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donjralma's Profile About me ... |
Member since: 6/30/2009 Last login: 5/12/2012 |
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donjralma has posted 68 comments with an overall 93.5% helpful rating...
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donjralma's comment on 24 Hour Web Cash ...
Worthless Program
DON'T LET YOURSELF GET SUCKED IN BY THEM LIKE I DID!
What I would've liked to know before joining is what the "14 Steps" are in detail. They said I'd find out only after joining and that I could get my money back after doing all 14 steps and proving to them that I did them.
I liked the one-time payment for lifetime membership and the money back guarantee that's offered for completing the "14 Steps".
I didn't like that they wouldn't tell me what the steps are unless I joined. I just figured if nothing else I'd do the steps and get my money back so I didn't see it as a problem.
My specific results are that I paid the lifetime membership fee, got a big binder with lots of information in it including the "14 Steps", got set up with a couple hosted sites to advertise, and found that in order to complete not even all of the "14 Steps" I'd be spending more than my lifetime membership fee. I made $10 once through their random referral system within a few weeks of joining (they do that on purpose to make you feel like you're getting somewhere), but nothing ever since. I realize I got taken and there's nothing I can do about it since I didn't complete the steps.
donjralma's comment on Tim Linden ...
Pretty good guy
The only thing I would've liked to know about Tim Linden is that he's a bit "techy" for my taste compared to others. StartXchange's layout isn't as easy to navigate as others. TE Toolbox's splash page maker's too complex for me, too.
I like that I can access his blog for free anytime I wish. There's lots of helpful information in there. I check it every now and then as he keeps it up to date and even warns about the newest ways hackers are trying to steal users' information in traffic exchanges.
I didn't like the subscription to his blog as it seemed like I was constantly getting asked to join every new thing to come along. I do have a membership with Tezak Traffic Power, but didn't join due to Tim promoting Tony Tezak.
My specific results are that I canceled my membership in StartXchange, am not subscribed to his blog but do have it in "Favorites" to check things every now and then and do still have my free TE Toolbox membership in case I want to have more free hosted splash pages later on down the road. He's a pretty good guy and does post valuable information on his blog.
donjralma's comment on QuickRewards Network ...
Awesome Site!
There wasn't anything I would've wanted to know before joining that I couldn't find via the site's home page. I joined for the paid surveys and paid emails only.
I like that I can make $1.05 for each Greenfield survey I complete and that it only takes a couple days to credit to my account. I also like that I can go through the paid emails directly on the site and that I can get more money on the site by answering trivia questions, guessing the number of the day and going thru the "Daily Clicks" section where you look through different sites for more points.
There's really nothing I don't like about the site except that you can only view one month's history at a time.
My specific results as being a member for a little over a year now are that I've made a total of $92.91 ($70 of which I've cashed out with no problems) and I enjoy visiting the site daily. I've been very satisfied with the site ever since I joined, and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting a great way to make some extra money online.
donjralma's comment on SendEarnings ...
Just OK Site
There wasn't anything I would've wanted to know before joining that wasn't listed on the site's home page as I joined just for the paid emails and surveys that were listed there.
What I like is that they send at least a couple paid emails every day.
I don't like that the surveys are only worth 50 cents as I can do the same ones elsewhere for at least 75 cents to a dollar. When I first joined, they were worth a dollar. When May of 2008 rolled around, they chopped it in half.
My specific results as being a member since December of 2007 are that I've made almost triple the amount from the paid emails as I have from the paid surveys (Paid Emails $23.03, Surveys $8). I've never cashed out and all total with the $5 Joining Bonus I have $36.03 in my account.
donjralma's comment on TE Toolbox ...
Just OK Site
There's nothing I would've wanted to know before joining that wasn't listed under "Features" on the site's home page.
I like that as a free member you can create 5 of your own splash pages and have them hosted for free by the site, which is why I joined.
I don't like that I found the splash page creator too difficult for me to use and I've not created any through the site because of it.
Another thing I didn't like was being bombarded with every new thing to come along after joining the Tim Linden Blog (which I unsubscribed from after that happened).
My specific results after joining for nothing other than being able to create my own splash pages and have them hosted for free are that I found the splash page creator too difficult for me to use and also found the blog to be overbearing. Right now, I'm using EasyHits4U's splash page creator which is very easy to use and allows me 3 of them hosted for free. I'm keeping my TE Toolbox membership, though, because I may want more than 3 for free at some point and 5 more for free would be worth the extra time spent learning how it works. Also, I can visit the blog on my own and look up what I want to read about without getting the overbearing emails.
donjralma's comment on Opinion Outpost ...
Site And Customer Service Awesome
What would've been nice to know before joining is that if you don't fill out your physical mailing address, after a couple months you won't get any more survey invitations at all.
I liked the surveys they did send, though, as they weren't overbearing like some others I've seen. I also liked that you can view your survey history, and that it contains all the dates of the surveys you've attempted and completed along with the results.
I didn't like that after a couple months I didn't get any more survey invitations or even an explanation of why. Actually, though, I should have inquired about it instead of quitting. My specific results then (Dec. '07 thru April '08) were that I was a member for about 4 and a half months, completed 2 surveys worth 15 points each out of 23 attempted, and canceled my account with 30 points in it ($3 worth) due to not being sent any more surveys. My specific results now are that after seeing all the positive comments about it in here (thanks everyone), I called the toll-free number today and talked to a very friendly customer service rep. who told me that it happened because I didn't fill out my physical address information before. She reinstated my account for me and guess what - my 30 points are still in there! Now that I've filled out all my information I'm looking forward to a great experience with it this time.
donjralma's comment on Major League Hits ...
An Awesome Site
There wasn't anything I would've wanted to know before joining that I couldn't find via the site's homepage.
