PPC Associates Is Now 3Q Digital

I’m thrilled today to share a mini interview with my good friend, David Rodnitzky. David is a true leader in the digital marketing industry. David and his agency are also long time sponsors and supporter of PPC Ian. I have some exciting news! David’s agency, PPC Associates, is now 3Q Digital. You can read all about the rebrand here. 3Q is one of the best digital marketing agencies around, I cannot say enough great stuff about them. Want to learn all about 3Q Digital? Let’s jump into my mini interview with David…

Ian: David, congratulations on your big announcement!

David: Thanks Ian. It’s been a long journey to get to this point and I’m excited it’s finally arrived!

Ian: How did you decide to re-brand your company?

David: Over the last couple of years our clients have increasingly asked us to do more than “just SEM” for them. The most frequent requests we got involved SEO, Facebook PPC, display advertising, and creative work. We responded to these needs by building out dedicated teams to service each of these areas. Whereas three years ago 100% of our spend was SEM, today almost 20% is a combination of Facebook and display, plus we have about 10% of our customers also using us to manage their SEO. Our name – PPC Associates – implies that all we do is PPC (or SEM, same difference!). While we still see SEM as our core offering, we now have many people on the team that focus on other online marketing services, so it just made sense to come up with a new name that wasn’t so PPC-centric!

Ian: What’s in the future for 3Q Digital?

David: In the short term, we want to just get better at what we are already doing – SEM, SEO, Facebook PPC and display. In the long-term, we are continuing to evaluate different marketing channels that are complementary to our existing channels. If we think we can do an awesome job of servicing clients in these new channels – and we hear from clients that they need help in these areas – we would certainly consider expanding into new areas.

Ian: As a marketer, it must have been so much fun thinking through your branding strategy. How did you arrive at your new brand?

David: We actually had an internal contest where we asked everyone on the team to submit recommendations for the new name. We got about 100 responses and then we narrowed those 100 down to 17 semi-finalists. We had a management team vote on the 17 finalists and ended up with two finalists. We submitted the two finalists back to the greater team to vote and we went with the one that got the most votes. To give you a sense of how much we believe in democracy, the name I voted for lost!

Ian: David, huge thank you for the mini interview. As always, it’s such a pleasure connecting with one of the top marketers ever. I have so much respect for you, your amazing team, and your incredible business. You are an inspiration in our industry!

David: Thanks Ian. We are big fans of you and PPC Ian. If you decide to change your name from PPC Ian to something more generic, let me know, I can help!

That’s it for today, everyone. Make sure to head on over to the 3Q Digital website, and make sure to check out their amazing blog.

3Q Digital Logo © 3QDigital.com

Small Agencies Rule

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Sep 14 0

I’m a huge fan of smaller SEM/Digital agencies. I’m good friends with several digital advertising professionals who decided to start their own agencies. They are absolutely thriving! I even considered myself a single-client agency of sorts in years past when working on a consulting project here and there, although it has been a long time. In my professional career, I have had the true pleasure of working with a multitude of agencies of all sizes.

Over the years, I have grown a true affinity for smaller agencies. You get an unparalleled level of attention and dedication. For a smaller agency, every single client truly matters. I especially respect those smaller agencies that embrace all of the advantages of being smaller while also offering many of the advantages of larger operations (technology, scale, and breadth of experience).

Is was not always easy in the past since technology can be expensive for a smaller operation. However, recent technologies such as Acquisio Dashboard Edition open tremendous doors for smaller agencies everywhere, those who may have a lean technology budget and/or want to expand their technology over time as their agency grows. Acquisio is the performance marketing platform of choice for agencies, so Dashboard Edition is a natural fit.

When my good friends at Acquisio offered me the honor of guest posting on the blog, I thought I’d do a fun post about small agencies. In particular, I offer suggestions on Starting and Growing Your Small SEM Agency. Make sure to head on over to Acquisio to check it out. Thanks, Acquisio, for the opportunity, you are the best!

