All hail the POF Demographic tool!
I have been getting seriously awesome results using this tool for researching demographics. Just to SHOW you, let’s choose a niche: Ok, got it… genealogy/family history.
First let’s look at Quantcast. I’ll type genealogy into Google and see what the biggest site is. After Googling that, I see Ancestry.com and know the name (and know it’s big) so let’s plug that in…
» Read more: Fuck Quantcast, Fuck Alexa, Fuck Google Ad Planner
Konichiwa, bitches.
A few months ago I made myself 2 helper files which help me quickly locate the correct subcategories for both the Google Keyword Tool and the Google Insights for Search Tool … and I figured I’d let you guys use them.
In order to quickly grab a list of top keywords in any market/niche, you simply need to find the correct subcategory that represents the niche/market you wants keywords for, select it and search with a blank keyword. Doing this returns a nice list of top keywords without you having to do any mental thinking whatsoever.
The part that is an absolute bitch is finding the correct subcategory to begin with, without stumbling around within the tool itself, so I made 2 helper files to help you with this part…
Using these helper files, you can use CTRL+F to search the page for keywords and hop from section to section easily. Once you find subcategory you are interested in, take a mental note and then go to the keyword tool and waste no time navigating to that subcategory. As soon as you get the category selected, you got niche specific keywords!
The Google Keyword Tool does allow you to search by keywords in the interface, which is awesome, but I made a category map for it anyways. It’s nice to be able to casually scroll around and look at the entire category structure without clicking anything.
This tool is best used with the information I posted here and the strategy explained here. Wappah!
…is writing adcopy off the top of their head when they come to the ad creation screen in their traffic source. In other words, totally wingin’ it!
Don’t throw hail mary’s when you start campaigns
Adcopy is the most part of your campaign and should be your #1 priority in getting right. If you just make something up with no real thought behind it, chances are you won’t produce something powerful and compelling enough that will actually perform. Once you have a good control ad you can start testing more spur-of-the-moment ideas.
I suggest getting organized and writing as much copy as you can before you even launch a campaign. It will make split testing easier (and more fun) since you know what you are going to test next and will keep you from spinning your tires!
Here’s a list of keyword modifiers (ie trigger words) that I’ve been collecting for awhile that you can apply to your keyword-based campaigns (I’ve uploaded it in .txt format here). If you have any to add, please leave a comment!
beginner
book
course
dvd
ebook
guide
handbook
kit
lessons
manual
need
product
professional
program
report
resource
strategy
training
trial
tutorials
walkthrough
affordable
bargains
budget
buy
cheap
company
coupon
cost
deals
discount
join
order
packages
pay
purchase
price
register
sale
save
services
shop
sign up
specials
store
used
___ vs ___ (product a vs product b)
alternative
best
better/better than
compare
complaints
favorite
genuine
popular
quality
rating
recommend(ed)
replacement
review(s)
scam
score
similar
top
which
boost
calculate
calculator
change
create
cure
decrease
delete
download
eliminate
find
fix
get
get rid
how to
improve
increase
learn
locate
lookup
lose
prevent
reduce
remedy
remove
repair
replace
stop
study
tool
treatment
where to
quick
fast
next day
same day
custom
easy
free
list/list of
new
After reading Mike Geary’s Super Affiliate newsletter, I thought he put the topic of writing effective adcopy into really simple English so I figured I’d cite it here for everyone!
Why Ad Wording is so Important
To explain why the wording of your ad is so important to whether you’ll make any money as an affiliate, let’s look at the psychology of the web surfer who is clicking on your ad…
First, let’s look at a generic type of ad for the Truth about Abs product.
Ok, here’s the main problem with this ad, and why it won’t result in as many sales as a more strategically worded ad…
For one, it looks too much like an ad, and many surfers will click on it out of curiosity, but are already on the defensive of being “sold” something. Another problem is that it simply looks exactly like what everybody else is saying.
Now let’s look at a type of ad wording that will get a much higher response rate, possibly even tripling the amount of sales you get from it.
So why in the world does this type of ad wording result in me tripling my money, whereas the other ad hardly gets any sales at all even for the exact same keywords?
The reason is that this type of ad wording has piqued the readers curiosity by mentioning something about 1 specific secret. Do you see what this is going to do when they click-through?
They’re going to hit the sales letter and be searching the page for this one specific secret that the ad mentioned, so they have a much higher chance of actually getting into reading the sales letter, and letting the sales letter do it’s work in converting them to a sale!
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Full article here.
Well said!
Truth About Abs is a monster offer – you should definitely test it out. Mike also did a really awesome interview on Tim Ferris’ blog awhile back that is definitely worth reading. Good stuff!
This is a campaign that I’m not going to pursue because I’m trying to focus on my main projects at the moment. The idea occurred to me when I was actually using the product. The offer is called Lumosity, which is a website that allows you to play brain games that improve your memory and focus.
When I was using it, I couldn’t believe how much it woke me up! A few minutes of doing the brain exercises seriously works better than coffee does. The next time you wake up in the morning and you’re slogging, play a few of the games and see how awake you feel afterwards. The games really turn your brain on.