I like that when I joined I got a free Lifetime Veteran Pro account just from surfing a required number of sites within a required time period and submitting a support ticket (can't remember the exact numbers). I also like that he regularly runs a 1 cent prize link for every 19 pages viewed while surfing. You just click on the link and the penny's added to your account by the next page view.
I honestly can't say there's anything I don't like about the site.
My specific results are that I've been a member for almost half a year now and since I can view the click thru percentages for my banner and text ads, I can see that some of mine are doing very well. I've only accumulated $5.09 thus far, but for a free membership that's bringing clicks to my ads I have no room to complain. I'd highly recommend this one for anyone who wants real visitors to their sites.
donjralma's comment on Greenfield Online ...
Pretty Good Site
There wasn't anything I would've wanted to know before joining that wasn't available via the site's home page.
I really like that I don't have to wait for email invitations from them to try and take surveys. I can just log in, fill out the "Update my profile & start a survey" section and off I go. I also really like that I can go to "My Rewards Center" and see all of my details on payments, surveys taken, sweepstakes entries, total earnings and amount available to request.
The only thing I don't like so much is that most of the surveys are just for sweepstakes entries, but I've found that the more of those you do the more of the paying ones they send you.
My specific results as being a member since September 2,2008 have been that I've made a total of $48.50 and have never won any of the sweepstakes, even with LOTS of entries listed in "My Rewards Center". I've cashed out 2 times so far requesting a check for one and PayPal for the other (now that they offer it as an option) and have never had any problems getting paid. It's not a fast way to earn a lot, but it is a stable company and well worth it to me to continue my membership.
donjralma's comment on American Consumer Opinion ...
Just OK Site
What would've been nice to know before joining is a bit more detail about getting paid to take their surveys as what they have about it is very vague.
I like that none of the surveys I've completed for them have been worth less than $4 and that I can bring up a list which shows the dates taken and dollar amounts earned for each survey.
I also liked one of the surveys I did for them in which all I did was keep track of the snacks I had for a week, record them on their form and see $8 posted to my account afterward.
I don't like that you can't take any surveys unless they send you an email invitation and that those are far and few between.
My specific results from being a member for over a year are that I've only been able to qualify and complete 3 surveys and have a total of $17 in my account. I haven't requested a check yet (there's no minimum amount to request one), but probably will once I have $20 or more in my account. I wouldn't recommend this one to anyone unless they don't mind making money easily but very slowly.
donjralma's comment on MySurvey.com ...
Awesome Survey Site
There was nothing I would've wanted to know before joining that I couldn't find via the site's home page.
What I like is that along with their regular online surveys, that aren't worth many points, they also have participation surveys that are worth lots of points. Examples: an online discussion about telecommunications I did last September worth 2500 points ($25) and one I did in May of this year worth 500 points ($5) just for sending them copies of our telecommunications bills. I also like that you can look up your history of surveys completed and how many points you got for them.
The only thing I don't like is that you have to look at your survey history one month at a time. It'd be nice if they were all on one page and you could just scroll down to see them.
My specific results as being a member for over a year now are that I've made almost $100 (another 145 points to go) and have cashed out $70 so far. I've never had any problems getting paid by this company. I'm very satisfied with my membership and would recommend this site to anyone looking to do surveys for pay.
donjralma's comment on Survey Savvy ...
Just OK Site
There really wasn't anything I would've wanted to know before joining that I couldn't find via the site's home page.
I like that they do send email invitations for surveys at least a couple times a month and that I can log in and see my account balance.
I don't like that the only things listed in my account balance are the number of surveys I've taken and the dollar amounts already paid to me. This makes me have to copy and paste the confirmation page (after completing a survey) in a folder until the payment shows up in my account.
My specific results after being a member for almost 2 years now are that I've made a total of $21.50 and have never won one of the fifty $10 prizes. I had them send me a check at $10.50 (no problems encountered), and have since made $11 more. I haven't tried to refer others into it like they want you to, but if I had referrals I doubt it would make much difference if they got as few surveys to do as I have. I wouldn't recommend this one to anyone unless they want to make a little money very, very slowly.
donjralma's comment on Revenue Magic ...
Pretty lame
What would've been nice to know before joining is that in order to run any of your full-page, banner or text ads in their system you must assign a minimum of 500 "AdPoints" to each one and then wait a day for them to be approved.
I like the long 15 second timer in their surfing area and that you get 5 AdPoints per page view which is worth 1 view to your site for each 5 AdPoints. I also liked getting 5000 free AdPoints for joining.
I don't like that the system won't let me use different banner image URLs that direct to the same website URLs as I've created different ones to promote IM Report Card, but can only use one. Also, after adding one banner the rest of my 5000 AdPoints became inaccessible to me. They're listed just below my banner as "No of Points: 3565", but I can't use them for anything at all. Their whole system is just way too complicated for it's own good and just causes frustration. There may be some people who like it, but I'm definitely not one of them.
My specific results are that after canceling my membership once before and thinking it might be different (better maybe) this time, I'm still not pleased with it and wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I'm going to keep my membership, though, until my AdPoints get used up as it would be a waste to just throw them away.
donjralma's comment on Survey Spot ...
Pretty good
There's nothing I would've wanted to know before joining that wasn't available via the home page.
I like that they send me emails for surveys and that I can log in and click on "Take a survey" whenever I want.
I don't like that they only show your current list of completed surveys and that those disappear when you cash out, but that's really not that big of a deal. Also that they don't show up at all until they've been credited to your account.
My specific results as being a member for a little over a year are that I've made a total of $87 doing surveys but have not won anything (cash or prizes) even with LOTS of entries. They do show proof of people's winnings, though, so the possibility is there. I'll keep my membership with this one.
donjralma's comment on Justin Blake ...
