TrafficWave - OceanSwell TEAM Update (#5)

How much advertising does it take to get MLM/affiliate referrals online? It takes a LOT! From the combined effort of our Team Members, my safelist mailings and my Adwords campaign, the Team Ads received close to 12,000 page views total last week. But (last week, at least), it just wasn't enough to move the Rotator so that the next team member can have his turn. I'm beginning to think that it takes about TEN TIMES that much advertising, at a minimum. It can be very, very frustrating! But that's Internet marketing, and it doesn't matter what program you're promoting. Obviously, it takes at least that many ad impressions (on a weekly basis) to realize any kind of results. But, it could also be that it's just real close to pay day. Seriously, most Americans are living paycheck to paycheck and that's if - IF - they have a job. And since a large percentage of those who are looking at online business for the first time are the newly unemployed, it makes it that much harder to bring them in as new affiliates... because they're BROKE!

Anyway, I want to thank every Team Member for working so hard this week. For the most part, everyone went far and above the required minimum advertising contribution. That's just wonderful! But as for enforcing the minimum weekly 'hit count', I'm not doing it this week because it might not be fair to certain individuals. As you may or may not know, TrafficWave is being updated with new features and (although the website functions normally), there were issues this week with the tracking URLs during this construction process. Some people could have sent out mailings, bought TE credits or what-have-you and no one would have seen the ads! For that reason, this just wasn't the best week and there's nothing I can do about it other than suspend the rule this time.

The bottom line is that we need more Team Members and TrafficWave users promoting our Team Ads. Speaking of which, I am re-designing them with a fresh and powerful look and will continue to do so. In addition, I feel that the new autoresponder series is much stronger and I am continually making adjustments to it. Same for the Adwords ads. If there's something more that I could personally be doing for this OceanSwell Team, I sure don't know what it would be. However, there is a new plan being developed to ad a little spice to our co-op system. We're going to add another program, in addition to TrafficWave. Once the new program is announced, I plan to 'flip' the Rotator and let those who have come in recently (or today!) be at the top, and everyone else who wants to participate will join the new program under him or her - in the reverse order of the Rotator. In other words, I'll join it LAST! This new program will be OPTIONAL to join, and I believe that it will mesh well with and compliment our TrafficWave promotion. In this way, Team Members will have even more reason to promote our Team co-op and, especially those currently at the tail-end of the Rotator.

So far, the new affiliate program hasn't been decided upon. But the decision will be made in the next few days and your input is both desired and welcome. I believe that the addition of another (optional) income stream will make our program even more attractive. Please let me know what you think!

TrafficWave - OceanSwell TEAM Update (#4)

It's been one week since I decided to make some big changes to our TrafficWave Team co-op. Why were those changes made? For one basic reason: To speed things up! What everyone wants to know is, 'How can we make the Team OceanSwell co-op work faster?' Another thing I get asked is, 'What are YOU doing to make it work faster?' For one thing, I am going to follow through on what I established last Sunday! If you want to benefit from this Team co-op in order to build your TrafficWave affiliate downline, then you must do the minimum weekly advertising that is required of every Team Member. I am not interested in excuses. In fact, starting today, the NEW weekly page view requirement is 700, rather than 500. The increase is necessary in order to get our ads seen by the public.

Speaking of which, I had to deal with two separate 'crisis' issues in the last 48 hours. The first involved a problem with our splash/squeeze page design & hosting service that caused our ads to go blank. That is why I have switched to AdKreator, and am very, very pleased with the results! The second had to do with a technical glitch within TrafficWave itself that caused our ads to stop working temporarily again! But, that's life and those are the kinds of issues you have to deal with as a Team Leader.

Of course, Team OceanSwell isn't 'one' team. It's numerous teams within one dynamic downline. Ours is a fairly small one. That's good and bad. It's good because my Rotator lists are very short! It's bad because there aren't as many of us advertising my Team Ads and when some Team members don't (or won't) do the weekly minimum, then it makes it even more challenging to get new referrals for the Team. At any rate, here are the stats for what has taken place this week as a result of the changes that were put into effect last Sunday: Our Team Ads registered a total of 11,928 page views in seven days, resulting in seven(7) click-throughs. Obviously, a ratio of 1,704 displays per click-through reveals just how much advertising it takes to generate sales online. It takes a LOT, and that is why this Team co-op was conceived. Can you generate 11,928 page view every week on your own?

However, much to my chagrin, I have had to send out the 'First Warning' to five(5) Team members this evening with regard to the minimum weekly advertising requirements for all Team Members. As I said last Sunday, this is being STRICTLY enforced from now on. I'm lighting a fire under everyone's butt, especially my own butt! That's because I've got a big goal. To achieve it, I'll need to do big things. We ALL dream of having a big, responsive email list to send messages to about about new products and services. And, as TrafficWave users, we ALL dream of being Tsunami Level affiliates with big downlines. So what I am about to say is very important: There are other teams and other downline-building systems out there. What makes Team OceanSwell different is true teamwork, communication, trust and leadership - not just talk, REAL leadership.

