Sometimes someone or something says or does just the right thing to inspire you into action. That was what happened to me today after talking to a friend of mine. He said a magical combination of words that got my butt moving and setting up a new affiliate campaign (and write about it on Scoop).

I’m going to get my feet wet with an emerging traffic source so I thought it would be cool if I shared what I’m thinking and how I’m approaching it.

Campaign Goal

To create conversions (affiliate sales) via direct linking affiliate banner ads in the weight loss market.

Traffic Source

These test campaigns will utilize display advertising via:

• Retargeting
• Contextual
• Audience Targeting (psychographic and demographic profiling)

Data I hope to Collect:

First off I’ll be interested to see which banners pull decent CTR’s. What will be even more interesting to see is if the banners that get good CTR’s are the banners that lead to conversions (hint they’re not always the same).

Secondly, I want to see which offer converts! If I don’t get any conversions it’s back to the drawing board. If I get 3 conversions of 1 product I’ve got a pretty good idea of which product is the winner.

It’s a bit like treasure hunting. Just because you find a gold coin in an area doesn’t mean you’ll find a chest full if you keep digging. Only time and more data will tell for sure.

What it all comes down to is which banners are resonating well with each traffic source and which offers are converting. Finding out those variables will get me on a path to better understanding the market and earning a positive R.O.I.

To Do List

1. Find 3 weight loss offers
2. Gather affiliate links for each
3. Research banner ads already running for each
4. Research demographics for each
5. Create banners
6. Setup Tracking
7. Buy Media

Conclusion:

Hahaha… I can hear a couple guys laughing in the background.

“Direct Linking!?”

Look, I know direct linking isn’t always the best way to create conversions. But direct linking isn’t the worst thing in the world either. Believe it or not there are plenty of affiliates that still prefer to test certain banners / offers with this method. And believe it or not – Some are even profitable

Remember it all starts with getting your feet wet.

I had a brilliant photography teacher in college. The most brilliant thing he ever taught me was this (it applies to more than you might realize):

“If you never get lost you’ll never find anything worth looking for.”

If you could improve your opt-in conversions, grow your audience, and enhance your metrics with one simple tool, would you do it? I’m always interested in these things.  So it only made sense for me to try out tools that help me do this easier and faster. And that’s exactly what the Unbounce platform has to offer. I had the opportunity to give it a shot. Here are my thoughts.

Unbounce Basics

Unbounce is a do-it-yourself landing page platform. It’s powerful, it’s easy to use, and it’s designed with an emphasis on conversion optimization and list building.

• It lets you build a page quickly. Templates are available but you can also make a page from scratch. This flexibility is a great feature because you can set a page up in minutes if you want to or you can spend more time setting something more in-depth up.
• Metrics and analytics. This platform is built to provide you with powerful information. We’re all used to testing and tracking, but this system is dead simple to implement.  On top of that you get your stats in real time.
• Testing tools for optimization. The platform has built in A|B testing, variant analysis, and conversion rate optimization tools. You don’t have to worry about setting them up on individual pages.  No cpanel nonsense.  No php scripts to configure.  It’s all there for every page you make – all the time.

Benefits Of The Platform

Unbounce brings a lot to the table.

• The ease of setting up landing pages means that you’ll have no problem making as many as needed to hyper-target your audience. This kind of targeting leads to improved conversions.
• In addition, it removes the need to worry about IT involvement. You have a state of the art WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor that lets you do all the edits yourself.
• You don’t need any knowledge of websites or coding in order to build out these pages. You’ll be doing it all visually, easy enough for anyone regardless of your technical background (or lack thereof).
• With the easy testing and hyper-targeted landing pages, your CPA will naturally start to fall, meaning you get more revenue at the same spend.
• The platform has integrated real-time data. It tracks and reports moment by moment so you’re able to adjust your strategy as dynamically as you like.
• The Unbounce platform is inherently friendly to 3rd party software. It has its own powerful suite of tools but it’s actively integrating others for easy use. Google Analytics, MailChimp, and Flowtown are already integrated.
• The easy design tools in Unbounce make it possible to expedite your process even if you’ve got a large and fast in-house development team.
• You reduce the burden on your IT, letting them shift their focus off of the simple edits (“can you fix this little typo? Let’s change that one word…”) and onto what really matters for your mission-critical items.
• No technical knowledge is required to start using Unbounce. It doesn’t have to be installed on a server. All it takes is signing up.
• All of these features work together to help you market smarter and get things set up faster than you have ever before. Unbounce empowers you to build feature-rich landing pages, track their performance, and constantly learn and improve.