Worthless B. S. Artist
I got on his mailing list through a promotion for his "Manifestation Meditation" and I wish I'd known he was closely affiliated with Shawn Casey. If I'd known that, I wouldn't have pursued it any further.
I liked that I could get some philosophical reading material for free through him, but that's about it.
I didn't like how I constantly kept getting herded towards the next best thing that Justin and Shawn wanted to push at any given time.
My specific results were that I got some interesting reading material for free (which I've since gotten rid of) and I stayed on his mailing list just long enough to conclude that my best bet would be to add his name to my "B. S. Artists" folder (which now contains: Justin Blake, Shawn Casey and Tellman Knudson).
donjralma's comment on Traffic G ...
Pretty good
The only thing that would've been nice to know before joining is their actual credit ratios for surfing. It would've been nice if they had a chart listing the differences.
I like that I can show as many sites and banners as I want and do whatever I want with my credits as I can turn off auto-assign for my sites and pause any of my banners any time I want. I also like the equalize function for my banners and that I get 25 banner impressions per credit converted. The equalize function allows me to evenly distribute my banner impressions amongst all of my banners with one click.
The only thing I don't like is that they don't have a text ads category. On the surfbar, there are blank spaces on either side of the clicking section where these could appear but instead they're just blank spaces.
My specific results are pretty good as I can tell from how many people have clicked thru on my banners compared to how many times they've been shown. I'm getting 1.1 credits for every 20 second page view while surfing and overall it's one of the better traffic exchanges I've come across. I'd recommend this one to anyone wanting to surf for credits.
donjralma's comment on MySurvey.com ...
Awesome survey site
There was nothing I would've wanted to know before joining that wasn't available thru the site's home page.
I like that for some of their surveys all I have to do is keep track of what I drink or what I snack on for a week and get points for entering my results. Another thing I really like is that they list my history so I can view all the completed surveys, points I've gotten for them and the dates, amounts and status of my cash payments. It's also nice that you can let your balance grow before requesting payment (sorta funny, but you can go all the way to $5000 for this).
There's nothing I don't like about the site as they send me enough survey opportunities on a regular basis and the surveys themselves are not overbearing like some others I've done.
My specific results are that I've made over $90 so far in the year that I've been a member and I enjoy their surveys more than some others I belong to. I'd advise anyone wanting to make some money doing fun surveys to join this one.
donjralma's comment on Instant Banner Creator ...
Awesome service
There's nothing I would've wanted to know before joining that wasn't explained on their home page.
I like that for free I can create my own banners and have them hosted by the site. I also like that I can convert them to ".png" and have both ".gif" and ".png" there to use whenever a site won't accept one or the other.
The only thing I don't like is that I can only create one line of text for my banners when using the "Create A New Banner" function.
My specific results have been that since I've been able to break away from using just affiliate banners and have been creating my own, some of the results have been fantastic. I haven't yet gotten into all the different ways they allow for creating banners, but after reading this review and the other 2 users' comments I'm going to look into it more and find out probably that I can do a lot more than I originally thought. Thank you wontyoubemynaber, TriNi and secretg.
donjralma's comment on Adland Pro ...
Awesome service
There's nothing I would've liked to know before joining that wasn't available thru their home page. After joining, I got just what I was expecting.
I like that it's very identical to TrafficSwarm since I like to be able to write my own ads. I also like that the approval process is very fast (faster than TrafficSwarm). I also like that I can see the click thru rates for my ads and that they let my credits go negative and show my ads anyhow while sending me an email to let me know my credits are low.
There's really nothing I don't like about the site.
My specific results have been outstanding as I can see from the click thru rates for my ads. I haven't ventured into any of the other stuff they offer as the only reason I joined was to be able to write my own ads and run them for free. I am very satisfied with the service and would highly recommend it to others.
donjralma's comment on Hit2Hit ...
Pretty good
There's nothing I would've wanted to know before I joined. Mainly the site was ranking high in TrafficHoopla and Affiliate Funnel and with a 6 second timer and 2:1 surf ratio for free members and that's all I needed to know.
What I like about the site is that I can have the auto-assign function set to 0% if I want so I can distribute my credits any way I wish. Also, the conversion ratio for banners and text links is 1 credit = 25 banner/text link impressions. That's better than most of the others out there.
The only thing I don't like is that you have to wait for manual approval before you can run things. Most sites have automated systems to do it, but not this one. It's a little frustrating to have to wait when I want to get something out there.
My specific results have been pretty good overall as I can tell by the click thru rates listed for my banners and text ads (actually better for my banners with this one). It's not spectacular, but for what I get for free, I'll hold on to my membership.
donjralma's comment on Free Traffic Bar ...
Awesome system
There's nothing I would've wanted to know before joining as everything's very well explained on the site's home page.
What I like about the system is that I can show up to 3 banners and 3 text ads at the same time as a free member. What's really awesome is that I get credits to my account whenever I visit any other sites on the internet and also get 25 credits just for signing into my account each day.
There's really nothing I dislike as it's an awesome system I can use for free and I can even view my click thru rates.
My specific results have been that I've gotten better results with my text ads than my banner ads overall so I tend to put most of my credits on my text ads now. Also, every now and then Garland sends out emails with thousands of credits (usually 10,000) available if you join the program he's promoting. I joined ScreenSwarm through one of those emails and got credits in my Free Traffic Bar account for it.
donjralma's comment on Richard Legg ...
Pretty good
There's nothing I would've wanted to know before joining Richard's "Succeed In 30 Days" site as it didn't cost me anything to join and I got the ebook and blog access for free.
What I like about the site and his blog is that there's a lot of technical stuff explained that I may want to know sometime down the road. Also, he gives lots of good old common sense advice from his own personal experiences.
