My Complete Guide To Personalization

Is personalization towards the top of your 2016 marketing strategy? Do you have a little extra time to read a ~3,000 word post that will take your segmentation and personalization strategy to the next level? I just wrote a guest blog post over at the incomparable Acquisio blog that is sure to help!

I’m thrilled to share with you one of my longest blog posts ever, my 7 Marketing Personalization Tips That Will Launch Your Campaigns Into Hyper-Drive. Packed with actionable insights and even a custom segmentation map, I’m really proud of my latest guest blog post.

Please head on over to Acquisio to check out my post and let me know what you think! I hope my suggestions take your marketing strategy to new heights.

Image of Night Flight © PPCIan.com

Your Margin Is Made On The Margin

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Feb 22 0

I’m a tremendous fan of business and life quotes. They fuel me with ideas, motivation, and determination. While I cannot take credit for today’s quote (it’s from an executive at a prior company), it’s one of the best I have ever heard. "Your margin is made on the margin." Today, I’ll share what this quote means and how it can deliver success in your business and personal life.

What’s Margin All About?

We’re all in business to make money, or margin. Margin, simply defined, equals revenue minus cost. It’s your profit, the money your business makes. When businesses are new, they often focus on top line revenue growth. They may even drive a negative margin to reach scale. However, at the end of the day, all companies (both new and old) are valued on their projected ability to deliver margin (and ultimately pay back a portion of their margin to shareholders via dividends).

Margin is a leveraged concept and every dollar of margin is so valuable. Let’s look at a real world example. Right now, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) is trading at $104.62, with a market capitalization of $289.48 billion and an earnings per share (EPS) of $5.48. Put simply, $5.48 is the margin per share, the profit. $104.62 / $5.48 = 19.1 price earnings ratio (or PE ratio for short). Every dollar of margin creates 19.1 dollars in market capitalization value! Margin, especially predictable and stable margin, is worth its weight in gold.

Margin Is Leveraged Value

Because every dollar of margin creates many dollars in market capitalization value (19.1 in the case of JNJ), margin is leveraged value. The savvy businessperson learns that it’s all about creating more margin, and also realizes that every little bit counts.

Businesses Are Expensive

If you are an entrepreneur, you have likely seen first-hand that it’s difficult to drive large amounts of margin. Starting a business is expensive. You have so many costs! Things get easier in the long-run, especially for large enterprises like JNJ, but even mid-sized companies with hundreds of millions in revenue face margin pressure. What can you do when your costs seem to pile up and you want to squeeze out margin? Just remember, every dollar counts and your margin is made on the margin! Be creative.

It’s All About Your Marginal Activities

Due to competitive forces and the large expenses associated with running a business, your core operation may not always drive a ton of margin. In fact, it may just break even. This is where your marginal activities come into play, your extras (or ancillary sales).

Let’s take the example of a grocery store, a very low margin business. Perhaps you don’t make a ton of money from standard purchases. However, once your customer reaches the checkout line and starts picking up some of those ancillary products near the cash register (candy, magazines, and extras), your start earning margin. Your margin is made on those marginal (extra) products! The really clever supermarket operator learns to be creative and test. Why not introduce new, high margin products at the cash register?

Let’s take the example of auto insurance lead generation business, a business that has faced tons of pressure over the last few years due to a competitive digital advertising landscape. Historically, such companies would buy paid traffic from Google AdWords, generate leads, and then sell those leads for a profit. However, CPCs have risen on Google due to brand advertisers going big. Those same lead aggregators may be struggling to drive a profit. That being said, the savvy ones start testing marginal opportunities. Why not retarget your customer base with closely related ancillary products such as life insurance? Those ancillary or marginal products could take a break-even business to one driving a solid margin. The margin is made on those clever, marginal sales.

Another example: The expensive urban apartment in San Francisco. Renting the apartment costs you $4,500. However, have a car and want a parking spot? That’s going to cost you an extra $500/month. With the expensive cost of land, construction, and operations, the apartment owner may not make a huge profit on base rent, even at those high rents. However, the ancillary revenue from parking could be pure profit. The clever landlord takes it even further an offers storage lockers for an extra $300/month. The clever landlord earns a ton of margin on the margin, turning a low margin asset into an incredible margin one!

It’s Not All About The Money

So far, I’ve been writing about margin from a business financial perspective. However, did you know that margin also applies to other aspects of your life?

Let’s take the example of your career. Do you work a standard 9-to-5 schedule, or do you bring some work home with you? By investing just a few extra hours per week at home, you will see incredible benefits in your career. That extra, ancillary time creates a levered payout on your own career’s margin.

What about people? Do you manage others? Perhaps you do the basic 1-on-1s, career planning, and reviews. What if you invested just a little more time? What if you really got to know your team members? What if you took them out to lunch and went above-and-beyond to invest in their careers? This marginal time invested is your margin. It’s the difference between going nowhere and building a true team of superstars. It’s that little extra that makes all of the leveraged difference, developing great employees and great careers.

What about your health? No time left after the busy workday? You would be surprised how fit you can get exercising just a few minutes each day on an intense and regular basis. Lately, I’ve been taking high energy breaks to randomly do a few pushups, squats, and/or sit-ups at random intervals during the day. Again, your margin is all made on the margin!

