slap you if they get a chance…

- I’m still looking to giveaway a book this week from NetMarketingBooks.com. Last week Rich Morris won for simply…Posting a comment! Rich, send me the book of your choice along with your mailing address to teamtechinc at gmail dot com for your prize. Keep the comments coming folks =)

- “There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else…” – Sam Walton

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Issue 286 – Surfing With A Purpose To Build Traffic Exchange Communities

Jon Olson — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 09:04:43 +0000

I love communities! Especially when it comes to this business. You see, for years I have hosted and maintained one of the more active communities in the traffic exchange industry at NetMarketingForum.com and through this forum have met some of the brightest, creative and passionate people the traffic exchange industry has ever seen.

And it doesn’t stop there, far from it. Online communities spring up everywhere in the industry. From the vibrant, VERY loyal viewers and attendees of Traffic Exchange Live to the brand new program from one of the masters of T.E. community building, Rob Gehring…We see the power of community!

What have you done today to grow your network? Have you been out there meeting your fellow surfers? Have you had a chit chat with an owner or two? All these communities and the entire traffic exchange industry as a whole are waiting to meet you…

It’s time to roll up your sleeves and meet your peers!

Thank you very much for being a reader of Hit Exchange News and have a wonderful week!

Jon Olson
The Traffic Exchange Guy

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The News

- I’m very excited to be a guest at James Holmes Internet Business Blueprint radio show today. Mr. Holmes will be hosting the live call in show today where the topic is…You guessed it…Traffic exchanges! Be sure to check out the show by clicking here and bring your questions…I am pretty pumped about this!

- Like I mentioned above, the king of T.E. communities, Rob Gehring launched his Traffic Leads 2 Income program this week to quite a lot of fan fare. I’d like to welcome back Rob into the program ownership side of things and look forward to seeing what he has in store for TL2I!

- How’s this for…Well HUGE news…Last week Paul Kinder announced that over 10,000 members of Traffic Splash surfed at least one page. That is insane! That’s more than most traffic exchanges have in their entire membership and *hint hint* that might be a good place for a few T.E. specific splash pages this week…

- Splash Page Hall of Fame – Want a new Dell laptop? Traffic Showdown wants to give you one! Note: Why do I focus on splash pages every week? Simple, you MUST be using them in the traffic exchanges to get results. Get a custom made splash page by clicking here!

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1. Traffic Splash
2. StartXChange
3. Hit Safari
4. Traffic Punk
5. Max Traffic Pro
6. Thumb Vu
7. Dragon Surf
8. Traffic Era
9. Traffic Witch
10. Tezak Traffic Power

Note: Analysis and Tracking by T.E. Toolbox – The Official Link Tracking Service of Hit Exchange News!

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Deep Thoughts – Jon’s Weekly Ramblings

S.W.A.P. Clicking…Oh No, Not Another Acronym…

I wrote a little post on my blog at I Love Hits this week and called it ‘It’s Time To Surf With A Purpose’. Ahhh yes, another acronym to throw at you…

This one though, makes a lot of sense. Not saying my other ‘gems’ don’t but well, let me know what you think. Here’s my thoughts on it…We are at an all time high when it comes to slot machine marketing and surfers are really starting to feel the pinch. It’s time to have your goals laid out in writing so that you KNOW why you spend time surfing the traffic exchanges.

Oh wait, some of you may just be surfing to earn credits..Why? What are you going to do with those credits? Are you trying to build your list? Are you sending traffic to a campaign to brand your new business? Are you trying your hand at affiliate marketing? Looking for leads to your online MLM?

The point of ‘S.W.A.P. Clicking’ is to have your goal in mind every single time you match a symbol on a surf bar. KNOW what you are shooting for. This practice may seem trivial but it’s not, it’s an important exercise in keeping your focus. Hey there is lots of cool stuff to see when you are surfing, S.W.A.P. Clicking is there to keep your focus. Remember every single time you click, you are on your way to good things…

Funny example I can share, when I first got started in the traffic exchanges I was promoting a program called MPAM. It was an all-in-one marketing system similar to what I now co-own at Affiliate Funnel but when MPAM got started, my entire ‘purpose’ was to bring new people into my downline…

Every single ‘click’ I made I always asked myself, would this click transform into someone joining my team? Would this next page I viewed be returned for someone joining my MPAM team and earning me some cash? It was very exciting to never know which click would do the trick but every single time I did surf, I asked myself that question. Talk about focus!