Image © Acquisio.com

Fun Times Speaking At Google

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Sep 8 3

I absolutely love public speaking. I always get an incredible rush, especially when speaking to large audiences. It’s also a fun and amazing way to give back to the digital marketing industry, one of my core goals each and every year. I have featured quite a few of my speaking events here on PPC Ian over the years. Here are some of my favorites:

Stanford Graduate School of Business (2010) – Part 1, Part 2
Stanford Graduate School of Business (2011) – Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Search Insider Summit (2013)

Recently, an amazing opportunity presented itself: I had the incredible honor of speaking to the Google AdWords Product Marketing team. It was a truly amazing experience, one of my favorite speaking opportunities. Formatted as a pure Q&A format, the Google team asked some truly great questions. I particularly enjoyed sharing my large, enterprise-level AdWords experience with Google, and hope my presentation helped spark some ideas in Google’s product marketing roadmap.

I also enjoyed staying after the presentation and forming friendships. It truly is all about your network and friendships, that’s how this unique opportunity presented itself. Matt and Google, I truly appreciate the opportunity, please let me know if I can ever be of assistance!

PPC Ian Speaking At Google

Speaking At Google

Chilling At Four Seasons Westlake Village

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Sep 7 0

My amazing wife, Nicole, and I work super hard. We’re both in the world of digital marketing. We truly enjoy and cherish our fast-paced careers in this amazing industry. As mentioned in my 2013 goals, I’m a big believer in the power of vacations, especially for busy working professionals. It’s all about longevity. You’ve got to take vacation from time-to-time to recharge the batteries and drive maximum results for your company.

I’m also a big believer in people. In this life, it’s all about supporting your family/friends, giving back, and truly enjoying the good company of family/friends.

To that end, Nicole and I jumped at the opportunity to attend a wedding of one of my good high school friends in the Westlake Village area of Los Angeles. We ended up staying at the Four Seasons Westlake Village. We had so much fun! We got to spend some fun time with my parents, enjoyed tons of fun at the wedding, and had some time to relax and unwind at the Four Seasons. We were super impressed with the hotel and will definitely be going back there in the future.

My tip of the day: The summer is almost over. Have you taken any time off in 2013? If not, make sure to take some time. Make sure to spend time with family and friends, and make sure to recharge your batteries. I know so many people who max out their PTO and end up losing PTO hours due to heavy workload. Don’t let this happen, get a little break in there and you will unlock happiness, health, and productivity/results.

Ian and Nicole at Four Seasons Westlake Village

Four Seasons Westlake Village

Image in this post © PPCIan.com

Kenshoo Social: Facebook Performance Skyrockets

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Aug 29 0

Long time search engine marketing professionals have a huge amount of respect for Kenshoo, one of the most amazing digital marketing platforms in existence. Kenshoo Search is in an elite category of platforms and consistently impresses me (and all other digital marketing professionals). In addition to Kenshoo Search, Kenshoo also offers an amazing social platform, aptly named Kenshoo Social. If you’re a digital marketing professional that runs campaigns on Facebook and other social networks, you absolutely must audition Kenshoo Social. Kenshoo Social is not just for social media professionals, it’s for performance-driven digital marketers running huge campaigns on social networks.

Today, I wanted to share a new infographic from Kenshoo Social. In their Facebook Ad Trends Infographic, Kenshoo Social shows just how quickly Facebook is improving from a direct-response standpoint. Comparing Q2, 2013 vs. Q1, 2013, it’s absolutely staggering how quickly Facebook is improving on metrics such as CTR, CPC, clicks, conversions, and revenue. I highly recommend checking out this infographic as a way to benchmark your own direct response campaigns on Facebook. Are you experiencing rapid improvement in your performance? Many advertisers are. As a side takeaway: Always keep testing! Something that may have not worked for you just a few quarters ago could now be one of your best channels.

In addition to overall Facebook trends improving at rapid pace, Kenshoo Social also finds that Real Time Dynamic FBX Creative Outperforms Static Creative. This makes perfect sense – get as granular and targeted as possible. Your prospective customers will appreciate the customized experience and respond to your FBX ads. One thing is for sure: If you’re a big advertiser on Facebook, make sure to reach out to Kenshoo Social to see how their platform can help your program scale.

Kenshoo Social: Click Image to See Full Infographic

Image in this post © Kenshoo Social

Creating A Great Corporate Culture Like InsideVault

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Aug 25 0

Like so many digital marketing professionals, I’m a huge fan of great corporate cultures. It’s so much fun to be part of a strong team, it’s so motivating. Create an amazing culture like my good friends at InsideVault SEM Platform and your employees will be happy, motivated, retained, and growing in their careers. Everyone wants to have a great culture and everyone wants to create one. However, it’s easier said than done. Leveraging my observations of InsideVault (they have one of the best cultures I have ever observed), I wanted to share a few tips on building that amazing corporate culture everyone wants!

