Matt Koshko

As Darren said...that's huge, John! Tracking is essential - how can you possibly make improvements if you don't know what's working/not working?

I think etraffic911 is one of dozens and dozens in the same boat. But, how would someone know it's bogus traffic or will return zero results without testing? Someone, unfortunately, has to step up to the plate to take a swing.

In most cases, those 2 questions are there by default. Most of the Traffic Exchanges operated don't have updated FAQs, simply relying on the out-of-box content. Could those operating the Traffic Exchanges put some TLC in to the content? Absolutely, but it's only a small percentage who've gone above and beyond the basic script.

Yup, indeed it's quite annoying as an end user of lots of websites!

What is your protocol for testing? Do you send the same message 15 times?How often do you send?What is your specific qualification before deciding to upgrade?

There are plenty of consumers who don't like PayPal for whatever reason. Amazon may be equally, if not more widely, accepted across the world for purchases. Based on limitations I'm sure Amazon is turning down quite a few potential accounts but I'd imagine they'll change limitations in the future.

Marketing is an important element of nearly every business. It's super important, if you want to grow your business, there is some effort, time, and resources that are specifically around marketing. One powerful marketing method is in cooperative campaigns. Involving a complementary business which you can market in return for that business to market you...can be very effective. Doing so edifies your business as well as validates that someone else believes there is value in your product/service. Sometimes this technique is called a "Joint Promotion (Promo)" in niches but there is no reason it can't be applied to countless business models. In fact, even in traditional businesses there are partnerships they'll refer leads to each other if those leads have a need that you can't fulfill. At times both businesses may run a campaign to reach out to their existing leads and customers in order to talk about how both businesses can help. Are you doing any cooperative marketing? If so, what is your strategy? If not, care to share why?

In that case I would guess you're also not in to Manual Traffic Exchange services or anything along those lines, right?

It's not always possible to know the audience to whom your advertising - depends on the source. Additionally, even if it's a targeted source, that doesn't necessarily coincide with a certain persona. Can you provide statistics (with source) to back up that claim? for everyone's knowledge of course.

Shon, did you make any progress?

Yup, MJ DeMarco's book is great. It's unconventional thinking, beyond concepts that an average individual would think about. The examples he uses are awesome, such as the 'Check out line' at the grocery store.

No matter what business you're in there will always be different personas attached to your prospecting process. A persona is a way to categorize your audience, segmenting your message to those categories. In your lead generation funnel, ask your lead (when filling out their information in a form) to tell you what fits them best. For example, a field could allow the lead to select: ExecutiveSalesFinanceConsumerBased on the selection, your funnel would cater the message automation towards the individual persona, better targeting that lead with what you're selling/offering. A message to a salesman could be entirely different than to someone in finance, and make a big difference in the conversion of that lead. Try building personas in to your lead generation funnel. The better targeted, the better results.

As Darren pointed out, Safelists DO work and ARE valuable but just *using* safelists doesn't mean it will return a positive value. Strategy, tracking, and optimization are all extremely important. Know your audienceA/B testHave a planOptimizeBe committedMost advertising needs multiple exposures to the end consumer before they take an action. Safelists are a great example where, if you're consistently using the advertising to bring exposure to your offer/product/brand, the results are more likely to be better than using a safelist only a few times.

I agree, Sean, that the quality of the product/service should be the leading reason to support with the added bonus being the sales commission structure. That being said, I do think that 30% is very fair. Depending on the market, somethings 10% is normal while others are 75%. To be when the commission rate is high, it tells me the product is overpriced. The margins for the average service-based business is around 50-70% which usually means there is more room for commissions, however, services run a high risk of being hit with unexpected expenses, an increase in cost, and variables that play a major role in those margins. There's no question that a 10% commission rate isn't all too attractive, but if I could sell the service (or product) easily all day because it's high quality, that 10% could be quite lucrative.

Personally I've been leery of co-op advertising in our niches although I know co-op advertising can be pretty cost-effective. Years ago I put together a campaign for a Direct Selling business which involved about 20-25 members who each paid in XX dollars to participate. The campaign was to purchase, in bulk, car stickers which we would all put on our cars advertising one domain, and evenly distribute the leads. It DID work and certainly ended up being fair. ...how times have changed!

And how is that working for you? I'd love to know your metrics.

Good, let us know if you are given a conclusion. While I understand not liking PayPal, I do recommend having PayPal as an option as the majority of consumers will likely prefer to use it if they don't know you (especially in the Manual Traffic Exchange niche). Adding a second option is a smart move - helps for those whom don't want to use PayPal as well as becomes another option if PayPal stops working for some reason.

Buying lists may be a starting point but the real focus should be on offering value while building relationships. You're much better off having a list of 100 people who know, like and trust you than a list of 10,000 who don't know you and mark you as a spammer.

Have you tried contacting the developers of LFMTE? That would be my first go-to if I were in your shoes - they may already have the answer, or even a recommended source to help integrate the gateway.

You may be missing out on big opportunities. For example, Shopify pays a 20% commission (residual) on the fees they receive from customers you refer to their platform, which ends up being a % of a %. The commission is probably around 10% yet once a customer builds their eCommerce site on Shopify, they aren't likely to do the work to move elsewhere. I've referred a few to Shopify and make a decent residual commission for it, plus it can go up as the customers generate more in sales. When you focus on products with 50%+ commission rates, you're focusing on the wrong priority. Value & quality should be first - you could earn a lot more on a quality product at 10% than a hyped, poorly created and overpriced product at 60% (which very few people want and keep).

Yikes, sorry to read this happened to you! A very similar process has been used for years, targeting people whom, like yourself, are too kind to think someone would scam you. In fact, online job boards with opportunities listed as 'remote' have seen the same tactic used. As Darren stated, stay educated and certainly don't be afraid to ask questions. Heck, feel free to post in the discussions here if you're unsure of a situation - we can at least give you our opinion.

Any form of advertising that specifically displayed to members (whether they log-in, get an email, get a flyer, etc.) fall under the same principal but they all *rely* on new "members". It's similar to that of a manual traffic exchange; if the same 300 people are surfing every month, how's it any different? Diversification is very important when it comes to advertising to non-public audiences.

Is that for you personally or are you referring to the general concept? Can you clarify? I'd never sell a product or service if I wouldn't happily buy the product/service myself (even if there was no sales commission opportunity). Do I want my name attached when there is questionable value or integrity behind such an offering? No way. I'll choose long-term value over short-term gains.

Curiously, who (if anyone yet) ended up acquiring Mobster Hits?

Hi Barbara, Years ago, when I was new to the world of website hosting, I was a BlueHost customer. While their services were fine (and I had capped out my hosting at 500,000 visits in one month), they didn't have scalable options. Over the past couple years I know they began offering higher-end hosting beyond the standard, low-end shared environment. However, I would NOT consider GoDaddy hosting based on my own experience with file transfers, database management, etc.. HostGator has been great in my experience. Most people won't need VPS or Dedicated services but HostGator has offered them for many years. NameCheap is great for those who have heavy domains while GoDaddy has been reliable for general domains. However, I've had sites with over 200,000 hits a month registered through GoDaddy. Not everyone has the same experiences of course - individual experiences vary!