Well I felt so much better last nite after I got my little rant off my chest that I thought while I was on a roll I would talk about promos, team surfing and cheaters. Keep in mind this is my opinion and sometimes it’s good to get things out in the open.
Promos
Everyone ask me all the time why do I do promos and everyday – well for one they keep members active and I have found there are lot of promoholics out there that just love them. Now I can imagine what you are thinking – these people are just there clicking and will never join new sites, buy anything and are just chasing those prizes. I have also heard that it’s not good to have the same people surfing a site all the time and that they want new eyeballs to see their sites or it’s not worth it to stay in a site that just has promoholics in it surfing. Sounds familiar.
Team Surfing
This is another interesting subject that will get many responses but in my opinion I would rather have a promoholic looking at my site vs a team surfer – their goals are different. The promoholic has a certain amount of pages that they are going to surf that day 50, 100, 125, 150 to reach that goal of the promo BUT a team surfer is there to help his team win for the week.
Yea I know you are thinking it’s a great social event and you are right as I lurk in many chat rooms and see the team members chatting. Some sites even take it a step further and make chat for just team members. All this is great but aren’t they the same people surfing a site also – where are the new eyeballs. And the funny part the ones that talk about unique hits are on teams or have team surfing on their site which also encourages regular members to come back.
Cheaters
I really don’t like that word but it seems to be the thing talked about the most in some of the Skype rooms that I’m in and there is even a cheaters list out there that everyone post in the rooms for other site owners to ban them. Well the other day James Dias asked for a question for his daily video – so I sent him one. When is a cheater really a cheater? who makes the decision? and I have been asked by many that I thought was – what happened to being innocent until proved guilty?
Now most of you know that he does a daily video and I just love the way that he answered this question and if you missed that video you can watch it here
Now with all that being said, here is my 2 cents on all of the above – as far as the promoholics – I don’t know about other sites but on Zaney Clicks your sites are getting seen and how do I know this. Well for all you that may not know is I have a contest each week that I put clues in my email from a site in rotation – and members look at the sites finding the clues and then send in support tickets with the sites name to be in a drawing for a 30-day upgrade EVERY week – new site.
Now when this was first start I only had a few members playing Sherlock Holmes but now my support tickets are flooding in. OUCH support tickets – well you might not like them but I love them and encourage my members to use them. And yes I answer them all personally.
How do I know people are seeing your ads and paying attention at Zaney Clicks – well I did another test – I surf the site each week and I find a text ad that catches my eye and I feature the text ad in my email for the week and encourage my members to send me a support ticket with the site name. – why would I do that well for many reasons. One they are looking at the text ads then, it teaches people to be more creative with their text ads and the site that is featured gets exposure as I add the URL to my email when I announce the winners – so I see it as a win-win .
Well nothing irritates me and some people more than to have their credits being wasted and from what I have seen from everyone and me included this is the three things that will waste them and have even heard owners discourage people from buying credits at sites that offer any of the above or allows cheaters.
One comment on the “cheaters list” that I have seen – I am going to be like James and if that person is NOT breaking any of my terms, that person is promoting Zaney Clicks, is spending money at Zaney Clicks, and is paying attention while surfing because they sent in the Treasured Site or Text ad for the week – well just because they might be on someones list and you ban them – hmmmmmm – I really thought that is the type of member that we were all hoping to find.
BUT I know what you are thinking but there is no way they can surf that many sites in a day and let me tell you what one member told me when he was suspended and contacted me – “I’m retired and I just like surfing and your site is fun and not boring like most and this is why I surf so much” I also had another tell me “If you don’t want people surfing 1000 sites or more then why did you have a badge made for 1000”.
Also there is an ad-on on Firefox that lets you not have to change the tabs so because you don’t – and the program does it – does that put you on a “cheater list” . There was also a new program that launched that did the same thing – so everyone that joined that program and uses it does that put them on a “cheater list” – just things to ponder on and can’t wait to see the responses on this one
So with all this off my chest, (oh I feel so much better) my bottom line here is that there are lot of TE’s out there and lot of owners out there – an EACH one is entitled to run their TE the way they see fit and what benefits their members. So that is why you will hear me say promote, track, promote, track, promote, track – that is what you should pat attention to and not all the crap floating out there in TEland.