There's really nothing I can say I don't like about Richard, his site or his blog.
My specific results have been that I got the site membership, ebook and blog access for free and can use them for reference purposes any time I choose. I'd have to admit, another of my results is that I sometimes lose track of time while going through the stuff.
donjralma's comment on ILoveHits ...
Just OK site
One thing that would've been nice to know before joining is that the conversion ratio for credits into banner/text link impressions is: 1 credit = 3 banner/text links. That's low enough that I probably would not have joined.
What I like about the site is that 0% of your credits must be auto-assigned to your sites. What's nice about that is that even with the 3:1 surf ratio for free members, I get to distribute my credits in any way I wish. I also like that they show your click thru rates for your banners and text links.
I don't like that the conversion ratio is only 1:3 for banners/text links, but with the timer set at only 8 seconds it's not terrible.
My specific results are that I've been a member for almost a year and I've gotten just barely enough click thru action to make the site worth keeping.
donjralma's comment on Free Traffic System ...
Just OK site
There wasn't anything I would've wanted to know before joining that I couldn't find out via the site's home page.
What I like about it is that for free I can get an inside look at how backlinks work on the internet with the search engines and they even list the good and bad things you should know about the process.
What I don't like is that 4 of the videos in the help section have "video is not available" in the middle of their screens. Those 4 videos are about how to use their system so it's not at all helpful in that respect.
My specific results have been that I've kept my free membership so I can use the site as a reference, but I've not used the system itself.
donjralma's comment on Traffic Splash ...
Pretty lame
There's nothing I would've wanted to know before joining that I couldn't find out via the home page.
What I did like were the surfing promotions where you could earn credits for surfing so many pages in a day and send in a support ticket telling them what you want. With the 3:1 surf ratio I was getting as a free member that helped somewhat.
I didn't like the layout of the site as it's quite different than most, but I put up with it as I figured it wouldn't matter as long as I got enough good visitors to my sites.
For being such a very popular traffic exchange my results were not anywhere near as good as I expected. I thought it may get better so I stuck with it but after a few months of that and seeing no improvement, I canceled my membership.
donjralma's comment on TopSurfer ...
Pretty lame
There's nothing I would've wanted to know before joining that I couldn't find via the home page.
What I liked the most about it was that I could play games while surfing which I haven't seen anywhere else.
What I didn't like is when it hit me that if I was hardly looking at any ads due to playing games while surfing, mine probably weren't being seen by others. Also, I didn't like all the emails I received from the site and especially that if I unsubscribed from them there would go my whole TopSurfer account.
My specific results were that I kept it for about a half a year I guess just for the novelty of the games and seeing poor advertising results coupled with those nagging emails I finally got tired of it and unsubscribed.
donjralma's comment on Farm Traffic ...
Pretty lame
There's nothing I would've wanted to know before joining that I couldn't find via the site's home page.
Honestly, there wasn't anything I really liked about the site except that it was free to join. I joined it because of it's popularity and have since learned that's not the best reason to join a traffic exchange.
What I really didn't like is that for all that surfing it seemed I should've had more credits to use, but I didn't.
My specific results were that I remained a member for about a month and a half, got poor results and finally gave up and canceled my membership.
donjralma's comment on Smiley Traffic ...
Pretty good
There's nothing I would've wanted to know before joining except that free members must auto-assign 75% of their credits to their sites.
What I like about it is that as a free member I'm getting . 5 credits for every 10 second page view and my conversion ratio for credits: 1 credit = 30 banner impressions or 45 text ad impressions. That's hard to find anywhere.
It's also nice that they show your click thru rates for your banners and text ads. The site owner is real cool and even free members can earn cash while surfing.
The only thing I don't like is that free members must auto-assign 75% of their credits to their sites. My specific results have been pretty good as I can tell from the click thru rates and I'm not ditching this one probably ever.
donjralma's comment on StartXchange ...
Pretty lame
The only thing I would've wanted to know before joining is that the interface of the site is somewhat confusing compared to others and I didn't like it. Thinking back to when I did have a membership for a few months, the only thing that I liked was that the more you surfed the higher your ratio would go up. I didn't like the layout of the site or the puny credit ratios for free members. Even with the progressive surf ratio, I hardly got enough credits to show my banners.
My specific results were that I joined because it was such a popular exchange and I thought for sure I'd get good results due to that fact, but found that not only did I not care for the layout of the site, but that my results weren't as great as I'd thought they'd be.
donjralma's comment on HitsBoosterPro ...
Pretty good
I joined it for the week of premium membership. All the information available from the home page was enough that I didn't feel there was anything I would've liked to know before joining.
I liked the week of premium membership. I also like that even as a free member you get 4 credits per page view (8 when the "HitsBooster" is on which happens on a regular basis). Your banner and text ad impression credits go up as you surf also, which I have not seen anywhere else and it's nice to be able to see the click thru rates for your banners and text ads.
What I don't like is that the conversion rate for credits into banner and text impressions is 1 credit = 1 impression. Even that's not too bad, though, since you get so many credits while surfing along with having banner and text ad impressions added as you go.
My specific results are that I've gotten pretty good click thru rates with this exchange and I'm glad I joined. I'm gonna keep this one!
donjralma's comment on S.W.A.T. Traffic ...
Pretty lame
Though the home page states about a progressive surf ratio in which the more you surf the more credits you get per page view, I would've liked to know that it wouldn't happen fast enough to be worth being a free member.
About the only thing I liked was that the timer was fast.
I didn't like that even with a fast timer and the progressive surf ratio I was hardly able to get any views for my sites.
My specific results were that I tried it for a couple months and even when I surfed quite a bit, the results weren't good enough for me to continue my membership.
donjralma's comment on MindField Online ...