What about investing? No money left after you pay all your bills? Consider investing just a little bit each month. The miracle that is compound interest will snowball your wealth if you’re in it for the long run.

Your Dreams Come True On The Margin

The list goes on… At the end of the day, the reason I like this quote so much is it gives hope and promise to any situation. Just when you think you are barely getting by, or barely doing a good-enough job, know that the extra amount invested can go exponential. Your horizontal level of growth (or lack thereof) can go vertical once you hit the marginal activities. In pursuing your dreams, never forget about those marginal, ancillary, clever activities. They are your ticket to success!

Full Disclosure: Long Johnson & Johnson Stock (JNJ)
Image of San Francisco Skyline © PPCIan.com
Image of JNJ Stock Quote © Yahoo! Finance

Interview: Nicole Mennicke, VP of Ops at Rocket Clicks

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Feb 15 0

A few weeks ago, I had the great honor of interviewing Tyler Dolph, President of Rocket Clicks digital marketing agency. Today’s post is part two of my Rocket Clicks interview series, an interview with Nicole Mennicke. Nicole Mennicke is VP of Operations at Rocket Clicks and a personal friend of mine, someone who I have known for many years. Like the other employees at Rocket Clicks, Nicole is one of the kindest people I have ever met in business, and someone who I highly recommend as a digital marketing leader and businessperson. Over the years, I have had the great fortune of collaborating with Nicole on the latest and greatest in digital marketing. Today, I am so incredibly honored to learn insights from one of the best…

Ian: Nicole, thank you so much for taking the time to share your story with the PPC Ian community.

Nicole: Thank you, Ian! I’ve been following you and your blog for years and it’s an honor to be considered.

Ian: Nicole, we have known each other for a while now. The industry has changed so much over the years. What have been some of the biggest changes you have noticed in digital marketing?

Nicole: The most exciting change to digital marketing is the increasing amount of available data. Why I fell in love with the industry 7 years ago is still the same today – it’s advertising impact you can see, touch and feel through data. The self-service, auction based advertising model has allowed advertisers to give as little or as much as they want and equip them with every tool to measure the effectiveness of their efforts.

In that opportunity also lies one of the biggest challenges. Every new team member quickly becomes sick of the phrase "80/20… 80/20…" however the more seasoned team members know it’s essential to avoid paralysis by analysis. With the available data, performance metrics, micro/macro conversions and way to combine them all, we have to know when to stop analyzing and start making decisions.

Ian: Some strategies change, others don’t. What are some of the newer strategies you’re testing these days? What are some of the old favorites that have served Rocket Clicks and your clients well over time?

Nicole: We are seeing a ton of value with looking at data in new ways using scripts in creative ways. For example, we all know quality score is king! Using different scripts we have an automated way to passively collect daily or weekly quality score data. We have been able to really map how our changes impact quality score, and improve the overall quality of our clients’ accounts.

As for old favorites that served Rocket Clicks and our clients well, I think the key is knowing when they can and should be used and when they shouldn’t. One strategy we’ve seen the most success with is isolating your highest volume/performing keywords and spending most of your time doing all you can to make them the best they can be. Small improvements on these keywords always bring the highest gains.

Ian: Rocket Clicks is such an amazing company. Please tell me your story. How did you get started at Rocket Clicks? How has your career evolved at Rocket Clicks over time?

Nicole: I came into this industry like many others have – without a clue it even existed! All I knew was I was looking for a "marketing job", whatever that actually means. I applied for a paid search analyst position with our parent company to manage the PPC account of a sister company. I joined without knowing that within 3 weeks I would be employee #2 of a PPC agency (soon to be) named Rocket Clicks! A copy of Definitive Guide to Google Adwords, by Perry Marshall was dropped on my desk, and the first 4 team members on the PPC side of the business were tasked to figure out pay per click marketing.

I went from personally managing clients PPC accounts to managing a small team of analysts overseeing their own client books, and then in 2010 moved into the role as Director of the PPC Advertising department.

As we grew and scaled as an agency, there was an increasing need to create consistency across the company to better develop and document our core systems & processes for team member development, client services, and company operations. It fit perfectly in my strength as well as allowing me to work closer with all parts of the company.

Ian: In your opinion, what differentiates Rocket Clicks in the world of digital marketing agencies?

Nicole: I have a lot to say on this one. 🙂 From day 1 Rocket Clicks’s goal was to be top of class digital marketers that specialized only in PPC and SEO, focused on technical improvement to be the sharpest, most strategic marketers around, and committed to leadership development and coaching for every team member. We became marketing PARTNERS with our clients and never just their vendors. The coolest part is 7 years later, those core goals still resonate in everything we do, and is apparent in every relationship we have.

We spend our clients’ advertising dollars as if it our own money. When things go well we celebrate together, and when they don’t we fail fast and go back to the drawing board. We have a seat at the table when discussing overall digital marketing strategy, and we value every client relationship.

We don’t have our team members managing dozens of clients at a time. We don’t manage accounts off a checklist – we focus our energy on the most impactful work. Our team members live, breath and dream PPC and they love what they do! Every team member in the company has some involvement in day to day account management and strategy. It keeps us on the cutting edge.

