Archive for the ‘Marketing’ category

Great Tip on Writing Adcopy

May 14th, 2012

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!

——————–

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!

Here’s A Campaign You Can Run With…

May 3rd, 2012

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 :D

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.

Campaigns Almost Never Work the First Time

April 10th, 2012

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!

Tshirts: The Best Default Offer Ever?

November 12th, 2011

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?

tshirt - best default offer?

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 :)

A Look into The Minds of 2 Shopping Addicts

November 8th, 2011

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! :D 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.

An Untapped Traffic Source

October 18th, 2011

I’m probably going to regret posting this but I’m feeling like I should do a good deed for the day :D

The untapped traffic source = press releases

Here are some advantages to promoting with Press Releases…

  • tons of traffic when done right
  • you can get super valuable links for SEO which boost your sites in the serps
  • did i mention huge volumes of traffic when you get it right?

The only thing about submitting press releases that you need to know is…

  • It has to be newsworthy so it actually gets picked up in the first place.

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?

Some Ideas

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 ;)

My New Favorite Place to Scout for Headlines

September 18th, 2011

Lately I’ve become quite addicted to Reddit.com. It’s an awesome site for wasting time on … wait … or is it? If you work in the Health market for example, take a look at the Fitness subreddit.

reddit copywriting

That looks like a great headline to test on a landing page or in a PPC ad. You can adapt it to fit whatever: “How to _____ quickly and easily without going broke or insane”. There are a SHITLOAD of subreddits on Reddit.com – surely you’ll be able to find relevant ones. If not, you can always search via the Goog with the site: operator for something more specific.

reddit yoga

What could be any better? Well, it gets even better.

You get to read all the OBJECTIVE comments from users about specific topics in the category/thread you are researching. (Twitter is also good for this.)

If you are in the dating market, you can find a thread that talks about the different dating sites and SEE exactly what people think of it, with nothing held back. And from a reasonably intelligent person. These threads are filled with OBJECTIONS (why somebody wouldn’t sign up and convert), and you can address them in your ads in order to overcome them. Go check it out for yourself: Reddit.com

A Genius Lesson in Marketing (VIDEO)

August 25th, 2011

I’m not sure how I came across this video, but WOW I am glad that I did.

Hat tip to both Shoemoney and Mixergy.com for this one. Source: http://mixergy.com/shoemoney-ads/

Lil’ Wayne Knows How To Scale

May 4th, 2011

I’m not a huge Lil’ Wayne fan, but he sure knows how to scale. His career is a good example of taking a campaign that’s already working, and turning it into an absolute monster. Here’s how he did it.

In 2008 alone, Lil’ Wayne rapped on over 100 hit songs with many being top-20 hits. source: VH1 Behind The Music

See that, 100 songs in a single year?

The thing that works well for Lil’ Wayne is simply guest-rapping on other people’s tracks. So he does it a lot. He scales it BIG.

He started scaling so big that it was impossible NOT to notice him – he was everywhere. When your favorite artist came out with a new song Lil’ Wayne was probably rapping on it.

And that is the key to his marketing success. The more songs Lil’ Wayne collaborates with other artists on, the more fans end up becoming his as well. And when he finally releases his own albums, he does huge numbers.

Wayne doesn’t stick to collaborating with just hip-hop artists – he is rappin’ on pop and dance albums as well, exposing himself to new markets of listeners. People who don’t even like or listen to rap may like Lil’ Wayne since he is working with their favorite artist.

What is the result of all of this? Today he is one of the biggest stars on the whole planet. He took a small campaign, scaled it up to big leagues and hit it out of the park. Bill Gates status.

Marketers should take note because the concept of scaling is how you graduate from marketing noobness. It’s as simple as finding something that works for you and multiplying the idea. Like a formula. In Lil’ Wayne’s case, the only element he changed up in his campaign was the artist he was working with.

You can scale your keyword lists. You can scale your traffic sources. More converting ads + more eyeballs. Are you getting it? If so, here are a few posts I recommend you check out:

How To Write a Good Advertisement by Victor Schwab

April 26th, 2011

How To Write a Good Advertisement by Victor O. SchwabI recently finished reading “How To Write a Good Advertisement” by Victor Schwab. I think there may be a new contender to “Tested Advertising Methods” by John Caples for favorite advertising book.

I guess you cant really say one is better than the other, but HTWAGA and TAM are definitely on my list of best copywriting books. It starts with 100 Good Headlines where there is a paragraph or two about why the headline is so good which I found fascinating to read and soak in. Then the very next chapter hand-holds you on what to do next in your copy, which is “Show people an advantage” otherwise known as “What’s in it for me?” These two steps are all you need for a sale. Pick it up, it’s totally worth it.