I’ve been researching different ways that I can try and reward people who visit my site. Why? Well they took the time to visit – so why not try and give something back to them for spending a few minutes on here? This is where PunchTab comes in.
What is PunchTab?
PunchTab is a free service that rewards both the people visiting your site AND you the blogger. Read below for what Visitors and you the Blogger can benefit for using this!
Visitors
When someone visits your site they get a pop-up letting them know about the reward program. Yes, I personally loathe pop-ups personally – but it isn’t as quite as annoying as I thought it could be.
Earn Points by Visiting!
To earn Reward Points
Visitors sign up using their Facebook account. I have tested this and have not received any type of spam – so it completely safe. And of course you can opt out at any time by either visiting your Facebook profile to block the application.
Visitors gain points toward rewards toward either gift cards from Groupon, Barnes & Noble, or Restaurant.com. Currently this site is only offering gift certificates – but the more people who utilize the service the better the prizes will get!
To earn points visitors need to:
- Visit the site.
- Like it on Facebook
- Become a Fan (FaceBook Page)
- Tweet it on Twitter
- Leave a Comment
They will earn 100 points for each time they visit the site (once daily), and then keep earning by just taking an active roll in your blog! Even though I’ve opted out I can still see just by visiting the blog daily I have earned over 4,000 pts since I’ve posted my own PunchTab here on avgjoegeek.net!
Bloggers
Well, this is a no brainer! You get re-occuring traffic, people sharing your content through Twitter, and Facebook, and taking the time to comment to your articles!
I suppose the only downside are those just wishing to earn their points and causing your bounce rate to jump. But I think that the positives outweigh the negatives.
Create Custom Catalogs!
You can opt to give away your own items – you can offer anything from gift certificates (Xbox Live! or PSN points.. hmm?), maybe that new hot video game that was just released, to a free copy of your latest e-book or software!
Host Giveaways!
If you tend to give away free stuff (yes, I’m starting to research this too!) then PunchTab is right up your alley! You can create a Giveaway Campaign very quickly! Have it run on a a set date. Give people incentives to gain extra entries!
.. I know I plan on using this feature in the future!
Earn Achievement Badges
Users can also earn Badges for performing certain tasks by visiting your website. Although this goes beyond my personal tastes for gimmicks - it seems to work. And the badges do not look half bad.
PunchTab Achievement Badges
I’m Sold – How Do I Get PunchTab?
You just go to their website PunchTab of course and take the few minutes to fill out their simple form! Afterwards you are given a few options on how to install it for your website. For WordPress users this is as simple as installing a plugin that will either run as a little “reward” ribbon or you can run their full blown widget in a sidebar.
Or if your like me you have a Wibiya toolbar that runs at the bottom of your page. There is a way to integrate PunchTab to the toolbar. But.. that will have to wait for another article. ;-p
In Conclusion
I truly think that PunchTab is a win-win option for both the blogger and their visitors. The blogger gets additional traffic and entices users to re-visit their site on a daily basis. Users get rewarded by earning points toward free rewards by just visiting, commenting, and sharing your content.
I’d say try PunchTab for your site and see how it works for your site today!
If you are a current user of PunchTab – how has it worked for your site?
Drop me a comment and let me know what you think of PunchTab – whether your a blogger or a visitor – comment below!
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