Category: Marketing

Getting Into Performance Marketing Requires Investment – Like Any Other Business

When it comes to performance marketing, most people take an interest because they have been told that it is a lucrative way to earn money from home and eventually will allow for the marketer to quit his or her day job. While that may be true to some extent, the reality of performance marketing should be put out there so that people who are thinking about getting involved in it truly understand what they are getting into. One of the most frequently asked questions about performance marketing is “how do I get involved in performance marketing with little money or even no money and without using a credit card?” They are wondering, in other words, how they can begin to make money with performance marketing despite not having the money for the typical start-up costs.

The answer to this often asked question is that while it is not necessarily impossible to get into performance marketing with no money or credit card, it is extremely difficult. Or perhaps more accurately put, it can be done but the results are likely to be so miniscule that it probably won’t be worth your time.

Most people who do dive into performance marketing without a decent amount of start-up cash rely on search engines and free traffic generating methods like Craigslist and Backpage and the like. The problem with these is that they are very restrictive in their user policies and have several other drawbacks that make it very hard to generate any meaningful results. Performance marketing, at its core, is like any other business venture in that it involves a high level of risk for the investor. The vast majority of people who get into PM lose money in the initial stages. And as a result most who start don’t stick with it because of the ease with which they lose money in this venture. That said, if you are serious about getting into performance marketing, you should only invest money that you are confident you can afford to lose.

It is advisable that anyone looking to invest in a PM program should have between $1,000 and $2,000 set aside specifically for the expenses that are involved in making for a successful go at it. If debt is an issue in your finances, it is a good idea to eradicate as much of it as possible before you begin. If you do have a credit card, don’t use it for performance marketing unless you have the means to pay it off on time. And if you don’t have a credit card and you’re serious about performance marketing, then get one. Not all traffic sources accept PayPal, e-checks, or bank wires, so having a valid credit card or at least a debit card is strongly recommended. Without a credit card, you can expect to run into a slew of problems such as limited sources for traffic, since most of them require a credit card. Slow processing times can also be an issue because other forms of payment can take days or even weeks to confirm. Finally, you may be charged additional fees since many providers prefer credit card payments and charge a fee for those who don’t use them.

This isn’t an attempt to discourage anyone from performance marketing without money or a credit card. It is simply a reality check. But if you are determined and you believe you can make it happen that way, then go for it. But remember that you did read this article and were advised otherwise. Good luck!

April 3, 2014
Pay Per Call Becoming Hottest Thing Since Sunburn In Online Marketing

Although performance marketing has proven itself over the last few years as one of the premier money making business platform in the world, it is still a matter of opinion as to how it will fare in the years to come. Businesses are always looking for the virtual magic pill that will generate strong, long-term online profits, and understandably so. That said, how does performance marketing in general and pay per call marketing in particular, allow that to happen?

Forbes predicted way, way back in 2012 that Pay per Call marketing had the potential to be ten times the marketing juggernaut that pay per click has become. Good began offering Pay per Call advertising back in 2010 and within two years saw it generating upwards of 15 million calls every month for advertisers. With numbers like those it is pretty obvious that Pay per Call is going to be something that will be impossible for any advertiser to ignore. In fact, it already is.

With Pay per Call being as white hot as it is right now, and is likely to remain for the foreseeable future, there is one element of the world of e-commerce that must be utilized in conjunction with this profit generating tool – mobile marketing. While there still is a significant enough percentage of online users sitting at their desks using desktop computers, more and more of them are switching to either tablets or smartphone to do the majority of their online activities. Fully 45 percent of people who use smartphones have used those devices to search for products and services over the last seven days. Additionally, it is expected that there will be nearly 30 billion more internet searches on mobile devices than on desktop devices by 2016. With that in mind, advertisers will be looking for a way to integrate Pay per Call into their mobile marketing strategy. The revenue generated for those who do so intelligently could be astronomical.

