Hi, Everyone…
This is a quick update today, as I have been getting questions from many subscribers asking me about the many guest posts that have been appearing in my post timelines lately. It involves several things that are ongoing in my Making Money Online business, so I wanted to clarify what this is about and what it is NOT about briefly for everyone.
Why Guest Posts
Table of Contents
I have joined a tool and platform called Traffic Ivy, where people can share one another’s posts and help get their content out to the internet world. This is, of course, a good thing as long as the quality is adequate and the guest post offers value.
To make clear to readers, I am marking these guest posts as such, so they know that the content is from another online marketer, and although I do review the posts prior to approving them, there have been some that I have to re-look at after publication too.
This may cause some confusion with the search engines, let’s see how that comes out, but I do think that the idea behind Traffic Ivy makes sense and will become more effective over time to get all participants more visibility across the internet spectrum, a good thing.
What Traffic Ivy Is and Is Not
There HAS been some confusion regarding what Traffic Ivy is and is not. The other day, I answered a comment on a Facebook page that I would like to add here. I think it will help clarify my position on the use of Traffic Ivy for the online marketing business.
The original poster of the comment I replied to had added a negative review (video format) link from a Wealthy Affiliate member. His point was that he trusted the person posting the negative review, so was convinced that Traffic Ivy was not something to get involved with or use…
Of course, I have joined and started using this tool, and I see that it will take some time to have it evolve into what it can be. But I also have seen people bashing a program only to push people in other directions for their own selfish interests.
This reviewer was not doing that, he honestly felt that the program was not a viable tool to do the things mentioned in the sales page. My opinion is somewhat different, and to provide an alternate view, I added in a lengthy comment.
Here it is:
“I have been a member of Wealthy Affiliate for almost 4 years now, and the platform has a lot of features, tools, and training that are really useful for online marketing (with a focus on affiliate marketing)…
Although there is a segment of members that seem to focus on trashing other programs and then promoting Wealthy Affiliate, that is not the case with all members…Not me…
I have not heard of this channel or member, so I took a look at the video. It seemed to me initially that he was another one that is quick to take a negative view of most things that are not Wealthy Affiliate…
Additionally, I went to his blog page and based on that, I do think his heart is in the right place, as in he is NOT one that purposely trashes products to do a bait and switch with the Wealthy Affiliate platform…
Nonetheless, his honest opinion of Traffic Ivy is not one that I concur with, for reasons I will mention below…
Although let’s be honest too, there are a LOT of crap products out there. Traffic Ivy is one that has the potential to grow into more than what it says it will do…
That is going to take time…plus effort on Cindy and her team’s part, PLUS the members themselves…
Look at websites such as Link Collider, where you like, share, and subscribe to other sites, channels, and social accounts for points (they too started with less than x000 members, I am sure)…
In return, you get likes, shares, and subscribers…Nice, right? The problem is, you may get these SEO indicators and even a little traffic, but few sales…
I have my VAs do the sharing, likes, and subscribes and get them on selected sites because I have noticed an uptick in traffic, and I get more attention from the search engines that bring me in buyers (the pay I give them is less than the cost of buying credits)…
This Link Collider is even a tool I have written a blog about and recommended for use to my readers insofar as the benefits it can bring, but also made clear what it will not do for you…
How does this relate to Traffic Ivy?
This is where I see the potential and value of Traffic Ivy. You can get more targeted traffic and likely some additional likes and subscribers as well…Not to mention sales on top of all that…
The additional features like rating the content and member, the ability to have targeted people see the content versus someone/anyone/bots seeing it are immensely useful…
In this competitive MMO market segment, a lot depends on getting your name out there and building credibility and trust. That is hard with the crescendo of noise out there (I Poop Money is catchy, no?).
Traffic Ivy offers the ability to add one more stream of published content that can help establish you as a person of worth when it comes to opinions, recommendations, and spending your hard earned cash, IMO…
Most new platforms take time to develop, very few will work perfectly once a full load is placed on the frame they are built on, but if the creators are ethical and stick with their creations and continue to improve, they eventually get a lot better.
I can also use Builderall as an example. That platform had a lot of issues starting out, but I joined in the early days and have stuck with them. Why? I see that the creators are dedicated and willing to do what it takes to make it work…
The Traffic Ivy platform will be as good as the members make it over the innovations that Cindy adds. Theoretically, it offers a disruptive leap from what has been out there for similar platforms, and I for one will stick with it and try to help make it go and grow…
Is the platform at end state at this moment? No. Will it grow and become more valuable over time? Yes. Are you willing to have patience as this process takes place? I am.