That’s what we can do each and every time we click…Surf with a purpose. Have that goal in mind, keep focused and never forget why you are using the traffic exchanges. It may not be the same reason I am, but it’s YOUR reason and YOUR purpose!

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Things That Make You Go Hmmm…

- 2010 is supposed to be the year of the mobile…ThumbVu made a stab at the mobile market, who is next?

- I’m still looking to giveaway a book this week from NetMarketingBooks.com. Last week Stephen Whittle won for simply…Posting a comment! Stephen, send me the book of your choice along with your mailing address to teamtechinc at gmail dot com for your prize. Keep the comments coming folks =)

- “The majority of men meet with failure because of their lack of persistence in creating new plans to take the place of those which fail…” – Napoleon Hill

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Issue 285 – A Month Later…Hit Exchange News Is Back!

Jon Olson — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 12:10:08 +0000

(Special note: I wanted to send my thoughts to the people of Haiti during this horrible time. If you can donate, you can. Any little bit helps…You can use your cell phone to donate $10 billed to your cell phone via the American Red Cross. Simply text the word ‘Haiti’ to 90999 to make your donation…)

It’s been almost a month now since our last issue of H.E.N. and I do apologize so much for the lack of content.

I’ve had quite the ‘interesting’ start to the decade, I’m not going to go over all of it but just wanted to thank everyone for their prayers and thoughts.

I’m back, very focused on the year ahead and look forward to meeting the new faces and the new leaders that will shape this industry in the new decade ahead.

Traffic exchanges, yes folks, are still here. They still grow. They still are talked about, used, purchased, surfed, linked to and yet I don’t feel they have reached their full potential…

The new year brought on the exciting addition of Thumb Vu to the industry. I love when something creative is added to the traffic exchanges and ‘The Vu’ is something new and refreshing.

Only a few days in and it’s been a wonderful success story with a bright future ahead. That’s the ‘message’ I think this year should be about…Creativity. Let’s take these programs further than they have been before. Push the envelop if you will. Get some creative juices flowing and see where it takes us…

So for 2010 let’s get our heads together and bring out some new features, new concepts and new growth strategies to make this year the best ever in the T.E. industry. I look forward to seeing what YOU have in store =)

Thank you very much for being a reader of Hit Exchange News and have a wonderful week!

Jon Olson
The Traffic Exchange Guy

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The News

- Speaking of creativity, Kym Robinson and Randy Ritter have come up with an amazing new mod for their traffic exchanges and are planning on offering it to the masses for a fee. What’s the mod? The ability to give loyalty bonuses for the duration of your upgraded membership. Want more bonuses, stay upgraded longer. Very cool new feature and something I like to see…Creative juices flowing.

- I got an amazing idea from Mike Gartner and Austin Hallock last month and finally got around to getting it added to I Love Hits. Have you surfed lately? Seen the surf bar there? That’s right, fully sponsored ’surf bar images’…Neat huh? It’s all about branding folks =)

- Paul Kinder and William Brant held the mother of all traffic exchange surf promos over the Christmas and New Year holidays. 15 traffic exchanges got together for an amazing ‘15 Days’ to give away thousands of dollars in prizes and thousands upon thousands of free credits. Thanks guys, it was a blast to be a part of it!

- And finally, in this week’s news I ‘kind of’ re-launched The Pizza Plan by giving it a new version of the e-book. You may want to log in and check out your rebrand status as well as some of the programs did change. I added both Traffic Wave and TE Toolbox…Plus a few extra tidbits and tips. Enjoy it!

- Splash Page Hall of Fame – I really think Thumb Vu is special…Here’s some proof! Note: Why do I focus on splash pages every week? Simple, you MUST be using them in the traffic exchanges to get results. Get a custom made splash page by clicking here!

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1. StartXChange
2. Thumb Vu
3. Hit Safari
4. Traffic Era
5. Traffic Splash
6. Max Traffic Pro
7. Tezak Traffic Power
8. Traffic Punk
9. Easy Hits 4 U
10. Dragon Surf

Note: Analysis and Tracking by T.E. Toolbox – The Official Link Tracking Service of Hit Exchange News!

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Deep Thoughts – Jon’s Weekly Ramblings

2009 – My Year In Review

I’ll be honest, this past year I got VERY lazy and my heart wasn’t in the right place for most of the year. Personally, I had a ton of offline stuff I was dealing with and while it’s no excuse it did hurt my businesses. However, the birth of TE Live near the end of 2009 helped salvage a lot and I’m VERY excited for the future of the internet’s first daily T.E. talk show…

Here’s some other notables events over the past 12 months…(Disclaimer: Yes Lynn, I know I had a few of these flip flopped in your blog but this is what I meant to say LOL)

Traffic Exchange of the Year – StartXchange. Tim Linden has grown his traffic exchange into one of the most loyal memberships on the internet today and for good reason. StartXchange rocks. Features, contests, blogs, forums, surfing chat, team surfing…You name it, this place has got it. Combined with Mr. Linden’s dedication to his craft, this exchange really showed the world what CAN be done when you put your surfers first…Always!

Traffic Exchange Owner of the Year – Tony Tezak. Is there anyone else you could give this too? Maybe but Tony embodied everything I try to teach and talk about in Hit Exchange News, Affiliate Funnel and TE Live. He took years, developed his PERSONAL brand. Started to build his network. His lists. And then launched (with the help of the KRM team) arguably the most successful upstarts this industry has ever seen in Tezak Traffic Power. Amazing work sir, here’s to an even bigger and better 2010!

Thing That Me Go Hmmm – Hit Silo. O.K. before my buddies at Logiscape tear me a new one, let me explain. The ‘pitch’ on this new traffic exchange was the introduction of commissions to a Logiscape program. I just do not know why they couldn’t add it to Traffic Era which in my opinion is one of the best traffic exchanges in history. THAT program was a game changer and maybe because these guys launch such stellar stuff we expect everything they do to be gold. Not saying Hit Silo isn’t solid, it is, but there could have been so much more here.

Wish I Had That Idea First Award – CB Pirate. Oh wow, this thing rocked! From the moment Soren told me about this product I knew it would be ideal for the traffic exchanges. A ‘push button’ product that did the selling, all you had to do was advertise the pre-made squeeze pages…Months after it’s launch it still generated hundreds of dollars a week in commissions for my business. Amazing stuff and I wish I had that idea first…

The ‘Thank God 2009 Is Over Award’ – Cash for surfing. Wow am I ever glad to get out from that mess. I know some people still may go ga-ga over surfing for pennies but I lost MAJOR focus when I caught the cash for surfing craze and it almost destroyed the industry. Ya I said it. Wanna make money for surfing? There are so many more effective ways…

That’s it for the review. Hope you enjoyed it. Here’s once again to a very prosperous 2010. May the clicks be with you and let’s go show the world what we can do…

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Things That Make You Go Hmmm…

- Rumor has it Mr. Rob Ghering is about to launch something new…Looking forward to it sir!

- I’m looking to giveaway some prizes this week. Comment below on what your ‘high and low’ was for 2009 and you may win a book of your choosing from NetMarketingBooks.com. I will pick the winner in a few days and let you know via email if you win.

- “Told myself time and time again, This time I’m gonna win…” – Love T.K.O. – Teddy Pendergrass (R.I.P.)

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Why Is ThumbVu Important?

Jon Olson — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 19:43:37 +0000

(Disclaimer: I know I have missed quite a few weeks of Hit Exchange News. I will be back hopefully next week from my unscheduled trip to Alberta. I do apologize for the lack of new issues but things will sort themselves out soon…)

You’ve seen the emails, you’ve heard the ‘hype’, I thought today I would go over why there has been some much of both during the past few days…

Yes ThumbVu had quite the launch this week and for good reason. Not for the reasons you may think but for one particular reason I really want to hammer home in this post..

Innovation!

Sure in the past we could load up a browser on our smartphones and surf a traffic exchange or two but ThumbVu created a fundamental shift in the way surfing is done on smartphones…

It’s been PROGRAMMED to work with your iPhone, your Blackberry or your Android. Cool huh? It’s got a neat little mobile browser that works perfectly with your phones and the pages load quickly and fit into the fold perfectly. This is innovation that the traffic exchange industry has been DYING to see.

New traffic exchange? Yes, but something UNIQUE and INNOVATIVE is the keys here. I applaud John Guanzon, and the dynamic duo team of Mike Gartner and Austin Hallock for creating and launching this program. I am in full support of it not just because I know the guys and they are good people but because this kind of innovation is critical for our industry and shows just how healthy the traffic exchange industry is…

Great stuff guys, I thank you for creating ThumbVu!