Research has shown that leads are converted into sales more efficiently when some level of human interaction is involved. In other words, people prefer to deal with other human beings when making transactions and doing business. That being the case, Pay per Call is a no-brainer for any marketing strategy. Advertising networks will need to be equipped with the right resources and tools to allow marketers to succeed with Pay per Call. It isn’t just a plug-and-play type of endeavor. It requires real strategy and the right network. The performance marketing industry isn’t going anywhere. It is expected that spending therein will be well over $3 billion in 2014 and will climb as high as nearly $5 billion by the time the next presidential election comes. So any doubters who might be questioning the validity and profitability of performance marketing may need to recheck their numbers. And with a Pay per Call campaign integrated into the right performance marketing campaign, even the sky may not be the limit for businesses.

April 1, 2014
The Advantages of Stealth Marketing in the Pay per Call Movement

Stealth marketing is the latest soon-to-be-overused buzz term that is picking up momentum in the world of performance marketers. It has earned something of an unsavory reputation as a type of underhanded and manipulative form of marketing because of a few unscrupulous individuals who have used the tactics in those kinds of ways. Even the term itself – stealth marketing – carries with it an inherent tone of sneakiness that comes off as something that is designed to line the pockets of advertisers at the expense of their customers. However, stealth marketing – sometimes referred to as undercover marketing (which admittedly sounds just as ominous) – is simply a form of advertising that allows performance marketers the opportunity to market their business without damaging their reputations. Pay per Call promotions are among the most effective means for advertisers to harness the power of stealth marketing, and there are a variety of ways in which they do so.

One of the quickest and most efficient ways to generate sales leads through stealth marketing is through blogging. Writing short articles related to performance marketing and recommending the specific business in question with the phone number is an extremely effectively way to push a Pay per Call campaign. The articles don’t need to be extensive but they do need to be relevant, and more importantly, informative and helpful. Advertisers create a niche related to the campaign or offer and write the relevant articles around the topic. They then generate a list of businesses that perform best in that niche, establish a solid SEO position, and incorporate tracking numbers.

Another online avenue for lead generation for performance marketers is creating YouTube videos. This is among the most popular methods because it is relatively easy to do and can generate the quick and lasting leads that every business longs for. There are several other video forums such as Vimeo and Vine that marketers use to showcase their business and phone numbers, but YouTube is far and away the most popular and the most effective. Think of the most effective videos as visual blogs. That is to say, find a niche related to the offer in your Pay per Call promotion, offer some kind of relevant and useful information about that niche, and display your number on the screen throughout.

Something that requires a little bit more effort and time in order to see results is the “giveaway” tactic. Pay per Call Campaigns and the performance marketers who use them can benefit tremendously from this type of stealth marketing. It involves having your numbers on all possible manner of physical promotional items like t-shirts, coffee mugs, pens, and key chains. These items are then handed out to anyone and everyone in the local community and the word – as well as your numbers – spread, both offline and online. This tactics does not generate the fast leads that online tactics do but for generating leads over a longer period of time, it is one of the best ways to implement stealth marketing. This is far from an exhaustive list of tactics that performance marketers can use but it will definitely get your mind working in the right direction. Advertising is about creativity, not just creativity in your content but also in the way you present that content. There are countless ways to promote your business and many of them haven’t even been thought of yet. A few of the others, well, you just read about them. Now use them and get those leads!

March 27, 2014
Performance Content – Native English Speakers vs. Non-Native

Everyone knows that one of the best ways to generate superior search engine rankings is to constantly update your webpage or blog with interesting and relevant information. In fact, whether or not your potential customers decide to buy, call in, or take any other action may come down to what they ready on your website. But, not every marketer has the time or skills to write truly engaging content. Due to this situation a couple of alternatives have arisen, both involving having someone generate content for you. On the one hand you can pay a native English speaker, who has a background in writing, to produce your content for you. On the other hand you can pay a non-native English speaker, or someone who grew up speaking English as one of many languages. Here we will take a look at the pluses and minuses of both strategies.