If you look at the Wealthy Affiliate platform, the Builderall platform, or any number of other large similar sites, you will see that they too started with less than stellar performance and features.
Traffic Ivy is a platform with moving parts, in this case, the members and the features. If members provide quality content, and that content is rated appropriately, glitches and improvements are worked, and the membership base grows over time, you will see that it can become a useful source of traffic and help build your brand.
Example: On Wealthy Affiliate, there is a comment feature, where members can write comments to others’ posts. This helps for SEO purposes, but only if the comments are written in such a manner that they help.
This same concept holds true for Traffic Ivy. There is a system to accept or not accept the comments you receive (but no rating, which is a feature I have asked to be added). This is something Traffic Ivy already has.
So it is the internal quality checks and balances and the members themselves setting the norms and expectations that will make or break the Traffic Ivy platform.
Bottom line is that I have a much different perspective than I Poop Money has (again, how good is that channel name for gaining attention in the crowded MMO space) for this tool.
I did a review of the tool on my website as well, and my analysis here is pretty much what I have passed on to people that stop by to read the review. I have received a lot of positive comments (and some questions too)…
Most people appreciate my candor for all my reviews, and I like to only promote products that I use or at least have tried as well. In that regard, I fully agree that I Poop Money is giving his immediate honest reaction, but that is not necessarily the rest of the story.
Anyway…
All this and $5 gets you a cup of coffee, I know, but I have been around long enough to know the difference between a scam and an evolving product. Traffic Ivy is the latter and is worth investing some time and effort into…”
If you want to read my review of Traffic Ivy here is the link: Traffic Ivy Review Post
What Does It Mean To Readers and Subscribers of This Blog?
I will always try to provide an honest and forthcoming perspective to readers and subscribers. As you know we are offering a whole new line of branded products through soft rollouts without using big platforms like JVZoo, Warrior Plus, PayKickStart, or ClickBank.
We are offering an affiliate platform that will be managed right from this website and the commissions are the same as what you will earn on the big platforms. Just like Traffic Ivy, I expect there will be some growing pains and glitches that we will run into along the way.
It does not mean that you need to throw the baby out with the bathwater, as the saying goes. It is normal that you will have growing pains. If the marketer offering such products is ethical, they will stand behind their products and fix what is not working.
That is our approach and I think it is Cindy’s approach as well. That is why I am more than willing to give the Traffic Ivy a chance to survive and thrive, as I believe it can. We are doing the same. Due to unforeseen circumstances, it has taken longer to get our payment gateways in place (new company, new location, new office, new banking, weather issues like Polar Vortexes, etc.).
We will deal with the problems and move forward. Rome was not built in a day and neither has my business. I fully expect that we will overcome any issues through hard work, consistent effort, and continuous improvement. This is how the entire team feels.
So moving on to other subjects near and dear to my heart and perhaps to yours…
I Need Your Feedback
As a part of this guest posting exercise, it would be helpful to me to get some feedback from you so we can refine what we are adding and omitting the kinds of posts that you do not find useful. The quantity of published content will be going up, but I want to make sure we maintain the quality you have come to expect.
Other Means To Provide Feedback
Letting me know either through a comment, an email, or even a post on our facebook group page Online Business Tools (ask to join if you are not a member!) will get to me and I will do my best to answer you quickly. This website is for us all…The Facebook group is as well.
Also, I wanted to let you know again about our website post comment exchange group. This is a handy tool if you have websites that are not hosted by SiteRubix and posts that you would like to get comments for your posts. It is a private group and the focus is on a 1-1 comment exchange. You give one and ask for one.
No spam, no fluff, just a place to get some comments for your posts that will help get attention to your website and posts (SEO). Here is the link for that site: WEBSITE COMMENT EXCHANGE – so far we have 157 members, but we can add in a ton more and make this an even more valuable tool that costs nothing!
What Else Is New, Dave?
Glad you asked! We are rolling out the Deal app tool soon, I am adding the final touches to it this week. As soon as our payment gateways are finally opened, this tool will be added to the affiliate program and everyone can start selling.
Using the tool, you can add in your products to a decent looking sales page that lists all your offers in a neat manner, and of course, your traffic can click through the images on that page to the offer. You may have seen similar pages on Deal Count or other special offer websites. It really is a nice professional manner to display your offers to prospects.
Next, we have more Lead Magnet Kits Coming…
We have two more SMART Lead Magnet Kits also in their final stages of production and these will be released this week as well. There are two per month being added at the moment, and with the true scarcity involved (limited copies will be sold), it could be that we will have to increase our number of monthly kits (over selling more of the two).