Issue 284 – Are The Traffic Exchanges Too Complicated?

Jon Olson — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:51:25 +0000

Mr. Linden, you make good…Cookies?

Maybe Tim’s secret passion is baking, I dunno what he does with his free time but I do know the guy GETS things done and this week he unveiled something that may not be ‘new technology’ but wow, is it ever cool…

Traffic Exchange Live got itself a new FREE toolbar that you can download and stay up to date with everything that goes on in the internet’s first ever daily traffic exchange talk show!

Links to blogs, RSS feeds, Twitter, links to the Super Surf traffic exchanges, and so much more…

This really is another example of how this little ‘talk show’ of ours is starting to grow bigger than we ever thought. And yes another example of why Tim is one of the best minds in this business. He thought this would be ‘cool’ and dude, you hit the jackpot!

Grab your free toolbar today and join us every weekday at 3pm Eastern for TE Live!

Thank you very much for being a reader of Hit Exchange News and have a wonderful week!

Jon Olson
The Traffic Exchange Guy

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The News

- Rumor has it a certain ‘big name dude from the traffic exchange industry’ is on the verge of launching something new and very…Well, unique! Stay tuned folks, this could be another one of those days you may want to grab a few coffees and get down to business…

- As I mentioned last week, the Click Bank Pirates launched something very special and so far the reviews have been stellar for Phantom Link Cloaker. That’s two for two in 2009 for my good buddies, I can’t wait to see what’s next up their sleeve…

- Got some cool new features and improvements at I Love Hits this week. Longer ‘inactive’ cookie sessions (as requested by the members) as well as larger surf bar images (as requested)…But there’s more to this ’surf bar image’ than meets the eye…Get ready =)

- A very cool new addition at Steve Ayling’s TE Tips. Basically he’s giving members the opportunity to sign up, put your auto responder code in the squeeze page he provides, build you OWN list and here’s the best part, re-brand all the ‘tips’ with your own affiliate links. Nice stuff man, very cool!

- Splash Page Hall of Fame – No one ‘gets it’ like Jerry Reeder and one of his latest squeeze pages showcases that fact! Note: Why do I focus on splash pages every week? Simple, you MUST be using them in the traffic exchanges to get results. Get a custom made splash page by clicking here!

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1. StartXChange
2. Hit Safari
3. Dragon Surf
4. Traffic Splash
5. Tezak Traffic Power
6. Traffic Era
7. Easy Hits 4 U
8. Traffic Punk
9. Max Traffic Pro
10. Traffic Showdown

Note: Analysis and Tracking by T.E. Toolbox – The Official Link Tracking Service of Hit Exchange News!

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Deep Thoughts – Jon’s Weekly Ramblings

I wrote a post about this same topic at my other blog for I Love Hits and SWAT Traffic but instead of just copying and pasting the exact same article, I figured I’d dive deeper into my concerns…

I think we make things harder than they need to be in this business. Like I mentioned, I surfed for a few minutes live on air yesterday and from what I saw, people are trying to put way too much stuff on their splash and squeeze pages…

(Side note, that’s the about 5-10% of surfers that actually use their own pages….We won’t get into generic affiliate sites…)

Folks, this isn’t a complicated business model. In fact, the entire industry was formed on this idea…I’ll look at your web site, if you look at mine. Simple. Direct. To the point.

So why do we have ‘War and Peace’ on our splash and squeeze pages when all we need is…Simple. Direct. To the point.

Use that way of thinking in everything you do in the traffic exchanges. Simplicity works and oh wow, does it work so well.

Follow the ‘two B’s of the T.E.’s’ and brand your name and build your list. Simple. How do you do that?

Brand your name by getting out and about. Go to the offline AND online events. Use your real name where you can. Use a picture if you feel comfortable. Create UNIQUE squeeze pages that stand out and are memorable.

Build your list by using a quality auto responder service and then add your own flavor to the list building process. What’s your hook? Why should people siugn up for your list? What can you offer them? Ask yourself these questions and don’t worry, the answer may not POP out at you, but hanging out in places like TE Live sure can give you some good ideas…

Again, simplicity works and works so well in this business. Give it a shot and have fun with your traffic exchange experiences!

