Marketing Blog Update

Monday, Feb. 16, 2004

 

The new AMM campaign finally started to show up in the Google content network. 42,531 total impressions! WOW!

 

I made one sale yesterday and one this morning. That is four sales total with only 152 click throughs. That's about a 2½% conversion rate.

 

I raised all the keyword bids to six cents since this might give me a slightly better position than a lot of other bidders who might be bidding five cents.

 

(NOTE: In most cases you are better off not rounding off your bids. Use six cents, sixteen cents, twenty one cents, etc. This will give you a slight advantage over most other bidders who usually use bids such as five cents, fifteen cents, twenty cents, etc.)

 

Here are the stats to date:

Impressions: 45,531

Clicks: 152

Ad CTR: 0.3%

Average CPC: $0.06

Cost: $8.19

Sales: 4

Profit: About $80.00.

 

I will now take this campaign to all the other major pay-per-click (PPC) search engines.

 

These are the only pay-per-click search engines I now use besides Google:

Overture

FindWhat

Looksmart

Kanoodle

Enhance (Formerly ah-ha)

Epilot

Search123

 

Some of the other PPC search engines I have used:

GoClick

Search Cactus

7 Search

Lycos

 

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NOTE: 04-05-07: The only PPC I now use are AdWords, Yahoo and MSN AdCenter.

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I wouldn't bother with this second list of PPC search engines since they don't produce enough traffic to make it worth the time and effort to use them.

 

I will have to create a landing page for Overture and Search123 since they will not let you promote merchant websites directly with your link.

 

I will not use this website for the landing page. Rather what I will do is to buy a domain name that ties in with the product and use that for my landing page.

 

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I ended up making about $3,000 dollars in affiliate commission for the first two weeks of February. My advertising expenses were about $1,200 dollars, which gave me a net profit of about $1,800 dollars.

 

I forgot about the $110 in refunds, so the net profit was actually about $1,700.

 

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I have a major problem with my new AMM. I have made four sales so far, but I just checked and two of the buyers got refunds already. That is not a very good sign.

 

I don't own the product but I have to assume that it doesn't deliver as per the sales letter promises. I'm going to contact the merchant and ask him what the problem is. Perhaps he needs to tone down the claims he is making on his sales page.

 

I am disappointed with this turn of events. I thought I had a great new AMM. OK, next test campaign...

 

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I have made affiliate product sales today to New Zealand, Canada, Great Britain and Ireland. Sort of an International sales day today.

 

I need an International sales day today with all the refunds. lol

 

 

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Marketing Blog Update

Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2004

 

The new AMM :-) has stalled.

 

Here are the current stats:

Impressions: 76,989

Clicks: 402

Ad CTR: 0.5%

Average CPC: $0.06

Cost: $20.90

Sales: 4

Returns: 2

Profit: $15.10

 

I haven't contacted the merchant yet, but I'm sure he knows what is going on since he gets notified by ClickBank on the refunds.

 

 I will let everyone know which affiliate product this is once I end the campaign.

 

I purchased AffiliateCloner today. Easy software to use and I highly recommend using it for your Google AdWord campaign links. I am also going through all my web pages and cloaking all the links.

 

I am not concerned with others changing my affiliate links. That is something Internet marketing people are aware of. However, most of the online population probably don't give the URL address displayed in their browser address box a second thought. I mainly don't want to be identified through my Google AdWords affiliate nickname links.

 

 

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Marketing Blog Update

Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2004

 

The new affiliate program that I have been documenting here for the last few days has turned into a real fiasco. The hoplink no longer works. I wonder if the merchant was having so many refunds that he decided to shut the program down?

 

In any event I did make another sale for it this morning when the hoplink was still working.

 

Of course there is no contact information on the website so I cannot contact the merchant. I already sent an email to ClickBank for whatever that is worth. Frustrating dealing with third parties.

 

I've been looking at the Camtasia Studio website. I can think of quite a few ideas for products that could be created with this software. It could be for products to sell or it might be used for free demonstrations of software with an affiliate link to the software. I think there are many possibilities here.

 

My sales for the second half of this month are on a record setting pace. I raised all the bids on my general and broad keywords for all my campaigns and that created many more impressions, clickthroughs and sales.

 

Of course my advertising costs have also increased, but the increased sales and profits cover this increase so far. I'm always trying to find that level of keyword bids that create the most sales, but at the same time I have to monitor the overall cost of the campaigns.

 

 

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Marketing Blog Update

Saturday, Feb. 21, 2004

 

The new affiliate program I wrote about in recent posts is now offline. Yes, the whole website is gone!

 

I contacted ClickBank and got the merchant's email address. Sent him an email asking him what was going on and I never got a reply.

 

I have to assume that he was getting too many refunds for his product. I have had five sales and two refunds so far.

 

Funny thing was that when I first wrote about this affiliate product that one of the things I stated was the fact that the offer the merchant made on the website sounded too good to be true. Evidently the merchant couldn't live up to his promises that he made. I'm hoping he is making the necessary changes in order to get his product back online. It would have been a major profit center for me based on the rate of sales I was making.