Well, written and thought out. I can’t speak on Team Surfing because I do not offer it on my site and I have only tried it a time or two on other sites. As fr as “cheaters” go, no one wants a cheater on their site. That said, I like to use the “3 strikes and you’re out” theory. If I find someone doing something “iffy” I will warn them. If, after the 3rd warning and explanation of what is wrong, they are still doing wrong, out they go. I do not tolerate outright blatant cheating, but most get a chance to reform.
Excellent Kathy and yes everyone does deserve a chance – they actually may be a newbie and not even realize what they are doing are wrong until someone lets them know – I know when I first started – wow – some site owners must have really thought I sure had a screw loose
Since my face is in here i have to comment …… BIG surprise right?
more to the team surfing comment Not all programs are created the same some team surf rewards for surfing the most.
BUT
in the case of the dance that is no longer so teams are split into matches ( and no one know against who) Until the weeks end. and the rewards are based on improvement not volume.
ie a team surfs 50,000 pages for 2 weeks they can be beat by a team that surfs 250 one week and 255 the next week
I reward based on improving week over week. I had the idea in mind that improving a little each week as a group will make huge waves over the long haul.
right or wrong i truly do like my team surf team and some one once pointed out to be that a promo everyday is just like team surfing everyday just has a different name for surfing for a reward. its an interesting thought.
Interesting and you have to keep in mind that you worked on your team surfing to make it different for the people and changed it around so it’s not based on the amount surfed and I applaud you for doing so.
Occasionally it feels good to let it out. Hope it worked for you…lol.
-Promos- love them. A feel it gives the members a goal surf for the day.
-Team Surf- Can be fun. It seems to encourage a social aspect to surfing. Although I am not a big team surfer myself, I won’t knock sites that have it.
-Cheater Lists- Yes there are some members who make every list. Doesn’t matter to us, we still investigate and make our own decision. If they break our TOS then they are gone. If not, then we will keep an extra eye on them.
There are many traffic exchanges which are more social than others. Members will gravitate toward a place they feel comfortable, which will make them more active at one site than another.
If you want a social site- you can find it. If you want a site that is all business- you can find it.
That’s the great thing about working online- You can find whatever meets your needs.
Yes I actually do feel better – thanks
Well put yes there is a site to meet all your needs but people don’t knock another site if it’s not your cup of tea
Very sound advice Nancy, as always I learn a lot from you. Great video too.
Thanks Nancy,
Jonathon BigJohnG Gaug
Thanks and am glad you read it, commented and learned from it
My comment,
I am not fond of team surfing. I feel it burns up too many of the credits/banners and text ads that members work so hard to get. On my TE you have to have 3 Sites 2 Banner and Text ads in rotation with credits to Cash Out. . I don’t think this is asking too much. If I am going to pay a free member. They can at least have siteds/banners and text ads in rotation with credits added.
I think Nancy brings up some good points. All I can say is You Go Girl.!!!!
And that is why I say each site owner should keep their opinions to themselves about other site owners – they should stay focused on running their site the best way they can for them and their members
Hi Nancy,
Thanks so much for writing an awesome post my friend and one that I completely agree with! I do not like to call a person a cheater, and unless I catch them doing something wrong. I have given members warnings and I am the same as someone else here…I believe in the 3 strikes your out method. I raised my kids the same way…I gave them 3 chances to stop their behavior before they ended up being grounded or whatever. I too believe that people deserve a second chance and sometimes a 3rd chance.
Team Surfing and Promos I absolutely love and so do my members. I have something going on everyday because they enjoy it, and I am trying to make my members happy as much as I possibly can. I have recently changed my cash out policy even so that free members can cash out but at a higher rate than upgraded members.
I know that members sites are being seen at my site and that they are getting people to join their sites/programs. I really like your ideas what you do with a site and a text ad Nancy and maybe I will have to add something like that at my sites too.
We each have our own business and it is ours to run as we see fit and whether or not other TE Owners agree with that or not is of no consequence to me. The site belongs to my members and what they want is what I am going to listen to, not what someone else is doing. If what they are doing works for them that’s cool…I will do what works for me and my members.
Sorry, I think I went on a little rant myself! LOL thanks again for a great post and I always enjoy reading what you write because you tell it like it is! Keep it up girlfriend!
Marilyn
Thanks Marilyn and yes I agree bottom line run YOUR TE in a way that will benefit your members and you know what happens – your members increase and the money for the site increases.
