This is Hit Exchange News...

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!

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Issue 223 – Innovate This!

Year after year we hear the same thing in this business…We need innovation, we need this, we need that. The problem with the traffic exchanges is sometimes we don’t see what we have in front of us. We fall victim to the ‘let’s program this because we can’ rather than ‘let’s program this to help people’.

I really saw how ‘little’ this industry can support innovation, especially with the launch of my Profile Pages at I Love Hits. I Love Hits doesn’t have that ‘commission structure’ so it rarely gets promoted if ever by the rest of the industry. So when something like the Profile Pages comes around, sure it will benefit everyone that uses them and help the entire industry become more community oriented…But it lacks the ‘sexy’ commissions, so it never shines like it should.

Thank goodness for Hit Exchange News then and my big mouth, because I’ll praise innovation until I’m blue in the face. I’m putting Cindy Battye up there for traffic exchange owner of the year so far with the release of her brand new ‘TB Connect’ system at Traffic Bunnies. Essentially, she has created ‘Twitter’ for traffic exchanges. This is HUGE and if you embrace this new innovation from TB, your ‘network’ will grow above and beyond what is considered ‘the norm’ in this business.

So to all the traffic exchanges out there, if you come up with something that will benefit the thousands of traffic exchange surfers, I guarantee you that I will praise it and make the readers of H.E.N. know that you are blazing trails for this industry!

Have a great week and thanks very much for being a reader of Hit Exchange News!

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Jon Olson
The Traffic Exchange Guy

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The News

- Royal Surf added a very unique contest this week. Basically they are giving away ‘Free Gas’. I know, sounds weird for a traffic exchange but I have to applaud the different approach to this contest. Be sure to check out Royal Surf for your chance to win some free petrol!

- Easy Hits 4 U announced this week that it has reached 80,000 members! 80k, let that sink in for a minute because I know it made me stop and think. So while some traffic exchanges brag about having 1000 or maybe 8000 members, this program is quickly approaching the 100,000 member mark. Wow, great job Easy Hits!

- There’s been another traffic exchange launch by an owner with by upside. The Traffic House was launched by it’s owner, Joakim Andreassen, who has been spending endless hours with a lot of us in the SWAT Traffic seminar room. He’s had to deal with a lot of critiques but it looks like it has paid off with this solid new addition!

- There was a ‘rave’ about Paul Kinder this week in Net Marketing Forum and I thought I would just mention that Traffic Splash .hit 28,000 members this week. This traffic exchange (and ownership) continue to blow down doors and show and prove that it’s one of the best traffic exchanges in history!

- Want to win your own copy of the best selling traffic exchange book on Amazon.com, Hits, Clicks and Misses, (actually, it’s the only published book about T.E.’s on the planet), simply post a comment about this week’s issue of HEN! Congrats to Nancy Radlinger for winning last week, if you can send me your mailing address to hitexchangenews at yahoo dot com, I’ll get you your copy shipped a.s.a.p.

- Splash Page Hall of Fame – To go along with the ‘Free Gas’ giveaway comes this splash page from Royal Surf! 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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HEN Top 10

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. Traffic Splash
2. Traffic Wonderland
3. Dragon Surf
4. TS 25
5. Traffic Swarm
6. Traffic At The Races
7. Royal Surf
8. Easy Hits 4 U
9. Traffic Era
10. StartXChange

Note: Analysis and Tracking by Hits Connect – The Official Link Tracking Service of Hit Exchange News! Sign up today and get your 30% Discount!

Question: Hey Jon, how come I Love Hits, SWAT Traffic and Click Crazey 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 Rambling

Please…No More Playing The ‘Little Guy’ Card!

There’s a heated debate going on in the ‘Rant’ section over at Net Marketing Forum and while that isn’t news in itself (we have heated discussions there regularly), there is something that seems to keep popping up in these talks that is quite disturbing.

It seems that whenever ‘owners’ in the Net Marketing Forum debate and question motives for anything in this business they are branded as these evil people ‘against’ the little guy. The little guy. That term that has been used constantly in this business has become quite a statement.

Why do I have a problem with it? Sure, everyone was a little guy at one time. Everyone started in this business at zero and many of us struggled day in and day out to develop our business. But what’s even more disturbing is that it has become an excuse and people hide behind it like a shield.

It’s fine to be the little guy. It’s not a bad thing in my opinion, and to be honest a lot of us owners still consider ourselves to be little guys. Want to know why I think of myself as just a young pup in this business? Simple, if I think I’m ‘big time’ I will stop learning and not keep moving forward. I look at everyday like a learning experience, the difference I think is who we choose to associate ourselves around.

I want to be surrounded by two kinds of people, the first, someone who is better off ‘economically’ than I am. Why? So they can teach me how to earn more money. Simple. They obviously do things differently and I know I can learn a few things by just being a sponge around them

The second, I want to be around positive thinkers. I do not want to be around the ‘poor me, I’m a little guy’ attitudes. I want to be around the ‘I’m a little guy and loving the learning experience’ attitudes. I had to laugh because in this recent ‘heated discussion’ a few people claimed they have been surfing for 10 years and are still a poor little guy. Really? I think it may be time to re-evaluate who they associate with.

