Posted by:
David Dittman
September 22, 2007
Issue #237
Issue #237
Hello all and welcome back to another issue of Working IT Out! Today’s issue is great! Greg Marsden from Smart Marketing has allowed me to pick his brain about PPC and the secrets to the success he has been having.
Now, you may not have heard of Greg or Smart Marketing yet. They are the unsung heroes behind countless successful PPC Campaigns. They’re out there getting it done.
Greg and his crew have had numerous success stories in direct marketing. They have experience managing campaigns that have generated well over 7.5 billion ad impressions and 23 million clicks to date (in some of the most competitive markets online).
They have the confidence and experience to develop wildly successful, self-capitalizing lead generation models for several different companies.
Now enough of my jibba, jabba – on with the show …
David: Greg, we’ve been working with your company for about four weeks now, and we’re impressed. Could you explain a little bit about yourselves and what unique skills you guys bring to the table?
Greg Mardsen: Well, I’ve been creating and managing paid search campaigns for about five years now and have been doing Internet marketing since 1997, so experience is a big part of our success. Most recently, I’ve focused on mastering Google AdWords marketing, and in the last two years alone I’ve generated and managed over 25 million Google AdWords leads for my clients. In that time, I’ve also had the freedom to experiment a lot and really boil down things to a system that works. And when you’re spending in the 25-30k a day range, you’d better know what you’re doing or you’ll go broke in a hurry.
I’ve also spent a lot of time studying direct response marketing and have recently teamed up with a professional copywriter since getting a click from an ad is only the first part of a successful campaign. Success or failure is always dependent on converting that click into something worth more than you paid for it on average, so we also look at the bigger picture when working with clients and advise them as to what can be done on their end to make the entire effort as successful as possible as well.
David: So if I’m new to the PPC game, what are some general principles I need to take into account?
Greg: First, don’t be fooled by how simple Google or the other search engines make it seem to get up and running. It’s true that anyone with a credit card and the ability to use a mouse can create a campaign and have traffic going to their site in minutes, but unless you invest some significant time learning what to do, you’re just going to pour money down the drain. People don’t just buy in at a poker game without learning the basics, but every day eager advertisers jump right in thinking they’ll make quick and easy money simply with more traffic to their site. It’s more competitive now than ever these days, so take the time to learn the game well before you get in, or it’ll hurt.
If you have done some homework and are ready to give it a shot, I’d stress that one of the biggest keys to success is being able to clearly distinguish what’s working and probably will work from what isn’t and not likely to. To do this, you need to break campaigns up into distinct units so you can adjust your strategy quickly based on how these units perform. Using smaller groups of closely related keywords, separating true search traffic from “content” traffic as well as separating broad vs. exact keyword match types are all ways you can group these units to see how they perform in comparison. If you can’t see a difference in performance you can’t adjust for it, so being able to see that clearly is critical. If everything you’re bidding on is all jumbled together, you’ll have a real hard time trying to get more of what’s working and getting rid of what’s not.
David: So let’s talk nuts and bolts … Can you give me a generic layout for a starting point of successful acquisition campaigns? For example, Google Ad -> Squeeze Page -> Sales Page …
Greg: That’s the basic formula, though often it works better to soften up your leads first with some free information via e-mail before you hit them up with a sales offer. One important thing to keep in mind is that the Google ad is the starting point and really the first line of your sales pitch, so it needs to be consistent with the copy of the squeeze page and sales page. It should hopefully set up people to be receptive to your headline. If the message of your ad conflicts with your headline on your landing page, your conversion rate will suffer, so keep that in mind when writing your Google ads. Try to keep the full conversion path in mind – ad to landing page to sales offer – so that each part of it fits well together.
David: What are some of the biggest mistakes people are making during acquisition campaigns?
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Posted by:
David Dittman
September 8, 2007
Issue #225
Hello again and welcome to another installment of Working IT Out! The good news is that Microsoft didn’t shut us down after my last anti-Outlook article. That article had some great response and I’m encouraged to hear that there are so many out there who share my frustrations.
Well, here at The Total Package, it’s been a great two weeks of power-packed issues. I’ve been inspired by all the issues explaining the importance of tracking and how to actually use the information when dissecting the effectiveness of your marketing plan or individual ad campaigns.
