Hyphen

There have been a lot of content locking solutions that are released as open source packages for you to throw together (such as BHCB and CPA LockUp) and toss onto your pages. They're not simple enough. Most of them require way too much technical configuration, be it PHP or JS, and not every affiliate marketer is skilled in those areas. With that in mind, I decided to create a remotely-hosted solution that is completely non-dependant on any single incentive (or non-incentive network, really) network itself while also preserving ease of use.

Before we jump into things, check out a simple demo here: Deadbolter
It's very sleak and jQuery-based. You can customize everything from the fonts, colors, and corner style. You can leverage between forced incentive (by refusing to allow users to pass the locker until a survey has been completed) and hard incentives (like in the example, where the user has the option to close to locker and continue). You can choose the overlay opacity, re-pop frequency, and so on.


I'm releasing this strictly to forums for the time being as we go through the opening stages of development. I went ahead and put together a little screenshot walkthrough, I want you guys to let me know if there is anything that doesn't work quite the way it should. Let me know if you have any suggestions or anything like that. Here's how you get started:

1. Navigate to: Deadbolter
2. The form here is pretty self-explanatory. Please don't fill everything in with BS fields, I don't want a bunch of clutter from test lockers (after I showed a demo earlier), so have a pretty good idea in mind before you proceed from here.
   When adding links to your locker, you see we've broken down the link a little. We ask that you separate your network's offer-specific sub ID variable from the link itself. This is so that we can append a special sub ID value to each variable for postback purposes, so that the locker actually unlocks after an offer has been completed. It's pretty easy to figure out your network's sub ID variable if you just inspect the tracking URL or ask your AM. Here are the variables for the most tracking network platforms…
   HasOffers: aff_sub
   DirectTrack: s1
   LinkTrust: SID
   HitPath: c1
   
   Your raw link (although you can append other sub IDs if your network supports it, source variables, etc.) will go in the "URL" field, the sub ID variable will obviously go in that "Sub ID Variable" field. We will automatically populate the variable with a random value.
3. Enter a valid email so that we can send you your login information.
   You will use this information to log in from now on, even if it is PIN-specific to your first locker. Do not use multiple emails. You can use this same information to create multiple lockers.
4. After creating your locker, your information will be sent to you (may land in your junk folder). You will then be presented with your embed codes. If your website uses jQuery, use the appropriate code, if not act accordingly.
5. If you want a fully-functional content locker that actually unlocks upon offer completion, you need to have your AM integrate your postback code either globally or for every offer on each network. Pass the postback URL on to them and they'll need to append their dynamic variable for the sub ID at the end.

You can feel free to test your content locker offline just using Notepad and saving the code with a .htm or .html extension. You'll need to be using the code that includes jQuery.


Just so you know what the settings alter in relation to the demo, here are the exact settings:



It's really simple, but I sort of anticipate people having an issue with understanding the sub ID separation and postback. I'll try to help you with that, but your networks' AMs should be of some assistance also.


Upon returning to the site, log in with your PIN and email and you'll see the following bar:


Clicking "My Lockers" will show you each and every existing locker you've created:


Clicking "New Locker" will allow you to add a new locker to this PIN account.


This is an awesome service for a couple of reasons:

• It's 100% free.
• It completely simplifies the entire process of "custom" content locking.
• It is not integrated directly with any network, meaning that you can slip non-incentive offers into the mix if you dare.
• It's remotely hosted and you can control your lockers content dynamically from a control panel. If you place the same locker on 5 sites, you don't have to go and update each of them individually. You log in and edit your locker one time through your panel and the locker is dynamically updated for all 5 of your websites.

Deadbolter is currently being hosted on a Linode VPS and I've noticed literally 0 downtime. As, and if, the service grows, we can and will move this up to as dedicated of a solution as possible to ensure that everyone is reaching their traffic. This project is considered done, but we're considering this an open phase of testing.


Okay, so how am I making money with this?
Well, I'm not yet. I didn't open up this project with money in mind, I wanted to create a useful service. I won't be tampering with the lockers individually. I may make a few advertising deals with incentive networks or just see what I can do as a referrer alone. It's not my top priority right now, and it will come to mind eventually.

What improvements may be coming in the future?

• Ability to change the location of your links (up and down) relative to their placement on the locker interface
• Ability to preview your locker before saving it

Let me know what you guys think!

mtmjohn

Looks great... does Deadbolter support postback?

AdGateMedia

John,

I think he mentions it in the post.

This product looks awesome btw. Definitely something that's very much needed in the incentive industry. Looking forward to seeing this grow.

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Hyphen

It does support postback. I think in future updates I'll set it up so that alternatively you can just have the locker disappear after an interval, much like BHCB does. That'd fit better with people who aren't well-experienced with postback.

ArchDuke

This looks good. Can I Advertise this in my network for my affiliates to use?

Hyphen

Absolutely, feel free.

marketwarrior06

liked it. and wanna share it with my friends. its a good way to make a good amount of money. thanks for sharing.

Best side business ideas
Why use content locking?

dvsrjt

Why do i think the owner will use it to steal traffic ? Don't know, its free, that's what my guts say...

Hyphen

Already been through this once on another forum, no real motivation for me to get into it again. If you're paranoid and narrow-minded like that, just don't use it.

Ever used an affiliate network?
Ever used a web host?
Did these same thoughts ever cross your mind?

People seem to get some false sense of security over paying for a service. Would you feel more comfortable if I charged you $5/month? Just silly.

kimmer551

I really do like it, it is simple, my only concern is trying to get my AM to deal with the postback code. So if you can explain this part further, I might just jump on this, thanks.

Hyphen

What network is this if you don't mind I ask? I could assist.

Velrajan Thangavelu

I have been trying to add link,but its not getting updated but it said the locker updated successfully..can anyone help pls..

Velrajan Thangavelu

can anyone help me please?

mrrocky314

looks good will give it a try

earn 40$ a hour the easiest way

Hyphen

I'll be looking into this shortly, haven't heard of this issue yet. Thanks.

Velrajan Thangavelu

Thanks..my email id is velraj.mca@gmail.com

pilotalexander

anyone having any luck with the postback function or is there a way to set a timer?

pilotalexander

After you create your locker the instructions are as follows:

I have spoke with my AM and they do not seem to know what the dynamic sub ID variable is. How do we get this information and once we do where do we put that deadbolter link?

Anyone have any ideas?