Hit Exchange NewsThe pulse of the traffic exchange industry

So here it is. A brand new issue of Hit Exchange News, on a blog no less. And here’s the best part, it’s Issue number 200. The past 4 plus years of writing this newsletter has been such a great experience. I have met lots of great people from this newsletter, discussed some of the very best traffic exchanges on the net and even wrote a book about these programs from my articles in this little e-zine as well.

200 Issues later, we’re still going strong but I wanted to change things up a bit. So H.E.N. is now in blog format. Also, some of the sections have been toned down just a bit to give readers a much better ‘flow’ to the newsletter. But most importantly, this was done to give readers much more input and the ability to communicate with other surfers and myself after each and every issue.

Like something I said? Write about it. Disagree with something I said, write about it too. Want to debate a point or too, pop by and say what’s on your mind. This blog will become THE source for all traffic exchange news, reviews and happenings and I would be honored if you could take part in it to create something very very special!

Have a great week and enjoy the new issue and layout!

————–

The News

- Big news this week as Traffic Soldiers introduced it’s brand new owner. Nathy Curiel has taken over the reigns at Soldiers and should provide a wonderful new approach to this very active program. Look for big things from this new owner and program in the next few months.

- Wow, what a wonderful little program this is turning out to be. I reviewed Blue Surf last week and made some recommendations on how this program could really take off. The owner has got rid of the require surfing to activate your account and a brand new design is almost ready. Folks, I really think this could be a great new exchange and one we should all monitor over the next few months.

- Jellybean January? Huh? The newest promotion from Traffic Bunnies has added a ’sweet’ twist to an old promotion. Pretty cool idea, surf 50 sites a day for 5 days, and get a bag of goodies mailed to your front door. A great idea, simple but no one has ever done something like this in the exchanges.

- Splash Page Hall of Fame - Residual Traffic System is the latest gem from Steve Ayling and whenever Steve starts something, you can bet his splash pages are some of the best out there. This splash can be used with or without a short audio clip. Very very nice!

———

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 results and my own opinion, nothing more, nothing less.)

1.Traffic Splash
2.Traffic Swarm
3.TS 25
4.Traffic Roundup
5.Dragon Surf
6.Royal Surf
7.Link Crews
8.Traffic At The Races
9.StartXchange
10.Hit Safari

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)

———–

Deep Thoughts - Jon’s Weekly Rambling

Why I Love Sundays…

Sundays have always been a day of leisure in my house hold, and of course there is football, and of course there is church, and of course there is basketball too…But it’s also the busiest day of the week in my traffic exchanges.

For years now, Sundays have been not only the most active in my programs but I tend to generate more upgrades, more credit sales and more people joining my mailing lists…And this is not just something I have recently noticed, this goes back for years.

Now there is lots of discussion about which day of the week should you concentrate on and which hours of the day should be surfed. While I do feel that it’s important to keep your site in rotation as much as possible, Sundays have always been my best days.

How do I know that? Well I track my own stats and I know from these numbers where and when people are surfing and how much they are. Does this mean Sundays will be your best days too? not at all, but I can tell you for a fact that more people surf I Love Hits and SWAT Traffic on Sundays then any other day of the week.

And by testing and tracking, you will find out cool little stats like this for your own promotions. Happy surfing!

————

Program Review - Genie Traffic

Jack Schafer. What can I say about this guy. Sure, he’s my partner in crime when it comes to Xbox Live (we play way too many video games) but regardless he is one of the best people I have met in this business. Hit Pirate (his first exchange) is one of those gems in the rough that performs week in and week out, still never got the attention I think it deserves.

Jack let me know about his new program, Genie Traffic a few months ago and I was thrilled to hear he was going to do a new program. Genie Traffic is NOT using an LJ Script, or a TCN script, or a Walker script. Instead, Jack went with Script Jet to manage his backend and I think it’s a very good decision.

Genie Traffic works very well and Jack did a great job at making the script very user friendly. The surf navigation is great and the feel of the program is refreshing in an era of copy cat designs.

Will Genie fly under the radar like it’s big brother Hit Pirate? Time will tell, but which ever program you do chose, you are in very good hands with Jack at the helm. A wonderful new addition to the industry!

Jon’s Rating of Genie Traffic - 4.0 out of 5.0

Things That Make You Go Hmmm…

- I know, it’s scary but I may actually get the hang of this blogging thing. Thanks to Mike Paetzold for his long lasting patience when dealing with me and my ignorance when it comes to blogs.

- It’s only a few weeks (or days) until Logiscape releases Traffic Era. I feel like a kid in a candy store when these guys launch something…Joy and happiness!

- The disaster which I call the Buffalo Bills 2007 season is finally over. Now I just need to survive the Toronto Maple Leafs ’season’ and I’ll be o.k. Being a sports fan, it’s not a job it’s an adventure…

———