Native English Speaker

Best Use: Use a native writer when you have a sophisticated audience, or when SEO is extremely important.

Pros: Native English speakers are more likely to grasp the language and idioms better than a non-native speaker. And because performance marketing is most prevalent among native English speakers, you are more likely to find a writer who understands your goals. Another pro is that an American writer is very likely to operate in a time zone which is very close to yours, if you are both in the United States.

Cons: The biggest con of hiring a native English speaker is the cost. Though some bargains can be had, you will probably be able to hire 3 non-native writers (easily) for the cost of just one native English writer. Another con is that, though they are more expensive, native writers may still have to accept less than minimum wage (or very close) in order to write for you, depending on your pay structure.

Non-Native Speaker

Best Use: Use a non-native writer to produce massive amounts of content that you may have to edit yourself.

Pros: The best reason to hire a non-native speaker is because they are cheap. There are numerous people from countries in Asia and Africa which can produce cheap content for websites and blogs, and many (but certainly not all) of them are relatively good producing English language content. There are even whole teams consisting of dozens of individuals ready to tackle larger jobs. This would serve as the second pro. It would be best to look for an individual or team with verifiable performance marketing and/or SEO experience.

Cons: The cons of hiring a non-native English speaker would come down to writing quality and difficulty of communication. The writing quality of a non-native is generally far inferior to that of a native English writer, as would be expected. Differences in spelling, idiom, and many other differences all play a role. Communication can also be difficult when your waking hours are the sleeping hours of your writers. This is not always a major issue, as many non-native writers actually write at night in order to be awake when their clients are awake. But it could be a problem.

Overall, the question of native vs. non-native writers is the age old question of quality vs. quantity. For those who want the absolute best content, a native writer is almost a must. Though there are some really impressive non-native writers, they are more likely to become in-demand, and raise their pricing accordingly.

March 11, 2014
Facebook For Affiliate Marketers: 101
Like it or not, Facebook appears to be here to stay, and with it the social media revolution will roll along. It is now a foregone conclusion that the world will continue to become more socially connected, with concepts like privacy and oversharing taking a back seat. But for affiliate marketers, this is good news regardless of their individual opinions about Facebook. Marketers should be able to see Facebook as a potential gold mine for all kinds of prospects, from people looking to join their organizations to people looking to learn about or purchase their products or services. As an affiliate marketer you should also be getting on the Facebook bandwagon. Here are some tips for using Facebook as an affiliate marketer:
- Learn how to purchase Facebook Ads – Facebook has a number of ways to purchase ads including purchasing likes to a page, purchasing likes to an individual post, and paying for your ad to be displayed. Among the options of how to pay for your display ad are pay per click, and pay per impressions. All of these aspects should be carefully considered and tested before any major advertising outlay is spent.
- Build a Fan Base – This tip seems like a no brainer, still should be mentioned. One of the reasons for using Facebook to market is in order to build a captive audience which pays attention to what you have to say. It is important that you give people a reason to pay attention to you, your company, and your offer – so be sure to put useful information into their newsfeeds.
- Giveaways are still popular – Everyone loves to feel like they are getting something free or something for nothing. It is a great idea to offer your prospective customers a freebie, especially if your product is an information product. These kinds of giveaways helps your customers get to know you and trust the quality of your product before making the big purchase. Those offering a service could offer the first part of the service free, or give a free trial.
- Be real – Affiliates promoting certain kinds of businesses or products are going to have a more difficult time with Facebook than others. For example, those in the dating niche may have it especially hard. One of the keys to not getting bounced from Facebook advertising, which does happen frequently, is to not go black hat. Be real and position your product in a likeable manner. Think about things from the Facebook advertising moderator’s point of view, and obey the terms of use.
- Be positive but not obnoxious – Everyone appreciates a positive quote now and then. But simply posting a positive quote every day without context can seem like a cry for attention. Remember, the goal of Facebook for affiliate marketing is for your captive audience to pay attention to you, and eventually purchase your product. Instead of just posting a positive motivational quote every day, offer a brief 2 or 3 sentence true motivational story and then give a quote as the moral or takeaway.
Go international – If your offering can be purchased by people in other countries, target them in your Facebook campaigns. Not only may the clicks (or other actions) be cheaper, but you may find far less competition for the attention of customers in different countries.
March 6, 2014
Does Your Company Understand Real Time Marketing?