 

I'll give him a week to see if he gets the website back online. Otherwise I will have to assume that I will never see it again.

 

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Here's a way to add more low cost keywords to your AdWords campaigns.

 

Put all your most important keyword phrases together without any spaces.

 

Examples:

how to win lotto - howtowinlotto

fishing reel - fishingreel

 

Do this with all your most important keyword phrases in all your campaigns and I think you will be surprised at all the additional low cost clicks some of them get.

 

And don't forget to have all your keywords set up like this:

keyword

"keyword"

[keyword]

-negative keywords

 

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Would you pay over $80,000 for a phone number? Well, it seems someone was willing to do just that on eBay.

 

Read my post on the Auction Hints Forum and find out how people are trying to make money by selling phone numbers.

 

By the way, the Auction Hints Forum is the place to go any time you have a question on any aspect of Internet auctions.

 

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I downloaded Camtasia Studio yesterday. They have a 30 day free trial. Seems like the software is easy to learn.

 

I decided that I am not going to buy it. The $299 cost is too much to pay for something just to do demonstrations. If I had a specific plan to create a product to sell I would probably buy it. However, I have no such plan at the moment so I'm going to pass on a purchase right now.

 

You might do the 30 trial yourself if you are interested. There is no cost so why not give it a try?

 

 

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Marketing Blog Update

Sunday, Feb. 22, 2004

 

Here is a free comprehensive online Entrepreneurship course from the SBA and My Own Business, Inc. for small business owners, prospective entrepreneurs and other students of enterprise .

 

This eleven-session virtual business seminar focuses on the most important areas of business for start-up and already operating businesses to achieve success.

The course is interactive with audio sound bytes, quizzes, feedback and an online tool to create your own business plan. The course can be pursued in sequence, or each of the eleven topic sessions can be studied independently.

 

Here are the topics which are covered in the course:

Deciding on a Business
How to Borrow Money
Basic Computer and Communication Tools
Buying a Business or Franchise
Organization
Location and Leasing
Opening and Marketing
Accounting and Cash Flow
Expanding and Handling Problems

 

 

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Marketing Blog Update

Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2004

 

Just received an Affiliates Alert email from Maayan Marzan stating that ClickBank has updated their database with new products.

 

If you have the Pro version of Affiliates Alert you will be able to view the new products right away. Otherwise it will be about a week before you will be able to see them.

 

Whenever new products are announced I try to go through the complete list and pick at least one product that I think is the best and promote it with a Google AdWords campaign. This is a great way to get a head start on other affiliates before they find out about a new product and has worked well for me.

 

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My blog no longer shows up on the first page of Google search results for "marketing blog." I think I may have created too many anchor text links using "marketing blog" and Google picked up on my use of "spam." No big deal since not that many searches are done for "marketing blog."

 

On a more positive note, my website now has an average Alexa traffic rank of 34,380.

 

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For those of you who have been following my posts on the new AMM that went offline, well, it is now back online and I have activated my Google AdWords campaign for it. Five sales to date with two refunds. I am hoping the merchant recognized the problems that were causing the refund requests and has come up with a solution.

 

 

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Marketing Blog Update

Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2004

 

I was reading Google Cash again and I came across Chris Carpenter's resource website link (It's on page one in the ebook). There is a free bonus on the resource page that I had never seen before. It is "From Chump To Champ: An Education in AdWords Success with the Google Cash System" by Jeremy Wilson.

 

Here's the description:

Jeremy Wilson, one of Google Cash's star students, shares his methods of using the Google Cash System to average over $1000 a day in profits. All without having a website, or product. He does it with Google AdWords, affiliate programs and the Google Cash techniques. And you can too. Only Google Cash customers are entitled to this 44 page, detailed report.

 

Be sure to read this timely report that shows you how to target affiliate programs that pay for leads. Many of these affiliate programs can be found in Commission Junction, Be Free and Performics.

 

Jeremy will provide you with a unique way to target highly competitive niche markets in a very creative way that won't cost you a fortune for keyword bids. You have to learn how to think "outside the box."

 

Based upon the income Jeremy is making from this technique I will be running some test campaigns in order to duplicate what he is doing.

 

By the way, Google Cash is not a novel that you read once and put away for good. If you are serious about making money with the Google Cash System then you should treat Google Cash as one of your text books.

 

You need to read it more than once. Study it and take notes. Pay close attention to the examples that Chris Carpenter provides for some of the campaigns he ran.

 

Start thinking "outside the box." Think of different or new approaches to use in your AdWords campaigns. If you still "don't get it," then keep reading Google Cash until you do "get it."

 

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Yesterday was one of the worst days I have had in a while. I only had seven affiliate sales with total commission of $153.14. Prior to that I was on target to beat my two week record which is $3290.73. That was even with only having 14 days in the second half for the February pay period. Well, maybe I will have a surge of sales in the next few days. I have eight sales so far today (It is now 5:30pm PT) with total commission of $161.06.

 

 

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Marketing Blog Update

Friday, Feb. 27, 2004

 

Yesterday was a one day record for me so far as commissions are concerned. I had 15 sales and made about $430 in commission. My advertising expenses were about $100.

