So I'm in the process of writing an ebook, and I'd like to know what questions you still have. I have thousands of subscribers, but all of you subscribed at different times. Some of you know more of what I taught than others.

This ebook is going to be free to you subscribers. I'm not gonna do the whole charge for an ebook thing. I'm still on the fence about charging for "rebrand rights". I know people like that kind of thing but I'm not sure I'm sold on the idea yet.

Hey I got an idea, vote here, do you think I should sell rebrand rights? For those of you who don't know, that means you get to replace any referral links with your own inside the ebook. You get to give it to your list.

Back to the point: What questions do you still have? Please be as specific as possible!

Besides using TE’s, Safelists, and Text Ad Exchanges what are some other good free or inexpensive ways to market online for people who might just be starting out and want to expand their marketing into other areas?

You could look at targetting forums, blogs, and other sites in your target market. Some might have an advertise page like mine, but others a friendly request might help. I wouldn't go out spamming template emails though.

What if any is a good FREE Auto Responder?

I've never used it before, but MailChimp.com has a free plan up to 500 subscribers and 3,000 emails a month. They seem to know what they are doing though from a technical standpoint, I've subscribed to their blog.

But what is necessary when starting an online business of my own?

You'll need to talk to a lawyer and/or accountant. I'm neither, and I probably live in a different state then you if not country. I do know that if you are running your business, and it's just you, you'll have to pay Self Employment tax in the US. And it's expensive. 15.3% on top  of your income tax. Woohoo! But really you need to talk to people in the know in your area. I've also used LegalZoom.com to setup an LLC recently, which went well. But they only setup the company, they don't do any tax stuff.

(SuperSurf) What’s exactly make it works consistenaly?

We've had a few bumps on the re-launch. An exchange went down, we switched from email to IP, etc. It should be working now but I haven't checked this morning. The main reason it wouldn't work now is if your IP changes every page view. This happens for Satellite users, and maybe some dialup users. I'm looking into making it easier as we want it to work consistent but with very little user input.

(advertising blogs) Would you use traffic exchanges, and if you say yes, how would you use them

I do use traffic exchanges! The way I do it, I put a video of me talking about my blog and have an email subscribe form next to it. Most exchange users don't understand RSS, so the email form is necessary.

All your instructions to the letter, so what am I missing?

There seems to be a bug in the current editor. For whatever reason, some people this happens to others it works fine. There is a new editor that will be released hopefully in the near future. Just trying to get all the kinks out of it. Sorry for the problems!

cashcowtraffic.biz - How can i make money with it.

To be honest I don't see the point in it. So you've got a Google search box, and it says search the internet. Well, if I'm going to search I'll just type words in my address bar and it automatically sends me to Google. You have some content, but it seems there is no direction. You need to figure out direction ;-)

OK so I'm testing this plugin that'll send a link to this post to my facebook page. I actually have to get some cleaning done, so I'm not going to talk much today. I figured the best thing would be to let YOU ask ME questions. I'll try to answer them all in my next post. Just remember - post the questions on the BLOG otherwise it won't get answered.

In a recent survey to StartXchange members, members were given the option of submitting a question for me to answer on this blog. Here are the questions and answers:

kelly1 - I am using 3 url's at the time and I would like to know, do they show to the same person in a row? one right after the other, is what I mean, thx...

No. StartXchange prevents a member from viewing another member's advertisements twice in a row.

thephantomsgirl - What is the checklist thing that is supposed to get activity points? I never am presented with it - or is that an older thing?

This feature is currently on hold.

sandyc30 - WHERE IS A GOOD PLACE TO LEARN TO MAKE SPLASH PAGES

Here! No really, I've got a pretty cool video I"ll be making soon!

teddyrux98 - How do I create a professional-looking, effective splash page without spending a lot of money?

You can start by using TEToolbox. Stay subscribed for the upcoming video.

surferdad - When can we have a series of training video's? I have been surfing for several months now and I constantly find hidden features that are just great.

Within StartXchange there is a TV icon in the upper right of each page that has a corresponding video.

jeweledbluerose23 - What does it take to become a traffic exchange owner?

Time, Money, and a Plan. Will be starting a series on this in the near future as well.

thirstan - 1) When might TEtoolbox be made so that upgraded members can have 2 rotators? Easiest rotator I have found. 2) I love the way we can mass assign banners, when will we be able to do this with urls?

Great Ideas! Both noted, no release date available.

kerberos - Do you sometimes or daily surf on exchanges Tim? in that case how many do YOU usually surf?