Just OK site
The only thing that would've been nice to know before joining is that I'd hardly make anything through the site. I've been a member since December 12, 2007 and have only received a total of 19 surveys. I only qualified for and completed 3 out of the 19 and have $8 in my account.
I like that they now pay thru PayPal and that they haven't canceled my account due to inactivity as the last one I did was on 8-23-08. I also like that they list your history so you can see what's happened.
I don't like that I hardly ever get any survey opportunities from them, but it may be due to me not updating my "Member Questionnaires" since May of 2008. I just went in and updated about half of them and I'm hoping they send more now.
My specific results are that I've made $8 since 12-12-07 and I'm hoping they send more now that I've updated the half of my information that needed it. Also, my account's still active so that's a big plus compared to some others out there.
donjralma's comment on Internet Marketing Success Formula ...
Pretty good
Everything's explained on the home page so you know what to expect.
What I like about it is that there's a whole lot of helpful information and I can use it for free as an internet marketing reference.
I don't like that all the links throughout the ebook are someone else's referral links and even if I did buy the upgrade and rebrand, without joining all the programs in there I'd be advertising for someone else's benefit.
My specific results, since I've decided not to upgrade, rebrand and advertise it are that I have a helpful resource which I didn't pay anything for and can reference it as often as I want. That's pretty good the way I see it.
donjralma's comment on Free Lunch Room ...
Just OK site
What I would've liked to know before joining is that I didn't need to pay $34.95 for a Project Payday membership to join the Free Lunch Room and make money. I like the way everything's explained and that in the forum there are many members willing to help if you need it and also that you can make a little money with it. What I don't like is the whole process of making money by doing trial offers which is what the Free Lunch Room is all about. My specific results are that I made a little money here and there, but haven't been active with it because I realized there are much better ways to spend my time. I also had to cancel my debit card after who knows which place started using my account without my knowledge.
donjralma's comment on Traffic Witch ...
Pretty lame
What I would've liked to know before joining is that you don't get very many banner or text ad impressions for your credits. With the surf ratio so low, it really isn't worth the effort.
I liked that the timer is only 10 seconds, but that's about the only thing I liked about it.
I didn't like that you get so little for your efforts when trying to run banners and text ads or even your main sites for that matter.
My results from this site were terrible enough that after several months of it I canceled my membership.
donjralma's comment on Tezak Traffic Power ...
Just OK site
What I would've wanted to know before joining is the ratios for credits to banner and text ad impressions, which I didn't find out until becoming a member.
After joining, I was pleased to see that the ratio is 1:25 for both banner and text ad impressions. I also like that you can win credits and impressions every 15 pages surfed.
I'm not crazy about the way the site's laid out, but it's not that bad once you get used to converting your credits and moving them around. Though they list how many views and clicks for your banner ads, they only show a click-thru % for the text ads and you have to click on "Assign" in order to see that information.
My specific results have been just OK enough for me to keep my membership.
donjralma's comment on Hit Safari ...
Pretty good
After joining, I was very pleasantly surprised to find the ratios for credits to banner and text link impressions to be higher than most: 1 credit = 30 banner impressions or 50 text link impressions. I also like that they have "Stats" listed right on the home page that shows how many members there are and how many are online.
The only thing I don't like is that the CTR (click-thru rate) is pretty low for my banners and text ads. However, I can't complain too much because at least they list that information for me to see.
My specific results are that even though the CTR isn't totally awesome it isn't totally bad either. It's good enough that I'm sticking with this one.
donjralma's comment on Dragon Surf ...
Pretty lame
What would've been nice to know before joining is how very few banner and text link impressions you get for one credit. Had I known, I wouldn't have joined.
I liked that the timer wasn't very long, so 3:1 surf ratio didn't seem too bad. The pick a cave game for credits, banner and text impressions was sorta nice, too.
What got me to cancel my account is that I couldn't hardly get any shows for my banners and text links. I can't remember the exact ratios, but for me to cancel because of it tells me they were terrible.
My specific results were that each time I surfed, I got frustrated that the credits seemed to be worth next to nothing. After several months of on and off surfing, I decided the frustration wasn't worth it and canceled my account.
donjralma's comment on Click Voyager ...
Pretty lame
There's nothing I would've wanted to know before joining that I couldn't find through their home page.
What I like about the site is that you can see how many times your ads have been shown and how many people actually clicked on your banners and text links.
I don't like the ratios: 10 Credits = 1 Visitor; 1 Credit = 3 Banner Impressions; 1 Credit = 5 Text Link Impressions. Also, not many members surf - usually less than 500 a day.
My specific results are almost dismal, but I am seeing some clicks on my banners and text links so it's just barely worth keeping.
donjralma's comment on Webmaster Quest ...
Pretty good
Their home page has everything needed to make the decision of whether to join or not very easy.
The actual ratio for credits to banner or text ad ("Hotlinks") impressions is 1 credit = 25 impressions. That's one of the things I really like about this one due to the fact that most others only offer a 1 = 20 or worse ratio. Also, I like how they list the click thru % for your banners and hotlinks.
There's nothing I don't like about the site. Heck, they even have a "Games" section.
My specific results have been pretty good. I can see this since the click thru % is listed for my banners and hotlinks. I don't use a tracker for my site URLs, so I don't know the click thru % for them. However, using the site's "Stats" I can see when, where and how many times my sites are being shown.
By the numbers of credits being used over a day's time on my sites I can see that while the site's activity level isn't booming, it is moving along at a steady pace.
donjralma's comment on Viral Ebook Explosion ...
Pretty good
What I would've liked to know before joining is why that you don't get a ton of free ebooks, which is what I thought. There are some nice items in the "Free Gifts" section, though. What I like about it is that there's a lot of information along with training videos on different ways to promote. There's even one on building a squeeze page. Since I can use the site free for my own learning and for reference, I can't say there's anything I don't like about it. My specific results are that I have the site at my fingertips anytime I need it for reference purposes and nobody's bugging me to do anything. I think anyone could benefit from the free membership.
donjralma's comment on OpinionBar ...