We strongly believe that competency sells. We don’t have a sales team. The account managers, analysts, and department heads sell our services. We don’t promise the moon with unrealistic guarantees or give you only a sliver of strategy with a tease to "pay for more". We demonstrate our competency and show you what you can expect in a relationship, long before you are a client – Transparency works!

It’s easy to fall into more typical agency tendencies, but we do things different here, and I that’s why I am still here today.

Ian: Nicole, you have lived a mobile lifestyle, and have experienced many different areas. This is one of the things I love most about digital marketing. What has been your experience with the mobile digital marketing lifestyle? Any tips for others considering a mobile lifestyle?

Nicole: It’s been a fun ride! For more context, about 2 years after working at Rocket Clicks, my husband, now a Major in the US Army, came home and told me that the Army was moving us to Sacramento, CA. Rocket Clicks and I agreed to do a 6 month "remote trial". That turned into 3 moves to 3 different time zones, having a kiddo on either coast of the US, and having a ton of awesome experiences with interesting people, while doing work I love, for a company I am crazy about.

I agree with you, Ian, a huge perk of this industry is the ability to do what we do from anywhere in the world. With that said, there is a common misconception that a "work-from-home" arrangement is easy. Anyone new to working remotely or untraditional office hours, I highly suggest they define their own personal work policies. In my situation, my location changes often. My own personal policies in order of important are:

Create an office area – even if you work in your kitchen (been there), create an environment where if feels like an office and it feels like you "go to work" each day. In my personal experiences, couches never worked for me!
Commit to a schedule – it’s a slippery slope when you become too flexible with your own schedule. Establishing working hours with family and friends not only demand respect but also makes you respect it more yourself.
Remove distractions – Get away from the TV! Get in the habit of never turning it on, or just remove it out of your office area. That goes for any distraction that pulls your attention away from your work. Work for a week, you’ll quickly find out what those things are.
Don’t skimp on equipment – nothing is more frustrating that having slow internet, a crummy chair, a keyboard with a sticky key, or a monitor with a strange wavy pink line. These little can become excuses quickly!
Be prepared for anything! – Expect power outages – that way they are a little less infuriating when they happen. Stake out all the closest restaurants and coffee shops with Wifi. When you travel, don’t rely on hotel Wifi! Just ask for an Ethernet cable. Every time.

Ian: As someone responsible for operations, you have a very important role at Rocket Clicks. What are some of the skills most important for the VP of Operations role? For those aspiring to grow their careers, what advice would you offer?

Nicole: Find your own organization and time management approach. Not only are we in a constantly evolving industry you have to be able to prioritize what is the most important thing to act on NOW, what is a "shiny red ball" distraction, and what is important but can wait. On a personal level and for people on your team, don’t neglect team development – both technical and professional.

Ian: What is your favorite thing about digital marketing? Least favorite?

Nicole: The ability to impact people’s business and lives with the work we do is so rewarding. I have seen companies double in size, move into new buildings, expand their offerings, and create local jobs that weren’t there before. Digital marketing creates a level playing field and allows business to scale at their pace.

Least Favorite: Slow moving parity between advertising platforms. Although very different from the past, it can still be be painful transitioning from Adwords to BingAds to Gemini, etc.

Ian: What is your favorite app and why?

Nicole: Would it sound ridiculous if I said the Adwords App? Well, it’s definitely up there! Other than that, I use the Audible app almost daily. The most recent place we call home is in West Des Moines, IA, which is about 6 hours away from the Rocket Clicks office. I do a lot of driving! I listen to books when I drive, when I’m at the gym, and when I travel. My husband would tell me to be honest and list one of the most recent game that has caught my attention. 😉

Ian: The PPC Ian community is always looking to learn and grow. What tips would you offer for those seeking more knowledge in digital marketing and business overall?

Nicole: I learn something new every day. It’s not hard to do when you are in this industry. There are a ton of great blogs to follow for all levels. This industry is full of incredibly smart people with great opinions and views of how to best leverage digital marketing for all kinds of businesses. Find those blogs and get them sent directly to your email. Once you find something that is interesting, or you don’t understand, dig more.

Ian: Nicole, it has been a true honor and please connecting with you today. Thank you for this great opportunity. I personally learned so much and I know that all of the readers will agree. Thanks for giving back to the community and sharing your insights!

Nicole: Thank you!

Everyone, thanks for reading. Enjoy my interview with Nicole Mennicke as much as I did? Please make sure to read my interview with Tyler Dolph, President of Rocket Clicks, if you have not already! Also, if you’re interested in learning more about Rocket Clicks, I highly recommend heading over to their website and reaching out.

Rocket Clicks

Images in this post © Nicole Mennicke and Rocket Clicks

eBay Is A Microcosm of the Entrepreneur’s Journey

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Feb 9 0

Over the years, on and off, I have been selling items on eBay (and occasionally buying too). Recently, I started selling a few items again and have been having a blast. If you’re a digital marketer and/or entrepreneur, I want to encourage you to start selling on eBay. It’s not about the profits you will earn, it’s about the education you will receive in what I like to call, “The school of eBay.” eBay is a microcosm of the entrepreneur’s journey. Let’s explore some of my personal eBay insights…

Entrepreneurial Insight 1: You are a salesperson and marketer

I’m a big fan of digital marketing as a career path because the best digital marketers are set up to do anything, including staring their own business or even running a huge business. Why? Sales and marketing skills are absolutely foundational. If you do not know how to sell/market, how are you going to convince people to buy your product, get investors to invest in your company, and influence employees to join your team?