Teamwork

Great culture starts with a family-like team. Hire people that work well together and get along incredibly well. As one strategy, consider going into business with familiar faces. If you’re able to hire a core team that has worked together in the past, you will have an instant family-like team. Of course, you also want to hire new faces and welcome them into your family (old and new faces are key to the success of any business). My friends Chaitanya, Brian, and Guillermo all worked together at Nextag so they had that family-like foundation having worked together for so many years. They hired other familiar faces, the best of the best. In parallel, they brought new members into the InsideVault family. What resulted is a true family-like environment where everyone truly enjoys working together, how motivating!
Superior corporate cultures require constant attention and team events. Important note: It does not have to cost a lot. In fact, money is not really a factor at all here. It’s the thought that counts. Teams need time to bond. Teams need time to enjoy each others’ company outside of work. Check out the InsideVault Facebook Page. Every single week, the entire team is enjoying fun events, together as a team! Some recent examples: team lunch from Sushi Plus, good times at a team break, Sprinkles Cupcakes break, horizontal reserve beer tasting paired with food, outdoor movie night, day at the movies, and so much more. These guys do several fun team events each week. Every time I’m over at the InsideVault Office, I see employees working late into the night. Everyone is super motivated! Why? They are a family and truly enjoy what they do. All of the fun event planning truly makes the team and shows the team that the company cares.
Great cultures require a comfortable work environment. Head on over to the InsideVault office and you will see a relaxed environment. These guys have a convenient location, comfortable sofas, a life sized Justin Bieber cardboard pop-up, a fun and relaxed environment, and a casual dress code (t-shirts are ok if you’d like). Keeping things fun and relaxed is key. The mind works better when you are free to be yourself. InsideVault truly invests in their employees by keeping the work environment fun, casual, and friendly.
Amazing cultures require purpose. Every single day, InsideVault is pushing forward to build the best possible SEM platform. They have true purpose. Everyone is aligned behind the goal of making the lives of digital marketing professionals easier and better. I can totally respect that, as someone who has been enjoying the corporate digital marketing career path for 10 years. Anything that can make my day easier and more empowered is something I place great value upon. In speaking with numerous employees at InsideVault, it is clear that they are incredibly focused, driven, and aligned behind a single goal.
Culture requires people that care about people. If you’re just in business to make money, you probably won’t have a great culture. However, if you’re in business to make money, change lives, grow careers, and help people, it’s likely you are set up for a great culture. Have a true passion for people. That’s the foundation of any great culture. At InsideVault, the team truly cares about people, both customers and employees, creating an awesome culture.

Auditioning SEM platforms? Make absolutely sure to reach out to my friends at InsideVault.

Image of Teamwork © iStockPhoto – IvelinRadkov

Are Junior Level PPC Jobs Disappearing?

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Aug 16 0

I recently wrote a post about SEM Automation and PPC Careers. An amazing PPC Ian reader (ppcKnight) was wondering in particular if all these amazing automation platforms, those built in-house and those available to purchase, are actually taking away from career opportunities? I shared some of my thoughts on the topic in that post, in particular why I think automation is actually helping build careers in digital marketing. Today, I wanted to answer a follow-up question from another PPC Ian reader (and friend), in response to that post. Sid wonders in particular if those more junior level jobs are becoming irrelevant due to automation. Thanks, Sid for reading and for the inspiration, I really like your question and I’m honored to answer with my 2 cents on the topic!

What About Junior Level Jobs In SEM? Are They Going Away?

Get Your Dream Job

Hi Ian,
It’s always very nice to read your blog. Of course, adopting the automation within the SEM will certainly help a company to scale or ramp up the campaigns and diversify your skills and driving new initiatives. However, the automation will eradicate entry level jobs within the SEM industry, what do you think? One has to be an expert level to work on the bid management tools like: Marin or Kenshoo or should gain superior knowledge before rubbing hands with the tools. What has been your experience like once you’ve executed the automation? Can you share what kind of jobs were created once the automation was deployed?

Moving forward, companies would like to automate the digital process be it SEM or display network through integrating demand side platform. I look forward to hearing for your thoughts on this.