I typically surf StartXchange a few times a week. Other than that I purchase and/or swap traffic with other owners. Keeping things running keeps me busy ;-)

berdenoman - Other than Traffix Exchanges and your blog, what do you see as the most effective means of advertising on the internet? Do you do joint ventures?

Search Engines. Really it depends on what you are advertising though. StartXchange was getting decent signups from Adwords, and still gets decent signups from organic search.

erzsebet108 - Are the team competitions useful/benefitial for every member of SX ?

No - some find it distracting which is why it isn't a requirement. However many find the closeness of the team encouraging and appreciate the community it creates.

pskovgaard - Are you earning good living with Internet business, thinking of family with nearly 2 children? Then there could be hope for me out there.

I'm happy with what I'm making, always room for improvement! It also depends on where you live, as living expenses vary greatly. I ponder many a times about moving down south where I hear houses are affordable...

moose76 - Can you really make a living just using the Traffic Exchange(s)??

It takes time, but it is possible.

jamila - What do you feel is the best TE outside of Start Xchange?

Currently, Traffic-Splash, but really it depends on the results I'm getting which fluctuates over time.

myle - I would like to know how best to promote StartXchange in other exchanges as a primary exchange for surfing and building a downline to get a bigger credit rate. Is there a way to do this?

Make your own splash pages explaining why you feel it's the best exchange. Really, unique splash pages is where you'll get the best results for pretty much anything you advertise on exchanges.

itaku - I was subscribed to your blog with email, now I use a RSS Reader and put in this URL (http://www.timlinden.com/blog/feed/). Am I subscribed as before?

Subscribing via RSS doesn't unsubscribe you via Email. The only really way to know if you are subscribed either way is to see if you get an email or your reader notifies you of new updates to the blog. Every tuesday a new interview is posted.

chrispsports - Can I make money with exchanges?

Yes, in fact out of 55 surveys so far 30 have stated they are making money from using them. The key is learning how to use them properly.

frederickding - Can you make it easier to participate in the banner exchange by not using (non-standards-compliant) iframes?

Iframes are compliant with XHTML 1.0 Transitional. Google uses them for maps and calandars, and I have no intention of changing it.

suryan - I have always believed in the If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It principle, so I have been stumped to figure out what prompted you to make so many sweeping changes to SX - from the design to the special member features. Will we ever find out what was behind all this?

I'd like to think the new design and feature changes are an improvement. I'm always interested in making it better than before.

dcubed - Why are upgraded members' credit delivery tied to their surfing activity? Does this mean, as an upgrade member, if I buy all my credits, but don't surf, my sites will not be shown?

You can purchase credits and not surf, and your sites will be shown. Delivery is based off your "Rate" set for each URL.

brustar - Why would you give someone who had been dedicated and honest on your exchange a surfing reward of only 2 credits after surfing 100 sites?

The prizes are randomly chosen. I will look into getting it to give higher prizes in general, but due to the randomness of it there will at times be a lower prize or a higher prize.

kkylara - Why does my forum password keep changing and not let me in when I am surfing at the office?

Sounds like a cookie issue. Check that the browser is allowing cookies on .startxchange.com

rabindranath - Is there any possibility from any traffic exchanges to generate fund only by surfing to upgrade the account?

You can win Platinum upgrades while surfing StartXchange, you can also earn commissions and use that to upgrade.

larrydmi - do you think all traffic Exchanges Will Go to hover Instead Of Click?

No - I think it's more of a novelty item than anything.

mtwojs247 - Since you ask if I was making money from traffic Exchanges, here's my question: Are Traffic Exchanges made to make money from or build your business list so you can earn the right to promote your products to them in the future or none of the above.

Any type of advertising is there to make you money in the end. So if your way of doing it is building a list you might not get money right away but in the future. But, that money is still a benefit from advertising on exchanges, correct?

believe - Do you have any tips on how to successfully run a traffic exchange?

Will be doing a series on this in the future, stay tuned!

Please do not submit questions below. I will not be answering at this time. If you have not already done so you can ask a question in the StartXchange Survey.

Jens P. Berget (jens) Asks:

1. I can see that the amount of people subscribing to your rss is increase almost daily, are you doing anything in specific to get readers to subscribe? (and I am not talking about AWeber and how using AWeber increases the number)

I am using Aweber =P But more specifically, I've been adding subscribe forms to splash pages and yesterday I created a "One Time Offer" on StartXchange that let you subscribe. I got close to 200 the first day!

