Dialers are blocked or restricted in many profitable key markets, with European media giving away dialer blocking software for free. Direct access from dialers also gets blocked by most anti-virus and firewall software solutions, which prevents automated dialer downloads and activates security warnings on screen – a real turn off for the turned on surfer!
Dialers also have six to eight minutes of average holding time – if the surfer is using a slow connection, the average hold time is only two to three minutes – all with very low payout rates for several key markets.
Furthermore, dialers won’t work with DSL, LAN or cable surfers, so you lose up to 40 percent of your potential revenue by using them.
Because of the ongoing problems associated with dialers, some companies are offering voice call solutions that require a simultaneous second phone line to be connected to a premium number, as long as the user wants access to the content.
However, a dialup user will probably not have the required second phone line and in many parts of the world cell phones are on a prepaid service, so premium calls are not possible. You will lose up to 80 percent of your possible revenues from these types of prospects.
One solution to billing these difficult markets is Password-By-Phone, so that with one phone call, surfers can gain access to the forbidden fruits of the member area without a simultaneous phone connection and without a second phone line.
Surfers love it – for them, such billing is quick, convenient and anonymous. What is more, the ‘buy now, pay later” element afforded by pay-per-call billing leads to more spontaneous purchases and by definition, practically anyone with access to the web has access to a phone.
Crucially, thanks to award-winning geo-targeted technology, the surfer sees the call-to-action to pay you in their own native language. Upon calling the premium number shown, they are greeted, again, in their mother tongue, and listen to a 5.25 minute password announcement.
The user is then free to enjoy the content either immediately or at a later stage. The default timeout granted for content access is typically 30 minutes, but this can easily be changed. If the session is terminated at any stage, the time owed is rolled over until the next session. Two minutes before the end of the session, surfers are prompted to buy another password if they wish to continue enjoying the content.
Password-By-Phone offers up to four alternative phone numbers to ensure that your user is able to pay you, unlike dialers, which only offer one. They then promote the phone numbers that have the best profit margins and superior connectivity in bold and eye catching tones. Thus, if the main number is blocked by a local phone company (e.g. because of dialer problems) you can still make money. By giving surfers the opportunity of calling alternative numbers, you are capturing customers who would have otherwise been lost.
Password-By-Phone is affiliate friendly and can be integrated into any program, including those powered by NATS or MPA3. Resellers introducing other webmasters also get a 10 percent second tier payout. Payouts are factored so you get paid long before Password-By-Phone is paid by the Telcos – every two weeks by wire, check or ePassporte – with no chargebacks or pending transactions. The Swiss company is privately owned by pay-per-call professionals who have been involved in the industry since 1994 and have paid over $250m to partners during that time.
As you can see, Password-By-Phone makes an attractive option for replacing the dialer as a tool for billing non-credit card carrying surfers on the international market.