After realizing this, I thought to myself “Hey, this is a great solution to a problem.” The problem, of course, is feeling mentally tired. There is a huge market for this because we all know how well those “5 hour energy” and other energy drinks sell 
So that’s the campaign. Your audience is people who feel tired all the time, and you pitch them Lumosity. You frame it as a solution to feeling tired.
No doubt you will have to split test a number of ads and landing pages, but I’m confident this campaign could work great once dialed in. The offer can be found on CJ.com ($12/trial) and at W4 ($1.25 per free registration).
If you aren’t signed up to W4 yet, you definitely should by signing up here. Tons of CPA networks these days just broker all their offers from other networks. W4 on the other hand has a ton of quality offers that you can’t find on other networks. They also credit you with leads that were undertracked at the end of the month which helps the bottom-line of your campaigns.
Hopefully one of you can blast this one out of the park.
In my affiliate career, I can only count a couple campaigns that were “near perfect” out of the gate. I ALWAYS ALWAYS have to tweak things around before a campaign starts performing.
I usually have to split test a few different offers (even same offer, different network).
I usually have to re-write my landing page copy a few times.
I always have to test a bunch of ads when I’m buying traffic.
Ya know, it’s pretty disappointing when you put a ton of research into your campaigns and they don’t perform well initially. But that’s the thing… people just aren’t willing to tweak things around until they work. They scrap campaigns when they don’t immediately deliver a 100% ROI.
Here’s a quick example of how dramatic the difference can be. I had a site that was getting a lot of organic traffic, and was getting 1 or 2 conversions per month on my “first try”. I had to split test FOUR different offers before I found the right one, and I had to rewrite the opening paragraph on my lander a few times before the thing finally started converting. That dumbass site went from $100/month to $40 per day. A pretty substantial improvement indeed.
I wish campaigns would work on the first try, but they rarely do. It would definitely make our lives easier. But on the other hand, that’s where you have a huge competitive advantage. Most people simply are too lazy to split test their way to profitability. Like Diorex says, testing is for the rich!
How many times do you see a trending keyword/topic but can’t find a good affiliate offer to match it? All the time, right?
Whatever is happening in the world, you can slap that shit on a tshirt and sell it. Right now the thing that comes to mind is the whole Occupy Wall Street thing.
Don’t think there is any money in Tshirts? Check this article about how a teen from NY made $120k in 48 hours by tapping into a trend that people were passionate about.
Tshirts = Impulse Buys 
Recently, I watched an episode of True Life on MTV titled “I’m a Compulsive Shopper” which profiles 2 young girls who both whip out their credit cards pretty much on demand, and are in credit card debt because of it.
As a marketer, it’s interesting to see how people justify spending themselves into huge debt. I mean, how could you not smile to yourself upon hearing a compulsive shoppers’ rationalization for buying yet another pair of expensive designer jeans…
“…but, but, it has a 5 year guarantee!”
Ha ha! Just that right there tells shows me just how effective guarantees really are at clinching the sale. If you’ve got a few minutes I’ve embedded the episode below. You may pick up a few new insights that you have considered before. I know I sure have.
Also, they say you gotta get to know your target market, so if you work in the health/weight loss market it may be worth looking at the “True Life…I’m Obese” episode. You can see a full list of episodes here.
I’m probably going to regret posting this but I’m feeling like I should do a good deed for the day
The untapped traffic source = press releases
Here are some advantages to promoting with Press Releases…
The only thing about submitting press releases that you need to know is…
That’s it. You can monetize the traffic if you get it.
Not newsworthy = not picked up = no traffic = no links = no sales.
All you need to do is think in a problem/solution format. You submit press releases about new and current problems in the world and offer solutions to those problems.
Bonus points if you can figure out an angle or niche where you can duplicate it consistently.
What is newsworthy anyway? Well, when stuff is new or things happen it can be newsworthy if given a compelling title. Just start paying attention to the news and try to pair up the news you hear with an affiliate offer. Maybe a creative idea will jump out at you.
What just happened in the news that you can create a news piece around? What’s the problem that is caused? What’s the solution to fix or alleviate the problem?
Currently, since the US economy is in shambles, you could probably do well by staying up with political and/or financial news and writing press releases related to the financial crisis or whatever. Then funnel that traffic to debt offers.
Violent crimes happen frequently, right? Things like rapes/burglery/assaults. Those stories always get picked up in the news right? Maybe you could write news pieces about big crimes and funnel all that traffic that is generated to a home security offer?
Being able to use the exact same strategy and just duplicate it over and over is how you scale.
Another example since I’m feeling nice.
Let’s say you’re an antivirus/registry cleaner affiliate and you notice new viruses are being distributed every week. You could send out a press release every single week with a news piece on the “new” virus (problem), then you offer the solution (affiliate offer).
Once you are able to see the angles and figure out how to create newsworthy pieces, you can use the media and the news sites as your own personal traffic source. Plus you can a metric shit ton of links for SEO purposes. Basically, you become a reporter who soft pitches at the end of her news reports 
