by Brad | Oct 4, 2016 | Blog
Last week we covered the first C in my famous (self declared): Getting More Leads in 3 Simple Steps
It was…Create.
Now I want to dive in the 2nd C and THE HARDEST!
Convert!
You might be thinking “Brad what does CONVERT, have to
do with getting more leads??”
I’m glad you asked…because it has everything to do with it.
If you’re not converting, and improving your conversions then
you’re WASTING clicks and not getting the leads you DESERVE!
Let’s do some math…(to my past math teachers, you’re right I’m using math!)
Scenario 1: You’ve run a decent Google Ad campaign and were able to
generate exactly 1000 clicks…NICE JOB! Now, of those 1000
clicks 250 people sign-up for your ‘thing’. Nice job…
Those 1000 clicks cost you, let’s say 3.00 bucks a click so
you spend $3,000.00 on 250 new leads at a cost of $12.00
per lead.
Scenario 2: Same clicks as above, 1000, but this time you
focused on the ‘convert’ and were able to get 400 new leads
at a NEW cost of $7.50 per lead!!
Not only did you save money by improving your conversions
but you GENERATED MORE LEADS!
You’re thinking exactly what I was thinking years ago…
“Yeah I want to convert MORE… but HOW!?!”
Honestly it’s taken me YEARS to not figure it out 100%,
but to hack the process, and shorten time to positive ROI.
That’s what we’re after…positive ROI.
The how is what I want to show you today…
(unfortunately you WILL have to do some work unless you hire THESE GUYS)
Here are the steps that I would recommend on how to
CONVERT MORE:
YOUR ACTION:
As in my previous article I’ll share with you how Brian
and I do it for clients via TradersNewsMedia.com, and
then I’ll give you a tip on how to do it yourself…ready?
Speed
TradersNewsMedia Way: Brian and I are creating dozens of pages for
dozens of products a MONTH…and we do it quickly because
it’s what allows us to get the best results for our clients.
We knuckle down and typically create 3-5 pages in a DAY!
We use a multiple platforms to give us the widest range of
page creative samples to give us the latest analysis of what’s
CURRENTLY working in our space.
Your Way: Knuckle down and create 2-4 pages! I know it
sounds daunting…but if you want to get better results then
you’ve got to put in the work to give yourself DATA to analyze.
Test
TradersNewsMedia Way: We’re using at least 3 different tracking
tools for the pages we’re using to help give us high level data to
determine the BEST pages, headlines, sign-up button locations,
number of bullets, etc etc…we’re ALL about data at TradersNewsMedia.com.
Your Way: Use a simple squeeze page creation tool that allows you
to create multiple A/B split tests. Unbounce, LeadPages, etc.
Optimize
TradersNewsMedia Way: Analyze the data REALTIME…shift budget
towards the creatives that are doing the best…then SCALE!
Your Way: Set up a reminder for yourself as a daily (or weekly) task to
analyze the pages to determine the pages that are converting the best.
Drive more traffic to the winning pages!
I know not all of this is easy, or fast, or guaranteed…but neither is LIFE!
If you want to get more leads then you have to convert more clicks, it’s
as SIMPLE as that.
If you need advice or help, contact me: brad@bradstafford.com
If you want it DONE FOR YOU…contact me: brad@tradersnewsmedia.com
Cheers,
Brad
P.S. Next week we talk about the EASIEST PART OF GETTING MORE LEADS!!
HINT: C******
by Brad | Oct 19, 2015 | Blog
So over the past several months I’ve
invested quite a bit of money in ad
buys…like a lot.
Just like these guys 🙂
Some ad buys were AWESOME where my ROI blew my projections out of the water.
Others have not.
I’m writing this quick blog so that you can see exactly what I learned spending 348k (give or take) on ads…
Here are 3 most CRUCIAL lessons I
learned so you can spend your money
better and get an ROI even faster then
I was able to!!
#1. Get Your Funnel RIGHT
No matter where your traffic comes
from, if you do not have a well-oiled
machine of a funnel…you’re cooked.
You can think you have the best product
in the world, but if you’re not able to
PROPERLY sell it…might as well be
selling snake oil.
The key to a good process?
DATA!
Run trusted (usually internal) data
through the funnel, set a benchmark
for value per click/per lead/etc., and
then branch out to cold traffic.
If you have a process that you know
makes you X as an average, then when
you spend money on ads, no matter
WHERE you spend it, you can have
a baseline to determine success.
If you know you make 5.00 per lead
internally, and through Google ads
you can make 4.00 from the traffic,
then it’s safe to say you should spend
MORE and tweak that source to see
if you can get it higher.
#2. Throw multiple noodles.
HUH??
HAHA…I love the internet 🙂
The old marketing adage is to ‘throw something against a wall to see if it sticks’. 🙂
Same thing with your ads.
You might have something that does really well (again, have an average number based on your warm traffic) on email rentals, but doesn’t pull
on Google…
It’s probably the ad 🙂
Test multiple ‘looks’ for the ad from headline, to images, to colors, and even the CALL TO ACTION, to find the ads that pull best on different platforms.
Not all Google ads pull well on Facebook
and not all Email rentals do well on
Outbrain.
Find what others are doing that appear
to be successful and ‘glean’ tips from
their ads to apply to your own…
Test…Analyze…Repeat!
#3 Manage Risk…MANAGE IT HARD 🙂 !
My biggest burns came from the CPM model…
It’s my fault for two reasons:
First, I trusted the advertiser too much.
I’m a trusting person, and when someone
puts out ‘average’ response rates from a list
I take them as honest people.
However…that hasn’t been the case.
Shame.
Second, with guys who didn’t hose me
I should have tested smaller.
The ROI was OK…but if I would have
tested SMALLER, then I wouldn’t
have gone too heavy into bad lists
and light into the good lists.
However, the BEST WAY to manage
the risk, in my opinion, is via CPL/CPC
model (cost per lead/cost per click)
It’s truly the BEST way to buy traffic…
But here’s the issue:
Most agencies say they can’t (which I
don’t buy), or they can’t produce enough
traffic!
Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Bing,
Outbrain, Taboola, and some GREAT
email management companies (ask
for intros) ALL DO CPC or CPL…
SO DO THAT!
It’s the best way to ensure performance
of YOUR OWN ADS! Clicks are what you’re
after to put actual people through the
funnel to turn into buyers.
Yes, I’m sure people will say ‘oh well, I
did CPM with so and so and it went
well…’. To you I say congrats 🙂
Because most everyone else I talk to
who buys traffic is rarely happy after
a CPM deal…there’s a reason why they
always have to do ‘make good’ email
sends 🙁
In closing…take my lessons to heart
and please try to apply them to your
own business!!
If you need help/guidance with any
of the above, reach out to me via email:
brad@bradstafford.com.
Would love your feedback!
Brad
by Brad | Nov 29, 2010 | Blog
Content.
It’s what drives your site, your newsletter, and your email communication. Having quality content is what sets you apart, it’s what gives your audience a reason to come back to you over and over again.
Being able to produce your own content is awesome. Your audience really connects with you, they learn what makes you tick, and if you do your content well it will lead to conversions.
But the demands of your audience pushes you to produce more content, more frequently! If you find yourself pressed to produce content daily…the quality will drop, visits will drop, and your conversions will fall.
Trust me, I’ve seen it many times before.
So how do you keep producing quality content, while keeping up with the insatiable desire for new content that your audience has, AND convert those readers??
It’s easy…DON’T DO IT ALL YOURSELF!!
What do I mean?
It’s simple really. All you really need to do is focus on YOUR content. Don’t worry about producing a TON of content, worry about the quality of that content. By focusing on what you know best, and not over stretching yourself, you’ll be providing your audience with exactly what they need. They’ll continue to trust you, learn from what you know, and buy what you tell them to!
It’s like my article “Biggest Problem We Face…” you need to be an expert and trusted source. Once you’re that trusted source, you can sell to them without really selling to them. If you can keep your content as the best it can be, by not over doing it, you’re going to find yourself dealing with more conversions with less hard selling.
I know what you’re thinking….“But what if I can’t write an article a day, or make a new video every day?”
Easy…find partners (affiliate partners ;)) that have quality content that YOU can use on your site, that converts your traffic for you!
Yes there are companies out there that produce CONTENT, not sales pitches, that you can share on your site, and earn affiliate commissions from…JUST BY POSTING CONTENT! But there are some serious things to consider…
First, you must remove the thought, ‘I can’t put other people on my site!’ Get over it. Your audience visits hundreds of other sites a day (just like you do) so why not keep them on your site, or reading your email, by sharing quality stuff that YOU find, AND earn you some passive income?? They trust you, they know you, they want to hear your opinions, and by finding quality partners with quality content and sales processes…you can make some easy money.
Second, by ‘use’, I don’t mean, remove their name and put your own. I mean share their content with your audience, with your own opinions about their content. You read something you like, take 5 minutes and tell your audience why you like it, or dislike it! It helps steer their market mindset, and helps put you as an authority on any subject…even if you aren’t! By taking the time to write a short intro (even if you disagree with the part of the article) your audience will visit the affiliate partners site, and fall into (what you hope will be) a successful sales process.