Want to test a new sales strategy? Want to test new marketing ad copy? eBay provides the most amazing platform to test anything. I have experienced first hand that great sales and marketing drives more bids and a higher sales price on eBay. While I want to stay humble and keep challenging myself, I feel like I’m an eBay copy master. These same transferrable skills impact everything you do as an entrepreneur. Never stop selling!

Entrepreneurial Insight 2: You better understand your market

Certain categories on eBay are hot and others are not. You can’t sell just anything. You need to enter the right market with the right strategy. The same goes for starting a company. You can have an amazing idea, but it’s not going to thrive if the market is just not there. Let eBay teach you market research skills. Research all kinds of crazy markets that you never knew existed. Maybe it will come full circle and eBay will inspire you to start a business in a category you have never knew existed.

Entrepreneurial Insight 3: Higher risk often equals higher reward

Are you a risk taker? Do you like to start your eBay auctions at $1 with no reserve, auctioning off items of high value? Or, do you prefer high opening bids with reserves and high buy it now prices? Different strategies work for different situations. Try them all!

In my experience, especially if you researched your market well and developed an incredible sales strategy, it’s best to just start with a very low opening bid and no reserve. By taking on risk as a seller you create a ton of bidding and interest in your auction. You likely achieve a higher selling price as bidders fight to win. The same is true for great entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs need to be comfortable with risk and know when a calculated risk is warranted.

Entrepreneurial Insight 4: Patience is everything

When you’ve been selling on eBay for a while, you will have some buyers fall through. You will have an incredible auction that received tons of bids. You will be so happy with your sold price, and ready for your top bidder to pay. Then, the top bidder will go silent and refuse to pay. You may even need to open a "resolution" request with eBay to get things cleared up. That payment may never come through and you may need to run another auction for the same product or offer the product to your next highest bidder via a second chance offer.

Selling on eBay is not easy work. You need to be patient. You can never count your money until it’s in your PayPal account. The same is true of any entrepreneur. Start a company today and your payoff may be in ten years. And, while you’re waiting for your payoff, you may face a ton of challenges. Be ready and embrace the challenges!

Entrepreneurial Insight 5: Be comfortable wearing all hats

If you’re a one person operation like me you’ll be researching markets, finding the right products to sell, writing ad copy, building your reputation as a reliable and trustworthy seller, creating auctions, communicating with buyers, packing and shipping items, managing your ratings and reviews, and so much more. Entrepreneurs wear so many hats, many more than the eBay seller. However, eBay certainly gives a flavor of what it’s like to wear a ton of hats. Be comfortable wearing lots of hats, this skill will take you far in life and business.

Entrepreneurial Insight 6: The customer journey is never over

You sell your product, receive payment, and ship it to the customer. You’re done, right? No way! It’s all about customer service. In fact, Your Customer Care Is Your Brand, in my opinion. Don’t just ship your item, go above and beyond. Did the buyer pay only for regular mail? Happy with your sales price? Why not invest a few extra dollars (out of your margin) and ship via Priority Mail? Will that impact the buyer? Absolutely! I’m sure they’ll write a glowing review and visit your store often. It’s all about the details and delighting your customer.

Entrepreneurial Insight 7: Do you have "street smarts"?

I went to Stanford. I know a lot of people that have amazing book smarts. However, do they have street smarts? And, what does this really mean?

I think of street smarts as intuition and judgment. When you deal with customers in business, you will hear the most wild stories. Which stories do you trust, and how do you react in the moment?

An example: While eBay policy is to pay within 48 hours of an auction closing, buyers will come up with stories on why they can’t pay until later. Do you trust them or not? If you have good street smarts, you’ll know when to trust them. Entrepreneurs need to have book smarts and street smarts.

Summary

As someone who’s always looking to sharpen my skills, I truly value the testing and innovation done on nights and weekends, after work. If you’re looking to raise your game in business, consider selling on eBay. The insights you learn will make you a better entrepreneur!

Image of eBay © eBay Investor’s Website

Your Customer Care Is Your Brand

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Feb 3 0

How do you build a great brand in 2016? Is it all about that fancy tag line? Is it all about huge TV media buys? Is it all about maximum retargeting impressions? While all of the above help tremendously (especially Retargeting), I’m here to argue that the core of any great brand in 2016 is your customer care (which is your customer experience).

The Internet has truly transformed the way we buy products and services. What’s the first thing we do before buying anything? We go straight to the reviews on Amazon, Yelp, Trustpilot, ResellerRatings, and other review sites. We absorb the thoughts and opinions of our peers. Why trust marketing collateral from big corporations when we can go straight to the end users, people like us?

Here’s where things get interesting… What do people review? A tremendous portion of the time people review their experiences (both good and bad) with a brand. How does an experience with a brand manifest? It really boils down to the consumer’s experience with that brand’s customer care team, the face of the brand. Hence, the title of this blog post: Your customer care is your brand.

Marketing in 2016 is more interdisciplinary than ever. The best marketers are spending a huge amount of their time collaborating with their customer care teams. Without customer care, your marketing will get left behind.

All of this leads me to my latest guest blog post on the incomparable 3Q Digital blog: Growth Marketing Tips Through Your Customer Care Team. In my guest post, I highlight exactly how you can elevate your brand and marketing results through direct collaboration with your sales and support agents. My post offers practical and actionable tips.

Want a micro example of what I’m talking about and how such a strategy could integrate directly with a powerful channel like Retargeting (also known as Remarketing)? Check out the screenshot below, featuring one of my own retargeting banners on one of my favorite YouTube rap songs. Since PPC Ian is a one-person operation, I am the customer care. Customer care has manifested itself as the purpose of my brand and is injected into my marketing collateral. I realize this is a really small example, but I just had to share because I love rap music and thought it was a fun example.

It’s time: Reach out to your customer care team immediately and start collaborating. And, don’t forget to check out my Growth Marketing Tips Through Your Customer Care Team.

Planning Your Digital Marketing Strategy For 2016

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Jan 25 0

Want to look really good while driving tremendous results for your organization? I highly encourage bringing new, innovative strategies to the table. While I still owe you all my personal 2016 goals, I’ll give you a preview: I’m challenging myself to think outside the box more than ever this year. I’m dedicating one day each week to brainstorming, reading, strategizing, and idea generation. As an example, I recently spent an entire day on My People and Networking Strategy.

Today, I want to share an incredible resource that is certain to take your 2016 digital marketing strategy to the next level. I’m talking about Acquisio’s 2016 Digital and Local Marketing Predictions. If you’ve been reading PPC Ian for a while, you know that I’m big on eBooks and whitepapers. Acquisio’s guide is precisely the type of thought leadership that I incorporate into my own brainstorming days each and every week. And, it’s published by one of my favorite digital marketing organizations of all time, the programmatic marketing solution that over 400 agencies trust on a daily basis.

Inside Acquisio’s free 2016 Digital and Local Marketing Predictions, you will find:

28 pages of thought-provoking insights.
14 expert opinions on what 2016 holds for digital and local marketing, each with a unique theme.
Insights from my personal friends Marc Poirier (CEO and Co-Founder of Acquisio) and Brad Geddes (Co-Founder of AdAlysis and moderated my SMX Panel).
Clever, innovative ideas that are sure to challenge your own digital marketing strategy. And, a few controversial themes.
The latest on audience targeting, my personal prediction for 2016 (more on this below).

So, you may be thinking, what’s my personal prediction for 2016? I see 2016 as the year of programmatic personalization. What does this mean?

Building upon my Engagement-Based Marketing Segmentation, I view 2016 as the year savvy digital marketers truly define their audiences, on a granular level. I see marketers doing this with audience management technologies (data management platforms, or DMPs).
I see marketers programmatically communicating with these audiences across all possible touch points (website, desktop, mobile, search, display, social, email, call center, TV, direct mail, more) in an incredibly consistent and personalized manner.
I see marketers crafting messages, story lines, and widgets that are adaptive and valuable.
I see this programmatic personalization system learning automatically (machine learning) and also manually (marketers improving the system based on insights).
Once companies have the fundamentals in place, audiences will becoming more and more segmented/granular.

Regarding my personal prediction, you can see that things get incredibly complex quickly. It’s all possible, however, with the right programmatic technologies, like Acquisio.

I wanted to take this opportunity to sincerely thank Acquisio for the amazing throught leadership. Now, a question for the you: What’s your 2016 marketing prediction? Make sure to write it down, and set the bar high!

Image in this post © Acquisio

Your Complete Guide To Facebook Advertising

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Jan 18 0

Over the last 5 years, Facebook stock (Nasdaq: FB) increased from from $31.91 to $94.97 (using closing prices available on Yahoo! Finance). That’s an increase of 198%. During the same period, the overall Nasdaq composite increased 67%. Why did Facebook perform so well? How did Facebook outperform the broader Nasdaq, comprised of tech-centric companies? I’ll tell you how: Facebook advertising emerged as one of the most scalable and powerful digital marketing ecosystems around. Moreover, Facebook advertising forged the path for incredibly successful mobile advertising, a primary focus of digital marketers everywhere.

A few years ago, I wrote a post here on PPC Ian about How I Drove 3,156 Facebook Likes For $0.31 Each. Two weeks ago, I wrote a post about How I Drove 24,747 Facebook Likes For $0.04 Each. Over the years, I have evolved and improved as a marketer. That being said, my increased performance is also a function of the evolution of Facebook as an advertising platform. Facebook advertising works better than ever and savvy marketers are doubling down on their Facebook advertising investment.

Are you constantly evolving as a Facebook marketer? I know I am! Enter my good friends at 3Q Digital, the same digital marketing agency that hosted the incomparable 3Q Digital Growth Summit. In the must-read whitepaper of 2016, 3Q Digital’s Director of Social, Brad O’Brien, drops 19 pages of pure knowledge on Facebook Advertising. I’m thrilled to share 3Q Digital’s Complete Guide To Facebook Advertising.