Who is responsible for maintaining the Team Rotators? Me. Who designs the ads and keeps them fresh? Me. Who answers the daily emails from Team Members and responds to all enquiries? Me. Who enforces the rules and keeps things fair? Me. Who has a GOLD membership at The List Auction in order to send 12,000 emails a week AND have top-sponsor ads for our Team? Me. Who is spending money on an AdWords for our Team every week? Me.

Who is at the bottom of Rotator #1? Me. Who works a full-time job, needs foot surgery, has a house and husband to look after and STILL performs all of these responsibilities? That's right... me.

So the next time you want to send me an email telling me how much of a burden it is for you to do the weekly minimum with regard to advertising, or an email demanding to know what I am going to DO to make your life better, please don't bother to hit the 'send' button. I just detailed what I do on a daily and weekly basis for this TrafficWave/OceanSwell Team. All that I ask from each of you is that you stay committed, believe in yourselves and believe in what we're building, learn everything there is to learn about opt-in list building and never, never, never quit. If you do your part, I'll do mine.

And last, but not least, I want to mention that all of the hit-counters have been reset and Eliezer Ayal was the week's top promoter, which earns a BONUS TrafficWave referral!

TrafficWave - OceanSwell TEAM Update (#3)

It's official! 'OceanSwell 2.0' is now active! What does that mean for my TrafficWave Team? Only GOOD things, that's what! I have reset the 'hit-counters' to zero for all Team Members' Ad links and will be monitoring them closely from now on to make 100% certain that everyone is contributing equally. The minimum number of weekly page views for each Team Member to generate is 500. Not 499, not 498, or any other number less than 500. If next Sunday, we didn't get enough new referrals, then I intend to 'dial that number up' to 600 a week and I will keep increasing it, as necessary. There's two reasons for that. The first is that some Team Members think that 500 is far too low anyway. We'll find out. The second is MY commitment to making every one of you a Tsunami-Level success this year. Not next year, THIS year! That's what we ALL want, right???

On my Team, the top advertiser of the week wins a bonus referral to put one of those Fast-Start checks in her or his pocket even sooner! And (of course) the new ads, the new letter series, the new attitude and the new Triple-Rotator system are all part of OceanSwell 2.0! But the most exciting part is the AdWords campaign that we are launching this week in support of it all! Nobody else is doing that for any TrafficWave Team or co-op. NOBODY! We are going to make this work better than ever before, and the people who don't join us now will wish they had by year's end!

Now, since we are still a fairly new Team, our Three Rotators only have Team Members in the first one. The second two are currently empty. But that will quickly change! I will now keep the Rotator lists as a Word Document and anyone can see them at any time. Just email me and ask for the current lists. We've got a couple of new names on the Rotator #1 and we've had a few leave. But the fact that we have a comparatively short Rotator means that this is a great time for newcomers to join this OceanSwell Team.

Here is the list as it stands today:

Wanita Busch
Blanca Perez
Frank Novak
Brian Schilling
Jeanette Leduc
Kathy Vanvalkenburg
Lighted Way
Aurora Marketing
High Tide Management
Mona Reeves
Marica Nikolic
Kim Hopkins
Eliezer Ayal
Bret Townsend
Juli Lopez
Paul Rose
Karen Boone

Let's get to work and make this week a truly GREAT one. I want next Sunday's Team Update to be very special. I believe that it will be because this AdWords campaign is HUGE...

Take care,

Juli

TrafficWave - OceanSwell TEAM Update (#2)

My TrafficWave business is a family affair. My husband, Rusty, was the one who came up with the idea for the Team OceanSwell co-op. That picture on the left is me and my honey-bunny at the Spring Crawfish Festival last month. So, I've got the 'inside scoop' on some big changes that are about to happen for Rusty's OceanSwell Team and mine. This update is very important because today is Tuesday. By this weekend, and especially next week, our Team co-op is going to be transformed. And everyone's going to LOVE it!

We've decided to take the best ideas from various team-build programs out there (including competing OceanSwell Teams!) and incorporate them into a brand-new message, powerful new ads, a new letter series, a new Rotator system and a very special advertising campaign. To put it simply, our new system will be an enhanced version of what we've been doing, with two major changes:

1) A new Multi-Rotator system designed to put you at Tsunami affiliate status with TrafficWave and keep you there. Everyone's going to love that!

2) A new Adwords campaign that our family will pay for to accelerate the rate of growth. Note that we aren't asking for any money. We're going to pay for this ourselves... for our Teams, from our own pockets!

The details of all this will be revealed shortly. Like I said, by this weekend everything will have changed. What's happening right now is that Rusty is re-writing his entire letter series, writing the major announcement for his blog and sketching out the ideas for all of the new Team Ads. This is all going to change, all at once, overnight! Hopefully, by Sunday he can start getting some good sleep. He needs it! Of course, what he does for his Team will be 100% mirrored for this one. They will be identical twins.

Getting excited yet? You should be... (smile)