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AN ADWORDS CAMPAIGN DONE WELL

January 25, 2017 by Rachel Hunter

(2025 review – lots has changed over the last ten years, but you can see, much remains the same.)

Our client wanted to attract new customers for a high-value treatment they provide, and to help pay off the high-end equipment they just purchased.

If only one method of online advertising to get new clients is possible due to budget constraints, we always recommend Google AdWords campaigns, which reaches the largest audience in a targeted area, such as within a ten mile radius of your location.

We set up the campaign and wrote the ad copy, made a landing page, chose quality keywords and a specific method of keyword matching to maximize their daily budget.

We measure whether the ad is performing well in a few ways. (Please refer to the graphic below for the numbers in parentheses.)

Placement on the results page: Ideal positioning is either the first, second or third place on the page (6).
“Click Through Rate”: The percentage of time someone clicks on the ad (3) compared to the total number of times the ad is displayed. Above 0.5% is considered very good. It means the keywords we selected are a good match to what the user is seeing in the ad copy and is responding well to it.
“Conversions”: This is a big one. There are a number of ways to measure this, but it always refers to a way of tracking when the user takes a desired action. In this case a conversion is counted when the appointment form is submitted (7). The cost per conversion (8), is the total number of conversions divided into the total amount spent. In this case the cost per conversion is currently $89. Considering that the treatment being marketed typically brings in a few thousand dollars in revenue, paying ninety bucks for a likely new high-value client is money well spent.

It should be noted that conversions don’t measure all of the success. Visitors who click on your ad may also call your business for an appointment from your phone number on the landing page (the page we create specifically for the ad offer), and even if they don’t call or make an appointment right away, they have seen your company name and your offer. Repeated exposure to your business is one of the keys to brand layering and attracting new business, so every click to your site furthers your efforts.

We realize most of our clients aren’t seeking such high-value clients where $90/conversion is a reasonable number. This is just one example. A reasonable cost for a new customer or sale depends on your business. And it is not always possible to track just how much new business you are getting from any sales promotion, but a well-executed AdWords campaign should be high on your online marketing agenda.

There are many more important aspects of Google AdWords, enough to fill books, but the info presented here is the very core of how to measure the success of such marketing campaigns.

INSTAGRAM ADS

October 3, 2016 by Rachel Hunter

Instagram advertising allows you to reach a large and targeted market, using a variety of media, and with options for calls to action and objectives.

There’s an initial, one-time, set up phase which takes considerable time and work. This is a project for John!

First, you’ll get the opportunity to consider your objectives which is a great way to solidify your goals and help you set in stone what will make Instagram advertising a success for your business. We’ll have you choose one objective from the choices below:

These objectives will allow Instagram to funnel you to the best ad choice for your business.

We’ll then ask you to go through the targeting list below to be sure you are not paying for ads for people out of your targeted market.

City, state, region, country? Age range? Gender? Language?

You’ll also be able to target with user interest keywords. For example, this sample ad we are setting up is for a pickleball lifestyle products company, so we are targeting anyone who has shown a social media interest in pickleball.

You may also narrow down your targeting by selecting mobile or desktop devices or both if that’s relevant to your ad and/or business.

Then there’s some general book-keeping:

ad start and end date/time,
do you wish your ad to run all the time, or at just specific times each day,
how much do you wish to spend,
do you wish to be billed by impression or by click?

These are the ad options:

Carousel ads which scroll images or video upon which you may put a text caption. We selected carousel for our pickleball client and that’s what’s shown in our header graphic.

Static, single image ads with text overlay.

Video ads, which can be a set of images with captions as a slideshow, or full video, up to 30 seconds.

Nearly done!

You’ll need a landing page. We recommend a page on your web site which is customized to your Instagram ad. It will be more effective and will allow you to better track your ROI.

What would you like your call to action to be? Apply Now, Book Now, Contact Us, Download, Learn More, Shop Now, Sign Up, Watch more?

Because Instagram is owned by Facebook, ads are actually set up through Facebook’s business portal. You may also run these exact ads on Facebook which can be a big time-saver.

We’ll walk you through every step of the way. We’ll also ask you how you would like to see reporting.

GOOGLE ADWORDS EXPANDED TEXT

August 17, 2016 by Rachel Hunter

Here’s John, enjoying his clients’ AdWords reporting on a summer day in the garden. He says this the new expanded text Google AdWords are a really big deal.

Expanded text AdWords ads are the next generation of text ads, designed for a mobile-first world. They benefit users with more information before they click an ad and benefit advertisers by giving additional control over messaging. This can mean higher quality clicks from users with keen interest in the subject while cutting down on lower quality clicks less likely to convert to a sale. They are also better-designed for device responsiveness and display more clearly on devices from smartphone to desktop monitor.

More bang for your AdWords bucks!

This is all fairly new, but early reporting is showing expanded text ads are getting a 20% higher click through rate. This is mostly because they are larger and stand out amongst the older, smaller ads. Right now, we’re suggesting that we upgrade any old-style AdWords campaigns we have running for our clients.

