New feature: Get ready for more downline traffic

I have been thinking what is the best way for members to reach out to their 10-levels of downlines.

We used to have a private message system. It didn’t work. Too much spam.

We replaced it with the current Downline Message. Members got some traffic from that, but it’s far from my expectation.

My ideals…

I want uplines to be able to reach out to their downlines whenever they have something new. Perhaps a new post on their blog, or a new program that they launch.

I want uplines to feel like having their personal mailing list.

But I don’t want to spam.

And I don’t want a safelist system.

The aha! moment…

I have been thinking of all kinds of complex system. One day, I laughed.

The solution is right under my nose!

It was what made LeadsLeap a huge success back in 2008 when it was launched.

As you probably know, we have been mixing uplines’ Free ads and Pro ads in the emails to our members.

This means the ads that you see (or rather ‘saw’) in your email is a mixture of your uplines’ Free ads and Pro ads.

That was the only mechanism that sent traffic to members when LeadsLeap first started in 2008. It worked very well initially. But soon members got sick of seeing the same upline ad again and again.

Then we introduced the credit system. Uplines earned overriding credits from downlines, which allowed them to get traffic from the entire network instead of only from their downlines. We also reduced the mix ratio, showing more Pro ads in the emails so that members didn’t have to keep seeing the same upline ad.

Fast forward now, our members can get traffic from many different sources.

I am going too much into the history. The point I want to make is, email remains the top method to reach out to the downlines. We just need a more effective way to do it without compromising members’ experience.

The solution…

We replace upline Free Ads with Downline Messages. And we put a time factor so that members know whether the message is new or old.

We do so by presenting the messages in two sections.

1) A hard to miss ‘New from your upline’

Here is a screenshot of how it looks like:

Downline Messages that are less than 14 days old will get priority and be shown at the top right corner of the email, bordered in red!

It’s impossible to miss it.

It will turn the Downline Message into some kind of upline news feed.

Members can get to know what’s new from their uplines. Uplines can also reach out to their downlines whenever they want. All done without downlines feeling being spammed.

Some of you may be thinking, “Good idea, I will now update my Downline Message everyday. So my message will be up there all the time!”

First, if you want your downlines to hate you, do it.

Second, your Downline Message can be banned from showing forever.

We have system in place to catch spammers. Our new ad reporting feature also makes it very easy for members to report spam ads.

Unless you have something genuinely new, DO NOT update your Downline Message too regularly.

Remember, the correct way to use the Downline Message is to build relationship with your downlines. You want to build trust, not hate.

2) A list of active Downline Messages

For active Downline Messages that are more than 14 days old, they will be shown below the Pro Ads.

This allows members to check out their Upline Messages if they have missed any.

We list the messages by date. If members want to check out any missed messages, they can do so easily.

That’s it. A simple solution. I should have thought of it long ago.

What you need to do now?

If you have a blog, update your Downline Message with your new blog post. It is a good way to build relationship with your downlines, provided your blog provides useful tips.

Otherwise, prepare something special for your downlines, something that can build trust. Let them know you are real and you are there to help.