Pretty good
Everything is well laid out and easy to understand. I like how you can check on the site for surveys as well as getting emails about them. I also like that you have a choice to donate your earnings or receive them through PayPal. It's really nice that you can see a list of what surveys you took, when you took them and how much you made on them. I can't really say there's anything I don't like about the site. My results so far are pretty good, so I'd say this is a decent survey site that would be worth joining.
donjralma's comment on memolink ...
Pretty lame
The only thing that would've been nice to know before I joined is that it would take what seems like forever to reach cash-out. Since I'm getting close, I am going to stick with it for now. What I do like is how they send emails regularly that you get points for just visiting sites. Also, the last 45 days of your points history is shown in your account along with the last 120 days of your click code history. What I don't like is that I don't get very many surveys from them which is really why I joined. Most all the points I do have are from visiting sites in the emails. My specific results are not very impressive and like I stated earlier, the only reason I'm sticking with it for now is because I'm so close to cash-out. I wouldn't recommend anyone join this one if you're looking to get lots of surveys or money in the very near future.
donjralma's comment on NPD Online Research ...
Not great but not bad
Everything's laid out so you can get a good idea of what they offer.
I like that you get to play various games to win cash and points. I also like that the surveys are relatively short compared to others out there.
I don't like that you can't exchange your points for cash. Also, I've never won any of the sweeps after entering, so it seems like a waste sometimes. I guess I'm just hanging in there for the chance as people do win and they list their names.
My specific results are that I've gotten quite a few points, used them to try and win and haven't won. Maybe I'll win if I stick with it and it doesn't cost anything but a little time, so overall it's worth it.
donjralma's comment on Pinecone Research ...
Great survey site
I joined Pinecone Research over a year and a half ago through SurveyScout.
It would've been nice to know before joining that they don't have any type of referral program. I've put a quote about this from Pinecone Research's FAQ section in the discussion thread.
I don't particularly like that you have to use the number they give you (UserID) along with the password and you can't change them. So if you join, you'll want to write them down somewhere.
I like how they now pay thru PayPal and it's usually in my account within just a couple days. Another aspect that's really great - the free products. They always ask me if I'd like to try whatever it may be at the time and it's my choice whether or not to accept the product, free of charge, to evaluate.
I've made over $60 so far. For over a year and a half that's not much, but I've only been doing 1-3 of them per month.
donjralma's comment on ZoomPanel ...
Pretty lame
Another one to read the TOS. One thing I liked is they cover S&H when you redeem something with your points.
I would've liked to know before joining that they may pull the following stunt.
From "Step One": "When a new survey is available for you, we'll send you an email invitation. "
They deactivated my account for (from TOS): "ZoomPanel reserves the right to terminate or disable, and cancel unredeemed Points in, ZoomPanel accounts that are inactive for a period of three (3) consecutive months. "Inactive" shall be defined by ZoomPanel in it's sole discretion from time to time, and shall include, but not be limited to, clicking on a survey invitation link, or participation in a survey. "
They didn't send me anything for over 3 months after I got a phone with 3500 points, and you can't do any surveys unless they send you an invitation.
I reactivated my account and the 55 points that were there before were gone, so I canceled the reactivated account.
donjralma's comment on Fusion Cash ...
Just OK site
What I would've liked to know before joining is that this site is not at all geared towards being able to make money doing just surveys.
I did like that they put five dollars in your account for joining.
I didn't like that the surveys are far and few in between and that it would take a long, long time to even think about reaching cash-out with them.
This would be a good site for people who enjoy doing offers and are very careful about it. For me, though, I was tired of that whole scene and even had bank troubles from someplace using my card numbers without my consent. I still don't know which place did that!
Since I was getting nowhere fast and didn't want to do offers, I canceled my account.
donjralma's comment on Global Test Market ...
A great survey site
There's nothing I would have wanted to know before joining. I like how they regularly send survey invitations and let me see how many points are in my account.
The only thing I don't like is that you can't see a list of the surveys you've taken along with the points for them and the dates they were taken or your join date.
I've been a member for about a year and a half and have gotten two $50 checks and am a little over half way to a third.
You don't make lots fast, but you do make money with this one, and it's well worth being a member.
donjralma's comment on Deals N Cash ...
Pretty lame
This is one of the ones I joined about a year ago before I learned to carefully read the TOS before joining things. ALWAYS READ TOS BEFORE JOINING ANYTHING!
I would've liked to know that you have to give them your tax ID or SSN by filling out a W-9 form (which shouldn't be a requirement until you've made $600 through them).
I did like the paid emails and for people who are willing to provide them with their tax ID information, it could be a way to make a little money.
I had just a little bit in the account and decided to cancel it because there's no way I was going to send them that information.
donjralma's comment on Lightspeed Panel ...
Pretty good
There's not a thing I would've wanted to know before joining. I like how they send emails all the time with links to the surveys.
The only thing I don't like is their new "ConsumerSay" panel they want people to join. From the ConsumerSay site: "During the registration process, we will ask you to provide information about your credit card and bank accounts." I'm not comfortable with that and there's not an option to say you don't want to join, so it's sitting there on my members page under "Surveys".
Overall, it's a pretty good survey site, but over the course of the past year I've only made a little over $20.
donjralma's comment on Dollar Surveys ...
Pretty good
There's nothing I would've wanted to know before joining. I like how they send email reminders every day and how fast they get the $1 into PayPal.
I don't like that there aren't that many surveys available and that you sometimes have to skip through offers to get to the surveys (I don't like doing offers).