Thanks,
Siddharth

The Argument In Favor of Junior Level Jobs

Siddharth, thanks again for the question. Here are some of the core reasons I think junior and intermediate level jobs in SEM are here to stay.

Certain projects require manual execution. One great example is writing customized ad copy. Another is executing upon an account restructure. While the strategy behind the ad copy approach and the strategy behind the account reorganization may be derived as a team effort (with leadership from more senior team members), there is a clear need for more junior and intermediate level marketers to execute upon the strategy. Many of the SEM accounts in existence today are the result of years and years of different managers. In short, many could use a good reorganization, creating a multitude of manual work.
It’s impossible to automate everything. A large number of second and third tier search engines do not offer APIs. For the foreseeable future, I see a more junior/intermediate role in managing/optimizing second tier search engines. It’s incredibly valuable, leveraged work, but requires massive time and attention. With more and more marketing dollars flowing online, marketers need to explore all opportunities including second and third tier engines. Someone needs to manage them.
Human interaction cannot be automated. Certain aspects of PPC require frequent human interaction and follow-up. While overall relationship management with search engines is a more strategic, senior role, various day-to-day aspects of the relationship are perfect for someone newer to the PPC career path. For example: Policing your trademark. Even though automated systems exist to locate the offenders, an employee needs to follow up with search engines, websites, and the internal legal team to appropriately address trademark offenses. They never stop, creating an unending queue of work.
Someone needs to take notes and document meetings. The plethora of opportunities in digital marketing is unparalleled. I have found it challenging at times to keep everything organized because we move at such a quick pace. Senior leaders on the team can rely on newer team members to document meetings and send out notes.
What about testing new keywords and ads? These are two projects at the core of search marketing that will never go away. Automation and platforms make all of this easier, but cannot fully automate it. Why? The best ads have never been created. The best keywords have no search volume because they take advantage of future trends. Start showing up before the trend hits and you will be a true winner. While the more junior team member will work with a more senior team member on the strategy, the process of deploying the keywords and ads is a great project for someone newer to paid search.
Great digital marketing platforms are not just for experts. When it comes to build vs. buy decisions on SEM automation, I’m a fan of buying. Why? In house platforms are rarely pretty. They are rarely easy to use for junior team members. However, when you buy a platform, you’re buying not only an amazing back end technology, but also an easy to use front end interface, complete with tutorials and documentation. There is no reason junior employees cannot leverage these platforms, of course with some guidance and supervision from a more senior level team member.
As an overall trend, more money is flowing online. With increased money being spent on digital marketing, there is more work. I feel it each and every week – more and more to do, more and more opportunities! With more work, the only way to scale is to hire, expand, and delegate. A well-functioning team requires members of all levels. As digital marketing professionals, we are all stretched for time. I see no end in sight for junior, intermediate, and advanced digital marketing professionals!

Agree, disagree, thoughts? Please write in with your opinions!

Building Brands With PPC

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Aug 11 0

PPC is not just about direct response advertising. PPC is a core channel within any brand marketer’s toolkit. Learn today why I view PPC as a brand and direct response powerhouse. Learn how you can communicate the brand building value of your PPC efforts. Combine these with the direct response you are already driving, and the paid search channel is unstoppable, in my opinion.

Core paid search (Google AdWords and Bing Ads) drives substantial impressions. Even putting aside clicks and conversions, your efforts are getting your brand name and message out there to those who are most interested in your goods/services. Count those impressions and report on them. Map your adgroups to your key strategic segments. Let your management know the value you are driving in getting your brand name in front of your company’s most important target segments, at the best possible time (when the are actively searching and ready to buy).
Core paid search, via day parting, allows you to advertise when the time is right. Let’s say that’s a big media event in your industry. From the brand advertiser’s perspective, paid search offers an easy way to throttle up/down based on the brand impact opportunity. Be involved in marketing strategy discussions, share the amazing program you manage, and leverage paid search to take optimal advantage of key brand moments of opportunity.
Retargeting (also known as remarketing) typically falls under the paid search team. Retargeting is one of the most efficient marketing channels around. It also happens to be one of the best brand building opportunities online. You are delivering targeted creative to those who already visited your site. If done right, you are also driving an incredible number of impressions at some of the lowest CPMs available. Leverage those ultra low CPMs and ultra qualified audience to truly build a connection with your customer, the core of brand building. Make sure to report impressions and CPMs, in addition to middle click, last click, and view through conversions when discussing your retargeting program.
Don’t forget about Facebook advertising! Whether you are running direct response campaign, leveraging Custom Audiences to build loyalty with existing customers, or retargeting via the Facebook Exchange (FBX), Facebook delivers an enormous number of impressions at low CPMs. Facebook campaigns are not just about direct response. If you don’t also value the volume of impressions, low CPMs, and ability to target very granular segments, you’re missing half the value.
Embrace the new Yahoo! Stream Ads product. Ever wish you could do a brand building takeover on the Yahoo! homepage but don’t have quite enough budget? Stream Ads allow you to show up on the Yahoo! homepage, and deliver a huge number of impressions at very low CPMs. In my opinion, it doesn’t get much better than the Yahoo! homepage, and Stream Ads are a prime example of brand building via PPC.
Advertise on the Google Display Network (GDN). Whether you’re running text ads or image ads, GDN offers the ability to quickly drive direct response, while enjoying a huge number of impressions and low CPMs.

