Official Online Media Buying Mini-Guide:  An Intro To The Unknown Secrets That No One Wants To Share

I decided to write this for 2 reasons, and I’m only asking for something simple…

1.)   I kept getting asked who I read/followed to learn about media buying, and really…there wasn’t anyone, I simply learned by doing and watching competition.  So, why not offer up information for others.

2.)   Some experts are horrible at teaching their skill set.  I’ve coached a handful of people, and almost all of them have had mild to extreme success, so, I’d like to think that qualifies me as someone that can teach well.

Ok, so what do I want from you?  If you think this guide was at all useful…

1.)  Follow my Twitter: http://twitter.com/JWhiteJMM

2.)  “Like” my fan page that is to-be-launched: http://www.facebook.com/pages/JonathanWhitecom/127080220699487

3.)  Give me feedback and ask questions.  I’ve been so deep in this world the past few years, it can be hard to remember the unknowns for someone that is learning.

So, you want to learn about media buying and paid traffic online…

Whether you have some campaigns going well, and want to scale, have given it a shot only to lose a lot (or little bit) of money, or you haven’t stepped into the space yet, but have heard about it, this mini guide will help you.

From having managed ad budgets equaling $120k/day, and 3 million visits/day, I’ve learned a lot of what it takes to make a successful campaign.

It really comes down to optimizing 4 things:

-       Targeting – your keywords, your placements, your demographics, locations, time of day

-       Ad/Adcopy – your image, colors, size, headline and copy of your ad, and your ad’s Click-Through-Rate (CTR)

-       Pre-sell/Landing Page – your interim pre-sell or landing page, headline, copy, layout, images, and CTR

-       Sales/Offer/Sign up Page – the headline, copy, layout, images, opt in rate, checkout rate

Now, sure there is more depth to it than that, but if you just take a high level view of what it is, it will help you simplify the process.

TRACKING AND ANALYTICS!!!!<–Without this, all else fails.

The key here is ANALYTICS and TRACKING.  So many people think this is like some casino game or like it is finding some hidden treasure that if they figure out…they’ll just throw up the magic campaign and make millions.  The good part is that THERE IS NO MAGIC…the bad part is that YOU ACTUALLY HAVE TO WORK AT IT.  I will say though, if you’re NOT tracking and analyzing the 4 things I mentioned above, then, you may have better luck at a casino.

You have to track the whole process from beginning to end.  For example:

Incoming click:

What source/ad network was the click from, what was the keyword, site/placement, category, how much was the click, what time of day was it.

Ad:

What was the ad copy, what is the ctr, which ad is getting displayed most, which ad is converting most (high ctr isn’t always high conversion)

Landing Page:

How many incoming visitors came to the page, how many clicked through, what headline, layout, colors get the best ctr and conversion rate

Offer/Sales page:

What is the headline, layout, how many people filled out the opt in to get to the buying page, how many left the checkout page, how many checked out.

If you aren’t tracking all, or at least most of these, and split testing in variations…you won’t ever become profitable, or you won’t scale nearly as big as you could.  This is what separates big online media buyers with newbies and small scalers.

What to sell???…..What SELLS already

I’m not going to spend a ton of time on finding good offers, or creating a good product on your own, as there is tons of information out there.  Just get in the habit of looking at every ad and banner out there, and seeing what people ads, offers, and sites/ad networks that people are running on.  I don’t really like hyper niche marketing, such as, “Dog training for golden retrievers over 50 lbs.”  Huge billion dollar markets, even if you get .1% of the share of volume out there, that’s $1 million right there.  Get experimental and try something new after you know what you are doing in proven markets.

TARGETING – Finding your audience

A lot of marketers are focused on keywords instead of demographics.  Keywords are great for search, but aside from that you have to think broader.  I do suggest targeting tight for optimization at first, then, expanding out.  For example, diet products will convert nearly anywhere, but especially, anywhere that there are women over 30.  But if I didn’t know that, I would start by targeting health and diet sites, or diet specific keywords.  Here are some other examples:

-       Muscle builder – target sports sites, maxim/men sites, ufc, men’s health/working out sites–men over 25 sites

-       Dating – social sites, game sites, sites with some social aspects

-       Biz Opp – jobs sites, financial/entrepreneur sites, classified sites

-       Penny Auction – shopping, electronics, coupons

-       Education/Scholarships – job/career sites, making money sites

I’m going to assume you know or can find out easy how to build a keyword list…just use google’s keyword tool.