There’s two main updates. The headline (purple text in the graphic below) can be 60 characters, rather than 25. You can be more compelling and precise which leads to better quality clickers. And, the ad display text (black text in the graphic below) has been expanded from two 35 character lines to a consolidated 80 character line.

This graphic shows how an expanded text ad will display on a smartphone vs. a monitor:

cs-ad-screenshot

Summary – better quality clickers = better quality conversions.

Google AdWords is a specialty of John’s. Contact him at johnp@metapix.us or 408 252-8664 with any questions.

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WHY WE DON’T RECOMMEND MAILCHIMP

June 28, 2016 by Rachel Hunter

(Yes, we know this is a photo of a gibbon yawning, not a chimp delivering mail – it’s all we have in our library primate-wise as we have not taken a photo of a postal chimp, although we’d be excited to do so.)

2025 update – we have one client on MailChimp, and can confirm from recent experiences that it remains the worst interface and requires arduous researching through their “help” sections rather than making their process intuitive and in line with the way small businesses work.

This was the situation back in 2016: We use MailChimp for a few clients and we find it to be the most difficult interface and address list management system of the e-mail campaign providers with which we have experience.

ONE – they don’t offer phone support.

TWO – Choosing the address list to whom the e-mail goes at step one instead of at the end of the development process causes problems and is contrary to the way our clients like to work.

THREE – They don’t have seed lists for testing. This is a development issue for us, and does not affect our clients except for a bit of time added to the process, which adds to the cost to the project.

FOUR – The same address on several lists counts multiple times towards your monthly plan, so you can spend far more than is needed for your subscription.

FIVE – MC does not offer “pay-as-you-go” as an option – monthly subscription only. You pay, even if you don’t send any e-mails.

SIX – Customization of address sign-up forms can only be done with a higher-priced account.

SEVEN – Sign-up forms that can be coded to recognize list segmentation can be done only on pop-up pages, but not for embedded forms (which is pretty much the only way people do e-mail list sign-up forms now.)

EIGHT – The biggie – they don’t allow a campaign to be sent to more than one list. The best practice for managing lists in MailChimp is to have one list, which is divided into groups and segments. Our clients find it confusing (actually we find it confusing at times), as well as cumbersome, non-intuitive, and time-wasting.

If you are interested, there’s more below on MC’s address list management. But we don’t want to simply focus upon the negative and what we don’t recommend. We do recommend using Constant Contact (although it’s far from perfect). The phone response is good – customer support reps who know the product and are helpful. And the list management is far simpler. You can have as many lists as you want and get to select the ones you want each campaign to launch to. Unsubscribes and bounces are well-managed at the account level, rather than the list level, which protects you from higher prices and grumpy customers and keeps you compliant with spam laws.

So, back to MC’s list management issues caused by not allowing a campaign be sent to more than one list:

Unsubscribes are managed by individual list, rather than at the account level. So if you have more than one list, and a recipient unsubscribes from one list, it’s not recorded in any other list, so you can e-mail to an address of someone who already unsubscribed.
Because there’s no connectivity between lists, if a client changes their settings in one list, it won’t be recognized by any other instances of that e-mail address in other lists.
If you wish to send an e-mail to separate lists, you need to duplicate the e-mail over and over, sending one e-mail launch per mail list. If there are duplicated addresses in your account, you will be sending the same campaign to these addresses. One of our clients is doing this, and are getting complaints from clients.

We know this is confusing. Send us a line with questions, or call 408 252-8664.

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NEW WEBSITE LAUNCH!

June 21, 2016 by Rachel Hunter

We’ve had a great experience working with Susan Graf and her brand designer, Marianne Mitten, on a new website for Susan Graf Limited.

John coded it to be device responsive, so the code will render to it’s best depending upon the device – from smartphone to desktop monitor – the visitor is using. The navigation changes from full screen sized to hamburger on a smartphone. The font changes to be most readable depending upon the device.

The best part – this is not a WordPress or other template site so the client is not boxed in and there’s no monthly security and maintenance fee.

We were also hired to do the copy writing and to photograph both locations.

Besides the fabulous mens’ and womens’ departments and charming staff, Susan Graf Limited offers styling, techno pants, and DRESS CODE by SUSAN GRAF. There’s a location on the plaza in Healdsburg and one in downtown Palo Alto.

Thank you, very much, Susan, for this project. We’re looking forward to working with you (and of course, visiting both boutiques.)

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BUILDING YOUR MAILING LIST

June 16, 2016 by Rachel Hunter

Frustrating news – sorry! A businesses e-mail address list will degrade by about 20% each year. Here’s some ideas on how you can continue to grow your mail list. The idea – gain addresses faster than losing.

Keep making valuable e-mail campaigns!

