SWAT Traffic Seminars Worth Their Weight In Gold

Pardon the title, this post has nothing to do with TrafficGoldRush.  Though, that allows me to tell you, that right now TrafficGoldRush is THE place to be.  Over 3000 members in one week?  WOW.  I know this is where I’m having my sites, banners, and text links seen right now.

–> Traffic Gold Rush

But on to the subject matter at hand.  Recently, I’ve been attending SWAT Traffic Seminars (except last week when I was ill).

I don’t really know why I’ve neglected going in the past.  I thought perhaps I was too busy to re-iterate over what I thought I already knew.

The seminars were a very humbling experience.

I’ll tell you that the information I learned is not going to save me money (personally - though some others DO save money there).  BUT, what I learned has enabled me to grab the mindset I need.  It has taught me things that will enable me to handle my time better.  To get more things done.  To not spread myself too thin.  And, with the time this training has taught me, I’ll be able to make thousands more dollars in the future.

I don’t know about you — but I do what I can to help myself today to help myself in the future.  I work on what needs done right now to prosper in the future.  I’m always building building building (and hopefully, you are as well).

SWAT TRAFFIC SEMINARS ARE WORTH THEIR WEIGHT IN GOLD!

“But, you’re a programmer, what are you doing there?”

I get this kind of question all of the time, believe it or not.  I cannot shed the programmer label it seems.  But, I’ll tell you I don’t go to SWAT seminars to learn programming.  In fact, if I did, 99% of the room would glaze over and fall asleep.

I go there to learn internet marketing.  And learn I do, indeed.

Learning is the key word there.  I’ll go against the grain and tell you NOT to go to the SWAT seminars if you’re not passionate about your business, if you’re not willing to learn, and if you’re not willing to implement what you learn.

I may act a bit cocky from time to time but when Jon Olson, Robert Puddy, Jerry Reeder, Soren Jordansen and others speak - I LISTEN.

They personally answer my questions that I have (even though a 7,000+ member traffic exchange to some of you may make it sound like I know everything - I do not).

There are no egos there.  There are real genuine caring people who know what they’re talking about and offer advice to help even the newest of newbies all the way up to the guru internet marketers.

If you’re a surfer, list builder, exchange owner, program owner, email marketer, ezine editor.. WHATEVER.. go there.

You won’t be dissappointed.

Sign up for SWAT Traffic Exchange, upgrade, and attend the weekly seminars every Wednesday at 8PM US EST.  You’ll be glad you did.  It’s one of the highlights of my working week.

–> SWAT Traffic

Traffic Exchange ‘X’ Only Wants My Money

Sorry for the long time in between posts guys. As you can imagine I’ve been insanely busy. Not just online but offline as well. There’s been one topic lately that has been bugging the heck out of me.. so I’ll address it here in my blog where I can say whatever I want. =]

It seems to me that more and more people are complaining about offers from traffic exchanges. One-time-offers, special offers, login offers, discounted upgrades, credit sales, and the list goes on and on. For some reason or other people seem to be discouraged that they’re getting GREAT OFFERS AND DISCOUNTS.

I can understand the reasoning, to a point. People may assume that the traffic exchange owner only wants their money. But I’ve got a shocker for you! The fact the the traffic exchange owner wants your money is a good thing!

Well, how can that be?

Let me ask you a question. Are you working online for fun.. or are you trying to make money? I’d put my money on you’re trying to make an income out of your online adventures.

The traffic exchange owner is no different. He’s (or she!) trying to make money. By seeing all of these offers it is a great sign that the owner is treating his exchange as a business. He’s doing his best to make profit from his exchange.

But.. so what?.. you say.

Well, to make the money (from all the offers you see), the owner has to deliver. Otherwise he won’t get paid. If you see an exchange with tons of offers, I’d be willing to bet that that traffic exchange is delivering good quality hits at a good pace. And that’s what you’re after.