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Things That Make You Go Hmmm…

- Seems like Viral Visitors, Lemming Run and Viral Class Ads are no longer. That is the end of some very important traffic exchange history…

- I still plan on writing Hit Exchange News throughout the holidays, but it may be delayed, or shortened. My son is coming home for the holidays and I’m pretty excited to be hanging out with him back in Saskatoon. I hope everyone has a safe and amazing holiday season!

- “The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress.” – Charles Kettering

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Issue 283 – This Is Broken Record Time, But We’re On To Something…Big!

Jon Olson — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 09:53:33 +0000

Broken records can be very annoying!

You know, same thing over and over and over again…

Yes, I’ve been raving about Traffic Exchange Live for a few weeks now and well, I’m not done yet!

So what? You may be asking yourself, what can this possibly do for my business. How can watching Jon Olson, Tim Linden and John Guanzon every single week day possibly help my business? And why does Olson always seem to be eating….

Here’s how I see it, this is being built by the members and the people that come to the ’show’ every day. They are getting to know each other, exchanging emails, ideas, and building their personal brand more than anyone else in this business.

The best part?

You can join them and it doesn’t cost a single penny!

Ya, most of these ‘new ways’ to get known don’t cost money they cost effort, they cost time and it’s getting a whole lot easier to be noticed.

Special note, TE Live now works along with your TE Toolbox user name. That’s right, you can promote TE Toolbox by advertising the movement that we lovingly call Traffic Exchange Live…

Pretty cool new feature added by Mr. Linden, simply replace (username) with your TE Toolbox username and presto, you get your affiliate links in front of anyone you refer to the broadcast…

Ex: http://www.trafficexchangelive.com/?referer=(username)

Thank you very much for being a reader of Hit Exchange News and have a wonderful week!

Jon Olson
The Traffic Exchange Guy

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The News

- As mentioned earlier this week, I’ve made thew switch and Traffic Wave is now the ‘official’ list building of choice for Hit Exchange News. It was a decision I debated for quite sometime but now, I can’t believe I didn’t do it sooner…Here’s to a program that SUPPORTS the traffic exchange industry!

- Charles Smith is my favorite person in the traffic exchange industry this week LOL Want to find out why? It’s an amazing story and something I would have never expected in a million years…Read all about Charles here!

- There’s something VERY big coming today from my good buddies Soren Jordansen, Cindy Battye and John Merrick. Be sure to look out later today for a special e-mail with all the juicy details. If you missed out on CB Pirate, you won’t want to miss this….

- Splash Page Hall of Fame – Not only did Bill Portnova and Mike Murphy create T.E. specific pages for their List Building Maximizer, check out this page! Note: Why do I focus on splash pages every week? Simple, you MUST be using them in the traffic exchanges to get results. Get a custom made splash page by clicking here!

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1. Tezak Traffic Power
2. Traffic Splash
3. Max Traffic Pro
4. StartXChange
5. Traffic Punk
6. Traffic Era
7. Farm Traffic
8. Hit Safari
9. Dragon Surf
10. Easy Hits 4 U

Note: Analysis and Tracking by T.E. Toolbox – The Official Link Tracking Service of Hit Exchange News!

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- Sponsored Ad -

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Deep Thoughts – Jon’s Weekly Ramblings

Build a list of three, not of three thousand!

Huh?

Olson, what exactly did you smoke this morning?

What do I mean by build a list of 3 and not a list of 3000? Simple, focus! It’s a brand new way of thinking that I have adopted and a way of doing business I feel the rest of the industry needs to take a serious look at as well.

Here’s what I mean;

We focus so much on the size of a list, we never stopped and asked our self, is this more damaging than good? I think it is. The reason, more and more we are moving into an environment where business is done EVERY DAY between people that have a relationship.

No longer does the ‘one size fits all’ work. We, as online business people, need to focus on a small list of customers instead of being all things to all people. Specialize in one thing and best THE expert in that one thing.

You don’t need 3,000 people on your list. Sure, you can HAVE 3,000, but the size of your list doesn’t translate into success, it’s the quality of the relationship that you have that matters, now more than ever!

So it’s my new way of doing things. I’m about relationships first, and you know what, wow it feels good. One look at all the stuff we’re doing at Traffic Exchange Live and you can see, we are moving towards ‘building relationships’.

