How I Wasted My $2 Lousy Bucks !

As you know I'm a huge traffic exchange fan, been using them since 2000-2001 so I've seen my fair share of good ones and bad ones.

Last week, after a recommendation from a highly reputable traffic exchange guru, I signed up at Raining Traffic.com with great expectations. I really liked this traffic exchange because not only it has 1:1 ratio or the 15 seconds timer but because you can't buy traffic credits there. Which means that all the members has to surf the exchange in order for their sites to be seen by real human being. The other thing I liked about this exchange is that it's not free to join, it will cost you a meager $2 dollars to join. Since it's not free, the members at that exchange are more serious marketers and are willing to spend money to promote their business.

One of the disadvantages of traffic exchange is that when you promote your websites, you are promoting it to the same people over and over again. The majority of the members of traffic exchange (unless it's a pro exchange) are made up of free members and you won't too many people that are not afraid to spend any money or are serious and determined marketers.

Some surfers are also traffic exchange owners and they are not just going to sign up for any program they see unless it will help grow their exchange or their business, they are some of the determined, focused marketers online you'll ever find. They are in minorites compare to the majority of the everyday surfers.

Anyway, after about a week of surfing at Raining Traffic, I saw the same site over and over again and every time I saw it, I would report it. It's been a week since I surfed at Raining Traffic so I decided to surf their exchange again hoping that the offending sites has been removed. WRONG!!!!

Today I saw the same site again and you guess it, I had to report it again. Sigh.... how many times do I have to report this site to get it removed or banned forever. I finally got so frustrated and decided to cancell my account and take my losses, a whopping $2 bucks worth.

I also sent a support ticket to the owner of that exchange to let him know of my frustrations. At the moment I would NOT recommend this site to anyone unless they get their act together.

Update: January 07/07 - I just wanted to inform you guys/gals that just because you have cancelled your account in any program, your monthly subscribe will be automatically cancelled as well? not a chance. My mistake #2..I forgot to cancel my monthly subscription and I was dinged another two bucks for the following month. I wrote an email to the admin to see if he can refund me the 2 bucks but I got no reply so I'm taking it up with Paypal.

So please folks! if you cancel your account with a particular program that has a monthly subscription, you have to cancel your subscription as well.

Happy Holidays !

Paul

MySpace: A Viable Marketing Tool?

MySpace: A Viable Marketing Tool?
By: Denise Wakeman

MySpace is not only for teenagers and musicians. MySpace is also making a buzz among Internet marketers. At the invitation of Internet marketing guru Marlon Sanders, I set up a profile to see what the buzz is all about.

Marlon calls it "...a 'secret' networking method the people on the inside are using."

Being the active experimenter that I am, once I got started, I couldn't stay away from MySpace, setting up my profile, posting on my blog, adding events to the public calendar. As I poked around, I thought about how this networking space could work for professionals as a business tool.

It's pretty easy to set up a profile and it's free. If you're using it as a business tool, be professional about the information you reveal. Remember MySpace is ultimately a SOCIAL tool and many people use it to hook up for dates and relationships. If that's not your intent, keep your content business-oriented.

What I noticed in looking at random profiles is that most are sloppy and incomplete. A lot have no information about the person and no photo. What's the point? My sense is that a lot of profiles get set up and then abandoned, much like blogs.

So can you use it as a marketing tool for your business?

My guess is yes, if you're very strategic about how you go about it.

Use your "About Me" section to talk about your business, products and services. Make sure you have active hyperlinks that lead to your primary website, blog and products. It's a good idea to have a basic knowledge of HTML so you can add images and clickable links.

Use the blog module to write about your business and events.

Send "bulletins" through the MySpace system to all your "friends" about your product launches, press releases, events, etc.

Join MySpace groups that represent your target audience. Participate in discussions and send bulletins to everyone in the group. No spamming!

Post your events on the public calendar

As you add new friends, welcome them and you'll be on your way to building a community.

A way to approach this from a business angle is to think of your "friends" as possible joint venture partners and potential business opportunities. And, as we like to say, it's another line in the fishing pond for attracting prospects, building your list and your network.

So, is it worth trying out? That's only for you to know. If you like trying new things, if you like testing new systems, then give it try.


About the Author:

For more leading edge Internet Marketing tips subscribe to Savvy eBiz Tips. To learn more about social media tools, visit www.buildabetterblog.com. Denise Wakeman is an Internet Marketing expert and founding member of The Blog Squad.