Overall it's a pretty good one and I do make a little money from them.
donjralma's comment on A.W. Surveys ...
Very worthless
I wish I would've known before joining that they wouldn't send emails often enough for me to remember to log in. I didn't like that at all.
I liked that all you have to do is view sites and write a few sentences about them.
I had over $20 in my account and went to log in to see if anything was available to do. My account had been deleted for me not logging in for over 45 days.
I created a new account to see if my account was just deactivated just to find out it was completely deleted. I canceled the new account also.
donjralma's comment on Snap Dollars ...
Pretty lame
I had a membership with them over a year ago. That's about the time I learned to really read the TOS for things before joining and wasting my time.
The thing I really didn't like is that your earnings have to consist of $15 in offers. You can't just get paid for surveys and paid emails, which is what I wanted to do.
I didn't have all that much in the account and for some reason checked the TOS to check on the amount required for cash-out. That's when I found the part about $15 of it having to come from offers. I canceled the account and have been more careful ever since when joining anything.
donjralma's comment on Affiliate Funnel ...
Another Awesome Service
The only thing that would have been nice to know before joining is that their traffic exchange rankings come from the votes of members. Even so, after joining I was pleasantly surprised to find all the helpful things offered even to free members.
I like how I can use the service to keep an eye on which traffic exchanges are in their top 20 list. I then compare their list with a couple others I use.
I'm not crazy about the fact that traffic exchange members themselves are the ones who vote on which ones rank the highest. The reason I don't like that aspect is because there's a real good chance that people will give high rankings just to bring in more people.
Overall, though, it's an awesome service and valuable resource.
donjralma's comment on SEO Supervisor ...
OK Learning Tool
I ordered it in October of 2007, so it's been around for awhile. The S&H was $4.95, and you got a 14-day trial (looks like they've cut the trial time in half now).
I would've been charged $49.90 monthly through Pacific WebWorks had I not cancelled before the trial ended.
There is some good learning material on the 2 discs you get and for $4.95. That's not such a bad deal (now I have them for reference if needed).
I chose not to follow their system (especially at $49.90/month), but I can't say it wouldn't work for anyone who tries and pays the monthly fees.
I'd advise to read through everything very carefully, though, and mark your calendar big time if you don't want them to start the charges after the free trial.
donjralma's comment on FreeTrafficWorld.com ...
Pretty good service
I've been using FreeTrafficWorld for a bit over a year as a free member and have over $20 in my account just from surfing. I've also won a free upgrade for 30 days and a random referral while surfing.
I don't see them listed with the top traffic exchanges in TrafficHoopla or Affiliate Funnel, but they've been around for awhile and are still going strong.
What I really like is how you win cash while surfing (in effect, getting paid to advertise) along with credits.
The only thing I don't like is that I've been waiting for 3 days so far now to get a banner approved.
Overall though, it's a pretty good service.
donjralma's comment on AWeber ...
No spam complaints at all
I've been using the service for a bit over a year and haven't had even one single spam complaint.
Being a member of Online Business Alliance (OBA), I have free use of the service and have been using it to promote the Internet Wealth Report.
The automated email series that's delivered via AWeber was written by Dave Gray, the owner of OBA, and the links within the report direct the reader to my checkout page. The report is delivered one chapter a day for 7 days to the subscriber and one newsletter 4 days later (may be more newsletters later). This is all done automatically via AWeber.
I consider myself very fortunate to be able to promote my OBA business via Dave's AWeber email series without having any monthly charges.
What I can't do is have any control over what's written in the email series. But for free and having the reader directed to my checkout page, I have no complaints.
donjralma's comment on TrafficHoopla ...
Great for reference
Ever since I joined Traffic Hoopla almost a year ago, I've been seeing a few traffic exchanges that show up in their 1st or 2nd join lists in different places but still in there somewhere.
For reference purposes, this is a great place to verify that I'm using stable exchanges which should produce good results.
It's also a great place to find out about and track the new ones that come up all the time.
I've got a join link for Traffic Hoopla listed in my main business also, so may even have some people join some of the exchanges through me.
Overall it's a great free service. I haven't upgraded and don't really see the need to, as it does what I need.
donjralma's comment on Traffic Exchange Profits ...
An awesome marketing tool!
Traffic Exchange Profits (TEP) is a marketing tool available to all Online Business Alliance (OBA) members free of charge.
You become a member of OBA by purchasing "Stacked Income" (through TEP or through OBA) for $5 and setting up your OBA business for no further cost. After your OBA business is all set up, you have free access to TEP.
With the free membership, you have access to a few downline builders (TrafficHoopla, Traffic-Splash, TrafficWitch, TrafficSwarm, TopSurfer and HitSafari) which can help build your downlines in those programs, but you can't use the system to advertise TEP without TrafficWave which is something I'm not crazy about. With the upgraded membership in TEP, there are a few more downline builders.
I purchased the one-time $15 upgrade in TEP ($5 admin. /$10 user fees) and have already made my first $10 from one of my OBA customers who upgraded their TEP system through me.
I tried to promote the TEP system for a couple months via TrafficWave, but after the free 30-day trial and paying for the first month at $17.95 and not seeing any results, I canceled my TrafficWave account. Who knows, it may have taken off after 3 or 4 months, but I couldn't afford the $17.95 monthly charge.
I do not directly promote TEP anymore. However, since I upgraded, the possibility will always be there to make another $10 whenever one of my OBA customers decides they want to upgrade, too.
Now that's "set it and forget it" at its best!
donjralma's comment on Vital Viral ...
Not great, but not lousy either
This is the all new site. The old one had problems and went down. Now the new site seems to be having some problems, too. It didn't cost anything to join either time, but I would've wanted to know before joining that the site was having problems and may go down. If I knew that, I wouldn't have wasted my time with it until it got stable.