Focus your effort, stop trying to be the jack of all trades. Be a master of one…

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Things That Make You Go Hmmm…

- Easy Hits 4 U surfers may be sick of me, but their ownership is really pushing some great stuff with their new tutorials…

- Special congratulations to Tezak Traffic Power for reaching the 20,000 member mark in well, record time. Great stuff Mr. Tezak!

- “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” – Colin Powell

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- Sponsored Ad -

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Issue 282 – Traffic Exchange Live Has Changed My Life…Scary Huh?

Jon Olson — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:26:53 +0000

Yup, I missed last week! But there was reason to the madness and it was Thanksgiving in America. I thought I’d give everyone a break and let them enjoy the holidays instead of reading my jargon….Besides, I’m back this week and ready to tackle my favorite subject in the whole wide world….

Search engine optimization!

Just kidding…

It’s issue 282 and wow, we are nearing issue number 300. My goodness time flies when you are having fun, and that’s the new focus of my business these days!

Ya, I’m still trying to project a professional business model. Yes, I’m still running a legit business. Yes, I’m worried about the bottom line but something happened about a month ago, that well…Had changed me.

Can you guess what it is?

If not, you can join me today…At 3pm Eastern and every weekday for that matter as I am joined by Tim Linden and John Guanzon as we host the first live traffic exchange talk show.

Crazy huh? Yes, we actually TALK and interact with traffic exchange surfers and owners each and every day, LIVE on camera. Stop by and see what the fuss is about….You never know, it may change your way of thinking too =)

Check us out at Traffic Exchange Live!

Thank you very much for being a reader of Hit Exchange News and have a wonderful week!

Jon Olson
The Traffic Exchange Guy

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The News

- I need you today! I need your opinion! I’ve started a brand new ’survey of sorts’ at NMF where I’m asking what was your hits and misses of 2009….Simple question, what was your favorite moment and not so favorite moment in the traffic exchange industry in 2009. Give it to me here! I can’t wait to see the responses…

- Mr. Ayling is at it again! Traffic At The Races got a brand new face lift a few weeks ago and just yesterday, Steve introduced a downline builder to the members area. Be sure to add your referral ID’s for some easy downline building…

- Traffic Exchange Live @ Ning has been growing very steadily without much hype at all. Perfect, I love slow and steady growth but at the same time, I’d love to see you hang out there. Get to know your fellow traffic exchange surfer…You never know how you may meet!

- Blog of the MONTH goes to Lynn McCutcheon’s VERY funny and very informative Lynnm.net. Lots of ‘funny’ screen captures of yours truly….Well…Doing ‘funny things’.

- Splash Page Hall of Fame – Natalia Hawthorne GETS IT! This is what I think could be the perfect splash / squeeze page! Note: Why do I focus on splash pages every week? Simple, you MUST be using them in the traffic exchanges to get results. Get a custom made splash page by clicking here!

———

1. StartXChange
2. Tezak Traffic Power
3. Traffic Splash
4. Traffic Era
5. Hit Safari
6. Dragon Surf
7. Max Traffic Pro
8. Top Tier Traffic
9. Farm Traffic
10. Traffic Witch

Note: Analysis and Tracking by T.E. Toolbox – The Official Link Tracking Service of Hit Exchange News!

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Flip Your Downline, Fill Your Funnel!

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Deep Thoughts – Jon’s Weekly Ramblings

I’m about fed up with aWeber….

This company started out in my good books with sending me a personal welcome letter, providing stellar auto responder services and some great features.

Since then though, it’s been nothing but annoying ‘emails’ and the occasional delayed delivery times. Here’s the scoop, and I’m not just ranting about this for the sake of ranting, it’s just become quite a hassle.

I provide users with tutorials in I Love Hits about how to properly use traffic exchanges. One of my tips is teaching new members to practice list building and well, building their lists using an email capture code. Remember folks, the only place I ‘promote’ this is in my members area…

Well aWeber doesn’t like that apparently, so for the past YEAR they continue to send this email to me…

Dear Jon Olson,

Our logs indicate that you have configured an automatic traffic
generating service to direct visitors to your AWeber affiliate
link. Unfortunately, these services generally only send untargeted,
massively large quantities of traffic that generate nothing more
than extra load on our web servers and additional costs. Please
see that your affiliate link is disconnected from this traffic
generating service immediately.

Affiliate Link:

http://www.aweber.com/?223996

Referring Traffic Generating Service:

http://www.ilovehits.com/tutorials3.html

Thank you for your cooperation.