In the Digital Age everything is moving toward being instantaneous. The amazing speed of information generation and sharing means that the fight for a consumer’s attention is heating up like never before. It also means that marketers and advertisers have less time to get their point across to consumers. In the Twitter Age, you should be able to get your complete marketing message to your prospects in the span of 140 characters or less.

Companies with long drawn out processes are facing increased competition from those which can deliver the same, or similar, products or services in less time. This means a reduction in hedging and equivocating, and an increase in experienced and bold professionals coming together to bring a product to market. For marketers, reduced ramp-up time means being able to literally incorporate today’s headlines into tomorrow’s marketing message. This is one of the reasons social media has grown to such a powerful marketing platform: It allows marketers to respond to their market and client base in real time.

The companies which survive into the 21^st century will be those which are ready to take the chances necessary to make the big score. That may mean trying a new marketing platform, or expanding or contracting the product base. The reason these companies will survive is not because real time decision making is any better than the older, slower model, but it is because this is what the marketplace and customer base demands.

To read more from Ad Age, click here.

February 20, 2014
Crowdsourcing For Marketers – 101

Crowdsourcing is a fancy way of saying outsourcing – but with a twist. While outsourcing usually refers to hiring contractors or an agency to perform a service or handle a project, crowdsourcing refers to the practice of allowing a large group of people (the crowd) to effectively complete the same job more efficiently. This is a relatively new approach to getting a job done, and is being employed by firms which specialize in everything from blogging to marketing. Here are some examples of ways marketing companies have used crowdsourcing to fulfill their needs:

One of the original applications of crowdsourcing on the internet was when companies began to pay independent webmasters a commission every time the webmaster’s site generated a visitor to the paying company’s site (a click). There have been much iterations on this idea, including pay per sale, and pay per email submit. But the idea is really the same.

A major debt relief company has affiliates which market its services, which they then pay by the sale or lead. They have even set up many ways for customers to contact the company, including through the marketer’s website, email, and a special phone number assigned to the marketer.

A lead generation company outsources its cold calling to individuals, who work from home while connected to the company’s lead generation platform.

There are literally hundreds of ways to crowd source. In fact, so many marketing firms are using this way to generate prospect and sales, that it has quickly become a mainstay in a majority of internet marketing campaigns.
To read more from the Huffington Post, click here.