To find these sites, you can either contact them directly for their media kit, or go use and ad network like adwords, adcenter, pulse360, aol sponsored listings, facebook, plenty of fish, etc.

Most networks offer some form of demographic targeting if you want to target an age and gender.  If your product requires much money, for a sale, you can generally factor out the under 25 crowd and usually its more like 35+.  You may not even have to go that far just yet.  If it’s a social network like facebook, you can target by age, gender, and interests.  If I was targeting gamers for a game product/offer, I would target a younger crowd and test all kinds of popular games, game sites, gaming magazines as interests.

Once you’ve optimized the other 4 things above and have a high ctr and high converting sales process from trafficàadàlanderàsales page, then expand out.  For example, at times I’ve gone on ad network and bought up every placement I could that was available, and optimized backwards.  Because I knew my sales process converted well, its just a matter of scaling.  We’ve put out $30kin ad spend to test at a loss because we knew it would be worth $10k/day in profit once we optimized our top ads and pages on each placement.  But don’t go crazy yet…starting out, you want to target the most likely to convert traffic.

AD AND ADCOPY – turning impressions into clicking buyers

Speaking broadly, and to keep it simple again…you have 3 kinds of ads:

-       text ads

-       image ads

-       animation/video ads

Here is how I test ads.  I generally start with 3 ads.  I’ll use 2 fairly similar (similar images and copy) and 1 that is more experimental.  I’ll typically have the first 2 be very similar to what is in the marketplace that is working (after researching the competition), and the 3^rd is my attempt to beat it.  If it’s a text ad, I just slightly modify the 2^nd ad from the first, and the 3^rd is a different variation.  If it’s a banner, regardless of size, I’ll do the same with the copy as a text ad, but with a banner ad, I’ll make the images similar in banner 1 to banner 2, then banner 3 will be completely different.  I will do some animated gif’s and have run some TV ads for agencies online, but generally have not done many “video ads.”  If you test more than this, you need more spend to each ad to know if it works.  You need minimum of 100 clicks for most products, so each new ad, know that you’ll want to buy 100 more clicks to see if it works.

Split Test Your Ads…Constantly

You want to split test your ads for ctr+conversion.  I say that because I’ve had very high ctr ads, that don’t convert as well as lower ctr ads.  You want the ctr high to make the network happy, but also, because on a CPM buy, every impressionàclick on your ad counts.  You’re paying whether people click or not, so you want them to click.  Once you find trends in what kind of copy works, and images get clicked the most play with it.  If you run 3 ads like I do, take the top two and start changing headlines, running a slightly similar image, make the ad have a few frames of animation.  Always try to beat out your winners with even better winners.  Eventually, you’ll find that a good ad is a good ad, regardless of what ad networks you run it on.   Remember, you are looking for high ctr + high conversion rate.

PRE-SELL/LANDING PAGE – prepping the visitor to buy

I always hear this question, ”When do I need a pre-sell and when do I direct link?”

Generally, it only helps conversions, but if you are running something low commission/CPA, you can’t afford the extra click from pre-sell to sales page.

Here is how I like to break it down.  The more the user has to do to convert, the more action the user has to take on the page, the more you have to sell them on it.

- Sales and free trials – generally pre-sells are a must, you may run a credit report direct linking and make it work, but usually it will increase conversions

- Long form lead gens – mortgage, edu/scholarship lead, payday loan, anything over 5 fields are better off with a  pre-sell

- Short from lead gens – 3 field forms are best off being tested with a pre-sell and without a pre-sell.  If payout is really low though, it may not work out

- Email submit, zip submit, download – You typically want to try to direct link here.  Pre-sells can work, but if you are only making $1-2, you have to have really cheap clicks because the extra step of clicking through from pre-sell to offer can make it unaffordable

I know its repetitive, but again, CTR + CONVERSION…

You want to optimize variables to get a high ctr and conversion rate on your pre-sell page.  These variables are typically:

-       Headline/Subheadline – is it compelling, does it relate to your ad, does it flow to your sales page

-       Colors – Yes, I’ve actually changed a background from white to a dark grey and it literally increased opt ins 30%

-       Images – split test different images

-       Links – typically the more links to click through to the sales page the better

-       Copy – test different versions of the body copy for ctr+conversion

Once I had 2 pre-sells running, one had a 22% ctr, and the other a 15% ctr, but the page with the 15% ctr converted 3x more.  I had guessed that maybe the 15% ctr page was a bit more credible looking.