Please see our affiliate control panel for better methods of
generating traffic that will actually be interested in
purchasing things.

Same email, every day practically. Guess they don’t want or like us good ol’ untargeted traffic folks…

Here’s the funniest bit, they also keep sending me decent affiliate checks every month. So I have to as myself, why do I continue to give these people my business?

I’ll tell you what though, programs like Get Response, iContact and Traffic Wave are looking mighty good these days.

What’s your favorite auto responder service? Give me your list and I’d love to shop around. I can’t wait to hear your input on this….

————

Things That Make You Go Hmmm…

- We’ve added some ‘goodies’ over at TE Toolbox. Can you find them?

- I had my dad in attendance at Affiliate Funnel’s Saturday training session. Yup, my pops looks to be getting involved in the ‘internet business world’. Two Olson’s…Yikes!

- “I want to put a ding in the universe.” – Steve Jobs

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Issue 281 – Building Your List Using The Traffic Exchanges

Jon Olson — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:31:50 +0000

When it’s good, it’s really good!

Last week we celebrated the massive launch of TE Toolbox and trust me on this, we are just getting started…Big things ahead for sure!

With that in mind, it’s pretty obvious to see how healthy the traffic exchange industry has become because today we are seeing the launch of TE List Building, a brand new ‘A to Z’ guide for building your lists with the traffic exchanges.

Why is this important?

This tackles one of my ‘Two B’s’ for promoting in the traffic exchanges. Building a brand is one and the other is building your list.

John Guanzon and Winter Perkins have put together a stellar product that tackles one of the most important parts of your online advertising and I’m very excited for this release.

Be sure to check it out and support good people like John and Winter. These two have been very supportive of everything we have been trying to do to build this industry and a product like this is a wonderful addition!

Thank you very much for being a reader of Hit Exchange News and have a wonderful week!

Jon Olson
The Traffic Exchange Guy

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The News

- Traffic Exchange Live has been a HUGE success! We’ve had as many as 220 people watching the stream at once and think of us as your companions while surfing, daily at 3pm Eastern. Pop by and say hi, it’s always a fun time =)

- Wanna see what happens when like minded people get together everyday? Traffic Exchange Live @ Ning was ‘launched’ yesterday because of the ideas of a group of attendees at TE Live. What is it? It’s Facebook for the traffic exchanges. The traffic exchange’s first and only social networking site! Cool huh?

- Traffic at the Races got a complete over haul and new design this past week as well. The Duckman did a great job and this thing looks very very good. Great stuff Steve!

- Splash Page Hall of Fame – Winter Perkins, you make good cookies! And kick butt splash pages too! Note: Why do I focus on splash pages every week? Simple, you MUST be using them in the traffic exchanges to get results. Get a custom made splash page by clicking here!

———

1. Traffic Splash
2. StartXChange
3. Hit Safari
4. Traffic Era
5. Traffic Witch
6. Tezak Traffic Power
7. Dragon Surf
8. Traffic Taxis
9. Max Traffic Pro
10. Farm Traffic

Note: Analysis and Tracking by T.E. Toolbox – The Official Link Tracking Service of Hit Exchange News!

———–

Flip Your Downline, Fill Your Funnel!

———–

Deep Thoughts – Jon’s Weekly Ramblings

I touched on this in the news section but I wanted to go into depth of why this is one of the most active weeks in the traffic exchange industry. Check out this timeline for example after example of ‘coming together and making things happen’…

Only a week ago, Tim Linden, Paul Kinder and myself re-launch TE Toolbox. This has been a year in the making and essentially we wanted to give the industry the tools we use. Package them up and make it THE suite of T.E> related tools so members could get the best, all in one spot.

This spurs the idea that Tim and I are going to host daily ’streams’ on our brand new ‘uStream Channel’ called Traffic Exchange Live. Here’s the funny part, this was only supposed to be used for launch week but it has now morphed into a daily ’show’ where dozens upon dozens of traffic exchange users and surfers are hanging out and taking part in some great conversations…

And we’re all hanging out in the stream yesterday and we are all commenting on how great it is to network with others, so what do we all do? We start the traffic exchange industry’s first social network @ Ning.

Two of the attendees and members of the Ning network, John Guanzon and Winter Perkins meet up and start talking in the ’stream’ and come up with the idea for TE List Building, a joint venture where they break down the importance and techniques for list building on the TEs. This gets put into action and less that a week later they launch it (today.)