2. How do you get people to subscribe to your newsletter (optin list), do you have any techniques that you want to share?

All my ads to subscribe are in plain English, and honest. People know what they are subscribing to, and I reference the fact that I have experience. People want to know they are subscribing to something that'll help them.

3. How many sources of income do you have online, and how many streams of income do you have? I know about your traffic exchange and your blog, but do you do anything else online in order to earn money?

My main source of income is StartXchange, and it's the focus of all my activities. Pretty much everything I do in some way is to get more people into StartXchange, or help the ones that already are there to succeed (like this blog). However that may change in the future ;-)

Ben Asks:

I liked those intervievs You made with other TE owners. Are there coming more of them?

Every Tuesday! I've got about 29 more waiting to come alive ;-)

Steve C (schester12) Asks:

Is there any way under the StartXchange rules I can add my downline to my autoresponder list? In general I am looking to combine several lists into one and am looking for a way to do this.

No. The downline in StartXchange isn't to be used as leads or as a list. You can contact the downline to help them get better at using StartXchange, and mention your list while doing so (which is more effective in the first place).

Ruth Sharp (teehood) Asks:

I kept the info about Aweber Responder Form but I have to say it was mostly over my head. Especially when you started talking about php. So my question is: Can you dummy down that explanation to the adventuring newbie level? (If it's possible! lol)

If you are talking about the auto submitting Aweber form article, it has been removed as I found out that it was against their TOS. Which is a reminder for us all to review the TOS of your favorite programs periodically. I'd hate to lose my Aweber account!

However I may at some point show in more detail how to auto fill the form, so the user doesn't have to re-type their info. This I got the green light from Aweber on, and it makes a big difference! (who wants to enter their email 10 times to sign up to one site?)

Jon Asks:

My question is how do you did you randomize you bog to have a different header photograph all the time. Maybe you might consider doing some articles with some suggestions about how to trick out a word press blog.

I use a small snippet of PHP code in the header of the script. The first section is what I load the file names of the images into. The second part just puts it in the IMG tag. Below all you have to edit is the images[] lines (add or remove them as you'd like):

<?
$tlblog_images[] = "LF009779.jpg";
$tlblog_images[] = "LF010662.jpg";
$tlblog_images[] = "LF010856.jpg";
$tlblog_images[] = "900x200.jpg";
$tlblog_image = $tlblog_images[mt_rand(0, count($tlblog_images) - 1)];
?>

Then where you want the photo to show put this code:

<?=$tlblog_image?>

In my case it looks like this finalized. The code is in the style of the headerimg div:

<div id="headerimg" style="background-image: url(http://www.timlinden.com/images/<?=$tlblog_image?>);">
</div>

Cyndi (Cyndi) Asks:

How much does it cost to get started owning a traffic exchange, Not just the exchange hosting but the overall costs?

It depends, do you want to just own a site, or do you want to own a business? I'd say in today's market, the minimum to succeed is $3000. You want a killer design, killer script, DEDICATED server, a killer advertising plan, and you'll want to get known by the big shots in the industry. Just remember that the $3000 is the initial investment, you'll want to keep paying for that server and traffic to keep the activity going =P

Graham Taylor (ironmonger) Asks:

Any suggestions about building members at a new TE, we have about 150 at the moment, but progress is slow. With every one holding referral contests, is there any "twist" that would help.

In your specific case you need a new design and a new host. The design needs to scream JOIN MY EXCHANGE and the host has to be fast. In your case I think your name servers are setup wrong. (should be dns1.midphase.com)

Michael (bsmbahamas) Says:

do you think i should try some co-ops and maybe split test the salespage that
comes after the splash page, that seems to be my bottleneck

I use multiple coops, right now my favorite is TE Blaster. Grab the $77/month one, and use that as a base for your advertising. Also for you I'd recommend a new design too. The new StartXchange design has doubled tripled my activity since using it. There is a clear difference when you have a professional design or a "so so" design. People are way more likely to subscribe or join a site that looks oh so great.

Thanks for the questions all! I hope you've gained something, and for those who didn't ask or if you still have questions, please save them for when I do it again!

Today I am going to give you the opportunity to ask me a question. Then a little bit later I'll post again with the answers to those questions. You can ask me about StartXchange specifically, traffic exchanges in general, website development, or anything else you might be wanting to know about me. Just post a question in the comments!