I generally like a page that only one action is possible…clicking through to the offer/sales page, or filling out the opt in, whatever it is.  I know that Adwords and some networks want more of a full site with content, but either way, make your landing page very focused on what product or action you want the user to pay attention to.  But if you can, just run a single page, I make links in the copy, links to images and so forth, so there is much opportunity to click through.

SALES/OFFER PAGE – It all comes down to this moment…

I should start off by saying…If you are promoting mostly affiliate offers, this section won’t apply all that much for you.

However…

If you have your own product/offer, or are in a position to have the owner of the product/offer to make edits and test for you, then this information will help.

Split test different variations of your page, such as:

-       Headlines – if you know anything about marketing, you know that headlines are crucial

-       Buttons – Submit and Click Here, typically aren’t the best buttons, and make sure to play with the colors as well.  Try “Rush My Order” or “Get Access Now” and so forth

-       Images and copy vs video – video sales pages are working very well now

-       Checkout steps – sometimes a page where you just enter basic info, then get on the checkout page can do better than having one huge order form.  I know of some bigger products that even have 3 step checkouts with different fields of the form broken into 3 pages

-       Always be selling – don’t have a boring standard shopping cart type checkout page, unless you want a ton of people to back out of the sale.  Have a page with copy and keep selling the user even on the checkout when you can.

There is a lot more I could say about building a great, high converting offer, but this guide is more focused on high volume media buying, so I’m going to move on.

The ACTION Is Above The Fold

If you don’t know what above the fold means…its what the user sees on a site/page before having to scroll down.  80% of users never scroll down at all.  I like to make sure I have the compelling headlines, images, videos, forms, etc above the fold.  Sometimes people put links or buttons at the bottom of the page to force readers to see more of the copy, but in general that has not been what usually works best in my experience.  People are in a rush, lazy, may not read everything on the page, so don’t make it more work for them, or they will leave more often than not.

TEST, TEST, TEST, TEST, TEST, TEST, TEST

Marketing is a science.  You make a hypothesis about what may work, you test it, and make a conclusion…it either works bad, good enough (to turn a profit), or works great (turns a good profit).  The laws of marketing are not like the laws of gravity.  What generally works is not always what actually works.  For example:

-       I had a supplement for the 50+ crowd work on a game site, which is typically a very young crowd.  It worked because there was quite a few older people playing games like solitaire, and because the clicks were very cheap.  If someone suggested a game site for an older crowd, generally, I would have said it wouldn’t work

-       I saw a layout/color scheme that a competitor was using that had to be working well because they were buying very expensive traffic.  If someone showed me the page for review, I would have said they needed to redo the whole thing.  I changed my page to be closer to their “theme” and my conversions increased 20%

Split Test – the less variables the better, and do it constantly

I will split test all the variables I’ve mentioned above weekly, even daily at times.  I’m always trying to beat out my current winner.  I will start with a few variations, but once you get some solid winning ads, pre-sells, headlines, offers, and so forth…try things like split testing 1 word in the headline.  Or keep your headline the same but change a subheadline.  Change the color of a button to a new one and test it against the original.

If you get too many variations going at once, it gets hard to tell what is causing increases in ctr, conversions, or on the flip side…hurting them.

Heatmaps and Clickmaps, User recordings

I love using heat maps and click maps.  You may find that user’s are paying attention to something on your page that you don’t want them to, or that they breeze over something you thought was important, like some nifty header.  One time I found by recording visitors, that I was losing a huge amount of people on the checkout page because they didn’t know what “Security Code” meant.  People would put the weirdest stuff in the box.  Thus, I added the typical “Where can I find this?” with a link to help on where to find your CVV2/Security Code on each type of credit card.  Or you might find a broken link or image that people try to click on.

