Saturday, August 8, 2009

Super Solo Ads;
I have noticed that a lot of Text Ad Exchanges are now utilising Super Solo Ads.
A group of Text Ad Exchanges(TAEs) will pay to join a co-op, which enables their members to send out a super solo ad to all members of these TAE's.
Depending on how many members each TAE has and how many TAEs have joined the same co-op, this can amount to many thousands of members reading these solo ads.
The prices range from about $4.95 per super solo ad up to about $12 (depending on the price set by the co-op), but considering how many eyes will read your super solo ad, I think these prices are well worth it.
The TAEs will offer their members much higher points to read these super solo ads as opposed to reading normal emails so you are pretty much guaranteed to get a few sign ups for your programs if they are good programs.
I have had a good response from sending out Super Solo ads for my programs, so I highly recommend using them.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Solo Ads

Solo Ads are a great way to advertise your programs.
Your solo ad will be sent to every member of the text ad exchange that you are a member of, and they will get advertising points by reading your ad and clicking on the link at the bottom of the email.
This link will also take them to your site and they have to view the page for at least 20 seconds before they are awarded the points to their account.
I, personally only read solo emails that I get in my inbox as they are worth a lot more points than normal emails.
Make your "subject title" something catchy as you want to grab your readers attention straight away, and don't make the email too long as you don't want the reader to get bored either.
Don't forget that they are going to be directed to your site when they click on the link at the bottom so that they can get their advertising points.

I have just launched two of my very own Text Ad Exchanges, so please feel free to check them both out for some great advertising.
Keep following this blog for more updates,
Sandy Sharrock.
http://www.dragonflies.oztralasia.net
http://www.unicorns.oztralasia.net

Friday, June 26, 2009

How To Use - Text Ad Exchanges

Text Ad Exchanges(TAEs) are a really great way to advertise your programs if you don't like surfing TEs for credits, or if you just don't have the time for surfing.
But a lot of people just don't know how to use them to their best advantage, so I am hopefully going to make things a bit easier for those people.
There are a large number of Text Ad Exchanges on the internet to choose from, but I always go for the ones that are offering a FREE PRO upgrade, you get so many free points and so many banners and hotlinks and solo ads to start you off in your advertising.
Some TAEs will also have a "One Time Offer" which will give you even more points etc for a one time payment, check these out and if you like the offer and can afford it, then go for it.

When you join a TAE, you will be sent a verification email to the address that you have used to join, and you must click on the link in the email to activate your account.
This is the same email address that you will be sent emails to click and read to gain extra points, so don't use your personal email address, unless you want it swamped with non-personal emails.
Your best bet is to open a gmail account, which is free, by going to http://www.gmail.com/
and use this email address for all your TAEs.
When reading emails for points remember that you get more points for reading solo and super solo emails than what you get for reading normal emails.
I usually only click on these, and you can open a few emails at the same time if you use "Firefox"as your internet browser.
At the bottom of each email there is a link to click on to get your credits, when you click on this link a new window will open and you will have to wait so many seconds until the points will be credited to your account.
This is a great way to build up the points in your account and then you can either use them straight away, or save them up until you have enough points to trade for a solo email of your own to send.

Okay, now to get your advertising set up in the TAE:
Most TAEs will have a promo code on offer, this again will add more advertising points to your account.
When you log into your account for the first time,check to see if there is a promo code and then click on the "advertising" button in the navigation links on the left hand side.
A new page will open and you will see a box there to enter the promo code, type in the code and click, and the points will be added to your account.

In the "advertising" page you will see boxes that tell you how much it will cost to buy banners etc and also how many points you need to trade for these, it will also tell you if you have enough points to trade.
Some TAEs don't have the boxes, just a list that goes down the page, but it all works the same way.