February 18, 2014
Follow These Simple Techniques To Improve Your Marketing Message
Every day thousands of marketers create ads and ad campaigns which are doomed to fail. The reason for this is because they often get too caught up in what they think or like, and forget about their target audience and the goals of the ads. But what these marketers don’t know can be an opening for your company to take market share and grow. Here we will take a look at four simple (and underused) techniques to improve your marketing message.
1. Simpler is often better – Years back people all over the Mid-Atlantic began putting medium sized circular stickers on their cars with the letters “OBX” on them. Pretty soon it seemed like everyone had one of these stickers, but it was unclear what they meant. This got people talking. Soon enough word spread that these stickers referred to the Outer Banks, North Carolina. Though the Outer Banks is a vacation destination, not a corporation per se, the effect was the same. The Outer Banks was able to attract the attention of hundreds of thousands of people through this simple marketing ploy. Don’t get caught up thinking that everything must be complicated in order to work. Often simpler is better.
2. An ad should be attention-grabbing – The Dos Equis “Most Interesting Man in the World” ad grabs your attention. People all over talk about him because the commercials which feature him are outlandish, interesting, and fun. The way your company grabs the attention of its clients will depend on the target audience. But your ads should be unique, fresh, and interesting.
3. Humor is good – but only when it points back to your brand – We have all seen commercials on TV which are extremely humorous, but seem to have little to do with the actual brand itself. Back to Dos Equis, the reason this ad campaign works is because the actor who stars in the commercials is now known as the “Dos Equis guy.” The same goes for the “Old Spice guy” who stared in similar commercials. Other commercials, like a recent one which features a man sitting at a table talking to a group of children, are hilarious – but don’t effectively point back to the brand. Remember that if you use humor, or do anything to astound or call the attention of your prospect – it will only be effective if you are able to tie it back in to your product, company, and brand.
4. Your ad can focus on solving a problem –Years ago the Verizon ad was “Can you hear me now?…..Good!” This ad was specifically created to reassure potential customers that they would not suffer dropped calls with Verizon cellular service. Geico’s “So easy even a caveman could do it” reassured potential customers that saving 15 percent on car insurance will be hassle-free. In a similar vein, you may want to target a problem that your potential customer is likely to have, and then convince them that you can solve it. These kinds of ads are likely winners because people are routinely willing to pay someone to help solve their problems.
February 4, 2014
Narrowcast Marketing – A Way To Spend Less And Convert More

For several decades television has been one of the most coveted, and expensive, advertising mediums. One of the primary reasons for this has been the notion that putting an ad on TV would represent the height of prestige for any company or brand. When the internet burst onto the scene, the banner ad began to compete with TV, and this kind of ad gained its own prestige in the internet world. But both of these kinds of advertising would fail the small business by “broadcasting” the company’s message to too wide an audience. In contrast, there is a school of thought which says that the average small business owner should look to “narrowcast” instead of broadcast. They should look to target their prospects, and deliver the advertising message to those prospects only. Here we will take a look at some of the benefits of narrowcasting.

Narrowcasting Costs Less and Allows Greater Customization

Though your business will need to spend time and money on conducting and purchasing research regarding your prospects, you will more than make up for the costs by marketing only to the demographic which is most likely to purchase your product or service. For example, if your company offered floral arrangements, would you rather send an email blast to 50,000 businesses in the state, or send a targeted informational newsletter to just the funeral homes, realtors, and gift shops in the area? This example highlights the principle of narrowcasting succinctly. It saves money and allows greater message customization.

Narrowcasting Increases Response Percentage

One of the most important aspects of a marketing campaign is response. Response can be considered the percentage of people who received your marketing message and opened themselves to hearing more about your offering. Response can be quantified in calls, email captures, or other metrics. Narrowcasting effectively circumvents those who are unlikely to be interested in your offering, focusing on those who would be the most likely. Receiving a hundred calls from “shoppers,” or people who are just curious about your offer but don’t want anything, could be very demoralizing. Narrowcasting helps you target buyers.

Narrowcasting Increases Conversions

In addition to giving you an increased response percentage, narrowcasting your advertising message is likely to increase conversions. This is because not only are the prospects who reply to your ad more likely to be interested in buying, but those who are not willing or able to buy now are great prospects for follow-up sales efforts in the future. Narrowcasting effectively helps your company build a base of current customers, and a pipeline for future conversion.

Narrowcasting Applies to Every Advertising Medium

Years ago a TV ad would have had to conform to a very limited number of TV channels and programs. Then, the advent of the internet and the banner ad improved on this weakness somewhat, but still casted too wide a net. Now, with millions of niche webpages and online productions, advertisers can narrowcast by running their ads on the specific websites that their target demographic is using, and during the exact time they are most likely to be paying attention. The same goes for the proliferation of radio and television channels and programs. When mailing, purchasing an accurate mailing list allows direct mail marketers to narrowcast to their target demographic, and email marketers may do the same by purchasing highly targeted opt-in email lists.

January 23, 2014