SIGN UP FORMS – PHYSICAL AND ONLINE

Keep your newsletter sign up form as simple as possible. One field is best – just ask for e-mail address. Once you start asking for first name, last name, phone number, etc, you lose people quickly.
Add a lightbox popup with address list sign-up form to your web site.
Have a physical sign-up sheet – in-house/store – and at every event you attend. Be sure it clearly states you value privacy and do not share addresses.
On your online and physical sign-up forms, be sure to note the value of being on the list: exclusive mail-list-only offers, useful information, event invites, tips, etc. Even better, create copy to be used in landing pages, postcards, blog posts, actually any print or on-line marketing, listing the top ten reasons to sign up for your mailing list.
Make sure a newsletter sign-up is on every page of your site – easy to see and complete. Don’t skip ad landing pages and your blog pages.
Add a note to your online sign-up form: “Join the XX subscribers who already enjoy this newsletter”. Show that they will be part of the crowd.

WAYS TO GET YOUR SIGN-UP FORM UNDER THEIR NOSES!

Have a contest with a fabulous prize – worth signing up for a mailing list to enter.
Have a single database for addresses and make sure your staff knows how to use it.
Host an event and be sure you have your mail list sign-up sheet well-displayed.
Send a snail-mail postcard specific to opt-ins.
Host an on-line webinar for which registration requires an address list sign-up.
Create something people will be interested in seeing. For example, for our client SkinSpirit we made this recipe ebook and required an e-mail before the visitor could see it. Your give-away could be tips, information (for example, a BMI calculator), or a white paper. Promote these on social media.
Consider paid advertising for your list or re-marketing specific to address list sign up.
Add a link to a newsletter sign-up page on Facebook.
Include call-to-action in videos posted to YouTube and in your YouTube Channel.
Put a fishbowl on your counter and encourage clients to drop in a biz card or slip of paper – once a month drawing. All entrants are added to mail list.
Give a free birthday service to the people on your mailing list.
Get your employees involved – he or she who collects the most e-mails gets a bonus.
Do a give-away (discount, gift basket) for all new list sign ups over a week (month, whatever works for you.)
Work with your staff to provide a script for getting people to sign up. Be sure they are aware of incentives to signing up and can offer them on the spot with a hand-written sign-up form, or a database they can add to.

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ENT PRACTICE RE-BRANDING

May 3, 2016 by Rachel Hunter

We’ve recently been working with our long-time clients at Ear, Nose & Throat Associates of San Mateo on updating their brand. They still like the logo we developed for them a decade ago, but have updated their print items and we’re wrapping up a new responsive website.

PARTNERSHIP MARKETING

February 25, 2016 by Rachel Hunter

This fabulous corporate headshot was produced by Lisa DeNeffe Photography – a business we are lucky to work with from time to time. The model is one of our long-time and favorite clients, Rosemary Camposano of Halo Blow Dry Bars and G3 Strategy.

Lisa and Halo have put together their services in such a great way. Halo is offering a discount to Lisa’s clients on hair and/or makeup styling before their photo session. And Lisa is offering Halo clients a discount on a corporate head shot package.

Both Halo and Lisa will send an e-mail campaign to their clients, so Halo will be introduced to potential new clients and vice versa. There will also be printed collateral for display and hand-outs and the web page version of the Halo e-mail campaign can be linked to from blogs and social media. At the least, each business is generating new in-coming links from credible sites to their own website for a nice search engine optimization boost.

Partnership marketing is a win-win situation. Your business’ clients win as they get an introduction to a new service or business and they get a nice deal. Your business wins with exposure, added brand recognition, and SEO.

MPS wins too! We have the opportunity to work with these great businesses and we developed the e-mail campaign Halo will send.

And my Facebook post for Halo reached eighty Facebookers in the hour after being posted.

TIPS! Think about the types of services that would complement your business and would be of benefit to your clients. This is such an excellent sample – what could be better than hair and makeup right before a photoshoot? Find a partner:

with an over-lapping target market to your business,
with a nice-sized e-mail list and/or blog following,
with the ability or contractor able to bring about a quality e-mail campaign and print collateral,
and with your level of energy and commitment to work to maximize all possible marketing pathways to make the partnership a success.

Thanks for reading – Rachel

GRAPHIC DESIGN DONATION

February 14, 2016 by Rachel Hunter

We are pleased to support the Montalvo Arts Center by donating graphic design and printing costs to the Montalvo Service Group. It’s the most local to us of the non-profits we support. Each time we visit, we feel good knowing we’ve contributed to the preservation of this beautiful villa and grounds.

This year, we’ve produced two designs for the mothers’ day brunch fundraising event. Wonder which they will choose?

If you would like to treat your mum to brunch next May, keep an eye on their website.

AN ADWORDS CAMPAIGN DONE WELL

GOOGLE ADWORDS EXPANDED TEXT

WHY WE DON’T RECOMMEND MAILCHIMP

NEW WEBSITE LAUNCH!

BUILDING YOUR MAILING LIST

ENT PRACTICE RE-BRANDING

PARTNERSHIP MARKETING

GRAPHIC DESIGN DONATION

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