So I got back from Las Vegas last week, and even though I enjoy going on trips for ‘business’, I really like gettng home and getting back into my schedule. That happens when you love your work, you really enjoy spending time creating new projects, finishing up some tasks and working with the great people in this business. However, during the past weeks I have seen some things happen that I have to comment on.

The first, traffic exchanges have been offering commissions for a long time, but during the past few years, the entire ‘get paid to promote a TE’ has really taken off. You can earn some great commissions by promoting the best exchanges on the net however getting those commissions is starting to be quite the task.

Now let me say it here, some exchanges pay right away. For example, I put in a ton of commission requests this past week and guys like Promo Lotto and Traffic Witch paid right away. Now I’m not saying that exchanges should pay their commissions the moment you request it, but here’s the kicker…

I’m a busy dude. I have massive management duties, promotional emails to write, exchanges to surf and so on…I get commissions paid within 48 hours, even less. If I can pay them out that quickly, there is really no excuse for traffic exchanges taking their sweet time to pay what they owe.
I think it’s time to really support the guys and gals that pay those commissions quickly. Maybe if we support them more, and spend less time and money at the exchanges /services that aren’t paying what they owe. Maybe even we should start letting the world know which exchanges aren’t getting it done…

What to find out who’s not paying? Or who is? Be sure to comment on this thread in Net Marketing Forum…

My newsletterHit Exchange News celebrated it’s 250th issue last week and every time I hit a milestone like that, I love to review past articles and tidbits I wrote about in previous issues of H.E.N.

I came across Issue 10 and I had to smile. The article I wrote, talked about three things that you needed in all your traffic exchange advertising, they were;

1. Be original. This means, don’t use generic affiliate pages. Invest in a strong lead capture, squeeze or splash page.

2. Capture a lead. Also known as building your list. If you aren’t you are STILL wasting your time in the traffic exchanges.

3. Give them a reason to look at your site and sign up to your list. A unique offer that will give your new subscriber value.

And finally 4. Keeping everything simple. Why on earth must we confuse the easiest advertising medium on the net. Keep things simple, the results will be there.

So here I am, taking a trip down memory lane and thinking, even though we see some many changes and improvements as an industry, the real message here is that some things will always remain.

7123 new traffic exchange surfers seems like a big number, but here’s an even better stat to consider.  This is only from the last 7 days…

Imagine. Over 7000 new people a week, looking at your web site and seeing your offers. That’s how powerful these traffic exchanges have become and even more reason to make sure you are active and visible within the larger exchanges online.

Want to know which traffic exchanges are bringing in the most new members each and every week? Check out the detailed traffic exchange report here!

You can see what the average new members per week are and the total new members from the top traffic exchanges every single week…For free!

This is a wonderful resource to get a feel for what is hot and what is not in the traffic exchange industry.

Extra tip: Traffic exchange specific splash pages will do wonders for the top 10 traffic exchanges in that list. Create specific splash and squeeze pages for those programs and watch your results soar!

I was reading a fantastic little piece recently in a magazine this morning about how important it is for people to pick the right colors and color schemes for their web sites. And it got me thinking, this is even more important when you think about how much we use splash pages and squeeze page sin the traffic exchanges.
For example, I use a lot of blues and reds in my web sites. From I Love Hits, SWAT Traffic to Affiliate Funnel, the red and blue schemes are very promounced. And there is a reason for that. I remember reading years ago in a marketing textbook about how reds and blues are ’strong’ colors and represent trust, agressive marketing, leadership and so much more.

I try to convey those ‘feelings’ in my business and the colors I pick are chosen for a reason.  When designing a splash pr squeeze page, think about what kind of message you want your potential customers to see and hear. For example, neon green may have been popular in the 80’s but when it comes to strong web site design, go with what works.

Use strong colors like red, blue, green, orange and purple. Earthy tones look good too, but if you are having doubts about it, professional web site designers are always a good bet and worth the investment. They may be able to change a decent color scheme into something that will represent exactly the message you are trying to get across to the viewers.

A few months ago, my kid came to me with a plea. He asked if we could sponsor come children for Christmas. He said it would a great thing to do, and I am so proud of his compassion. So this week, it’s been another proud moment for me.