Hello Nancy,
You seem to be very creative to find out what makes your site tick and to know if the members are active and have their eyes open or not while surfing and in your emails. That’s awesome!
I have no idea if other TE owners are as dedicated as you to making ZC a Top TE, but I sure am not staying away from you, I learn so much from your blog posts.
Thanks for your honesty and giving us such reality checks.
Philippe
Thanks and believe me I am the first to admit that I still have lot to learn and don’t know it all like so many accuse me of. What I do know is that I listen to my members and let them guide me in fine tuning Zaney into a site they can enjoy and trust.
Promos – doesn’t matter to me…I think they get pretty boring when they’re done everyday. But I don’t think it hurts anything. Some promos work better than others in bringing in new members.
Team Surfing – The only team surf I like is the one at the Traffic Dance because it doesn’t encourage crazy surfing numbers. In fact if you surf like crazy you’ll most likely keep losing. I think team surfing in the traditional sense just encourages mindless surfing that burns up my credits.
Cheaters – all I will say about that is that I’ve given advice time and again, and I’ve been paid by other owners to clean up their site and teach them how to catch cheaters. I have ZERO tolerance. for cheaters (and yes there are many kinds of cheaters). It is the owner’s responsibility to get rid of them, not make the members pay by introducting rules like they won’t pay free members or making them jump through hoops. If an owner doesn’t want to do the work involved in getting rid of cheaters, then they shouldn’t be an owner. And they shoud just do it…..suspend their accounts and be done with it. They don’t have to “prove” anything to cheaters. Cheaters are thieves…..they steal from both the members and the owners, and it is the owner’s responsibility to get rid of them. Owners control cheaters – cheaters do NOT control owners.
As for the comment about staying out of other owners business, think about this:
Owners are MEMBERS of other sites….if they’re a member of that site, it IS their business. Owners also spend the MOST money at other TEs. So if an owner has poor business practices, it is OTHER owners that will stop spending money at that TE. The other thing is when a few owners have poor business practices, it makes the entire industry look bad.
Great comments on all the subjects and there are lot of people that have ZERO tolerance for cheaters but what happened to maybe they had a change of heart – found out that doing what they were not doing was not working for them and finally want to do things the right way – even people that committed crimes do their time and get a 2nd chance – maybe I’m just too ole school and trust people too much.
Great job Nancy… I am very much in favor of Promos…I have members even asking me to see if i can get promos set up with certain site that they like to surf … so as long as my members enjoy surfing the promos and I can get them set up I will keep on doing promos… so keep up the good work Nancy
Sissy
Thanks Sissy and you are right if people will just listen – your members will let you know what they like and don’t like
Great post. I like promos if they do not encourage super surfing as I have gotten good results at some sites that do them. Team surfing. Like Jackie, I belong to very few. They would be good if they did not encourage blind surfing. But once I saw on chat members saying they were surfing 6,000 sites are more at a site a day. Others chimed in that they did the same.
Cheaters I like to catch myself but if someone is causing chargebacks I appreciate a heads up from other owners so I can be on the alert. I also pass on info if a member is putting in harmful sites. Though I am not sure I would call that cheating. And no three strikes and you are out for those bad sites. Lesser infractions yes a warning is ok
Thanks for the comment Suzette and wow 6000 pages that is alot – glad to hear your opinion
Howdy,
I know this is a VERY late reply but I have a habit of reading old blog posts because I just can’t seem to keep up with all the blogs out there. Loved the post. Have to agree with you when it comes down to it , it is up to the individual owner. Other owners can give us suggestions for who “might ” be a cheater but it is our final decision. 2 members come to mind for me. 1 is currently upgraded, surfs (not too much), promotes the site, buys credits and is active in chat at times although none of those are requirement s to being a “none cheater. The other is well known in the community and is definitely not a cheater and the reason the owner gave was silly.
By some standards I would be considered a cheater at some exchanges. There are many exchanges I have done all of the following at : I have never bought credits; I have surfed 1000 in one day to get credits to advertise my site, not anyone elses site; I do not promote their site because I only promote my site at other sites and I could not possibly promote every site I belong to at my TE. Does that make me a cheater? If someone doesn’t know me that just might think so.
Thanks for the great post:)
Thanks Lisa and that is what I love about blog post as yes a person can read and comment anytime. Good point you make there and thanks for commenting