In keeping with this mindset, I would like to take some time today and discuss the nuts and bolts of how to track a campaign. By now you should be sold on tracking and how it is essential for any real marketing endeavor, but “how to track?” is another issue entirely.
In this issue:
- How to track a basic lead generation campaign …
- How to project a 60-day lead value for your prospects …
- An example spreadsheet to use for your tracking …
- And much more!
What Should I Track?
So when it comes down to tracking, the
obvious first question is, “What should I track?”
Well, you can make this as complicated
or as simple as you like and, of course, this will depend on your goals as
a marketer or business owner.
If your goal is lead generation then your biggest concern is going to be your lead cost.
Lead cost is determined simply by taking the cost of the campaign and dividing it by the number of leads.
So if you spend $200 and you get 25 new leads your cost per lead is $8.00.
Now in order for this number to be useful to you, you need to know just how much a lead is worth to you. When you hear people talking about the lifetime customer value, this is the number they are referring to.
Clayton goes into a great explanation of lifetime customer value in his issue, Direct Response ‘Rithmatic: The Third "R".
I’ll put in a disclaimer here … There are a lot of different considerations to take into account. For some businesses, PPC leads cost a lot more money than co-registration leads – this is a whole article in itself. The point is your customer value can be broken down several different ways and should always be refined once you have actual hard data.
But … If you don’t already have a calculation for your lead value, you can use this simple calculation for a rough ball park figure.
Now we are going to get a rough estimate of our 60-day lead value. Take your net sales in the last 60 days and divide it by your total subscribers from the last 60 days. So if you brought in $3000 in net sales and you have 250 subscribers then your average lead value is $12.
It’s important to note that the lead value and customer value are not the same. Taking our above example, if you only have 10 clients out of your 250 subscribers, then your customer value is much higher, $300 per customer.
So in reality only 4% of your file is active and purchasing your products. These kind of statistics are important and extremely relevant when planning your overall marketing strategy, but for purposes of this article we’re going to keep it simple and just use our lead value.
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Posted by:
Julie McManus
September 7, 2007
Issue #224
Dear Business Builder,
Happy Friday and welcome back to the In the ‘Net Trenches. Today I have a very special treat for you. Sometimes really good information is hard to pass up, so I’ve decided to share with you an article written by my good friend Wendy Montes de Oca, MBA.
Wendy is V.P. of Marketing and Business Development for super successful publisher Early to Rise. She is – bar none – one of the best Internet marketers in the business. So if buying web media is in your future, I suggest you sit up nice and tall, straighten your tie and pay attention.
But most of all have a great weekend and I’ll see you back here next Friday.
Enjoy!
Julie
Muscle Media Buying
By Wendy Montes de Oca
If you’ve got a strong e-mail campaign going but you’re looking to expand your direct-response tactics to include online ads, chances are you will do some media buying. Why? Because purchasing banner, text or other display ads can be a very cost effective way to attract customers.
As a multi-channel marketer, many of my responsibilities over the years have required me to buy ad space in magazines, newspapers, radio, and TV, and on the Web. Along the way, I’ve become an expert (especially with online media), and picked up a few techniques that could save you hundreds, maybe even thousands, of dollars.
But before I explain further, I’d like to point out that there are differences in online advertising.
You can focus your ad to be direct-response-oriented, which includes lead generation (acquiring e-mail names) and product sales. Or you can focus your ad on branding. Branding isn’t direct-response marketing – meaning it doesn’t require an immediate action from the consumer. Its goal, rather, is to build awareness and name recognition of a product over time and help it stay in the minds of prospects. In the offline world, think the battle of the cola giants. In the online world, it’s typically video ads like the ones you see for a new car or truck.
Because results are harder to measure with branding, many online marketers lean toward the direct-response model.
Your job as a media buyer is simply to try to get the best bang for the buck when purchasing media units. It involves allocating money for advertising in various outlets, print or online, and negotiating the actual advertising agreement with the publisher. This agreement is known as an IO (insertion order), and will cover the ad unit cost, size, placement, and other critical components (which I’ll address shortly).
Here are some helpful hints to keep in mind when buying media for your sales campaigns.
Hint #1: Keep up with the industry.