Third, consider CAREFULLY who you share on your site!! By sharing content on your site from others,you’re basically putting your stamp of approval on that person/company/site. Do some research before blindly posting. Is the person really a trader, or just marketer? Do they have bad reviews elsewhere on the web? Is their content really content, or just a sales pitch? Will you really make money? Are you publishing the content just because? Are the conversions STILL there…or have the fallen off the map?
If you’re sharing content it should be JUST THAT! You shouldn’t always make your audience have to opt-in to read the article, or watch the video. There’s a time and place for that kind of content and lead squeeze, but more often then not, you’re JUST sharing content. You also need to answer the above questions honestly as the content you post directly reflects on you…and your bottom line.
The biggest problem regarding quality affiliate content you’ll find….THERE ISN’T MUCH OUT THERE!!!
That’s where I come in 😉
I have a number of resources I can point you toward. Be it Forex, Stocks, Options, Futures, ETFs, or any other trading niche that YOU focus on! I know quality companies willing and able to share their affiliate tracked content with you! If you want me to point a company your way, JUST ASK IN THE COMMENTS SO IT CAN HELP EVERYONE!
BUT….
The first source you ALL should be using is Chris Vermeulen from TheTechnicalTraders.com. He manages 5 content focused sites covering Stocks, ETF’s, Futures, Forex, and Options. If you’d like to review his content, see ALL previous articles HERE. I manage the affiliate program AND the back-end conversion process. We’ve had a ton of success and affiliates continue to benefit from the content, and our soft-sell relationship focused sales approach. I’d like you to read more about TheTechnicalTraders.com here.
I also want you to use me as a VETTING source! I know pretty much everyone, know how they REALLY work, and want to continue to be an affiliate advocate for YOU! If you want my HONEST opinion on a company or a product, comment below or email me DIRECT HERE: brad@fmpgllc.com!
As always thanks for reading and I look forward to helping you succeed!
All my best,
Brad
P.S. What’s the best ‘type’ of content your audience wants?
by Brad | Sep 30, 2010 | Blog
As budgets tighten, companies in every niche are looking at that panic button harder and harder (if they’ve not already pushed it.) But this is the perfect time to actually increase revenue…and it can be done without buying ads or selling your soul.
Recently (well for a long time) the motto I’ve heard ad nausem has been “more leads, more eyeballs, more affiliates, more traffic, more blah, more blah.” Those things are VERY true in a sense. But with wallets tightening all over, getting those leads, eyeballs, and affiliates becomes exponentially more expensive. The people pushing the ‘more’ motto are leaving SO much money on the table, and really missing out on the easiest revenue available.
So how do you do it?
It’s a simple sales tactic that my Dad taught me YEARS ago…
When I was 12, I got my first job delivering newspapers. I kinda fell into it as my friend who was doing it, really hated it. (Come to find out he hated it because he was lazy and wasn’t any good at it.) So I took over in my neighborhood of 250+ homes with 25 papers to deliver (that’s only 10% of potential customers…not so great.) After the first paycheck I soon realized my early mornings, rain rides, and sore back was for chump change! But as a young and ambitious lad, I dove in head first.
So I went to my dad. I said something like “Dad this job sucks and I’d rather be playing street hockey. I’m busting my butt and I don’t even have enough money to consistently patronize the icecream man!”
I remember clear as day what he said to me next…”Brad, you’re not quitting. You know why?”
“No sir,” I told him.
“You’re not quitting because there’s low-hanging fruit in the neighborhood and once you grab it…you’ll be able to buy the whole icecream truck!”
“Dad, this is a planned neighborhood and the only fruit is the poison berries in the woods,” I told him.
He laughed and went onto explain what he meant. It turned out that two paperboys ago, almost 100 houses bought the newspaper. He told me to go to those people, introduce myself, ask them why they stopped buying, and promise them that if they signed up again their service would be second to none.
So out I went on a sunny Saturday afternoon. While my friends played street hockey all afternoon and into the evening, I was out knocking on doors and resubscribing old customers.
In one day I went from 25 papers to 93 (some people weren’t home!) By the end of the summer I was delivering over 210 newspapers and bought myself a new bike and had an endless supply of candy.
The point of the story is that the BEST way for you to squeeze more revenue is to focus on the people you had as paying subscribers, then focus on the tire kickers, then the lurkers! These people are the low-hanging fruit; they are just waiting to be picked. They know you, they know your products, and they have a relationship that you can monetize!
My question to you is this…
What are you doing to harvest that low-hanging fruit!?
If you have anything you’d like to share please do so in the comments section below as I know there are people desperate to hear from you!
Or if you have an idea you’ve been thinking about trying, but have questions…just ask! The comments section is for comments AND questions, so ask away!
All my best,
Brad
P.S. I have a number of methods, techniques, tricks, and tips which I’ll share once the comments get rolling…but I have to reserve some of my best methods for clients, sorry!