Don’t be discouraged by the discounts and savings you see. Embrace them as a sign (though not a tell-all sign) of a good traffic exchange with an owner who wants to run a business.

In fact, if you drop your guard and take some of the offers, you may be helping yourself out.

How to help yourself help yourself

A few days ago in Saturday’s Affiliate Funnel seminar I was asked to respond to the question, “How does an itty bitty exchange make it to the next step?”

Now I’m not that good with speaking live, I’ll admit. So my answer probably missed out on a few key points. However, I did mention the most important point. Networking and joint ventures. Now that I’m armed with my backspace key I’ll discuss this point a bit further.

This does not apply only to traffic exchanges but I’d say to any business at all!

Do you know what the most powerful form of marketing is? It is, without a doubt, word-of-mouth advertising. This is when a friend tells you about a site or business and personally recommends it. You trust your friend and you are very highly likely to take up their recommendation.

In the internet world, you want your friends to be the industry leaders. The people who’s names and faces are plastered and branded into the back of everyone’s minds. The people who everyone trusts and listens to their recommendations. THESE are the people you want recommending YOUR product or site.

So how do you do it?

You may think that offering them 50% commissions and a year free upgrade on your site (for example) is enough motivation to get them pushing your site like there’s no tomorrow. The simple answer is you’re right. The right answer is — you couldn’t be further from WRONG!

Let me explain a little bit. After all I did just contradict myself in the above statement.

You have to get on their radar screen before you should ever offer them a joint venture or any kind of deal. They should be familiar with you first. If you offer a “cold” deal to one of the industry leaders and they haven’t heard of your site or you — you’re probably going to get rejected. In fact, I’ll go as far to say you WILL get rejected.

So how do you get on their radar screen?

For me it was pretty easy. I want to be the best at what I do so I aligned myself with the best. You should do the same and here’s how you do it!

Hang where they hang. Forums are a great place to meet and converse. NetMarketingForum and TheMembersForum are two popular forums where a lot of people hang out and talk business. Go there and get involved.

You can also send these people private messages or emails asking for advice. Nearly every one of the industry leaders will give you good solid advice. Asking for advice is okay! I have asked for advice from many people and they gave it. The most important thing that I did that most people don’t after asking for advice is acting on the advice given. Don’t reject their advice. They’re not out to get you. They really are trying to help you.

Another thing you can do is attend online meetings such as Affiliate Funnel conferences or S.W.A.T. Traffic seminars.

What can you offer these people without getting anything in return? That will surely get you on their radar screen. At first you may think you have nothing to offer — but you do! Are you a programmer? You could do a little bit of work for them. Graphic designer? Those are always in demand. Don’t have any special skills? You’re still in luck! If they have a blog or website — comment on their stuff. If they’re a member of your program, leave THEIR referral link in your blog comment. Help them get referrals or sales for stuff they are promoting. The bottom line is to get noticed and help them to be able to help yourself in the future.

Branding yourself while doing all of this is a must! After all if they don’t remember your face or name your efforts are way less likely to pay off.

Okay, I’ve mentioned lots of good points already. Are you ready to pitch your offer or joint venture to them yet? Absolutely not. You may be wondering why..

The most important thing to learn from this article and the one thing you should take from this article is the following point:

You must show them that you are capable of helping yourself!

If I recommend your program or web site, I want insurance. I want to know that I’m not recommending a piece of crap with a lousy owner. After all, my reputation is on the line. Prove to me (or whoever you’re trying to network or joint venture with) that after I promote you a little bit, you’re capable and willing to put in hard work, dedication, and time into sustaining your program.

So, help yourself help yourself. Be a hard worker. Get noticed. Get active. Get involved. Learn. Participate. Prove that you’re capable. Etc etc etc. THEN pitch your offer. You’ll find that you get a much better success rate. Heck — you may even find that some people start to come to you.

Help yourself help yourself.