Unbounce Case Study

The Goal

Increase the site’s revenue by driving more traffic from the email list.  The list of 150K double opt-ins in the health market was under utilized.  We felt this plan gave us a chance to build a better relationship with people on our list and increase revenue.

We wanted to create segmented email lists that knew they were going to receive daily messages.  Our list of 150K double opt-ins were accustomed to getting 1 message per week on average.These messages would be super targeted teaser snippets of the day’s blog post, driving them back to the blog.  We designed it this way so we could monetize on-site using affiliate programs and Adsense.

The Process

Step #1 We used Unbounce to create 2 separate landing pages for each segment.  1 for healthy living and 1 for healthy eating.  Unbounce’s templates made this super easy to do.  I customized a template with my own images and copy.

Step #2 Created A/B split tests for each landing page

Step #3 Sent three emails to the main list promoting the new list segments for healthy living and healthy eating.

The Results

Strong conversions. Here’s how Unbounce reported the data.

Healthy Eating Landing Page Results

click to enlarge

Healthy Living Landing Page Results

This was a simple test, designed to compare headlines.  I could have tested wildly different style landing pages, or colors, or copy, or images, or whatever I wanted.  The point is that setting this while thing up took me maybe 45 mins total.  That’s including the time it took me to create my account, learn the interface, find templates, write copy, insert pictures, create the split tests, and publish for use.

The verdict? I think this is a powerful and very beneficial tool for anyone who uses landing pages, not just affiliate marketers.  If the technicalities of split testing or creating landing pages has ever held you back before – this is the tool for you.

What do you think? Have you used the platform? Tell me in the comments.

When you get involved in the training and education fields you come across your fair share of complainers. Inevitably there are always people that refuse to let go of their fears and move forward.

Are you one of those people?

More people are guilty of it than you might think. You might even catch “successful” people building up mental roadblocks from time to time.

Do you know what a mental roadblock is?  Of course you do.  It’s exactly what that creepy little kid in the Matrix was talking about – “there is no spoon” (for the sci-fi geeks)

It’s that nagging internal voice that stops you from building your first landing page because you “don’t know how” or you’re “not good with copywriting.” Instead you open up your browser and read more sales pages hoping to find the one that will make you rich overnight.

Yeah, that’s gonna help you move forward.

We’ve talked a lot about testing and conversion optimization here on Scoop. There are a lot of different considerations when setting up your tests. But it’s one thing to “tell” you the critical items to test and it’s another to show you.

That’s what we’re going to do today. Below we’ll take a look at some of the critical elements you should be testing with visual examples. All tests and examples are compiled from the web’s top testing agencies and independent marketers.

Test #1 – A Multivariate Test

In this test from Ann Holland’s Which Test Won two HTML email promos were multivariate tested. (multivariate means multiple variations were tested at the same time)

Which email produced 52% more clicks?

Version A

Version B

Here’s what they tested:

At 45% the headline copy had the greatest conversion influence. The button/call to action was second at 30%, and the image had the lowest influence at 25%
source

That means the headline was 45% more influential on the measured conversion (in this case the conversion was a click). It’s not coincidence most experts suggest testing headlines before anything else.

Test #2 – A Call To Action Button Test

Visual Website Optimizer is one of my favorite split testing tools on the market. They’re a top notch company to boot. Below is a split test GetResponse.com ran using their tool.

Version A

Version B

What happened as a result of the test?

GetResponse noticed that by adding free trial buttons on homepage, the number of free accounts increased by 158.60%, while there was no negative influence on the number of paid accounts created via homepage.
source

Amazing what a difference a simple button can make. This test was about more than just a call to action though. They created a call to action that encouraged the visitor to interact with their product for free. The company gave up something of value in exchange for an opt-in.