How to add a Banner:
scroll down on the advertising page to the banner section or click on the banner link to buy or trade points to add a banner.
A new page will open and you will see a link that says "add your banner" click on this link.
When the page opens for you to add your banner codes, you will have the option of adding extra points to an existing banner or to create a new one.
Banner Name: The name you want to use for the banner ie the program name or just an abbreviation will do, you are the only one to see this name.
Banner URL:This is the link for the banner, which you will usually find underneath the banner that you are going to advertise.
If there is just a box with a whole pile of html code in that you don't understand, then just "right click" on the banner picture and a grey box will open, then click on "properties" at the bottom of the list and a new grey box will open.
There you will see the banner " location", just copy and paste this location into the banner url box.(this location usually ends in jpeg or png or jpg)
Target URL:This is the location of the site that you want the banner to send people to, it will be your referral url that will also be listed under the picture of the banner in your program.
When you are happy that you have entered the right urls in the right boxes, then click on "save"
The Admin of the TAE will check that everything is correct and then approve your banner.

How to add a Hotlink or Traffic Link:
These are small one line ads that appear underneath the banners on display on all the pages in the TAE.
They are very effective as they are highlighted and really stand out to all members.
A Hotlink is usually no longer than 30 characters long including spaces, so you need a real catchy title to catch peoples eye.
A Trafficlink is the same as a hot link but usually up to 100 characters long.
All you need to enter for these is the Subject line which is your ad and the url you want to point people to, again, your referral url or just the url of the site.
It will cost you 1 point every time your hotlink or traffic link is shown.

How to add a Text Ad:
In the "navigation" bar on the left hand side you will see "post text ads" click on this link and it will take you to a page where you can put your text ads in.
Your ads will only remain showing for 24 hours, this will also cost you 1 point every time someone clicks on your text ad.
Depending on the TAE, if you are a Pro member, you can usually post 10 or more text ads a day and you can also "save" your ad so that the next time you want to post it, you don't have to retype it.
You must remember to go in and re post your ad every day if you want it to remain "active"

There is also a button in the "navigation" panel where you can go in and "view" other peoples ads and gain points for clicking on them, the same as reading emails.

How to add a HTML ad:
These are a little more tricky to do, but once you get the hang of it, they are great to use.
If not done right however, they can look terrible.
You don't have to know html code to place a good html ad though, as everything that you need is in the box.
You can choose what colour text you want to use, you can highlight certain points in your ad, you can choose the style of text and the size and you can even put clickable links in your ad.

so, you have chosen all the things that you want to put in your add by selecting from the top of the box.
size,colour,font, now type in your ad.
If you want a certain word to be in bold type, then just highlight that word and then click on the "b" in the top box , the same if you want to change the colour of a word, click on the big A in the box and a drop down will appear with all the colours showing,just click on the colour that you want and the word will change to that colour.
Just remember to click on the "b" and the colour A to go back to the original things you want to use.
When you are ready to put your link in your ad and you want people to be able to click on the link, then type in your link and highlight it and then click on the picture of the "chain" in the top box.
A small window will open and you will see where to put your url, sometimes it is already there, then click on "insert" and your link is now clickable.

I have used the large square banner from some of my programs as a HTML ad as they really stand out, and you don't have any typing to do or try to come up with the right wording.
You will find all the HTML code in a box beneath these banners, all you have to do is "copy" the code by highlighting the whole code and then right click and click on copy.
Then go into your "post html ad" in your TAE and click on the "HTML" word in the top box.
A new window will open and all you have to do now is right click in this new box and click on "paste" and then click on "update" in the bottom left hand corner and your large banner or picture will appear in your html ad box.
Make sure to click on "save ad" so that you can go back in each day and re post it.
You will also earn points by clicking "view html ads" in your navigation panel and clicking on a few ads.
You will also earn more points by clicking on the banners that are displayed on all the pages as well.

I hope this has helped you learn more about Text Ad Exchanges and how to use them as they are a great source of advertising for all your programs.

I have just taken the plunge and launched my very own Text Ad Exchange called "Dragonflies Text Ad Exchange" so I am learning a whole new side of this.
Keep an eye out for new updates here and if you would like to check out my TAE, you are most welcome,

Sandy Sharrock,
http://www.dragonflies.oztralasia.net/