Have Your Met Iwant and Gimme?
I want and Gimme were two visitors to my sites quite often. They did not contribute all that much unless they felt they deserved more than what the sites could offer. Then I got a lot of bitchin’ support tickets.
They came in free and felt free to tell us how to operate our sites, how
to give them more for the privilege of their user visits.
The idea of investing in the returns they felt entitled to, never dawned
in their busy minds. Upgrade? You kidding? They were getting so
little as free members, how did that encourage them to upgrade?
I Want expected to be paid for showing up. If there were minor cash
pennies to be earned, he wanted them showing on his account and he
expected to be paid them weekly.
Gimme on the other hand, was vociferous. Gimme yelled every place
that would listen to how often the owners robbed him. Some stupid
thing they called a TOS – or Terms of Agreement they expected him to
follow.
This wasn’t a business, this was play time for IWant and Gimme. They
howled at the very suggestion that you don’t make money off of Traffic
Exchanges, they were Advertising Platforms and they need to keep that
information in mind when using them.
IWant cash – Gimme my money now!
They were becoming professionals at twisting the law, the owners and
the very idea that they could get rich off pennies and nickels.
Owners became so confused and worried about losing members, they
capitulated – the IWant and Gimmes won the round. The road to the
bottom, became paved with greed.
Cash Became King
Memberships soared with what soon became known as penny clickers
or collectors. It wasn’t just the need for cash that caused the uproar,
it was dumb affiliates who used cookie stuffing (also known as cookie
dropping), a piece of code you receive when visiting a web site. It is
seldom a visitor is aware of it. At a later time, when the viewer decides
to visit the site to make a purchase, the cookie stuffer is often paid a
commission without actually being there.
Or Postingfake YouTube reviews which redirect the viewer to affiliate
offers. In the day of videos and YouTube marketing, this had become a
lucrative way for stealing referrals and getting paid by unsuspecting
publishers.
Or the most popular one, offering cash rebates to prospects who agree
to sign up to a program with you and take specific upgrades. This is an
under-the-table action that can save a new member as much as 50 percent.
The first time I learned about this action, I was totally shocked to find it
was the action of a prominent and popular Traffic Exchange owner. It is
a good thing for the industry, that he is no longer in the business.
Closed Doors Shattered Dreams
Trying to be everything to everyone has caused doors to be closed,
payment processors to look askance at Traffic Exchanges, and a
good deal of users and owners pointing fingers.
My point was always send the IWants and Gimmes to the competition.
Something was weighing on my mind and not quite clicking. Logic
was racing for a place.
Was I half right? Should there be a split as PayPal and probably other
payment processors will expect? Will the FTC and SEC and the IRS
stop the witch hunts if Traffic Exchanges did go back to being the
advertising platforms they were originally designed to be?
IF cash took the bottom rung except to pay for advertising. If there
was literally no cash pay outs rather credit packages and upgrades
again?
Either you are a Traffic Exchange advertising platform that has no
affiliates, or you are a cash for earnings program that does not work
on advertising but pays commissions for selling products?
I started out with Traffic Exchanges that never paid commissions for
advertising. You bought the space, the time and the opportunity. If
you promoted these TEs, you were paid in credits, upgrades and other
reliable digital methods but NO cash.
Your cash would come from the success of your advertisements not
from the TE owner you used to advertise your offers.
These owners had separate programs that did offer cash commissions
for completing tasks. In many cases, they involved a matrix. However,
it was a forced matrix and not that big – a 3 x 3 level that was attainable.
When it was filled, you could ask for the cash or convert it into a much
larger more valuable program for a year prepaid.
If you want to earn then look for cash only programs and be prepared
to pay handsomely for the right to get paid back in kind.
Super Affiliate Solution
That opens another door to a pet peeve of mine. Whatever happened
to the concept of an affiliate becoming a super affiliate? That was the
training that earned you bread on all levels and forever kept you
looking for like-minded people to join you in company downlines.
It might even have you joining the TEs that were advertising centered.
Those exciting places that gave rise to you earning even more shekels
from the other side, the affiliate cash earning programs.
Instead of TE owners multi-owning copycat sites; they might just see
the logic in each site having its own distinct unique platform once
more and more profits start rolling in.
Imagine, can you see how fast that in/out door would swing dealing
with the IWant and Gimme types? They wouldn.t have a prayer.
Till the next time …
Your editor, Fran Klasinski
Skype: fran.klasinski
© 2017, Fran Klasinski. All rights reserved. on republishing any parts of this post, you must supply a link to the original post
I think there are extremes at every level.
You use the example as Super Affiliate. Those are rare people who seem to have the magic touch for promoting. They earn a good monthly commission from their affiliate earnings. They get plenty of those “You have a new referral” or You Just Earned a Commission” emails.
On the flip side, there are extremes to the “penny surfers”. There are those who are happy to earn a little bit of cash for their time and there are those who want to basically cheat the system and bankrupt your site.
The trick is to maintain a balance of all types of members while keeping the true cheaters out.
Thanks for the comment Cathy. You make some good points.
Remember Rosalind Gardner the super affiliate who made
$49 k per month? She had her moment of glory and a how to
ebook. Then never heard of her again.
One of the major differences may be the choices made. You are a
surfer or you are an advertiser. The balancing act for both I am
thinking, is determined by a monthly budget and focused advertising.
Not everyone has both.
What an outstanding post Fran.
I also wonder what happened to the days when “Your cash would come from the success of your advertisements not from the TE owner you used to advertise your offers.” Very well said.
I guess it breaks down to either having a hobby or being in business. That’s the way I see it because it is beyond me how “surfers” can think they are in “business” just because they earn a few pennies for clicking. There are business people who surf, which is an entirely different thing because they are doing what they should be doing to promote their business – advertising. They either surf for the credits or buy them.
Surfing also gives us “business” folks the opportunity to scout out new products and services, size up the competition, or to do some networking by chatting in the chat section of the TEs.
If more folks in the industry would actually focus on “being in business,” then maybe we wouldn’t have so much silliness to deal with.
Thanks for the great post!
Thank you John. Appreciate your feedback.
Don’t know of any business where they pay you to advertise unless they
are a mailer. And then, lucky you, if you win the credits you need to advertise.
Time people online realize it costs money to advertise. It is the risk you take
that what you have to offer is said in a way to attract a buying audience. If not,
then be prepared to pay again.
Feel free to link to that post and/or pass it around. The more owners who
recognize that Iwant and Gimme have nothing to add to their business, the better.
Appreciate you John. Thanks again for the comment.