Each weekend, I try to read a digital marketing eBook. I have found this strategy incredibly effective in my career, as someone who’s always learning. Below, I’d like to discuss the overall structure of this guide, as well as my favorite findings. First, the structure. Over the course of 19 pages, Brad O’Brien goes into depth on each of the following topics:

Tracking
Account Structure
Elements of Ad Sets
Acquisition Campaigns
Retention Campaigns
Ad Units

Second, my top findings. I took many insights away from 3Q Digital’s guide, with the following being my favorites.

Brad goes into depth on Facebook tracking changes happening later in 2016. Learn how you can set things up correctly, right now, so you avoid changes to your tracking later this year.
There are so many audience-targeting opportunities on Facebook, each with its own strategy. Learn all about custom audiences, website custom audiences, lookalike audiences, audiences by seasonality and customer LTV, and audiences based on interests, behaviors, and demographics. That’s a lot of audiences!
On page 11, Brad includes some incredibly helpful bidding strategy tables that I recommend printing out. With so many different bidding options available, Brad makes your strategic path easy with his decision tree.
On page 15, 3Q Digital includes some wonderful creative tips, a true must-read. At the end of the day, Facebook advertising is only as successful as your creative. I personally took a few creative ideas away from this page.

As always, 3Q Digital’s Complete Guide To Facebook Advertising is free. Download and read this guide today, and raise your Facebook advertising game to the next level. Thanks, Brad and 3Q Digital for the truly outstanding guide.

If you’re looking for a marketing agency to help with your digital marketing, I highly recommend 3Q Digital. They are Silicon Valley’s agency, and truly outstanding. They are also personal friends of mine of many years, and a team I am constantly learning from.

Images in this post © Yahoo! Finance and 3Q Digital

Interview: Tyler Dolph, President of Rocket Clicks

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Jan 10 0

Those who have been reading PPC Ian for a long time may remember that I have had the great fortune of interviewing some truly amazing leaders over the years. Well, my good fortune is back and I’m thrilled to share a new interview with you today, with Tyler Dolph, President of Rocket Clicks digital marketing agency.

Tyler Dolph Rocket Clicks

Before we get into the interview, some background… Rocket Clicks is a truly outstanding agency. In selecting a business partner, I always look at the technical side of things (competency) and the human side of things (collaboration and caring about others). With some of the smartest and kindest people in our industry, Rocket Clicks truly brings both of these to the table. If you’re looking for a digital marketing agency, I highly recommend reaching out to the company that was kind enough to invite me to their headquarters in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin to speak at their YPO Digital Marketing Event. Without further ado, let’s jump into the interview!

Ian: Tyler, it is such an honor and pleasure to interview you today. Thanks so much for taking the time to share your story with PPC Ian readers!

Tyler: Absolutely Ian, thank you for taking the time to learn more about Rocket Clicks! You have a great group of readers and I am honored to be your interviewee.

Ian: How did you get started in digital marketing? How did you get started at Rocket Clicks?

Tyler: I have been involved in digital marketing since day one at my first job. I was involved in our website redesign and the launch of our first PPC campaign. That process piqued my interest and when I made the move to Wisconsin I knew digital marketing was the avenue I wanted to pursue and specialize in.

Ian: What is Rocket Clicks all about? How are you different from other SEM and SEO agencies? Who is the typical Rocket Clicks client?

Tyler: I have just finished a great book by Simon Sinek called "Start with Why." He talks about companies who make a positive impact on their industries and believe that there is a greater purpose beyond what they do, but actually WHY they do it.

Our "Why" is very simple. We believe in meaningful connections and helping our clients get found online. We do this by being expert analysts specializing in paid search advertising and organic search optimization. We will stop at nothing to deliver the best results possible and maximize every dollar that our clients spend.

With Rocket Clicks, our clients are our extended family. Our work is personalized to fit their specific needs.

Our "sweet spot" or ideal client is broad in that we are an ideal fit for clients spending tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars per month. On both ends of that spectrum we provide dedicated (and wicked-smart) analysts to every client. These analysts live in the accounts daily allowing their human intuition, creativity, and analytical problem solving skills to dictate the decisions we make. There is no "set-it and forget-it" bid management software or template ads. We personalize every ad, organize every campaign, and manage every dollar spent. We inject strategy and insights into every single interaction with our clients.

Ian: Can you please provide some background on BizLab and how it related to Rocket Clicks?

Tyler: BizLab is the parent company of Rocket Clicks. It’s really wonderful being part of the BizLab family.

Of particular note, BizLab owns Sterling Commerce Group, a national sales and marketing firm for the satellite television industry. Having deep sales and digital marketing experience in this incredibly competitive vertical is one of our competitive advantages, offering even greater value to our clients.

With the insights and knowledge that come with running successful businesses, we are able to drive superior results for our clients.

Ian: As President of the company, you have obviously done well in your career. Most of my readers are looking to grow their careers. What advice do you have for growth-minded professionals?