If you want to learn more about these kits, I have a review here: SMART IM Lead Magnet Kits Review
There is more…We have new Training Checklist Volumes Coming…
Our SMART Training & Checklist Volumes are also growing. The team is working on two additional volumes as I write this. When they are complete and meet the standards I have set, we will release these for sale and also add them to the affiliate program.
If you want to know more about our SMART Training & Checklist Volumes you can read my review here: SMART Training & Checklist Volume Review
In regards to training, I have several releases coming up. The subjects are involving content, blogging, and hiring of Virtual Assistants, so please stop by so you get the word as soon as these are released. I am quite excited as these subjects are essential to get started and then leveraging your online business using automation and other techniques (like adding team members)…
As you can see, we are busy and have been busy…
In Closing…
This post covers a lot, and I do hope I have not lost any of you through the many subjects covered. We have talked Traffic Ivy, Guest Posts, new SMART Lead Magnet Kits, SMART Training Checklist Volumes, the SMART Deals App and other training that will be released soon.
It is quite an exciting time for me and I hope for you as well. We are pushing full steam ahead to offer you tons of value for your online business this year, and we look forward to growing our customer and reader base by big numbers.
Thanks for stopping by, now you know what is up, and we look forward to hearing from you below! All the best for 2019, it is still early in the year, and there is lots of time to get significant work done and have success with your online marketing business!
Cheers!
Dave : )
Thank you very much for this post ,I find it really helpful and nice. I always cherish post that has to do with making money online. I have read about Traffic IVY a couple of times and your post has really provided a great insight into what is all about. I will stay glued to your post for more updates.
Hey There, Clement…
Yes, the Traffic Ivy is a fast developing platform to get additional eyeballs on your content and as members get more familiar with how to create content that is worthy of sharing, the quality is going up. It helps that you can rate the quality other members submit.
There is more going on in this post too. Have a look a bit further down the page and you will see that I have updated everyone on the coming SMART IM Tools products and also mentioned the Facebook page and website comment exchange.
Lots of new stuff in 2019! Please stop by again and catch up, and be sure to let us know how we are doing!
Cheers!
Dave : )
Hello,
The Traffic Ivy platform seems like a very interesting platform. It sounds like a great way to get exposure and traffic to your website by inviting guest bloggers to your blog. I will definitely give it a try. You also mentioned having a Facebook group for online tools which I believe is very useful marketers, I would love to take advantage of the comments exchange as it will help immensely with my site ratings.
Thank you so much for this wonderful post, it was insightful.
Hello, Zara…
Thanks for popping through and leaving some feedback. Yes, there are links for both the online tools page, which will support all the things we are doing on our websites (training, PLR, SMART IM Tools, Video, and Mobile Apps) plus add in other useful content and contests, etc. regularly…
I just opened the website comment exchanged to the public. It has been a private group because I did not want to get a lot of spammers joining, but I have added some questions for prospects to answer, and now it is public. We have like 157 members, but that can grow into the 1000s easily. Please feel free to join!
Lastly, on the SMART IM Tools, we are busy getting things ready for the soft launch which has been delayed for several things beyond our control. It looks like we are at the stage now where we finally can open the doors completely for sales and the affiliate program.
Cheers!
Dave : )
Thank you for this nice post. I have also heard a negative review about traffic ivy from a wealthy affiliate member. This post of yours has cleared all my doubts about traffic ivy.
Traffic ivy seems to have a great potential. Those who joined from the onset will surely benefit immensely from it in the long run. I will do my own research about the traffic ivy and I will give it a trial.
Hi, Abiodun…
There is a tendency of many Wealthy Affiliate members to shun any tool that does not have the Wealthy Affiliate label attached to it. That is simply not the case always. Though 95% of what a new online marketer is available through the Wealthy Affiliate platform, over time as you grow the business people see the need to bring in more automation tools to scale the business.
The Traffic Ivy tool is an example of one such tool that can help if it is managed properly and there is a large enough base to have enough content to share and have shared. This is not that different than the precepts that Wealthy Affiliate operates from, or Builderall, or Clickfunnels, etc.
Thanks for the feedback and please stop by again as we go live with the SMART IM Tools that are launching. You may even want to look at the affiliate program that is accepting members now. The commissions are the same as you get with the big platforms and can help the bottom line at the end of the month!
Cheers!
