What’s Worse?
This happens frequently with traffic exchanges. They die. There are a few reasons for them to die, some more profound than others. But there comes a time when the owner makes a decision:
- Sell the exchange
- Delete the exchange
- Ignore the exchange
My question is which one is worse? In my opinion the only viable decision would be to shut it down. Put a notice on the site that it’s closed. Take off the signup form. Pay all commissions and refund any credit purchases that weren’t delivered.
The reason I think this is the best route is because the other two just cause even more problems. When an exchange dies and someone sells it off to someone else, the problem isn’t fixed. It’s just someone else’s problem, and somehow the first owner gets paid for letting it die? Then the new owner is out the money and has to struggle to get the exchange to breath again. Sometimes it’ll work, but most of the time it just continues to die anyways.
Then of course you have the owners who just ignore the exchange. They see they are getting purchases so leave it online because people still surf and people still buy things from it, so they must want it, right? Well the problem with that is it’s usually people who don’t know any better. They don’t know the exchange is dead. They don’t know those hits they just purchased are likely never to be delivered.
Most of the time owners of failing exchanges think they are helping their members by not deleting it. Like they owe it to them to not close the doors. Really you owed it to them to not let the site fail. Thinking the next guy will return the exchange to it’s former glory is just making them waste more time and money on something that’s dead.
If you really want to help them put on your index page that the site is closed. Give them links to exchanges that are thriving and that you get results from. That’s what would help them. Most of these people already low on funds, so the least you could do is have them get results for their advertising bucks.
So how accurate is this? Well I sold 2 exchanges myself, I thought the same thing most owners thing. Both never recovered. 36 exchanges have been removed from Traffic Exchange List for disappearing completely. Another 30+ (lost count) are listed and defunct. A handful are still online, but totally ignored.
Eggsellent Tim!
Something to ponder… a little out-of-the-ordinary.
Thanks,
Carl Bailey
http://www.InstantSplash.com
I think the worst is definitely to ignore it. People invest hours of surfing and won’t get the results or support. Causing members loads of pain and headache. If you sell it or close it there’s no uncertainty.
WOW…. I agree totally. Well said.
What really gets me is to spend my time and effort on a TE and build a downline and then that owner closes it only to open another. And then expects me to join and do the same…. NO WAY…….
Brenda B
Hi Tim,
IMHO, the absolute worst is when they just ignore the exchange. I have joined a few that this has happened to and its not a good thing for the members at all.
When the exchange is sold, it at least has a chance to recover. I have seen this with a couple of exchanges I belong to, but most bite the dust. Usually because the new owner doesn’t know how to revive the exchange.
Shutting it down is usually the best option, but I get so upset when it just disappears. No notice, no links to viable TEs, just disappears with no notice to members at all.
Just my humble opinion :)
Hi Tim,
Good question…..
Ignoring the TE is a major problem for the members and the TE industry itself.
TE’s get a lot of bad rap and irresponsible owners are to blame.
When TE’s fail they need to shut the doors..
Millie
I don’t think selling it is that bad. You just need to make sure you sell it off to someone who knows what they are doing so they can bring it back to life.
The worst is just for getting about it and leaving it up cause you feel its the write thing to do for the members.
However if this is your first site you created I can see why people will leave it up. It’s there baby and they just cannot and don’t want to let go of it no matter what. The sad truth is though you need to because not all sites will be successful its just how the Internet works.
Regards,
Chris
I’m all in on this one.
Daily contact is a MUST to keep your TE membership strong and working.
As for closing the site, I’m on the fence.
Some sites really need a better admin/owner to get where they can go.
Owning a TE takes a ton of work, especially if you want it to be responsive. Be prepared to do the work
I think that a new owner wouldn’t hurt if they are willing to do the changes that need to be done.
I do think think that this should be announced on the index page in advance, so members have a choice on what they want to do.
Well, bottom line is, If you are thinking about owning/running a TE, then by all means be ready to spend a ton of time, some cash and learn what works and what doesn’t.
I know, I’ve gone off track but hope this helps
Douglas J Gregory
“The Transformation Marketer”
In agriculture or even landscaping (lawn care), there is such a thing called P.W.P…..Permanent Wilting Point, when the item in question cannot be sustained or brought back to life irregardless as to what you do with it. Dead is dead. Customs (most all) dictate some kind of proper ceremonial send off….bury it.
Tom
If you want to survive on the Net, you have to be honest with your subscribers.
You need to communicate constantly with your membership base (like what you do so well.)
The best option is to close it down if you don’t or can’t do it any more. But you do need to ask your membership for their feedback on your options; and put up ample notice before and after you deactivate the site if you are still online.
I say shut them down.
But even before it gets to that point, I think surfers and other owners should be supportive of the exchanges where the management is busted their tail to provide a superior service.
Dunno, call it favoritism I guess, but I will always spend my money and my time with owners that I see going above and beyond.
Support the exchanges with owners that are making strong and positive steps, we will never have any problems of disappearing owners.
