123StuffForFree.com and FSR

We launched the 123StuffForFree.com network over a year ago with our iPod site running Project RAFS. The software was adequate, but the support soon became an issue for us. So we chose ProjektIRS for the rest of our sites. We were impressed with the support, but over time we realized that there were many features we needed to efficiently run our business.

What we wanted would require software designed from scratch. We wrote a detailed plan that described the functionality of every page and feature. We approached Chris about taking on this project and he refined our plan and added ideas of his own. The result is the most comprehensive referral site software we have seen — it allows admins to productively run a single site or a large network.

Here are some common scenarios that show you how much difference FSRevolution makes in the life of an admin…

USER REGISTRATION:
Someone signs up and doesn’t receive their activation email (probably filtered as spam).

Before FSR: The user sends us an email or contacts us on AIM. They often neglect to say which site they signed up on so we have to search each site to find their account. Then we edit their status and let them know they can sign on.

With FSR: Not an issue — no activation emails are sent. What’s the point of activation emails anyway? If it’s to prevent someone from registering another person’s email, the account is already created at the point an activation email is sent.

ORDER APPROVAL:
Verifying the accounts of a user and their referrals to ensure they complied with the Terms of Service.

Before FSR: With RAFS the verification report displays the user and their referrals. The only information included is the email address, street address, and the IP address that was used to register on the site. There is only an indication of a problem with duplicate IP addresses if more than one user registered from the same IP address (nothing is noted if another user logged in from the same address). There is nothing to indicate which offers were done. With IRS, the security report shows the usernames of any users who matched any logged IP addresses. The security report applies to a single user and must be viewed for each referral separately. There is nothing to indicate which offers were done. Neither report checks for duplicate street addresses.

With FSR: The verification report shows all offers completed, all users who match any IP address ever logged, all users with a similar street address, all users with the same password, and any support tickets or admin notes that have been flagged as order-related. The same information is displayed for each of the user’s referrals. All of this information is reported with a single click of the mouse on the home page of the admin panel.

OFFER UPDATING:
Switching an offer from one affiliate to another.

Before FSR: Changing offer information required keeping a separate spreadsheet with each affiliate’s link, time to credit, and dates the offer ran through that affiliate. Then all of the offer information needed to be copied and pasted into specific fields for that offer.

With FSR: When viewing an offer, the affiliate can be changed from a drop-down menu. If the offer has previously been run through that affiliate, all affiliate-specific information is automatically updated. The time frame an offer is run through each affiliate is automatically recorded and the appropriate affiliate is displayed when viewing manual credit requests.

This gives you an idea of the thoroughness of FSRevolution. There are many more time-saving features in the works, but even at version 1.0 FSR leaves the competition in the dust.

Dave Friedman
123StuffForFree.com