If I were going to give my business to someone I would go with a proven winner not a fly by night wannabe. Some truths always remain the same, no matter what business you are in. Today I am writing about dialers: I will try to concentrate on the facts, give you both the good and the bad of dialers (mostly the bad), and try to make this crazy industry of dialers easy to understand...
Introduction
When I first started reselling dialers about four years ago, I expected to start working a program that Webmasters would not be able to cheat, as was the problem with click-thru sponsors then. Now with four years of experience behind me, I can say without a doubt that the Webmasters I've done business with and made friends with during this time have been my only sunshine in the sometimes pretty dark world of dialers.
The History
Though dialer companies say they've been around since 1992, the dialers were first introduced to the public thru spamming on newsgroups in the middle of 1996, where they were falsely advertised as ‘picture viewers’ that give free access to porn, but instead connected users to international long distance telephone numbers. This operation was soon shut down by the FTC, unfortunately the industry didn't learn from this mistake, and similar international long distance schemes were used again and again, and each time Webmasters didn't receive their payments.
From the end of 1999 to the summer of 2000, warez sites were ‘the place’ for dialers. I remember browsing adult sites at that time, and found only a couple of them using dialers; usually these sites were operated by warez site owners. That's when the ‘big bang’ of dialers really happened: the summer of 2000. Like mushrooms after rain, dialer resellers started popping up everywhere claiming to be "the best." Many of these fly by night companies jumped in to make a quick buck, and then they were gone, leaving webmasters in the dark and without their money.
Imagine 25 resellers, all without any experience with dialer reselling, and most claiming they own their own network; it was a time when dialers were fast and easy money, and there were very few rules to follow…
The Present Day
During the last 6 months, 3 dialer networks have closed down without paying their resellers or Webmasters. There are over 100 dialer resellers, from whom at least 80 of them aren't doing any minutes, or any actual reselling. Most are using the dialer company to get higher rates for their own sites. Ask yourself "How many of these dialer companies are paying their webmasters, and I mean all their webmasters, like a good sponsor should?"
If I were going to give my business to someone I would go with a proven winner not a fly by night wannabe. Makes sense, doesn't it? Never settle for less than the best, not only with dialers, but also with your hosting company, your sponsors, your ISP, and everything else, only then will you succeed!
Choosing a Reseller
This is the most important choice you will make and it will determine if you will ever hold any of the hard earned cash you made with dialers in your hand. A good reseller has good support, a reputation of paying Webmasters on time for at least 6-12 months, and they have to be able to prove what they've been saying! I've seen resellers making impossible claims, raising their rates to the highest and I mean more than they are getting paid; some are offering thousands of dollars every week to the webmaster with most minutes, others offer cars, vacations, etc. These are not serious resellers, these are what professionals call ‘joke sites,’ they don't have a brand, and can pack up and take a permanent "vacation" any time they feel like it; with your money of course!
Brand & Reputation
A good reputation takes long time to build, it's not something that is achieved overnight. It is earned by saying the right things, and following up with the right actions. Building a brand is the cornerstone of any adult business, you either have to be the best, the first, or different in something to succeed.
Some Statistics
If you think that I have exaggerated a little in this article, then you are mistaken! I'm only trying to prepare Webmasters for the worse, such as, out of those I've surveyed:
• 60% - Haven't been paid by at least one of their previous dialer resellers!
• 30% - Are comparing dialers to see which makes most money
• 10% - Are new to dialers.
It takes a lot of work to keep yourself updated with all of the happenings and changes in the dialer industry: it's even more than some resellers are able to handle; so try finding a reseller that knows what he's doing, keeps you informed with everything that's happening, and has a reasonable ratio between minutes, rates, and payout periods.