 

Commissions I list here are for all my affiliate sales, which include this website, Google AdWords and other pay-per-click search engines.

 

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I signed up for three pay-per-lead programs through Be Free. The only problem is that most of these lead program merchants have to give their approval before you can market their products or services. I guess they check out your website and see if it is a fit for their product or service. I have had a hard time in the past getting approval from some Commission Junction merchants. I never contacted the merchants who turned me down. I always just moved on and located other merchants for similar products.

 

The truth is that I don't think most of these merchants get it. They probably have no idea that many affiliates are marketing their programs with Google AdWords. Heck, most of them may not even know what AdWords are. I'm talking about Commission Junction and Be Free merchants.

 

I am afraid it is going to come down to having to send individual emails to merchants and explaining to them how I market affiliate products in order to get their OK to market their products, which is a major pain to do.

 

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I read The Definitive Guide to Google AdWords again yesterday.

 

In case you haven't read it yet, below is the formula that Perry Marshall uses to create his most effective Google AdWords.

 

Headline: Contains your keyword

2nd Line: Contains the benefit

3rd Line: Contains a feature

4th Line: The display URL has a keyword in the subdirectory

 

In the 4th line you display the merchant's website URL. If the merchant website has a good descriptive keyword URL then that will work. However, if that is not the case then create a subdirectory in the displayed URL with a good keyword or keyword phrase.

 

Here is an example:

www.StartADaycare.com

This one says it all and nothing is needed.

 

www.Blair.com

Let's say this one is the URL for starting a daycare also, but the

domain name doesn't reflect that fact. So add a subdirectory to the domain name like this:

www.Blair.com/StartADaycare

 

You can use this subdirectory to help your ad get more attention. The displayed URL has nothing to do with the actual web page you send prospects to. So use it to your advantage.

 

By the way, if you are a Google AdWords advertiser and you have not read The Definitive Guide to Google AdWords then you are losing and/or wasting your money. This ebook will more than pay for itself very quickly with all the information it provides to help you run more profitable Google AdWords campaigns.

 

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Here is a very good resource if you design websites or if you plan to build some in the future. Learning how to use colors properly within your website design will have a lot to do with how successful or profitable it becomes. First impressions are always important and may very well help someone determine whether or not they will do business with you. What does your website's color scheme say about you and your business?

 

How Colors Influences the User

 

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Here is the affiliate product that I thought was going to be my next Affiliate Money Maker AMM. NOT!

 

GolfMoney.com

 

I ended up making five sales and there were three refunds.

 

There were 1175 golf keywords in this campaign.

 

Below is one of the ads I used in the campaign.
 

Make Money Playing Golf
Make money and play golf for free.
Free golf secrets revealed! aff.
GolfMoney.com
Interest:

 

I was able to get 100-150 click throughs a day at six cents each. Golf keywords are cheap and you can make money here if you find the right affiliate product.

 

Another option would be to build a theme-based website with great content. Content and affiliate links that help golfers solve their problems or give them what they want. Of course you would want to build a list so that you can give them more great content and perhaps an offer every once in a while.

 

The truth is that I don't have an interest in golf, so I will leave to others who have a passion for the sport and want to share it with others with great content on a great website.

 

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By the way, making sales today is like pulling teeth. It's now 5:09pm PT and I only have three affiliate sales for the day. I guess after making $430 yesterday I was due for a correction.

 

If you make $430 commission every day then you would be making $156,950 a year. Of course you would have advertising expenses and taxes, but you would still have a decent paycheck.

 

If you can make one sale a day then you can make two a day. If you can make two sales a day then you can make three sales a day and on it goes...

 

Is there an easier online business to have other than the Google Cash System? I don't think so. No postage, no inventory, no shipping, no customer relations, no boss, no website...

 

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I sent an email to Jeff Alderson, the creator of Ad Word Analyzer. I suggested that he add a feature to the software that will put "quotation marks" and [square brackets] on the keyword lists you create for Google AdWords. He emailed back and said he was planning to add the "quotation marks" in the next update. He also wrote that he hadn't thought about the [square brackets], but would see if he could add that feature also. That would save a lot of time. Some people have been doing this using Excel, but not everyone has Excel or know how to use it.

 

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NOTE: 04-05-07: Jeff eventually did add this feature to the software.

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Marketing Blog Update

Saturday, Feb. 28, 2004

 

Below is a link to a free 22 page report in PDF format that will show you how to brand PDF files using Viral PDF.

 

www.awebbiz.com/how-to-brand.pdf

 

It will also show you how to create a viral marketing machine which will bring people to your website, make some affiliate sales for you and help build your list.

 

What is cool about this is the fact that you can also brand this report yourself with your ClickBank and Surefire affiliate links, which is a great feature if you have no interest in creating your own reports. Of course you could always do both.

 

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Affiliate sales were terrible yesterday. I only had four sales and made about $80 dollars commission. After advertising expenses I basically broke even.

 

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I wanted to clear up how I do my Google AdWords keyword editing that results in my keywords very seldom being slowed down or deleted.