Using Traffic Exchanges

Let’s face it…it’s really hard to resist the attractions and distractions of summer and focus on surfing the Traffic Exchanges.

Summers here in Nova Scotia are often short and rainy, and I think we have a bred-in-the-bone compulsion to run outside when the sun shines.  This particular summer is gorgeous, with plenty of sunny days and the urge to get outside is really hard to resist.

I know my surfing, and consequently my results, have dropped off considerably this summer .  Traffic exchanges do work, but you do need to keep the traffic flowing 24/7.

So how do you keep yourself surfing when a beautiful day beckons?

Here are a few things I do to keep myself on track:

Surf more at night

It’s much easier to focus on the screen when it’s dark outside.  No sunny siren call, no birdsong, nothing but you and the screen and the gentle rhythm of clicking.

Use discipline and rewards

Set a specific target goal for each TE, say a minimum of 100 pages per site, and then give yourself a break and a reward for sticking to it.  I usually surf 4-5 sites at a time, and after my break and treat, then I surf 100 at 5 more, and repeat as often as possible, depending on the day, of course!

Remember why you’re surfing

You’re doing it to build your business and your earnings, and the return depends solely on your efforts.  There is no one to cover your surfing for you while you go play at the beach.  This is often motivation enough to get me back to work.

Take advantage of those rainy days

I have to confess, this works for everyone but me…I love the rain and can rarely resist stepping out in it.  But my pals tell me they get a lot more done when it’s raining, and once I’ve satisfied myself as to the feel and temperature and freshness and smell of the rain, I can usually get back to work.

So take a walk, already! 

Taking a walk when you just can’t bear to be inside any longer will help keep you healthy and sane.  It doesn’t have to be a long walk - just enough to let you feel the sun and wind and connect with nature on some level.  I live about a minute away from Halifax Harbour, and just pop down by the water and let myself relax and enjoy the beauty.  I come back totally refreshed and recharged and ready to work. Good for the muscles, good for the spirit, and good for your business.

Ease up on yourself

I’m talking about that nagging voice that keeps saying you should be surfing more and doing this or that, or stop being so lazy, or put down that ice cream, or whatever your inner nag is saying to you.  When I catch myself being particularly hard on myself, I counteract that old nag with more loving thoughts and compassion for myself until the nag shuts up and lets me focus again.  Again, a break and maybe a walk will help, provided you don’t take the nag along and you allow yourself to feel good and enjoy the bresk.

What odds? Summer IS short!!

So your results are suffering in the good old summertime?  What odds?  (Means roughly, “So what?”)  We’re only talking about a few short months of decreased productivity, and then you’ll be hard at it again when the cold weather comes, feeling that much better for having had a fun summer.  Not only is summer short, but life is short too.  Get out and enjoy, feel good, be kind to yourself, love large, and just go with the flow of the season.  Your work will be there when you’re ready…and you’ll be ready to do it with enthusiasm rather than resentment.

Ahh, much better!

While there are many similarities among surfbars, there are some things I wish were standard on all surfbars.  So without further ado, here is my wishlist.

1/  Quick and Easy Auto Hit Allocation

Among the exchanges I use, only a couple have auto hit allocation from the surfbar. (see ILoveHits, for example)  Others will take you straight to your sites to allocate hits when you click on the credits earned button.  And others, like my beloved FastEasyTraffic, make you go to the members’ page, scroll down to websites, go to websites, then scroll down to auto allocate your hits…ouch!  My wish is that all surfbars would have an easy one or two click easy auto allocation button.

2/  Display Number of Pages Surfed

A lot of TEs do display the number of sites surfed, which I really appreciate.  Others, like FET again, never tell you how many you have surfed in total - they just display the number surfed in the current session.  So if I am surfing to hit a specific target for a contest, I either have to do it all in one session, or try to note how many I surfed in each session and then add up the totals myself.  And others, like TrafficEra for example, don’t use a straight one hit per click so it’s almost impossible to work out how many pages you’ve surfed.   I’m sure it must be a simple matter to put the number of pages surfed right on the surfbar, and it would really simplify things for surfers.

3/   Easy Surf Bonus Claiming

I love winning surfing bonuses, but some sites make you jump through hoops to claim them.  A prime example of this is at TrafficBunnies, where you have to enter and verify your e-mail address every 25 pages to claim your prize.  Others have pop up windows telling you you’ve claimed your credits.  My wish is that all surfbars have a one click claim and then maybe a page saying you claimed the bonus rather than having to close yet another pop up.

4/   Clear,  Large Surfbar Icons

Yep, I’m getting older and my eyes are getting weaker.  While most surfbars are using larger, clearer icons, there are still a few out there that strain the eyeballs.  I don’t know anything about TE scripts, but I’m betting that this is an easy fix and would help ease our tired eyes.

5/   Fewer Steps for Surfing Verification Questions

I understand and completely agree with the need for surfing verification, but couldn’t the number of steps be cut down a bit?  A lot of sites, like Hit2Hit, first use a pop up to tell you to stop surfing, then the question appears for you to answer, then another pop up asks if your answer is correct, then you go to a page saying you were right (hopefully!) and there you click a link to get back to surfing.  Other sites skip the first pop up, which helps.  Couldn’t they also eliminate the “You were correct” page and just pop you back to your surfing?

BIG TIP:

Windows Vista has a feature in their cursor options that makes the cursor automatically go to the usual box on pop ups - for example, for the”Stop Surfing” pop up, the cursor automatically goes to the okay button.  Discovering this handy feature really sped up my surfing as I no longer have to manually move my cursor to the right spot on the pop ups.

That is my short list for surfbar features.  Not major problems, certainly, but it would greatly increase my surfing efficiency and enjoyment if all surfbars had these features.