PTR tesing: Advertising

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Now that the PTR tests (from the end-user perspective) have passed the 30-day mark, testing has begun from the advertiser viewpoint.

This post will be edited regularly as testing advances.

Test 1:
Pharoah's Gold PTR*

Test Ad:
Strong aff earner, under 50 words.
Hype level=6
(4 triggers - 8 keys)
Mid-level ad pkg.
Sent as a 3cent solo ad to full membership (6,000+)
Total paid: $5. US
CPL: $0.08

Ad and payment sent Monday 03/22/04 at 8AM GMT

*Note: First choice was AprilGold's, but the prices are beyond reasonable, in my opinion.
I can give the same amount that she wants for a mid-level ad to a major engine, and get 3 times the traffic.

Second choice was Rebelmail, but again the prices were high in my opinion...There are hundreds of hungry sites who will give me much more advertising for the same amount.
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Test 2: 03/22 08:15 EST

PureGold mails (formerly Egoldmails):

Redeemed $17 credit for the 25 Guaranteed Signups option.

Program: Give Away Free cellphones @ $40 each!

Good program, attractive payout, strong profit potential.
Strong appeal, and personal bonus:
New affiliates take a Free cellphone, and Pay themselves $40 for the sale.

Past experience with this program has shown a good (71% after 30 days) ActiveDownline ratio, and a strong (57%) initial sale rate for new affiliates.
This makes it the ideal tester for the PTR tests.
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Redemption page at PureGold doesn't use text-entry form...just a "Click to Redeem" button.

Sent redemption request 03/21 and received reply 03/22.
Reply was quick, but seemed a bit rude to me...

Pasted reply from PureGold:
....................
Hello,

You have forgotten to include the programme you want signups for.

Please reply to this email with your FREE TO JOIN programme.

If no reply is received, this will be considered as a donation to Puregoldmails.

Regards,

Keenan
Puregoldmails
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Of course, I replied with the fact that his redemption page has no form-inputs, so nothing in fact was forgotten...and suggested his adding a text-box to the form along with the buttons.
This would save the extra step, thus streamlining the process.

Updates to this post will follow.
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03/22 09:30 EST

Got an email reply from Keenan:
He made me feel bad about calling his email "rude"...He apologized for forgetting to add the text-box to his redemption page.*

*Apparently, mine was the first redemption via this option...and the issue should be resolved by the time you decide to buy this particular service.

End Update
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After 7 days from initial post, 5 signups from PureGold...but that's the good news:
The biggest (obvious) problem with PTR signups is the fact that many will simply click the "PaidToSignup" link Only to collect their 50cents for signing up, without ever even looking at what they signed up for...
The other side of that same coin is the percentage who sign up with a false email address and fake name (which means they don't get paid because the initial "Welcome" letter is their proof needed to get paid)...and the others using a temporary email address that is deleted immediately upon receiving the Welcome letter.

These signups never even see the program...and will blindly pass on a free cellphone and $120 cash profit for 50 cents from the PTR site.

Bottom line:
7 days, 5 signups.
Email to each new signup within 12 hours...and 4 of the 5 emails bounced.
Two of the new signups used names like "jhjk" and "fgh", but I emailed them anyway.
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PureGold Part 2: the curveball

Sent PureGold an email re: the high percentage of faked signups*, and threw them a curve at the end of the message:

Requested to change the signup URL that referrals will be sent to.
A simple task, but beyond the expected standard relationship.
Time will tell how they handle this "personal service" request...as for now, it's been 3 days, and no reply.

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They handled the curve well;
Recent check showed that the new banner is in place.

There was no verification sent by email, and since the change was silent, I can't tell you when it happened...but it was fairly quick, by PTR standards*.

*(The most common complaint of webmasters running one of the new PTRs is that they are over-worked and always behind schedule. The average wait-time for getting an ad published is 7 days, but a few will put you off up to 3 weeks.)

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Update - post copy

Since moving the testing to Generation3 PTRs, the results are also being logged on the new board...but many of you may look here first.
The updates here are already posted to the Gen3 board, elsewhere in this catagory.

Redemption for ads was completed within 3 days at the following Gen3 PTREs:

MillionMails

500-500

Resulting traffic:

MillionMails: 847 visits (801 uniques) spread over 3 days, 7 signups to date.

500-500: 454 hits (417 uniques) over 4 days, 3 signups.

All PTR traffic sent to MMU free auctions, signup offer was free membership for life.

Percentages were good, cost was actually zero...for an average investment of 1 hour weekly, the ads were a very good deal.