Dave : )
It is never easy to build out a business from scratch. I understand why people are so quick to call a program scam even without giving it a try. They must have had a bad experience due to signing up to such programs in the past or they might just want to promote their own products that they earn commissions from. Whatever may be the case it is important that we are able to identify businesses that have the potential to grow and become more than they currently are. Not a lot of busineses are able to survive the test of time so I would say let time do its job and if they are etical they would be able to stick it out to become more than they currently are.
Hi, Jay…
I agree and am willing to give Cindy and Traffic Ivy the benefit of time to let it either grow into more than it was envisioned to be capable of. Sites like Link Collider have had success over the years in spite of the fact that the traffic is often not that valuable other than for SEO purposes.
I do hope that you stop by to have a look at all the other tools that we are rolling out under the SMART IM Tools brand. These are tools and resources that I wished I had access to when starting out online, and there will be some people that can use all of them or just some.
Thanks for stopping by and adding in your thoughts, I and the team do value them a lot!
Cheers!
Dave : )
Thanks for writing this, it’s fully answered my question. Though I know what guess posting is, but seeing too many of them on your site made me wonder what direction your site is heading.
As regard Traffic Ivy, it’ll be too early to conclude that it’s isn’t effective or doesn’t have any value to offer, every platform starts from the soft point, and Rome wasn’t built in a day as said by Cindy. I’m gonna try them out soon.
Hi, Muhiyb…
I appreciate your stopping by…This Traffic Ivy tool is already improving by the day. You still have to edit the posts as they come in a bit, and I have added a disclaimer as well, but I do think it is going to bet a lot better as everyone sets and follows the norms within the membership…
Further down on this post, you will have noticed that I added a lot of new information on our affiliate program and the SMART IM Tools brand and products that are rolling out. We hope to finally have our payment gateway in place today, there have been delays on the PayPal side. Stay tuned!
Cheers!
Dave : )
The review is really lovely and educating. I really enjoyed it. Firstly, Wealthy Affiliate has really taught me hard work and smart way to earn revenue. They are processed driven no shortcut to success.
About the traffic IVY, I had come across it before which i don’t really believe in the program. But reading your post has now convinced me of taking the risk. Thanks
Hello, Kehinde…
The Traffic Ivy program is nothing close to Wealthy Affiliate and is not intended to be. It does serve a targeted purpose, however, and I have been using it since the launch. It already is getting better, I have seen the quality of posts go way up.
Wealthy Affiliate is a top-notch program no doubt, and people will not be wrong for trying it out to see for themselves, it will show them what they are getting (a lot) for the small monthly membership cost. I can only recommend it again and again.
Some of the other programs like Builderall and Clickfunnels, etc. also have their place in the online market as they are tools that will complement what you can do with the Wealthy Affiliate platform. Traffic Ivy is similar in that it addresses some specific needs…
Moving on to the rest of the post contents, I also expanded on the SMART IM Tools brand and products that are being offered now in a soft launch pattern. There has been a lot of interest expressed by online marketers for the tools we have introduced so far, and I am sure the ones that are coming will also interest and be useful.
I do appreciate you stopping by and leaving some feedback. Do stop in again as we have a lot of exciting things that are coming for online marketers throughout the year.
Cheers!
Dave : )
If Traffic Ivy is more like Wealthy affiliate then I think its worth trying out. I am assuming your statistics and experienced shared here are accurate enough to convince anyone who is willing to build up their traffic and more interactions to their website. Thanks for bringing this up, such an helpful writeup.
Hi, Fasuan…
The Traffic Ivy tool is not much like Wealthy Affiliate but it can be an effective means to get more traffic for your website, which you will learn to put together properly using the training found in Wealthy Affiliate. Much like a social platform, the Traffic Ivy is just another means to get attention to your content.
There are advantages to spreading out the channels that you use to get traffic. SEO is a big and powerful way to get some traffic and should be the focus starting out since everything else is based on that. You want to publish content that people are looking for and will use. Once you have that in place, letting people know that you have it is imperative.
Traffic is the way to more leads and sales for you. That is where Traffic Ivy can help. By getting your name and website link out to more people you will get more traffic. Some of the traffic will want to buy what you promote too, so it is a good thing.
Moving on to the rest of the subjects in this post, overall I hope you got an idea of the many things that we are offering for fellow online marketers. Just as Traffic Ivy can help, so can the tools under the SMART IM Tool program that we are developing.
Right now this includes checklists and training on how to use them, lead magnet kits that can help you get more subscribers to your website, and other tools and training. All will help you grow your business faster and get the targeted people that are the ones you need.
Please stop by and have a look at the posts and tools we offer, I am sure that your online business can be helped to grow faster!
Cheers!
Dave : )