At the end of the day, we tend to focus on last-click conversions in the world of PPC and digital marketing. Take a step back and also value those impressions and brand building opportunities. Every single time someone sees your ad is a great opportunity to communicate your brand. There are few other channels that offer the scale and efficiency of PPC when it comes to delivering targeted impressions and messages to the most broad or precise segments.

Will Automation Destroy Your PPC Career?

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Aug 4 4

I’m a huge fan of digital marketing automation. I have written extensively about SEM automation here and all of my favorite platforms. One of loyal readers, ppcKnight, wrote in with a super interesting question. (Thank you ppcKnight for reading and for the question, you rule!) I have pasted ppcKnight’s full question below, and here’s the main punchline: Will automation eliminate careers in digital marketing? Today, I will respond to ppcKnight’s question. Preview: I’ll share why automation is absolutely critical. It enhances and grows careers in digital marketing.

Will SEM Automation Eliminate My Career?

Production Automation

Hi Ian, remember me? Long time ago I asked some questions about work-life balance in PPC and you gave some brilliant answers! I now have a new, very important question, and would appreciate to hear your thoughts on that.

I am still at the same company (client side) and am the global PPC Manager. My role is less technical and more… marketing. Recently, our tech guys helped the Director of Online Marketing automate everything (you surely have heard about AdWords API etc) thereby making 80% of the PPC team redundant. That was a lot!

I have heard of slightly similar stories in other client-side PPC departments/teams – If this trend continues, will in-house/client-side PPC become extinct as a career? If not, how can a PPC professional be more valuable than automation, especially in-house/client-side?

Would really really appreciate to hear your thoughts on this, especially because I love my job, I love PPC, but I don’t want to be replaced by a machine…

My 2 Cents On Digital Marketing Automation and Digital Marketing Careers

I’m here to say that SEM automation absolutely does not eliminate careers in digital marketing. In fact, it enhances them! Here’s why:

Digital marketing is getting more and more complex by the day! Digital marketing professionals are doing even more than before, with no end in sight. Many digital marketing professionals are expanding from Google AdWords and Bing Ads to manage new programs such as Facebook, LinkedIn, display advertising, retargeting, and so more. Many digital marketers are taking control of new programs, including the customer experience. I, for one, love utilizing ion interactive for building incredibly sophisticated landing page experiences. Many digital marketing professionals are venturing into other closely related marketing channels such as email marketing and even direct mail. Many digital marketers are testing new beta opportunities on Google AdWords and Bing Ads, expanding the sophistication of their core programs. The only way to scale, in my opinion, is via automation. Automate as much as possible so you can focus on new initiatives and new complexities. Automation is your key to career growth.
Advertising dollars are shifting online at a rapid pace. Competition in many/most categories is increasing with little relief in site. The only way to keep your edge? Innovation! Marketers are being challenged to push the limits of digital advertising. I’m a huge proponent of automation because it offers precision and scale. Let computers do the manual stuff so you can focus on clever new strategies to outsmart your competition. As marketers we are judged on performance. Automation is your friend in hitting your numbers and goals.
Humans are incredibly smart and creative. As marketers we deserve to be thinking about marketing strategy. I’m talking about truly knowing the customer and crafting amazing campaigns. This vision becomes so much more possible with great automation. Automate the routine, manual tasks so you can focus on the higher level strategy. While automation may change the day-to-day of many online marketers (less manual, repetitive work), those same marketers will now be focused on new, more exciting challenges. Automation grows careers and allows marketers to push our industry forward with new strategies.
Automation requires incredibly intelligent marketers to set up and manage the system. Many savvy marketers are integrating automation deeply into their organizations. They’re starting to import CRM data into their bid management platform so the automation can bid even more efficiently. Such integration requires a truly seasoned marketer, one who can work cross-functionally throughout their organization. There are always more opportunities to integrate. There are always increased opportunities to leverage automation in new ways. Platforms are always releasing new features that will help you and your company scale. Exciting work for digital marketing professionals, especially those that can manage the technology platforms, has no end in sight!
Automation helps grow teams. I have managed digital marketing programs at four large companies during my career in online advertising. In all four cases, we implemented and grew our automation. In all four cases, we actually ended up expanding our teams as automation grew. Why? Complex programs need amazing teams. As programs grow, companies make more money. With more money, comes more responsibility and more future opportunity. There’s no better way to tap into that opportunity than to hire world class marketers. As someone who has embraced automation for ten years, I have never seen automation actually shrink a digital marketing team. It’s always the other way around!

