A very effective way to earn credits is to refer other marketers to the traffic exchanges you are a member of. You can do this easily by sending people to a referral URL, which you can find in the member's area of any traffic exchange.

   A referral URL is a link to the traffic exchange home page that includes your personal id code. When someone visits your referral URL, then signs up with the traffic exchange, they are placed in your downline.

   Often, an exchange will award you with an instant referral bonus for each new member that joins your downline. This instant bonus could be anything from 50 credits, to 1,000 banner impressions, depending on the exchange. In addition to instant bonuses, most traffic exchanges give you a percentage of the credits your referrals earn when they surf for traffic.

   For example, you might receive an amount of credits equal to 10% of your direct referral's surfing activity. In this example, you would get one credit for each 10 credits your direct referrals earns.

   Even better than free traffic, the more progressive traffic exchanges are now offering commissions for upgrades and purchases made by your direct referrals.

»» Purchasing Credits
   You can also purchase traffic, banner, and text link credits from most traffic exchanges. This is quite useful if you don't have a lot of time to surf, or if you just want to add some extra "punch" to your efforts. Most credit packages are quite reasonably priced, so your advertising dollars will go a long way.

»» Winning Credits
   The majority of traffic exchanges now support random credit winnings during member surf sessions. In fact, with many programs, you are guaranteed at least a small winning at regular surfing intervals. Surfing contests, referral contests, and random drawings are other examples of how traffic exchange users can win free traffic credits.

»» Additional Ways to Earn Credits
   Many traffic exchanges provide their members with alternative methods of credit generation. For instance, an exchange might award credits for reading solo email ads. Some programs also have a "search for credits" feature. There are even a few programs that allow members to earn credits for displaying their referral URL. There is a good deal of originality in this industry, and program owners are continually finding new ways to reward active members.