Hi All,
Reminds me of the last TE that was launched under the training package run Jon Olson and friends. Huge launch, absolutely no customer service (I sent over 20 emails and none were ever replied to) and then NO traffic delivery. Its things like this that really damage the TE industry when the heavy weights back something and then it fails with out ever giving itself a chance. Just my thoughts.
Cheers
Martin
I am just a traffic exchange surfer and I will tell you what I do not like about exchanges.They want me to upgrade before I even get to the page to insert my links. Do you buy shoes before trying them on? I do not like timers over 6 seconds and with all were 6 seconds.When a site is ready to shut down, ask the members what changes they would like. Offer personal branding to advertise your site. I was in a exchange last year that said”Iam going on a 2 week vavation see you later! We all know being a owner requires a least a 8 hour day if not more.
Buying a dead exchange is usually not a smart thing to do.
The most you will get out of the deal are the graphics and the script. And most of the graphics I see look like they were done by amatuers
And chances are, the script is going to need some hefty priced mods if it is even worth owning at all
And the membership list? They are dead. Chances are they will never read the email saying it’s under new ownership
Then there is the problem of getting JV partners involved in the re-launch.
Exchanges need launch teams to hit critical mass. And getting JV partners to mail is not easy. And its going to be harder because many experienced owners say it’s easier and more profitable to launch a new exchange these days than reviving a old one
Actually most owners say owning a traffic exchange requires so much time and effort when you are first starting out, you would do better owning a site that provides services to owners and surfers
I would end it at that but I said usually at the top for a reason.
There very well maybe an exchanges with the right domain name , the right look and feel that make it worth the trouble of doing it again – if you know how to turn that into a compelling USP
But then you have get the JV Partners involved or the exchange will stay dead unless you have deep pockets
The worst is definately to ignore it. I think some owners get in to deep. I have 2 exchanges and it is all I can handle. I don’t see how some owners can deal with many more.
I’ve tried several TE’s in the past and spent many many wasted hours with no results. I’ve often wondered if my site was ever even shown.
If someone has gone to all the trouble to set up a traffic exchange and has members who use it why not consider having four or five of your top users become partners in keeping the site going? Just a thought.
This might be off topic, but another “bad” in my opinion, is where a TE owner sells an exchange, but does not have the courtesy to tell the members (including) paying members that the TE is being, or has been sold.
The new owner may then introduce new terms and conditions which adversely affect the loyal membership. Even worse, in my unhappy experience, the new owner runs the TE into the ground and it becomes worse than useless.
This has happened to me more than once over the last few years. The last time quite recently and involved a “big name” player (not Tim by the way!), selling a TE, which has now gone to the dogs IMHO.
I won’t name names here, as business is business, but I wish that TE owners would practice what they preach when they post about perceived “bad” practice on threads like this!
Just my rant,
Jeff.
Interesting topic Tim!
as a person who didnt know any better and bought a dead exchange – I gotta tell ya it has taken a HUGE amount of work to revive Traffic Showdown into the thriving place it is today!
I didnt veen get decent graphics or a decent script with it as Jerry mentioned above.
I changed the graphics once at the beginning and tried to get it moving but then had to make the decision to either close, sell etc
I decided to spend a bucket load of money – I changed the script, got new graphics and theme (again) got a pile of mods and cutomizations, employed a team of prgrammers who work with me daily, got some fantastic Show Girl admins to help me provide 24/7 support, got a dedicated server and then went crazy with promotions and referral comps where my wonderful members help me promote.
I dont know that I would recommend that route though!
I already worked online full time and luckily for me my other online income supports all the money I have spent and continue to spend at Showdown!
Im just hard headed and failure is not part of my vocabulary….lol
If I had have done better research in the beginning I would have been better off but now I am happy with the progress and ongoing success – its up up and away for Traffic Showdown – Woo-Hoo!
Tim,
Very well said!
But how can a humble surfer tell when an exchange is dying?
I believe the answer to this lies in how many new members an exchange gets to surf. And you can help, Tim!
With the data that Traffic Exchange List gathers, it must be possible to derive roughly how many new members an exchange picks up, say per week. Using this info within the reports as one of the factors to determine if an exchange is dying is a way of warning advertisers that the money spent there may be wasted. This in turn may spur the owner on to making improvements and seeking new membership.
Of course it may also result in a lot of angry TE owners!
What do you think, Tim?
Regards,
John
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I believe it would be better like Tim said to close it and refund remaining membership/pay Commissions and start fresh with a new name/url
Even though I pretty new to all this business, I started to get the big picture and decided to jump into the TE adventure.
It’s a lot of job but It’s so exiting that it doesn’t feel like work, most of the time I end uo sleeping 4-6 hours and getting straight back to it as soon as I wake up…Well maybe I’m a bit passionate but I think it’s a good thing if someone wants to last…
As I said I’m a newbie and reserve the right to change my speech at any time without notice lol
It’s a great adventure so far (3 small weeks for RCD Traffic) it still a baby but it will grow…positive thinking is the way to go…oh and good design too ;-)
Frank