Sign up for free industry trade papers, such as DM News, Response Magazine, and Target Marketing, and as many free e-letters as you can read. One of my favorite e-letters is Clickz.com, because it covers the online marketing world in a comprehensive and dynamic way. I also like mediabuyerplanner.com, which keeps you abreast of the latest media-buying news, and DoubleClick.com, which provides some of the marketing industry’s best practices, trends, and forecast reports.
One current trend is flash banners. These ad units support audio/video use (which engages the viewer and is great for branding), but they are more costly than standard flat (no animation) or animated banners.
Hint #2: Know the ad units.
There are many types of banner ads to choose from: leader boards, skyscrapers, buttons, micro banners, and more. You can find a full list of types of ads, as well as industry guidelines for how and when to use them, at iab.net. All of these ad units are available on most websites, but not every type is effective.
For instance, it has been my experience that leader boards (ads that run horizontally across the top of a Web page) or skyscrapers (ads that run vertically along the side of a Web page) are the least effective. The best placements are typically LRECs – large rectangles, such as 300 x 250 IMUs, at the top or middle of a page or within the content. (IMU stands for Internet Marketing Unit.) Putting an ad inside the body of an article is a great placement, since the reader must breeze over the ad while absorbing the content. A recent eyetracking study by The Poynter Institute supported this observation, indicating that banner ads at the top left of the page, as well as ads close in proximity to the body of an article, garnered the most attention from viewers.
This is where you want your message to be!
Hint #3: Master the art of negotiation.
You will be required to analyze many proposals when you’re looking for the right ad space. You’ll need to determine if the prices are cost effective and comparable to industry rates. If you’re looking into buying ad space on CNN.com, for instance, check out the prices for that same ad unit and timeframe on similarly ranked news websites. Also, check out various ad networks to see if any include CNN.com in their coverage. (For more on ad networks, see Hint #7.)
Since many variables can affect ad prices, I recommend starting an "ad unit matrix" to keep track of rates. Break down a spreadsheet into columns for ad unit type, size, placement, website, impressions (how many times the ad unit appears on the website), and CPM (cost per thousand impressions). Click here to see a great tool that easily calculates the CPM for you.
Another factor that can affect pricing is seasonality. Internet traffic typically drops during July and August (because so many people are on summer vacation) and, depending on the industry you’re in, can be slower around the holidays as well. So, when you’re negotiating your media buy, try to get lower rates during those times. If you’re running near a typically slow time, let’s say around Thanksgiving, you may want to pause your ad unit the day before the holiday and the day after so you don’t waste impressions.
To help ensure that you’re getting a comparable rate, check out each site’s traffic ranking and page views to see where it stands in relation to its competitors in terms of popularity and reach. It’s best to get this information from a subscription ranking service, like Nielsen//NetRatings or ComScore – but if you don’t have access to such services, consider the free Alexa ranking website (Alexa.com).
Hint #4: Reporting rules.
Make sure, especially if you buy media from an online ad network, that you have full access to the OAS (online ad server) reporting system. Look for key performance indicators, such as impressions served (ad units that ran), and click-thru rate (the percentage of people who saw your ad and clicked on a link in it). If you are testing various ad units and sizes, each one should have a unique tracking code. If your advertiser doesn’t give you access to their OAS, ask about getting daily or weekly reports from your account executive. These reports will be critical in refining your ad to get maximum results.
As a general guideline, the average click-thru rate for a banner ad/text ad is 0.5 to 2 percent, and the average click-thru rate for a dedicated e-mail (an e-mail ad that a third party sends to their subscribers on your behalf) is 7.5 percent.
Hint #5: Know when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em.
In your insertion order, have a clause that allows you to terminate your advertising commitment without penalty at a given time (an "out clause" or "termination right"). For instance, most online campaigns can be optimized in about a week. If you’re watching your reporting daily (which I suggest you do for the first two weeks) and notice that not many viewers are clicking on your ad, then you should switch to a different ad. If the second ad is not working, you may want to initiate your termination right, end the campaign, and pay only for the impressions you were served.
Not all advertisers will offer this option, but you should certainly ask for it.
Hint #6: There are no stupid questions.
If you’re buying banner ads or other advertising spots on a website, it’s key to find out a few things from your account executive:
- Will your ad be ROS (run of site)? Typically, this means your ad will randomly appear on a site’s home page and most (if not all) subpages within the site. This is more cost effective than a targeted ad in a specific section of the site.
