The pulse of the traffic exchange industry and the random ramblings of Jon Olson (that's me!)
I've been writing Hit Exchange News since 2003 and have been involved in the traffic exchanges for over a decade. Enjoy the 'news', and thank you so much for making this THE must-read traffic exchange blog on the internet!
The last post I had on Hit Exchange News created quite a stir. Again, there are some that see the power of social surfing, and there are some that don’t. One of the main things I noticed is that people who embraced age old practices along with creating a wonderful brand in the social side are seeing massive results. So my advice would be this…
Stop worrying about the ‘sale’…
Make a friend first!
I am hearing how results are down, it takes ‘too much time to be social’, and blah blah blah. I’ve seen results soar for our members and for our businesses across the board because we have stopped worrying about the ‘sale’. Our results are now based on people. How many people can I say ‘hi and thank you’ to in a live environment.
We want to concentrate on creating happy surfers and happy members first, and we feel the sales will follow. And it’s been working. It’s pretty simple really, if members are bored, they do things like load up 10 tabs and power surf. However if they are engaged, interacting with others, they are happy and only surfing maybe 2 tabs at once.
Happy, engaged members = results
But what are results? A sale? Maybe a new sign up to your list? How about a click through?
For TimTech (and yours truly) results mean creating happy members and meeting new people interested in well…Not being bored to death while trying to build a business online. I have learned the most by doing, not by listening to someone in a suit tell me how to make money online…The best teacher ever is experience and why not have a little bit of fun while doing it.
So yeah, this stuff may not be for everyone, and that’s fine…But I firmly believe that if you worry less about where the next sale is coming from, and more about engaging others and talking to members, the sales seem to come in…Automatically.
What’s your thoughts on this? Is Olson out to lunch, or is the new business model online…Let’s be friends first?
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!
- 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!
- 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 – 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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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.)
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
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