However this time, the generosity has been from the internet marketing and traffic exchange industries. The ‘biggy’ was Joel Comm’s 12 hour Tweet-A-Thon that happened yesterday. Joel gave 12 hours of his day and sat in front of his computer, Tweet’d and chit chatted with such celebrities as MC Hammer, Wil Wheaton and dozens of other IM super stars.

They were raising money for Water Is Life, a great charity that provides filter systems for African nations. It was a great event and last I heard they donated over $10,000 in filter systems. Amazing!

Next, was closer to home as my good buddy and fellow traffic exchange owner Jon Atwood, took the bull by the horns and started a small charity for the American Cancer Society.

A proud moment for sure, to see Jon step up and challenge all the traffic exchange owners and the community at Net Marketing Forum to donate to this critical cause.

I can say, this week, has been great. I anticipate many more of these events and drives to give back and I encourage everyone to step up and donate what you can. We can make a difference, just like Joel and Jon did this week!!!

Weird title huh….Here’s the funny thing, I just noticed my lovely new white t-shirt that I purchase a few days ago, full of lovely coffee stains and the odd dash of curry paste. So what do ‘coffee stains’ have to do with traffic exchanges and how to get better results from them…

A few years ago I made a decision. The decision was to never work for anyone else ever again. The entire concept of waking up, sitting in traffic for two hours, to get to a dead end job and dress up like a penguin in a suit…Urgggh that’s my personal hell. So I came online, with big dreams, no money and an absolute addiction to coffee!

What did online business allow me to do? Be comfortable. I am absolutely at peace when I’m sitting in my office, sipping some Starbucks and listening to my dog snore behind my chair. This is my ‘comfort zone’!

How can you find your comfort zone with your business? You will feel pressured when you are trying to get your business off the ground, but never second guess that little voice in your mind. 99% of the time, it’s right. Your gut instinct will tell you when something feels good, and other things are too good to be true.

It’s very important to find your ‘zone’ in this business so you can plan to get there. Me myself, it was the absolute desire to never work for anyone again. I had a brand new baby boy that I had to care for, so that’s pretty motivating in itself and I wanted to be around him as much as possible. Traffic exchanges allowed me to do this. That’s why I am so passionate about them.

Will traffic exchanges be your comfort zone? Will they be part of your marketing plan? Only you can decide that, the big thing though is to always do what you feel is right. Listen to your gut instinct, it rarely lets you down…

Now time to find some Tide to get these stains out…

What do Paul Kinder, Tony Tezak, Soren Jordansen, Robert Puddy, William Brant, Sunny Suggs, Gudio Nussbaum and dozens of other success traffic exchange users have in common? Quite a few things actually, but what I want to point out is that chances are, you’ve heard of them…

Now if I was to say startabiz, ttiger, signeuhausen, hotbobs, wbrant, sunnys123 and geedo, I’m sure you could figure it out if you did some digging, but chances are, the username is not as known as the real name.

And this is the message behind what we talked about today at the Affiliate Funnel seminar. Getting your name out there and how important it is to your business.

Let’s face it, you are much more likely to do business with Paul Kinder instead of startabiz. It may seem like not much of a big deal but it is. For example, would you purchase advertising from some guy named ‘realincome’ or Jon Olson? ‘Realincome’ almost sounds like you should run away from it, and one day I will choose different usernames I promise, it’s a force of habit but nowadays I try to throw ‘Jon Olson’ everywhere I can.

Where can you get your name out?

The first example was already mentioned. Let’s say you are ready to join us in Affiliate Funnel or the Wednesday night SWAT Traffic seminar. The absolutely best thing you could do, is to come in using your real name. Do not come in as ‘greatbiz4u’, come in as yourself. Why? Not only does it help build trust with fellow surfers and community members, it’s part of your personal branding in business.

Another great place to get your name out there, forums! Again, same example but you should never join a business forum under an alias. Use your real name at all the business forums you visit. It will pay huge dividends down the road.