- Will your ad position be fixed or rotated (shared) with anyone else’s ad? If shared, what percentage of impressions will your ad receive?
- If you’re considering buying a dedicated e-mail from a third-party, find out the size of their e-mail list, how often the list gets mailed, the AUS (average unit sale) per subscriber, and whether or not there will be an introduction or implied endorsement by the list owner. (According to copywriting genius John Forde, this can often help boost response rates by 25 percent or more.) All of these factors will help determine the value of the list and, ultimately, the cost you’re willing to pay to access the people on it.
Hint #7: Be on the lookout for low-cost options.
If you’re targeting a specific audience or a niche buyer, go directly to the website’s publisher for an advertising quote. Cutting out the middleman (ad broker) may get you a better rate. PLUS, it will help you build a relationship with the publisher – which can be advantageous for you down the road.
If your goal is to reach the biggest, broadest audience possible, and you want to run an ad on various websites that have a distinct "channel" or genre (such as entertainment, finance, health, etc.) within the broader subject range of the site, consider an ad network.
Ad networks have an agreement with a variety of popular websites to serve up their ads, and they can sort by website type. Since they typically buy their ad units in bulk from the publishing sites, the networks can pass the savings down to the advertiser and charge a lower CPM rate. Some popular networks include Advertising.com and ValueClick.com. You can find a full list at iwebtool.com.
Just remember to get proposals from more than one network. Some of the lesser-known (Tier 2) networks are looking to make a name for themselves, and may offer better rates. But be wary of "micro" sites, which have little traffic or Web presence. Be sure to ask for a sample of the network’s site listings. I always go for quality over quantity.
Depending on how many impressions you buy from these ad networks, your average cost for an LREC can range from $2 to $5. For blog ads and blog networks, you can often find CPMs lower than $1 or even 50 cents. And if you’re looking to save even more money, ask if remnant inventory is available. Remnant inventory is simply an advertising unit that is not as popular as other ad units on a site and is unsold. Depending on your marketing goal, these ad units may accomplish your objective - and to make them more attractive, networks usually offer them at a lower rate.
Hint #8: Show your poker face.
In this industry, it’s all about confidence and knowledge. If you come across as someone who is savvy to media buying, you’re less likely to be taken advantage of.
Do your homework and follow some of the recommendations above… but your best lessons will happen as you buy.
[Ed. Note: Wendy Montes de Oca, MBA, is ETR’s Vice President of Marketing and Business Development. Learn more money-saving, time-saving, business-building Internet marketing techniques at this fall’s Info Marketing Bootcamp – Making a Fast Fortune on the "Other Side" of the Internet. This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, the Internet’s most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.]
Until next week,
Julie McManus
Editor, In the ‘Net Trenches
THE TOTAL PACKAGE
And Web Media Goddess
P.S. Are you in the ‘net trenches? Do you need help? Send
me an e-mail to AskJulie@MakepeaceTotalPackage.com and
I just might answer your question in an upcoming issue.
P.P.S. Have you checked out The Total Package affiliate program lately? We’ve added tons of new creative to help you earn cash on any new subscriber you refer and we’ve opened our archives up for the pilfering … Click Here to check it out NOW!
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Posted by:
David Dittman
July 28, 2007
Issue #189
Welcome back to another issue of Working It Out!
Last issue I took a break from landing pages and went in-depth about WordPress and how to install and configure it. Now I’d like to jump back into landing page design and finish up where we left off …
… Two issues ago I discussed some essential basic elements to consider when laying out a landing page for the web. This week I’m going to expand on that concept and discuss some examples of effective sidebars and other graphics related techniques.
In this issue:
- How my poor dating habits can help you build a better sales page …
- Four examples of effective side bars …
- A list of things NOT to do when putting images on your site.
- And much, much more …
Sidebar Basics
When I sit down and design a sidebar I try to always remember that someone is reading this thing and my goal is to steer them in a particular direction.
In some cases I ask them to do something, a call-to-action, like signing up for my e-zine or buying my products.
In other cases I just want to give them an addition to the running copy providing more detail and giving some eye relief.