Tyler: I live my life by a couple key statements my parents instilled in me at a very young age:

"Do what you say you’re going to do." Much easier said than done, but a person’s word is more valuable than any contract and can grow and build relationships exponentially.
"Just do what ever it takes." No one ever wakes up great. All great leaders, athletes, etc. have put in the work and have done so day after day, even when no one is watching. If you really want something or want grow in your professional life then just do what ever it takes. Work longer hours, read more books, stop watching so much TV. Spend that time educating yourself.

Ian: Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin is such a beautiful place. I believe your office gives you a very unique perspective. I also believe it’s a competitive advantage since you guys are blazing your own trail. How would you describe your office strategy?

Tyler: Being an agency in Menomonee Falls means that we are not only competing with other agencies in Milwaukee but we also have to worry about Chicago which is only an hour and half away. We have found success by providing an environment dedicated to personal and professional growth. "Churn and burn," is not what we are about. We believe if we can train our analysts and show them a path for growth and vision for the future, they will help build our agency. We will not only have a dedicated staff but analysts who are truly part of something greater than themselves.

Ian: As a leader who has truly hired for success (you truly have a unique team), do you have any tips for those hiring?

Tyler: Skills can be taught. Drive, personality and motivation cannot.

Ian: Digital marketing is such an amazing career. What do you like most about digital marketing? What do you like most about your job at Rocket Clicks?

Tyler: Compared to traditional marketing (billboards), digital marketing offers the ability for instantaneous reporting (on an incredibly detailed level). Because of the granularity, we are able to effectively optimize every single penny invested, delivering superior results – what a rush!

Specific to Rocket Clicks, I truly enjoy working with a large variety of clients. We have clients of all sizes, in all markets. Each new client presents a new challenge/opportunity. This keeps things incredibly interesting. Our creative juices are always flowing. We are challenged to drive greatness each and every day.

Ian: Outside of work, what do you do for fun?

Tyler: I played men’s volleyball in college and still love to play today. I play in a few leagues here in Milwaukee and also play in the Men’s National tournament each year.

Ian: Where do you see digital marketing going in the next few years. With things always evolving, where should digital marketing professionals be most focused?

Tyler: That is a great question, Ian. I believe that what stood true in the "Mad Men" days of marketing still holds its weight today. Content is King. Whether it’s a blog post, paid search ad, or custom landing page. The written (typed) word is still vitally important. It tells potential customers & Search Engines, not only what you do, but why it should matter.

Ian: Tyler, we have a lot of career-oriented readers on PPC Ian, those who are interested in optimizing digital marketing campaigns and their careers. What characteristics are important in potential Rocket Clicks employees?

Tyler: On the PPC side, we often find success with applicants who have roots in accounting, finance, and investments. Those who thrive in Excel and have the motivation to learn tend to flourish. AdWords is so expansive. Great candidates have a thirst for knowledge, and enjoy the testing and practicing.

For our SEO division, we often interview candidates with journalist backgrounds. Content marketing has always been an intricate part of our business here at Rocket Clicks. We enjoy candidates who are true content experts.

Ian: Tyler, another super important question for you… How can someone get started working with you and your team? How can a potential client engage Rocket Clicks? Also, any free promotions you are able to offer PPC Ian readers?

Tyler: Of course. Please just email me directly at sales@rocketclicks.com. We are delighted to offer a free digital marketing audit to PPC Ian readers. We will look at your account, keywords, quality score, competitive landscape, and more. We will report back with specific insights, strategies, and solutions. We look forward to hearing from you!

Ian: Tyler I cannot thank you enough. This has been an incredible interview and I know everyone will really enjoy reading.

Tyler: Absolutely, Thank you Ian!

Everyone, thanks for reading. Enjoy my interview with Tyler Dolph as much as I did? Please stay tuned because this is a two-part series. Next up, I’m interviewing Nicole Mennicke, VP of Operations at Rocket Clicks! Also, if you’re interested in learning more about Rocket Clicks, I highly recommend heading over to their website and reaching out.

Tyler and The Rocket Clicks Team

Rocket Clicks Team

How I Drove 24,747 Facebook Likes At $0.04 Each

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Jan 4 5

I recently ran a Facebook campaign for PPC Ian with the goal of expanding my audience of readers. What started out as a small test turned into a large campaign driving 24,747 incremental page likes for only $1,001.70 (or $0.04 per like). Today, I’m thrilled to share insights from my campaign and also screenshots from my Facebook Advertising account.

Facebook Advertising Insight 1: Always Test

My advertising budget for PPC Ian is really low. That said, I always try to dabble in campaigns of all sorts. It’s this moonlighting and experimenting on my personal blog that expands the knowledge and results I can drive as an overall marketer. If you have a day job in digital marketing, you absolutely need to be experimenting on your own as well. Think of it as an investment in yourself. This is money well spent!

Facebook Advertising Insight 2: Have An Adaptive Budget Philosophy

When I started this campaign, I had allocated a low budget. I don’t recall exactly, but it was probably no more than $10 or $20 per day, with the goal of running for a week. The same day I launched, I quickly noticed that my campaign was driving one of the best cost-per-likes I have experienced. I started raising budgets in increments, observing my cost-per-like carefully. I noticed that it did not increase, in fact it appeared to decrease! I had certainly crafted a scalable campaign, one worthy of investment. I adapted to the market conditions and doubled down on my investment.