My Tracking/Analytics Software Favorites

-       Split testing – visualwebsiteoptimizer.com

-       User interaction/Heatmaps/Screen Recordings – clicktale.com

-       Ad network, keyword, adcopy etc – I have a custom coded system I use, but a free commonly used one is prosper202.com (its about as easy is installing wordpress)

There are some free solutions out there like Google Analytics and openwebanalytics.com.  I don’t use them, but any analytics is better than none.

Other quick tips

If you are big in SEO, to the degree that you can without messing up your SEO, test your pages for your natural traffic as well.  I meet a lot of SEO people that have not split tested pages, forms, buttons, headlines on their sites at all.  You might double your results by making a few changes.

Learn about marketing and be disciplined.  Avoid all the “Secret Technique Of The Month That Created $xxx,xxx,xxx In Less Than .0000001 Seconds.”  Study copywriting from guys like Gary Halbert, John Carlton, Gary Bencivenga, etc.  Read Jay Abraham and learn about strategic marketing.  Read Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins.  Again, marketing is a science, not a casino game.  If you know how marketing works, you can apply to any medium, including, but not limited to online.

Ok, so you won’t necessarily fail, however, your life will be much easier if you start with the marketplace first. You want to build your business with the end client or consumer’s in mind, not from your own perspective.

What I mean by this, is when you see a need or void in the marketplace and fill it, your success rate is higher. I see this often, especially in small businesses, but even in larger tech companies. You create something, a product, a software, a site, that you think is cool, but the rest of the world doesn’t understand it, or doesn’t care.

How many times has a tech start up in Silicon Valley come up with an idea they think is great, and their friends and mentors…also in Silicon Valley, think it is “neat,” but when it hits a broader marketplace outside of that small bubble, it crashes? That is because they did not start with the user, client, or customer in mind.

Now, this isn’t a guaranteed failure, however, you’re working against the marketplace and having to prove to them why you matter, and why they should use your company, service, or site.

If you are seeing what the market wants first and filling a gap or a need, then you’re essentially giving people what they want. This is what the top marketers, especially direct marketers, do and how they do it so profitably.

So, before you invest all that time and money into your product, project or service, make sure you do your research and know the marketplace:

- Does the product or service exist already?
- Have people been discussing how they like one product or service, but how they just wish it would ____ better.
- Are people discussing online, in the news, in magazines, a certain problem that your product or service will solve?
- Could a company in the market already push you out easily by creating the same thing? Are you coming from a unique selling point?
- If there are companies in your market or sideline markets, are they doing well, or poorly?

I’m sure it sounds simple, but at the same time, I’ve had countless people tell me of an idea they have, and I go search on Google and find their product, site, or service already in existence in about 5 minutes of work.. The good part is, online, you can get essential data for your marketplace to see what the market is looking for:

- Read comments, tweets, Facebook updates, news, etc, that are related to information on your marketplace or potential product.
- Browse industry forums, blogs, and message boards, and even ask the market questions.
- Look on Google, Twitter, Amazon, and Ebay at the trending topics, reviews, and latest products and services being released or talked about

With the ability to have your pulse on the market in ways that you never could before, you can really make sure your product or service will be focused on solving a problem and being “cool,” rather, than just having what you may have thought was “cool” and “interesting.”

By the end of this here, 2011, web influence sales will be the majority of a business sales. By majority I mean over 50%. I know it sounds crazy, but first, I should say that I doesn’t mean simply people purchasing online. Web influenced sales includes things like groupon.com, or other mediums where someone might buy something after downloading or printing coupon online. Or they might pick up the phone and call from a phone number on a website, search engine, or social network page instead of looking through the Yellow Pages.

If you don’t understand this, and take action in improving your web presence, things will only get harder for your business.

However…

The good news is that if you do, embrace, adapt, and take action, then, you actually have the chance to be in front of your audience, clients, and customers more now than ever before.  People may not walk by your business,  see your billboard, or newspaper ad. But with e-mail, social networking sites, and mobile phones and devices being commonplace and being used daily,  you can be in front of people on Facebook, on their mobile phone, or through an e-mail list.

So, rather than being afraid, feeling like you can’t keep up, and that you’re going to be behind the trends, instead, here is a new opportunity to gain even more market share and more clients and sales than you ever thought possible.

Some businesses went from local to national because online they had the ability to put their brand, product, or service in front of an exponential amount of people as opposed to simply working their business in their local area.

So, don’t duck and cover, simply adapt and ride the wave.