First thing I'd like to point out is Direct Matches is a part of Spiderweb Marketing which I am a member of and do highly recommend. The Spiderweb Marketing program itself is great, however Direct Matches leaves A LOT to be desired.
Now let's compare the two communities, Direct Matches and Adlandpro from a free member standpoint.
As a free member at Adlandpro you get a profile, free blogs, free ads, free forums, free email account, free web pages, free traffic builders, free downloads, marketing/program discussion list with over 23,000 subscribers, free marketing course by email, free pop up blocker and you can earn income with them even as a free member.
As a free member at Direct Matches you get a photo profile, you can read emails until you reply to 5 emails.
As a free member of Adlandpro you do not get well, there is really nothing you do not get, just not as many of the above things. You do not get treated like a child incapable of making a decision though that's for sure. Why do I say this? You'll understand when I get to the "you do not get with Direct Matches.
As a free member of Direct Matches you do not get to make comments, you can't send emails, you can not READ emails (yes, that's right you are not even allowed to read emails you receive), you can not blog, you can not post anything at all that I've found. Are you asking yourself why? I sure was.
What Direct Matches says, when I asked, is they do not allow FREE members to send emails to protect their PAID members from fraud and spam from all the FREE members they have from around the world. Okay, so I then asked, "Okay, I understand you wanting to protect your PAID members from spam but why can FREE members not read their email they receive from PAID members? Okay, ya'll ready for this?
The reply I received was that it's to protect FREE (actually stated as "to protect you") members from all the other FREE members who send out fraud, spam and are potential predators. Okay... So I wrote back and said that one, I was capable of making my own decisions and two, FREE members can't send emails so you are not protecting me at all. What you are actually doing is trying to force me to pay without letting me see the benefits.
Meanwhile, my email box (both my personal box and the direct matches box) was inundated by emails from direct matches PAID members trying to sell me on everything under the sun. Which that I too had pointed out to Direct Matches. Guess what they did then? They told me spam is only email received from a COMPUTER so unsolicited email from PEOPLE is not spam. Okay, that's a new one on me. Spam is Spam. Whether it's by people or computer.
Now don't get me wrong. I'm not saying you will not get emails from people at Adlandpro telling you about something they offer. BUT, they conduct themselves maturely at Adlandpro. They invite you as a contact, they treat you with respect. The few emails I was able to read at Direct Matches before the email system locked down (5 replies and your locked) 99% were straight out pitches from people that were not even contacts.
The difference between the two is like night and day. Direct Matches is all about restricting you to force you to comply and become a paid member. Adlandpro is about treating you with respect, giving you a wealth of things to try and assisting you a long the way to show you the benefits of becoming a paid member. I have met the greatest bunch of people at Adlandpro. They are willing to help, courteous and it's an all around enjoyable experience. Direct Matches was horrible right from the onset and it is just continuing to get worse. It compares to being sat down in the middle of a conference, movie, or party with your mouth duct taped shut and your ears covered. Really, what is the point?
As a paid member, I do not know. Direct Matches has not given me the opportunity to justify paying a monthly fee for what I've seen. Paid members I've talked to have really said little about it prior to me joining other than "oh its great, go join for free you'll love it". NOT. I see it as the ultimate bait and switch hard sell. It's very misleading, dishonest and in my opinion insulting to a person's intelligence to think they are doing anything other than trying to force PAID membership.
So with that said, when going into Direct Matches, go in with your eyes open. Unless you are ready to pay a monthly fee there is little you can do. DO NOT REPLY to any email. Even though the first thing they tell you as a free member is you are responsible to sign in at least once a month to check your email and clear your box or they will delete it for you. There is no time limit on the free my mail system just a 5 replies limit which they do not make clear at all until after you've replied.
It's sad too, as I told Direct Matches customer care, the only ones they are hurting are the PAID members. They are all wasting their time writing and sending email to the FREE members. I even added a note to my profile that I can not read emails but they still keep coming so they are not even bothering to read the profile. All they see is fresh meat.
An added note, I went in to update my profile to stop email alerts and it (even though Direct Matches says they are all about protecting their members) FORCES you to enter your city you live in and it DISPLAYS it on your profile. I found no where to check to have it hidden. Personally, I do not necessarily want the city I live in broadcast to a bunch of people I do not know. If you do not enter your city state and zip on your profile you can not update your profile. That too is wrong in my book.
Anyway, I'd love to hear some feedback about this. I also invite you to check out AdlandPro it's totally free to join and a wonderful place to be. I suggest you use caution with Direct Matches. As I said, it is a part of the Spiderweb Marketing System so if you join that through my link you will come to direct matches. Just remember to walk softly, do not reply to any emails and see if you can find it worthwhile to invest in the paid program or just know going in to expect to pay without knowing what you are getting.
As I said earlier, honesty is important to me and I can not refer someone to a program without letting them know the drawbacks I've encountered and with Direct Matches that's all it was, drawbacks.
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