And finally, this is a traffic exchange blog, so you should be using your real name on squeeze pages, splash pages and everywhere in between. Remember your ‘traffic exchange brand awareness’ and get in front of people. Use your real name in 6 months, just as much as you are today.

Simple steps, completely free, it doesn’t cost you a thing and a great business habit to get into right now.

I have to laugh, if you ever had any doubts in your mind about the power of social marketing and viral marketing you have to check out Gary McCaffrey’s Tweeter Getter.

Here’s what’s funny. This is age old viral list building technology made famous from old sites like Free Net Leads and most recently Downline Builder Direct. The only difference is that instead of email lists being built, it’s your Twitter following.

I’m not really debating whether this is a great program or ‘Twitter spam’ but what I am absolutely amazed by is how powerful viral marketing combined with Twitter can be. In the span of a few hours, this program got absolutely flooded in tweets around the net.

Amazing viral power combined with Twitter’s amazing reach has started something that you can see grow LIVE right now because it’s only a few days old. So funny that we are using technology that has been around for years, in fresh new ways…

I get asked, time and time again, how do I make money online? It’s an age old question and I’m sure it will be here for years to come.

Want the answer? I mean do you really want to know, because it’s very easy but does take a little bit of elbow grease.

Build your network.

Sure, you need to build a mailing list. Yes, you need to develop a good marketing plan. Of course you need to invest wisely. But your network, A.K.A. your circle of friends, will help you for years and years to come.

How do you build a network in this business?

I’ve got a short list, and if you follow it, you meet lots of great people and start building your circle of friends in the industry.

1. Upgrade your account in SWAT Traffic so that you can attend the Wednesday night seminars. This is where the movers and shakers of the traffic exchange industry meet and chit chat, discuss ideas, exchange thoughts and build partnership that last for years.

2. Join Affiliate Funnel and attend the weekly seminars as well. There are a total of 3 weekly events at Affiliate Funnel, all designed to get you in touch with like minded individuals and teach you real examples on how to build lists, businesses and of course, your network.

3. Get active in Net Marketing Forum. Let’s see…Soren Jordansen, Paul Kinder, Robert Puddy, Sunny Suggs, David Foley, Guido Nussbaum, Pat Lovell and dozens of others…All names you may recognize from the internet marketing and traffic exchange world…I’ve met them through Net Marketing Forum and to this day, work with them daily…

How’s that for easy? 3 simple steps that will get you in front of thousands and thousands of like minded individuals. Yes, it does take a little bit of effort and yes, it may not happen overnight, but stay the course, get active and I guarantee you that you will see BIG changes in your business!

I’ve got two answers to this question and while they are completely different, the message is very important, results matter and matter the most when working with traffic exchanges.

Results can be measured by using an ad tracker of choice. It’s a simple process that does take a bit of elbow grease to get started but once it does, you’ll see how easy it is to set up. I create a tracked link, and name it ‘ILH’ for example if I wanted to track rsults from I Love Hits. This tells me how many hits I’m getting to the site I am promoting and also with some ad trackers out there, by placing certain code on your site, you can see how many people it takes to view your page before you get a subscriber, new sign up or sale.

That’s the ‘company’ answer to ‘How Do You Measure Traffic Exchange Results?’ Here’s the ‘Jon Olson-Does-Things-Differently-Answer’….

If you have read any of my articles in the past, you’ll know I’m a big fan of branding. So much so that I coined a little term for traffic exchanges called ‘T.E. Brand Awareness’. Essentially it works like this, get your site seen as much in 6 months that you are getting it seen today. Far too many times, people go head first into this business and never stick to it.

HOWEVER, people come back. It’s a proven fact that so many people try the exchanges out, give up after a month or so, and then resurface in half a year or more. Now the power of ‘T.E.B.A.’ is imagine that person seeing your site when they started surfing and when they make their come back…

So how does this measure results? It’s not a scientific answer at all, it’s as easy as getting your site seen as much as you can, as often as you can and for as long as you can. So I measure ‘results’ by how many times my site gets seen. The end result, is that my brand gets built. My name and business are seen and the results come in…Slow and steady.

Both methods work, and it’s completely up to you on how to measure your results, but remember, you must be focused on those results and always be looking on how to improve them.