WE ALWAYS QUESTION THE BRIEF
This week, a couple of Client conversations went in a very similar way and led to me questioning them on:

1. Why do you want to promote 'this Product'?
2. 'with this message'?
3. and 'via these channels/methods'?
   

IN A NUTSHELL - THE TAKEAWAY FOR YOU...
Please benefit from the conversations others paid for this week! Here's the resulting 'take-aways' you may wish to ask yourself (else read further for the case studies) ...

   Which Product?

• You likely have many products or services, prioritise choose the one that suits your business model 
  

   What Message?

• Your content should rarely be Salesy or Promotional in nature!
  ... rather, it should be about value to a detailed target audience - the more you know who your targeting the better you can write contant that suits them.
• The more you 'Engage & switch on' your target buyer, the more you maximise your rate of enquiries and sales!

   Which channel?

• Once you've a clear picture on who you're targeting, figure out the most likely channel that will get you in front of them or the easiest one to start with.
  Eg.Social Web (Facebook, Twitter etc), Print (Flyers, Press), Face to Face (eg.networking) and so on.

A couple of stories to help you understand...

CASE STUDY 1 - 'LADIES BOOTCAMP'
   THEIR PRODUCT

• Originally: Ladies Bootcamp.
  
• Adjusted: Ladies Bootcamp specifically to ladies in their 30's so to make them feel in good company.

  THEIR MESSAGE

• Original Message (flyer)
  1. Price (free session £6 per sesh thereafter).
  2. Results (Weight Loss examples).
  3. Freebie (Diet Plan given upon sign-up).
• Adjusted (via Video)
  We refined the message as follows, this time, seeking to differentiate + lead our thoughts from the Customer's Needs /fears / assumptions & expectations.
  1. About Personal Trainers: One of the best Personal Trainers you could find, he & she have a business training other Personal Trainers.
  2. Professional Location: Local Football Grounds, indoors & outdoors to suit weather conditions, private facility without any onlookers.
  3. Support Outside of the Bootcamp: via Facebook Group, Phone, Email, takeaway Diet and Exercise Plans.

   CHANNEL TO MARKET

• Original Method: Printed & Digitised Flyer and a web-page,
• Adjusted: A separate & highly Targeted Facebook advertising campaign for each venue (3 in total), targeted to females in their 30's within 1 mile radius of the venue.
  

CASE STUDY 2 - LICENSED TRAINING COURSE MATERIALS
   THEIR PRODUCT

• Originally: Licensed Courseware.
  
• Adjusted: Software Testing Trainer / Training Materials
  

   THEIR MESSAGE

• Original Message (email & website)
  1. Price (setup fee + commission thereafter).
  2. Benefit (get started immediately).
  3. About (Long established UK company).
• Adjusted
  We refined the message as follows, as previous case study, seeking to differentiate + lead our thoughts from the Customer's Needs /fears / assumptions & expectations.
  1. About: One of the best companies you could find...We were the first in the world to launch officially accredited courseware, we've written books on our subjects, we give talks globally on our subject matter, we sit on the official examination board and contribute to the sector's actual syllabus.
  2. Personalised & ready to go: The first step is be brand your product and deliver it to you for you to use as you wish - including notes, tips, homework for enhanced learning etc.
  3. Lead generation: We help you get bums on seats by: farming out leads as they come in via our own established marketing methods. Plus, you can opt for us to turn the tap on even more if you wish.

   CHANNEL TO MARKET

• Original Method: Email, Web-page, Hope via Talks at conferences
• Adjusted:
  1. Separate & highly targeted AdWords Campaigns, carefully rolled out geographically until Global.
  2. LinkedIn targeting & awareness.
  3. Website SEO (we can't disclose the clever bits eg.How we 'FACTUALLY KNOW' what keyphrases to go for, what content to add etc (unlike other firms, this isn't simply keyword tools or guesswork, we've tested & got facts prior to efforts in useless direction).
  4. Targeting Key Firms via real world methods.

The majority of AdWords articles make quite a few oversights in my opinion.

OK, OK, yes I'm a Marketing Guru who specialises in AdWords Consultancy but I'll be unbiased and aim to help you here - I promise!) . . .
 
1. FACT - Not everybody has the mentality, tenacity and willpower to see out the required detail.
Actually, around 1 in 10 business owners I meet (every week) bothered to understand PPC to the extent required. And hence waste £thousands every year/month with £zero sales - all caused by 'having a bash'. It's simply not feasible for the majority of small businesses (Manufacturers, Tradesmen, Shops etc) to get great results from little time dedication.
 
2. Not many PPC consultant will focus on damage limitation.
I'm guessing you've come across the 7-in-10 PPC consultants I regard as naff!

I even see terrible performance by Google AdWords Staff themselves, or even by Web Firms would you believe; professing to be Marketing experts - on the latter, literally 90+% don't even have 'Webmaster Tools' setup which is a bad sign!   Small Businesses require cautiousness. 

