If you've been actively working your GPT sites, you should be making about $100 - $200 per month, but by now, you're probably wondering "is this it?". You hear about all those people that are making so much more and probably wondering how they do it...the answer is referrals, so the question is how do you go out and get those referrals?You've probably heard all the quick answers, buy an upgrade, ask your family and friends, post flyers, get business cards, paid to sign up ads, etc. And maybe you've tried those - and even got a few referrals, but you're still not making any money. Sure your friends and family may have signed up, but are they doing any offers? Those flyers and cards may have garnered you a few more signups, but are they working or did they sign up, say "this is too hard" and quit? The real question is not how do you get referrals, but how do you get active referrals? Before I quit my job to stay at home, I used to work in the advertising department of a national fashion magazine, and there I learned a very important lesson about marketing - there are basically two types of advertising: The shotgun approach - throw everything out there and see what sticks or Targeted marketing - appealing to those who are looking for the services you have to offer - Three guesses on which one is more effective? Why waste your time and energy on putting stuff out there that's not going to work? Let's look at those "quick answers" and see why they don't work very well:
Whether your new to the GPT world or you've been here a while, you've probably noticed by now that not all GPT sites are created equal. Some are great sites, some poorly maintained, and some are even scams. With all the different sites out there, how are you to figure out which sites are worth your time and which sites should be avoided? I have put together a little checklist that I use when considering a GPT site, cause our time is valuable and we don't want to waste it!!!First and most important thing to consider are the Admins on the site. Are they friendly, responsive? If you have a trouble ticket, how quickly are they going to answer? Do they tell you who they are, or do they hide behind an anonymous screen name? Can you contact them directly through e-mail or IM, or do you have to wait days before they get back to you? A great admin will get to know you and be more than willing to help you with any questions or concerns you might have. Since they don't make money unless your offers credit, good admins are willing to give you tips to help offers credit. Two examples of great Admins:Chris at stays in touch with his members through e-mail, blogs and a twitter feed. I know from experience that if you e-mail him with a question, he'll get back to you right away. He also sends you a PDF when you sign up that gives a few hints on getting offers to credit.Becky at just started up and she's spending days and nights working on her site, communicating with her members and doing everything she can to make her site one of the best on the web. She also hosts a website where people can pick up tips.Second - What types of offers do they have and how often are they added? Great admins will chase down new affiliates to try to get new offers for their sites. Since they know we can only do each offer once, they'll also try to put up offers that are different from what every other site out there has. Obviously the older a site and the more members they have, the more they're going to have to offer, so be patient with your sites that are just starting out, but even new sites should be putting up new offers frequently.Third - How often do offers credit? All GPT sites have 2 types of offers, those that credit automatically and those that have to be credited manually. A really good site owner will check in with their site several times a day to do the manual credits, or they will tell you up front when they plan on doing the manual credits (ex. Chris does his manual credits first thing in the morning with his coffee, while Becky is teaching 3 other people how to do the manual credits). There is nothing more frustrating than having a Pending folder that is full! One site I tried only did the manual credits once or twice a week. To me, that is an admin that doesn't take an interest in their site, so why should I? Also, watch your approval rating - theoretically if you do offers correctly, you should have about the same approval rating for each site, so if you find that normally you have 80% - 90% approval rating, but on one particular site you only have about a 30% approval rating then its time to change sites.Fourth - Do they have a forum (or blog where people can post comments) and what are their forum policies. A site that doesn't have a way for members to post their comments and opinions is probably a site that doesn't want others to see how many of their members have complaints. In addition, this seems to be controversial, but I am very suspicious of any site that will not allow you to discuss other sites or post referral links, if only in your signature. To me that says the site knows that if you visit another GPT site, your going to find out how bad a site they have or how poorly they maintain their site. A good site is not afraid of competition, because they know they measure up!Fifth (and last) - What is their minimum cash out? Most legitimate sites will have a cash out anywhere from $5.00 to $20.00. A few good ones have cash out at $25.00, but anywhere above that, it's time to ask yourself why. If a site has a cash out of $100.00 they're probably hoping you get tired of trying to make it and quit before you reach that point. When you do, not only do they get to keep the money they made from the affiliates, but they get to keep your money. When signing up for any site, read the FAQs to find out what the minimum you can withdraw will be - if its too high, don't waste your time!Those are my 5 major check points - a couple of other quick tips that I follow:
Hey all - I'm back after a brief break - the darlin' petites were out this weekend so no 'puter time for Belle! Sorry I haven't updated in sooooo long!Today I thought I'd talk about a couple of offers that give tons of people fits! These are the ones that either work for you, or it seems like they never will. I'm going to tell you what seems to work for me on the Brandarama and Generous Genie offers.Brandarama -These offers seem to approve or not approve for no rhyme or reason, but I have found if you do a few little tricks, your approval rating will go WAY up. First of all, Brandarama offers approve best when they first come out. One of my friends that owns a GPT site says they have a quota and once they fill that no others approve - don't know if this is true or not, but I always have better luck with the brand new ones than with the older ones. The steps I take are as follows:
