There were lot of traffic exchange owners that wrote blog posts today and one of the comments that I seen stuck in my head and thought I would expand on it and it was
from Carol when she said this “The line between traffic exchanges and ptc sites is blurring.” Just maybe we are bridging the gap
Being a owner and user of each, I would have to say that both traffic exchanges and paid to clicks have been around for years. Both giving the members what they were looking for traffic – whether it was surfing for credits or clicking for cash.
As with lot of things online, I feel it’s good to see the walls being broken down. I remember when I first started online – you had te people that loved te’s and that is the only place you seen them. The PTC people stuck with PTC and never dreamed of entering TE land.
All over you will hear the pros and cons of cash being introduced into the TE’s but actually I think this has opened up more doors actually and it started bridging the gap. It really don’t matter what source you use to get your traffic as long as you are getting results.
Think about it does it really matter to you if a person wants to click all day for pennies. Over time I have heard how important the free members are as most will say they are the backbone of your business – as that is where your traffic is coming from because they view more ads vs an upgraded member.
So if it makes a free member happy to get a penny, nickel, dime, quarter and sometimes $1.00 for winning a grand prize. then I say that a happy member is going to be a loyal member. The thing I see happening is that we are giving that person the opportunity to earn. Now I don’t know about you but when that person get a payout you know they are going to go tell everyone as this is probably the first money they earned online.
Remembering the first money that I earned online, I was so excited about that payout and I still talk about it with people and am still in that same program. What did that make me do? It made me keep doing what I was doing so I could earn more and the more I earned the more I wanted to keep doing.
See I feel that if you can get people earning, they will stick with you – and that gives you the opportunity to teach them along the way to try other things that will earn them more. If I am making money because of you showing me how – don’t you think I’m going to try the next thing you want to show me that is going to earn me more. Now I also have some money in Paypal because despite when some thing that change adds up.
So the next time you see people clicking for pennies and are wondering why a person can do that – well get in there and start showing that person how they can earning nickels, dimes, quarters, dollars – it all adds up and sometimes faster than you think.
In conclusion, I do feel that we are bridging the gap between the PTC users and the TE users and I for one am glad.
I could not agree with you more Nancy! You have presented the situation very well!
Thanks Teta and nice to see you dropping by
I don’t know, I don’t really see it.. I have members who like to win cash prizes, but there are also people who like to win credits, banners, anything.. the purpose of surfing I don’t think has changed, just the type of prize given… the last time I tried to classify someone as a “PTC” person.. 6 months later they were my top affiliate, it doesn’t matter how they got there, the only thing that matters is if they are there.. I don’t know any TE that would pay close to the rates of a PTC so if there is a person that is a “PTC Person” they wouldn’t stick around in a TE longer then a couple of days..
Yea but I just remember a time that PTC people would not even have given TE’s the time of day and I think we have opened the door and are
bridging the gap of them finding out that there is another world out there. Also have been doing PTC for year and I didn’t see TE’s being
promoted on them back then – was just some thoughts – I do feel it’s a good thing
Thank you Nacy loved the post. It explains to those who don’t know what they are about TE’s & PTC
To your success
Angela
Thanks Angela for the comment and nice to see you
Great post Nancy. I like the explanation on filling the gap. I like the explanation for free members and then teach them how to make money, and then teach them how to network with other members. Free members lead to upgrade members.
Lady V
Thanks Lady V for your comment and nice to see you
Nancy,
You make some great points. I agree this may be the first money some people have made online. We all know how exciting it is to get that first payout in to your personal Paypal account.
You point out that free members are the “backbone” of a TE. Although moving traffic depends on the activity of your free members, I think all members are equally important. Without our upgraded members we could not pay the bills, thus the free members would have no traffic to move. What it boils down to is just like you said: “a happy member is going to be a loyal member”. And, a happy membership makes for a healthy site.
Thanks Cathy and you are right and love this What it boils down to is just like you said: “a happy member is going to be a loyal member”.
And, a happy membership makes for a healthy site.