How’s that for a week in review?

What’s the message? Get out there, get active, meet other people and good things…X that…Great things are bound to happen.

Just think, this is only one week into all this stuff…I can’t wait to see what’s ahead!

————

Things That Make You Go Hmmm…

- Be sure to join the ‘H.E.N. group’ at the Ning Network. I’ll post funny stuff now and again, but more importantly…You get to network with other readers =)

- I’ll be in Edmonton for the weekend to hang out with my son. Oilers game on Saturday too! Sad part, no Modern Warfare 2 for five days LOL…Yes, I’m obsessed!

- “Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.” – William Feather

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Issue 280 – The Traffic Exchange Industry Has Changed Forever

Jon Olson — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:38:13 +0000

It’s here!

We’ve been ‘whispering’ of this week for quite sometime and on Tuesday, Paul Kinder, Tim Linden and myself re-launched what we feel is the ultimate suite of traffic exchange tools which we lovingly call…TE Toolbox.

We’ve been absolutely floored by the levels of support and truly are grateful for everyone’s business during the first 48 hours of launch. We’re not stopping there though, we’ve got big plans for this program and we are looking forward to working with each of you.

To celebrate ‘the re-launch’ we’ve been hosting the TE Toolbox re-launch party live at Traffic Exchange Live, our daily uStream feed, wanna check out what all the fuss is about? Be sure to join the conversation here:

Streaming live video by Ustream

Thank you very much for being a reader of Hit Exchange News and have a wonderful week!

Jon Olson
The Traffic Exchange Guy

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The News

- Yes, TE Toolbox has been re-launched, but something that was released with it is the brand new ‘daily traffic exchange chat’ hosted by Tim Linden and yours truly. We call it Traffic Exchange Live and it’s LIVE every day of the week at 3 pm Eastern. Think of us as your companions and entertainment while surfing.

- You know what is a special moment in this industry? When people release REAL books and that’s exactly what John Guanzon did today. List Building Crash Course is John’s first published book and is available for purchase right now on LuLu and very soon on Amazon.com. Great stuff man, congratulations!

- Splash Page Hall of Fame – The live stream of Traffic Exchange Live has been very popular. Combined with live stats from TE Toolbox, you’ve got yourself something very unique! Note: Why do I focus on splash pages every week? Simple, you MUST be using them in the traffic exchanges to get results. Get a custom made splash page by clicking here!

———

1. Traffic Splash
2. StartXChange
3. Tezak Traffic Power
4. Traffic Era
5. Dragon Surf
6. Max Traffic Pro
7. Traffic Witch
8. Hit Safari
9. Farm Traffic
10. Traffic Taxis

Note: Analysis and Tracking by T.E. Toolbox – The Official Link Tracking Service of Hit Exchange News!

———–

Flip Your Downline, Fill Your Funnel!

———–

Deep Thoughts – Jon’s Weekly Ramblings

The traffic exchanges are changing! Yes, I know what you are saying enough with the hype Olson, we know you and your buddies launched TE Toolbox this week. And ya, I’m pumped about it and for myself, I’m looking forward to a long and prosperous business with Paul and Tim….

However that statement is about what I see taking place across th industry. I am seeing much more interaction, many more surfers coming out and meeting owners in live chat and a real sense of community developing.

Sounds all warm and fuzzy I know, but this is exactly what we need. We need surfers and owners talking. We need people hosting live events. We need forums posts. We need interaction. We need creative owners. And you know what, for the first time in quite a few years I can look at it and say ‘yes, we are headed in the right direction’.

Remember folks, this industry works best when ‘we’ all get together and do business. The traffic exchanges have always been user generated, and when you have a strong community you have potential for massive growth.

Yup, I’m pretty pumped. So I encourage you all, take part in blog posts, comment where you can. Come out to the live events, have a chit chat with some of your fellow surfers.

It’s going to be a great end to 2009, and we’re just getting started. Big things are ahead for us all….

————

Things That Make You Go Hmmm…

- Live curry cooking with your host, Jon Olson The Traffic Exchange Guy! Yes, I recorded it LOL

- Wow, Modern Warfare 2 is the greatest video game ever created. So here’s my ‘life’ these days. Stream on TE Live for 5 hours, play video games for 8, sleep the rest LOL

- “Good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment.” – Fred Brooks

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