Again, being a little guy isn’t a bad thing and I do hope people stop using it as an excuse. The trick is to use that time to surround yourself around a winning attitude and positive progressive people. The choice is yours!

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Things That Make You Go Hmmm…

- Useless Jon Olson information. I will be on the road for the next 2 and a half weeks for a family vacation. There will not be an issue of Hit Exchange News next week but I will be back on schedule the following week!

- Last week’s ‘risky program du jour’ is still in rotation in a lot of exchanges even though it was banned by a huge chunk of the industry. Anyone notice how the ‘member count’ was taken off the front page?

- I’ve got a few spots in H.E.N. for ad space. It’s been a few months since two spots have become available so be sure to grab your ad space if you want the best advertising space in the traffic exchange industry. (End shameless self promotion here)

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Related posts

So there was a question posed in a forum this week that asked the question, what makes you surf a traffic exchange. The number one response to that question in it’s poll was ‘because an exchange gave me results’. And rightfully so, I mean why else would we be surfing if not for end results in mind.

But let’s analyze this for a second. I stated in this poll that without a good design, you would not find a good owner and thus wouldn’t even be able to see results from a traffic exchange. Of course, this was argued with and disagreed on. Can you see why I feel this way?

Simple, if a traffic exchange owner doesn’t invest in the layout, design and programming to their script, why on earth would it attract new members. New members are the lifeblood of any traffic exchange, and new members means new eye balls looking at your site. The more members a program has, the better results that program will generate. Always. There is no debating this, the best traffic exchanges online are INVESTED in by the owner.

So it all starts with the design. I’m sure people may argue with this still, but you have to ask yourself…What traffic exchange have you surfed, or gotten results from, that had a horrible site design and absolutely no customization at all? Go with the programs that have quality stamped all over it, you are for sure going to find a responsive owner and of course, results!

Have a great week and thanks very much for being a reader of Hit Exchange News!

sig

Jon Olson
The Traffic Exchange Guy

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The News

- We had some changes made to the member directory at I Love Hits this past week. With the increasing use of the profile pages, we felt the need to spice up the directory and give people much more to see and look at. Be sure to pop by and check out the changes! Oh yeah, and surf a few sites too while you are at it, we’ve got some pretty cool new additions to the surf bar as well.

- Traffic Splash added 1000 members ALONE this week as they hit 27,000 in total surfers. All I can say is…Here’s a traffic exchange that grows by leaps and bounds. This is something to support, surf, purchase and upgrade at. By far, one of the best exchanges ever!

- Traffic Soldiers hit quite a milestone this week as well. It was announced that Soldiers hit 20,000 members in their latest update. This is a very nice achievement and proof that there are traffic exchanges out there that do grow and are not stagnant.

- I sent a little tidbit about Daily Niche Idea last night because I really feel this is the official ‘no excuse tool’ for building a mailing list. Cindy Battye’s new program is one of those ‘must haves’ for anyone that has ever got stuck on something to write about to their list. Be sure to give it a look and sign up for free.

- Want to win your own copy of the best selling traffic exchange book on Amazon.com, Hits, Clicks and Misses, (actually, it’s the only published book about T.E.’s on the planet), simply post a comment about this week’s issue of HEN!

- Splash Page Hall of Fame – How about getting a $47 ebook just for signing up to Advertising Know How? 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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HEN Top 10

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. Traffic Swarm
2. TS 25
3. Dragon Surf
4. Traffic Splash
5. Traffic At The Races
6. Traffic Era
7. StartXChange
8. Easy Hits 4 U
9. Max Traffic Pro
10. Traffic Wonderland

Note: Analysis and Tracking by Hits Connect – The Official Link Tracking Service of Hit Exchange News! Sign up today and get your 30% Discount!

Question: Hey Jon, how come I Love Hits, SWAT Traffic and Click Crazey 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 Rambling

How Not To Approach Potential JV’s?

This little tidbit is in response to my email a few days ago about the I Love Hits update:

“I am a traffic exchange owner and i would be willing to give you some free advertising on my site if you sign up as a member and then you can give me credits on your site in exchange. my website is (not giving them free publicity). Please check it out and let me know…”

So I checked the site out, hey, you never know who is sending emails to you right? What I saw was a basic Ventrino script, zero customization, grand total of just over 60 members. Oh yeah, and like 1200 credits to sign up, plus a 1:1 surf ratio. That’s a big warning sign if you are thinking about joining a new traffic exchange by the way.

O.k., not a problem, maybe they are new and I could help them out by suggesting they focus more on building their brand name in my traffic exchanges first. So I check their account at I Love Hits AND S.W.A.T. Traffic. I find no URLs added, never spent a dime on advertising their exchange, surfed a grand total of 12 sites in the lifetime of the account. What would you do?

You know the popular saying, those who want help, should help themselves first? This is a classic example. Want to get on the radar for possible JV’s? How about building your name and really showing to others that you are here for the long run. Far too many times, we see people come and go in this business and now more than ever it’s important to ‘create your own buzz’.

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Things That Make You Go Hmmm…

- Jon Olson is a real genius sometimes. I let the domain name for Hit Exchange News expire yesterday. Duh.

- Owners of Hit Magik, you have a support request in Net Marketing Forum.

- I knew Max Traffic Pro was a great traffic exchange but William Brant for president? Huh?

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