“Think about it does it really matter to you if a person wants to click all day for pennies.” This is the sentence that bothers me. Because yes, it does bother me and I am not talking as an owner, I am talking as an advertiser. If you are looking for pennies, you are not interested in my ads so I do not want to pay money or surf my time where there are more people interested in penny hunting. I understand that if they want to provide that to their members who want that ok, but I am worried that it will limit the advertisers that use the traffic exchanges. That is my only point in this debate. So I am coming to the conclusion that as an owner, it is your choice because there is room for both kinds of exchanges. Do what works best for you…
Interesting but I have to say if that is the case then why do you see so many advertisers putting their stuff on PTC where they know people are being paid to click – aren’t we doing the same thing – just in a little bit different way. I personally feel the odds are better that someone surfing for pennies are better than the people that are team surfing and that is another whole subject – thanks for the comment
I love this line. It really don’t matter what source you use to get your traffic as long as you are getting results. THAT is what is wrong with TE’s today! Lots of surfers think the results don’t matter as long as they’re being entertained. We have to get the TE’s are entertainment, not a place to get REAL results out of these surfers minds.
Well I don’t think it’s entertainment per say – being a surfer it breaks things up as it can get boring surfing 100 -150 sites on say 20 sites a day and it just helps to keep people awake and I feel make them pay attention more.
As an example the hangman game is short and sweet after I do one I am more aware of the next pages – JMO
Hi Nancy,
I think that’s a great way to put it. Heck, I remember when those that used safe list would not touch TEs and so on and I agree it’s great seeing that gap being closed.
I know that many marketers feel like they won’t reach loyal leads or team members in TEs but I am here to tell you I met one of my best friends and business partners when he saw an ad of mine on a TE and I am very grateful 🙂 so don’t let anyone tell you that things don’t work. You don’t know until you try.
Susan
Oh I agree Susan and there is still somewhat work that needs to be done with the safelist, text ad sites, mailers – I even see it with people with a certain script – guess it’s a going on battle but think that people are becoming more open-minded than they were years ago.
I agree as some of my best buying members are people from all the sources that we have been chatting about – so it would be hard to convenience me that they don’t work. I feel that a person just has to keep tweaking till they find what works for them.
Hi Nancy,
As a program owner I have two groups that I need to keep happy. One is the surfers and the other is the advertisers. Surfers want value for their time spent and advertisers want results for their advertising dollars spent.
I have been doing this for 12 years now and I have lost most of my big advertisers in the last couple of years and have heard over and over again from them that the quality of traffic has dropped since the cash incentives started on TE’s. They have left the whole TE advertising space, not just my sites. These are regular advertisers who each purchased $500-$1000 a month worth of advertising from WebBizInsider every month. They directly referenced cash for surfing as being their reason for leaving. They primarily promoted training programs for new business owners that cost anywhere from $29.99 per month to $100 per month. They could not see people who would work an entire day for $2.00 being willing to pay for their products.
I have spent money purchasing traffic from sites, both PPC and TE’s offering cash for surfing and have found that my own tracking shows that the percentage of traffic coming from outside Europe and North America on those sites to be high. My own stats show that over 90% of my Premium Members are from Europe and North America. So, if the majority of traffic is coming from countries that are not in my target market, then I wont be interested in continuing to advertise there.
When you are trying to sell something, perception is everything. If people believe that the quality is lower, then they will use your service less frequently and pay less. That is a fact of business.
Change is inevitable, but not all change is a good thing. Network television has changed considerably in the last decade too, but very few would call the move to cheap to produce television shows to be an improvement.
Interesting and nice to hear from someone that has been doing this for 12 years and am sorry about you loosing your big advertisers – I still think there is room for things to get back a place that can make everyone happy.
From what I can see is that no ones wants to get creative, they want to copy what is already here and I see that all the time with other owners.
Thanks for stopping by and your comment and I agree – being 60 I have seen lot of changes and they are not all for the best.
Hi Nancy,
I think we all adapt to the changes we experience and that is fine. Things change and we adjust. I have made changes to my business and am doing fine.
Each of us have to run our business as we think is best.
Thanks for continuing the discussion about this important change.
Matthew
Interesting topic, i can imagine that some people are all for PTC and others for TE, and yet again other wanting to bridge. A place for everybody
Thanks Xarah and yes I really hope there is room for everybody – I always feel the more that people can work together the better