This is not meant to be a comprehensive list, but just a few of the top reasons why careers in SEM and digital advertising are here to stay. In my opinion, technology and automation increase the need for talented individuals. What do you think? How has automation impacted your team and digital marketing program? Do you leverage a digital marketing technology platform? If not, make sure to start auditioning right away, you will be super impressed!

Taking Advantage of Surges In Energy

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Jul 29 0

I’m always focused on time management. As a digital marketing professional, I’m always wishing for more time. There is so much opportunity out there, and so little time. Today, I wanted to share a time management framework that has been helping me a lot lately, centered around the concept of embracing and taking advantage of surges in energy. It’s a strategy that continues to improve and evolve every single week!

Today

I like to equate my time management philosophy to digital marketing media planning. From a media planning standpoint, we allocate budget to the most productive channels, and take away budget from lower performing channels. Even within a channel (such as paid search), we allocate budget to the most profitable keywords, and remove budget from less productive keywords. By optimizing a portfolio of many on a granular level, the overall sum has the best aggregate results.

Time management is the same. Do you ever feel inspired? It doesn’t matter if it’s 6:00 am, 9:00 am, or 11:00pm. Inspiration comes in waves, it can just hit you! When I feel inspired, I like to harness that energy and keep going until I drop. I view those times of the week when I’m most inspired as the best components of the overall portfolio that makes up my productive workweek. You want to overweight those great moments, so I invest in them heavily. The challenge here is they can come and go. You don’t always know when they’ll hit, so be ready.

Have times of the day or week when you are less productive? Under-invest in such times. If it’s 5:00pm and you’re not getting much done, go home. If it’s mid-day and you’re feeling sluggish, focus on easy tasks. I especially like filling lower energy time periods with more routine tasks that don’t involve quite as much creativity. I also give myself a rest during unproductive times. There’s only so much time in the week. If you go all out during those surges of energy, you need to conserve your energy (within reason) during those slower times (of course, only if outside standard business/work hours). By minimizing low productivity times, you again improve your average productivity for the entire workweek.

Want to supercharge this strategy? I truly recommend getting into work early. There are certain times when you can expect a surge in energy and it will often come (at least for me) when I’m at work super early. It’s a very calm time of day and a great time to surge through work. I also enjoy the night hours after work so I’m super open to working very late at night, embracing my surge in energy. I know that I’ll reward myself later that week with an easy day when I feel lower energy so the strategy is very sustainable.

Another way to boost this strategy? Eat well, exercise well, and drink plenty of water. I have found that a healthy diet helps supercharge productivity as well. You will find increased overall surges of energy if you take great care of yourself.

Some other tips that can enhance this strategy:

Surround yourself with positive, happy, inspired people. You will find yourself more inspired and productive if you’re around high, positive energy.
When you’re inspired and riding the wave of energy, stay focused. New ideas will pop into your mind. Take notes so you don’t forget later but quickly get back to project at hand. I like to listen to music (with my headphones) to stay super focused.
Make sure to give back. As a leader at your company and field, try to inspire productivity and surges of energy in your team and others. The productivity is contagious!