Let me explain what I mean by eye relief. When you have a large dense portion of copy, it’s important to make it as easy as possible for the reader. Now compelling copy is 95% of the struggle but the delivery of the copy is an important factor.
When a person is diving into your copy it’s important to give them the chance to come up for air as they go through the page …
It is difficult to read a continuous block of text and thus the need for eye relief surfaces. Eye relief, simply put, is a break in the copy to allow your eyes a quick rest.
You can accomplish this break many different ways including, shorter line lengths and paragraphs and also sidebars and images.
Now back to the steering process of your landing page …
Think of it as a relationship and this is the first date.
So here I am all excited about going out on the date.
This is the element of reading an interesting banner that compels me to click on it for more information.
Now I casually, confidently meander to the door … I knock politely, loud enough so she can hear me but, not too loud as to be domineering or overly eager … I’m playing it cool my friends …
All right my interest is piqued so I click on the banner.
And there she is, just as drop dead gorgeous as when I saw her earlier that day … Inwardly I’m nervous and a bit intimidated but I act fast … Quickly I smile and present the first of many witty banters this evening will see …
The Landing Page Headline jumps out at me and quickly catches my interest. I’m pleased to see that the banner did not misrepresent my hopes of what the page would be.
It’s time for to see if this relationship can go anywhere … And I press on through my inward struggles of our first encounter …
So I strike a witty conversation with my companion in where I discuss the State of the Union and how I was the real mastermind behind the Internet … It’s a bold move but my confidence grows with every sip of champagne …
This is the point where the copywriter shows their worth by giving me a convincing yet compelling argument while establishing themselves as someone I can trust, making me all the more interested in buying.
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Posted by:
Troy White
July 17, 2007
Issue #179
In this issue:
- The greatest secret to a pack of raving fans.
- Creating customers for life … fact or fiction?
- A ‘personal’ approach – or a ‘professional’ approach … what do they want from you?
- The dangerous game of guessing versus testing …
- 834% ROI – not bad at all!
- And Much More!
Fellow Business Builder,
Gasp. That sound is me coming up for air after running the very successful Wild West Wealth Summit. This was an event I was told not to do. Not enough time to market it. Wrong time of year. Wrong time of the week. The list of excuses I heard from others was long.
But I did it anyhow … and I am glad I did.
Here is my personal reason why I did it …
"WOW! The most valuable business information ever presented in one room I have ever had the privilege to be a part of. Will mean 100’s of thousands of dollars to my business! Experience has been priceless. Thank you so much for everything you have done to bring this all together." – Cheryl Hurlburt
"Great Summit! Well worth the drive from Arizona. Thanks so much for everything." – Kathleen Moser
"The quality of the speakers was excellent. It was the best money I ever spent on a seminar" – Carol Coutts
"3 days, solid packed with information and great speakers! It was great. Well worth it. Troy, you did fantastic. By far the best seminar I’ve been to. Thank you." – Denise Williams
"Excellent workshop. Exceptional value! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" – John L. Friesen
"I wasn’t expecting much – but was blown away! I really look forward to the next Wild West Wealth Summit! This was an absolutely AMAZING 3 days!" – Michael Roach
Having testimonials like that makes it MORE than worth it to me. Over-delivering and giving these first time clients an experience of a lifetime was a GREAT feeling. Based on the sample of testimonials above, do you think it’s fair to say they are now “raving fans” and would attend another event I put together? Of course! That was my goal.
In this day and age, over-delivery is a RARE thing … yet it is so easy to do.
I challenge you to find new ways to over-deliver and give your first-time clients an experience of a lifetime.
The repercussions will last you a lifetime.
As an entrepreneur, you are probably well aware that the times most people supposedly “in-the-know” say NOT to do something – is the exact time you SHOULD do something. They can be right – and you can be proven wrong very quickly. But, many times you will be the one proven right – they will have to ‘eat crow’ when you prove them wrong.
Which is exactly what I set out to do with the summit.
In order to get enough people at the summit, I had to act fast, and I had to try all kinds of different media to achieve my goal.
Luckily, I am armed with tools
from The Total Package!
Becoming a FAST writer became a breeze with help from Clayton’s newsletters. And creating lots of quality copy in short periods of time became an indispensable asset in this marketing process.
Why?
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