Facebook Advertising Insight 3: Experiment With Non-Standard Audiences

I thought I knew my audience fairly well. PPC Ian is targeted towards digital marketing professionals. Most of my readers are US-based, typically in their 20s and 30s, building fast-paced careers.

When running this campaign, I expanded my target audience to include anyone over the age of 18, and also included a bunch of tech-savvy countries such as India. I was delightfully surprised to discover that the PPC Ian target audience is truly global, and can skew younger/male. I’m impressed that younger generations are building digital marketing careers internationally, as they are surely setting themselves up for success in life! I feel like I tapped into a truly responsive audience by challenging my tried-and-true marketing filters.

Insight 4: It’s All About Mobile

If you have been advertising in social media for a while, you probably already know this one. Social media is a truly personal, mobile experience. It seems to be even more so with the international professional. This campaign drove most of its success from mobile devices.

Insight 5: It’s OK To Take Pause

$1,001.70 is a big budget for me! This is my personal blog, after all. As you can see in the first screenshot (top of this blog post), I paused my campaign a few times. I actually reduced my daily budget to $1 and then paused to be extra safe I wouldn’t spend more money. I wanted to test my Facebook page to make sure my new fans were legit and responsive to my social media updates.

I was pleased to find that my new fans were very responsive, I was affordably building a new source of traffic to the PPC Ian brand. Upon un-pausing and raising my budgets, I watched my cost-per-like closely. I found that pausing my campaign did not hurt my results. I was able to continue with a similar cost-per-like and did not hurt my results by pausing. Lesson: Don’t be scared to take pause.

Insight 6: Pictures of Me Speaking Work Well

If you’ve been in digital marketing for a while, you know that creative is one of the most important elements of any successful campaign. I didn’t test multiple creative in this campaign, but I did at least discover a winning creative. I featured a picture of myself speaking publicly at Programmatic I/O, and encouraged those viewing my ad to contact me with any question. I’m always here to help. Based upon the success of this creative, I’m now rolling similar creative out to my PPC Ian retargeting campaigns.

Insight 7: Be Scrappy and Leverage Pockets of Downtime

I don’t have a ton of free time. That said, I live a no excuses lifestyle. I actually launched this campaign on my mobile smartphone while at a family get-together. I had a few minutes of downtime, and just went for it. Even if you’re not in front of your computer, always test. Leverage those small chunks of downtime to launch campaigns. There are no excuses if you have true dedication to digital marketing.

Insight 8: $0.04 Likes Are Possible At Scale

I used to think that $0.30 per like was reasonably good. This campaign certainly challenged my thinking. $0.04 is now going to be the golden benchmark to beat. The moral: Always optimize and challenge yourself for increased efficiency.

I hope these tips help and my sincere thank you to all of my new readers!

Three Ways You Can Help Others In Business

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Dec 23 1

With 2015 coming to an end, it’s a wonderful time to reflect. It’s a great time to brainstorm your 2016 strategy while also finishing 2015 on a very strong note! As someone who thinks quite a bit about people, my network, I wanted to share a quick post today offering three ways you can help others in business.

I know everyone is ready for the holidays and new year, ready to relax. However, I encourage reading my three tips today because it’s a quick post and could truly accelerate your business success heading into the new year.

Tip 1: Be A Dealmaker, Think Like A Broker

Teamwork Sculpture

Real estate brokers are dealmakers. They facilitate transactions between buyers and sellers, bringing parties together for mutually-beneficial financial transactions.

In business, become a dealmaker. As your network grows, you will uncover opportunities. Various parties in your network can benefit incredibly from each other, however they may not yet know each other. When you uncover those opportunities, be a leader and make the connections.

Don’t always look for profit or benefit from your introductions. Simply make the connections and do your part to be a leader. From my experience, this type of activity will always come back in one way or another, benefitting you in the long run.

Tip 2: Mentor Others and Be A Friend

In the fast-paced world of technology, there is a clear need for mentors. There is no better way to give back in business than mentoring others. While you are truly helping others, you will also gain a loyal supporters for life (your mentees) and learn your craft even better (teaching is one of the best ways of learning).

Mentoring does not have to be formal. Identify those professionals you truly believe in and just start taking them to lunch. Talk about business and find ways you can help. Be a coach and a friend. My challenge to you: Become a mentor before the end of 2015, take a potential mentee to lunch in the next 8 days!

Tip 3: Spread The Holiday Cheer

In technology, we work so incredibly hard. With the year coming to an end, find ways to slow things down. Focus on the people that matter most to you, both in business and your personal life. Spread that holiday cheer!

How can you go about doing this? A few ideas:

Take your team to lunch
Hand out holiday cards/gifts
Recognize big achievements for the year
Take the time to reconnect with old colleagues
Let people leave the office early/take some time off
Pay out a holiday bonus if your company did well

The happiness you spread will elevate everyone’s wellbeing and take your leadership to the next level.

If you like today’s tips, I also wanted to highlight my recent post about my People Day Strategy. I’m a firm believer that your network is one of your greatest investments. Hold your own people day to take your network to the next level.

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