3. MY BIGGEST TIP (in my years of experience handling £100,000's of data): 
Test in short bursts > Allowing 24hrs in between Live Bursts > Check your Actual Search Terms (not to be confused with Keywords you entered) after 24hrs of each Live Burst > Build your Negative List > Increasingly splice your Campaigns & Ad Groups into more niche Campaigns & Ad Groups > Initially apportion your budget as if it were a roulette wheel eg.Place your bets/budget where you think the ideal keyword groups are > Then prioritise budget once you have the facts to tell you what to increase.

CONTRARY TO MANY DIY POST's ... 
For most people, business owners or decision makers, you SHOULD ABSOLUTELY spend with an expert; even if too trial on a short term - but be smart how you go about it!  BECAUSE...

1. 'ALL' DIY business PPC accounts I've analysed waste between 60% to 90% of their spend (seriously - one (Manufacturer) wasted an avg.83% of £3,000per month for 2 years prior to me, another (Jeweller) wasting (to this day due to ignorance & know all attitude) avg.68% of £10,000 per month.

2. ADWORDS SUCCESS IS NOT ABOUT ADWORDS 
Contributors of AdWords success does not lay entirely with AdWords mechanics or know-how... 
2a. With over 15 years Business Consultancy experience (business planning, fundraising, financial forecasting & marketing) I LOVE getting focussed with the decision maker on Product Offering, Business Modelling, predicting & targeting: Results, Cashflow, ROI and scheduling realistic weekly resources (time/money). 
2b. True Entrepreneurs figure out 'delegation to the RIGHT person for the job'. So, readers should instead, think smartly and ask the right questions before choosing to try out a consultant/expert (not just ignore so called experts) ... eg.Did you prior ask your 'let down of an expert' : How much of my hard earned money will you blow? over what period? and how can we limit wastage / damage? Can we trial a short test first? Have you got success for your own business using PPC? can you show me some examples of what you did for yourself that worked? What product should I start with as in which is my strongest Web Content/Page to start promoting? 
(Those questions are NEVER asked, yet MOST PPC consultants have never got success for their own business - which is very different to spending someone else's money).

I hope my tips help you!   If it does, I'd love you to reply or let me know somehow.
Let me know how you get on or if you've any questions!

Steve Walters 
Small Business Helper - A UK registered company.

GOOGLE ADS TIP FOR TODAY: Check your Google AdsCampaign/s are restricted only to the Geographics you serve (Campaign >  Settings) - else you're likely wasting 80% of your budget (usually £100's per month).

On average, I see companies (big & small) waste 60% - 80% of their Google Ad Budget.

Largest cuplerates? ... Loose Geographics, Vague Campaign Structure (keywords are all in onecampaign/adgroup), lack of Negative Match Words (usually non-existent).

IN SHORT: "Restrict all your Broad Matches into/via a separate Campaign budget."

I BELIEVE THERE's ALWAYS A FORMULAE...
Whilst I appreciate some consultant's articles will state 'there's no right or wrong answer' to "How should one apportion % of broad, phrase and exact?", I am certain there is always a method in which one can implement 'Damage Limitation', in this case your AdWords wasted spend.

Let's face it... we've all wasted money on AdWords, some people know how and where the wastage happened, some might even get better at 'reducing' (not eliminating) it happening again, but most don't even know where to look (BTW.if you're the latter goto Campaign > Keywords > Keyword Details > Search Terms > All).

MY SOLUTION: Whilst 'finding new variations' via broad (or loose) matchtypes is key to your Adwords Campaign success, you can limit your resulting potentially wasted spend, by capping a portion of your budget via a "learning campaign".

MY SIMPLE EXAMPLE (I HOPE)...
One has a £500 monthly click spend budget. One apportions it as follows...
Campaign 1 (tight campaign): Set to 70% budget + Contains tighter matchtypes / phrases.
Campaign 2 (learner/open campaign):  Set to 30% budget + Contains looser matchtypes / keywords.

ELABORATING MY ABOVE EXAMPLE...
Campaign 1 (£350): Includes ONLY long-tail keywords (3+word sentences) of ONLY matchtype 'phrase' or 'exact'.
Campaign 2 (£150): Include ONLY short-tail keywords (3 or less) of ONLY broad and/or broadmatch mixtures.

IF PERFORMANCE IS UNSATISFACTORY...
You simply apportion your budgets by: Risk Adverseness/Comfort vs. Desire to Learn New Keyword Variations.

That is, if you're unhappy with the rate at which your campaign is finding new Keyword Variations (and therefore market opportunities), then you simply decide whether to: 1.Shift your % 'budget weight' toward Campaign 2 (lessening Campaign 1), OR,  2.You simply find more monthly budget else accept speed rate of Campaign 2's newly learned data.

I would love your thoughts!  Do comment below or get in touch

Steve Walters.
Small Business Helper.
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