It seems the owner, Troy, is now very dedicated to making it all work properly and hopefully he'll succeed. The traffic exchanges he has listed are a fairly decent group. I have my join link for Vital Viral Pro out there, so hopefully some people will join some of the traffic exchanges through my link in Vital Viral Pro. It's better than not even having it out there; at least there's a chance.
donjralma's comment on EasyHits4U ...
One of the very best
There were no surprises I'd have wanted to know about before joining. Everything is very well explained and easy to use.
I like how you can see how many members are surfing while you surf and especially like that you earn cash while you surf even as a free member.
I don't like how fast your credits get used up if you put them into the new text ads, but I guess that just shows how many people are surfing (though I think they could just show one at a time instead of two).
Overall, I'd have to say this is one of the very best traffic exchanges I've seen. Anyone looking to join traffic exchanges should be a member of this one.
donjralma's comment on SMC Business Opportunity ...
Products don't sell themselves
My wife and I did SMC for a while back in the mid 90's. We thought we could really make lots of money from it and were sadly mistaken.
Though it is a real business it's not easy to sell people on the products. SMC claims the products sell themselves and that is just not true - wasn't for us anyhow.
We did make a few small sales here and there, but actually ended up buying more for ourselves than selling to others. Realizing that's not what our goal was, we stopped altogether and haven't looked back since.
donjralma's comment on Traffic Wave ...
Not really thrilled
What I would have liked to know about it is that when you import a series and try to change the intervals of when they are sent out, everything gets jumbled around and the only way to fix it is to put it back the way it was. I didn't like that.
I did like the way they have it set up so you can see how many people opened your emails and the way the system keeps track of everything.
I paid for the first month after the free trial, but canceled toward the end of that month because I saw that over half of the people who were getting my email series never even opened any of the emails. That along with the fact that I never had anyone sign up for the program I was promoting made me not want to continue paying $17.95 per month for the service.
donjralma's comment on Instant Pay Increase ...
Global Cash Flow Network
THEY GOT ME. WHATEVER YOU DO DON'T LET THEM GET YOU TOO!
You have to apply 14 different marketing methods and prove to them that you did in order to get your money back. I asked before I joined what the 14 things were and they told me I could only find out by joining.
A BIG red flag should have gone up right then and there, but I stupidly trusted them and joined only to find that some of the 14 methods would cost way more than I wanted to even think about. Here are some of them:
"8. Place classified ads in local and regional papers driving potential prospects to Global CFN's experts so they can help me have the opportunity to make more money."
"11. Get my own Domain Name."
"12. Get Business Cards for my business."
"13. Send out at least 100 Mailers."
"14. Do Pay per Click Traffic - Get Targeted Visitors to my site."
Whenever I called them about anything, they always tried to get me to join one of their paid advertising programs and even tried to set it up on a payment plan!
(This is the first time I have seen the name "Instant Pay Increase" for the company. I found it in here by searching for "Mary Gersten" after first searching for "Global Cash Flow Network".)
donjralma's comment on 13 Deadly Traffic Exchange Tragedies ...
Pretty good
I bought it in April of this year and would've liked to know before purchasing it that it's basically just common sense. Had I known that, I wouldn't have spent the $7.
However, after thinking about it, I've come to the conclusion that just because I see it as common sense doesn't mean it would be to a lot of other people. For some people out there, it could really make a major difference and help them a lot.
I like the fact that for the $7 purchase price you're provided with everything you need (for free) to promote it and keep 100% of the $7 purchase price. One sale and you've made the $7 back and possibly helped someone.
I don't like the volume levels of the interview with Paul Kinder. William is real loud and Paul is hard to hear at times. Overall I'm pleased that I purchased it.
donjralma's comment on InboxDollars ...
Pretty good site overall
The only 2 things I do are the paid emails and sometimes the surveys. Yes, it takes quite a while to reach payout but it's well worth it for the effort involved. I had enough of doing offers with Project Payday, so I don't do them in Inbox Dollars either. I, too, have a membership with Send Earnings and have found the money comes faster with Inbox Dollars.
donjralma's comment on Project Payday ...
Lots of work for little money
I joined Project Payday around the end of 2007. After a few months I went over my figures and found I was spending about as much as I was making. The amount of time waiting for offers to credit was quite long at times and sometimes they wouldn't credit at all.
With the $34.95 membership fee came a Survey Scout membership. I've made much more with surveys than Project Payday. However, most all the survey companies are out there to join without a membership in Survey Scout anyhow.
I made money with Project Payday but like I stated earlier I spent about the same amount as I made. It's really just not worth the effort.
donjralma's comment on Survey Scout ...
Not too bad for free
I got my membership for free when I paid $34.95 to join Project Payday as Survey Scout came with it for free.
There are a few survey companies I couldn't find anywhere using general searches on the internet that are in SurveyScout.
The database isn't updated on a regular basis and when I tried to let them know about some mistakes, it's like I'd never mentioned anything because I never got any type of response back from them.
Overall it's not bad, but I certainly wouldn't encourage anyone to pay for the membership.
donjralma's comment on Online Business Alliance ...
OBA and the AdSpace Leases
The fact that you don't have any control over which programs are in the AdSpaces is because Dave Gray set up the whole system and chose which programs to use.
Joining any of the programs in the AdSpaces is OPTIONAL. You can still make money by leasing the AdSpaces without ever joining the programs in them.
When you purchase the lease, you pay the one-time admin. & lease fees. You can then lease the AdSpace to others for life with no additional fees ever! Your first AdSpace lease customer gets passed on to your sponsor which means your sponsor gets the first AdSpace lease fee. After that, you get them all.
It's really awesome how Dave has it all set up and it does work!
Don