Test #3 – Short Vs Long Copy Test

This is a test that Conversion Rate Experts ran for SEOMoz. This is a fairly complicated test because so many elements of the page were changed. So it’s not as simple as short vs long copy but that is a major element. In fact the long page was 6x’s longer than the original.

Here’s what the length of the pages looked like

Version A

Version B

What happened as a result of the test?

Using a statistically significant sample of more than 5,000 visitors, we achieved a 52% increase in sales of SEOmoz’s PRO membership.
source

Testing wildly different variations can sometimes lead to huge gains. This is particularly helpful when first starting out a new campaign and revitalizing old campaigns.

Hope you found these case studies enlightening. If you’ve got any questions please use the comments below!

Subscribers are the lifeblood of almost any good business online. Subscribers means having a group of people that volunteered to listen to what you have to say! That’s super powerful. It also means you have your own ability to drive traffic. Want more traffic? Just send an email. Got booted from Google? No worries, send an email.

Recently I came across an amazing video interview between Corbett Barr and Derek Halpern about how he built his subscriber count to 17K in a very short amount of time. Here are a few things Derek shares in the interview:

• Why Derek doesn’t subscribe to the “1,000 true fans” rule
• The one decision Derek made early on that set the stage for Social Trigger’s incredible growth
• Derek’s strategy for making it easier to win in your niche
• How Derek identified his blog’s “secret sauce”
• The overlooked place you can rely on for breakthrough topic ideas
• How you can become known for your most powerful ideas
• Why you’re shooting yourself in the foot by promoting your social media accounts on your website
• The most important thing to accomplish with your next blog post
  source

If you don’t know Derek, get ready to have your mind blown. He’s an incredibly smart marketer. His experience and track record online constantly reinforce that fact.

So take a few minutes to check out this interview. You’ll be glad you did.

Whenever someone tells me they’re making money in XYZ niche, it peaks my interest. There’s something about the allure of a new opportunity, a new stream of income. But it’s not everyday you hear of a great niche from someone.

So in order to satisfy my own sick needs – I spy. We talked about a few ways you could do this in the post “Reverse Engineering Tips.”

If you’re an affiliate, hell, if you’re a product owner advertising online – your advertising methods are 100% transparent. And that’s a good thing/bad thing for everyone. It’s just the way it is.

Spying can be all kinds of fun though. It’s sort of like treasure hunting.

Here’s an example of recent treasure hunting I’ve done.

The Target is The “Geo Modder”

In SEO geo mod rankings can be really profitable. All it consists of is getting ranked for as many locations + your keyword. Do this right and you can bring in a lot of good converting long tail traffic.

But that strategy isn’t just for SEO’s.

This banner was on www.ign.com

I’m in Indiana. So there is definitely state specific targeting going on here. Although the date of birth doesn’t match the age of the dude in the pic – it’s definitely targeting my demographic as far as age goes.

That banner leads to this landing page (sorry – I had to piece it together)

There was more copy than I was expecting to see. It would be helpful to see what they’re split testing but I was unable to do that.

It’s possible they’re getting paid for a zip submit here, but that’s not clear. I tend to think they’re not, but anything is possible.

Here’s what you see when you enter your zip code, daily mileage, and DUI record.

This is the loading screen. I’m sure just about everyone “qualifies.” The take away here is that using a devide like this little loading screen engages people. it’s a smart play. It engages the visitor and prepares them for the next page. And when you see the next page you’ll understand why they want to “prep” people.

Here’s where the magic happens. The lead capture. And wow is it a big one. (Again – sorry it’s pieced together – it’s even missing a middle piece – thing thing was huge)

That is one hell of a lead gen form.

They must have a large abandonment rate on this page. That’s why they’re using the loading screen – to prepare people for this page. They want the visitor to feel as though they’re only a step away from a great insurance deal.

The flip side to a lead gen form like this is that when someone DOES fill out this form, you’ve got a qualified lead on your hands. When you’re in the lead business you’re only as good as the quality of your leads. Lead quality is everything.

So what have we learned about from this affiliate spying activity?

• Geo Targeting works with banner traffic (media buying, etc)
• Should test longer copy on landing pages (and use geo targeting in headline)
• Use an “involvement device” like zip, mileage, dui submission form to “Qualify” leads
• “Success” loading screen prepares visitor for the long lead gen form.
• Long lead capture pages produce high quality leads

You know what? We just discovered an affiliate business model with just a few clicks and a bit of critical thinking. Who’s going to take this and try it out for themselves?

Oh and the kicker is – that business built a list of 100K + subscribers within that same time frame.

Want to know more? Yeah… I thought so

Well it’s a lot like what Gary Vaynerchuck has been saying for years now. It’s all about customer service. Everyone is in the customer service business.

Even if you’re an affiliate you’re in the customer service business (think providing massive value in exchange for commissions). In today’s rapidly changing online environment the fast cash opportunities are rapidly disappearing (especially in the SEO world).

If you’re not serving your niche, you’re not in business.

Today to be relevant you’ve got to bring value. You’ve got to connect with your audience and deliver the content they’re looking for. Does this mean you’ve got to create 100% unique content 100% of the time? No, absolutely not. What it does mean is that you need to understand your audience, not just your market. There’s a difference.

When you’ve found your audience become their “go to resource” in whatever niche you serve. Become their favorite stop for “all things amazing” about blue widgets. Become their connection to the foremost “experts” in that niche.

Combine that level of connection with a few bare-bones marketing tactics and you’ve got a million dollar business on your hands.

Ok, I’m going to step back and let Vishen Lakhiani outline this model for you. It’s 15 minutes long and 100% worth your time.

So what do you think? Makes sense and it’s fairly straight forward, don’t you think? Let me know what your opinion is in the comments below.

This article was brought to you by: Dustin Bow

Dustin Bow is on the cutting edge of Internet Marketing.  His 8 years of experience in SEO, affiliate marketing, teaching, and consulting combines to create a unique voice in our industry.  He writes from an “in the trenches” perspective any level of marketer could find useful in their own campaigns.

(On Facebook/PlentyOfFish Style Ads)

The following case study provided by AdChop.com analyzes the effect that images can have on an advertiser’s ROI.

These ads were part of a campaign that was run on PlentyOfFish.com to promote a dating website for single parents.  PlentyOfFish offers many ad formats including the “Facebook” format that you see in this case study (110×80 image with a headline & body text).

These ads were targeted to US males age 30+ who had indicated on PlentyOfFish that they have children.

Note: The Conversion Rates (CR) below are “per 1,000 impressions” (not per click).

Analysis:

Since the text in each of these ads was identical, it was the image alone that determined the performance differences.  The conversion rate of the top converting ad was exactly 5 times higher than that of the lowest converting ad, and the highest CTR was more than 5 times the lowest CTR.

Interestingly, the lowest CTR ad (Ad 1) was NOT the lowest converting ad per click.  In fact, with 25 conversions from 165 clicks, it had by far the HIGHEST conversion rate per click.

Why did Ad 1 have the highest conversion rate per click?  I presume that it’s because the higher CTR ads attracted many clickers who were simply hoping to see a larger version of the attractive woman in the thumbnail.  Not only did Ad 1 not have the ” I MUST see a bigger image of that hot babe!” factor, the words “Single Parents Dating” in the image give a more accurate representation of the website they’ll be taken to.  People aren’t being tricked into clicking on an ad that delivers something other than what they’re expecting.

I shouldn’t place too much emphasis on the conversion rate PER CLICK, however, because advertisers on PlentyOfFish pay a flat CPM rate rather than a flat CPC rate.  The advertiser’s ROI is therefore determined by their conversion rate per 1,000 impressions (not per click)… which is why the conversion rate numbers above were calculated per 1,000 impressions.

Since images can play a major role in how an ad performs it’s worth split testing a lot of them, but it’s also important not to forget about the ad copy.  In this campaign, the headline “Women Want Single Dads” was used because previous split tests had proved that it was far more effective than the more straightforward “Meet Single Moms”.

This article is brought to you by Justin Clark at AdChop.com
Visit AdChop.com to see more case studies from online advertising campaigns.