Tips For Testing New Things In Marketing

The Holiday Shopping season is upon us! In my opinion, it’s one of the best times ever to run new tests in Marketing. Running and measuring tests requires a massive amount of data to arrive at statistical significance. There will never be more data available than during your company’s busy season (which happens to be Q4 for many businesses, especially those in retail). Today, I wanted to share some high level tips and frameworks as you explore your own testing strategy.

Beta Testing

Never stop dreaming up new ideas. As performance marketers, I view each of us as "Mini CEOs". There are few disciplines as multi-disciplinary as digital marketing, and you are truly in the driver’s seat to create change and drive results for your overall company. No test is too crazy. No idea is wrong. In fact, I encourage testing just about anything. Even ideas that are seemingly strange or bad may work. Stay creative!
Treat each test as a new business. Get disciplined about it. In the world of digital marketing, we work with large budgets. The money at stake is meaningful and should be treated as your own. Approach each new marketing test with a complete business plan. Include an overview of the test, who will run it, how much money will be invested, what success will look like, an overview of plan b and plan c (in case plan a doesn’t work), and more. The business plan will inspire confidence in your management team. And, it will serve as a guide to those running the test. Think of it as Marketing’s equivalent of the PRD.
Create a calendar and script your entire busy season. You can only run so many tests at once. Prioritize the most important ones. Set specific dates that correspond with timeframes set forth in your business plan. Don’t know all of the tests you will be running? That’s ok, some of the best tests are impromptu and will be inspired by events that unfold in your market. Set time aside for new tests.
Collaborate with search engines and other partners. Some of the best tests are bigger than your company. Become a great beta testing partner. Participate in case studies. Allocate time and resources towards developing cutting edge technologies with others.
Don’t overlook offline marketing channels and other new channels. Are you primarily a digital marketer? Does your company avoid offline marketing? Challenge the norm. You’d be surprised that many of the characteristics that make you an excellent digital marketer will make you an excellent offline marketer.
Pay attention to all those emails and phone calls that come through. If you’re like me, you probably receive tons of new opportunities each week. I’m always being approached with new opportunities and have a tough time managing the level of emails. Of course, you can’t look at all of them, but try to pay attention to the biggest opportunities.
Set aside a separate budget, one that’s outside your team’s goals. Testing can be expensive. Even the most promising new ideas can be expensive in their earliest days. Carve out a separate testing budget from your bread and butter campaigns. Without this separate budget, teams are rarely incentivized to test since tests will typically raise overall CPA.
Realize that you and your team will be working longer hours during times of increased testing. Testing is super fun, and it’s a very motivating exercise. However, it definitely requires some extra time and attention. Again, it’s all about treating your company’s test budget as if it’s your own. Make sure every single penny is spent wisely.
Make sure proper measurement is in place. Collaborate with you Analytics Team. Never start a new test unless you are able to clearly measure and communicate its effectiveness. Testing is a complete waste if you cannot measure.
Consider tests that span different pillars of your overall Marketing program. Testing drives innovation, and you want all areas of your Marketing program to progress. Make sure to test across: ad copy, landing pages, bidding, beta features, targeting and segmentation, media channels and programs, and more. Every person on your team likely owns a portfolio of programs. Challenge each person to drive tests across each of their programs.
Document everything and delight in the process. Testing is so much fun! This is your time to shine. Make sure to present your results to everyone!
This final tip won’t help as much this year, but will certainly help going forward… Make sure to plan and do as much prep work as possible ahead of time. Build the landing pages, build the banners, get legal approval all well ahead of time. When things get busy, I like to focus on execution, and it’s always so great to have all the background work done well ahead of time.

Image of beta test © iStockPhoto – Aquir

Presenting At Digital Marketing Conferences: My Guide

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Nov 10 0

I’m a tremendous fan of presenting at digital marketing conferences. In fact, I Recently Spoke at SMX East. Public speaking is such an adrenaline rush, and am amazing way to give back to the digital marketing community.

Public Speaking

When my good friends at 3Q Digital extended the opportunity to write a guest post for their incredible blog, I just couldn’t resist one about public speaking. (Especially because their very own Jay Stampfl was on the panel about Advanced Bidding Strategies with me at SMX East.) Make sure to head on over to the 3Q Digital to read my Guide To Presenting At Digital Marketing Conferences.

I put a lot of work into this guide and cover all sorts of cool stuff:

Why Present? I give all the pros of presenting (there are many of them).
How To Score Your Speaking Opportunity. These are not easy to get, but a little hard work (and a savvy strategy) will get you there in no time.
How To Prepare. The best presentations come from attention to detail in the preparation phase.

Thinking about speaking at a digital marketing conference? Don’t know where to start? I hope my guide helps, and hope to see you speaking at the next big industry event!

Image of Public Speaking © iStockPhoto – uschools

My Favorite Digital Marketing Career Tips

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Oct 19 0

I’m a huge fan of the digital marketing career path and have been truly lucky over the last ten-plus years. I’ve grown all the way from SEM Coordinator at a startup to Vice President, Customer Acquisition at a large, publicly-traded company. And, I’ve had the true honor of helping many others build long-lasting, thriving careers in digital marketing too.

Career Development

When my good friends at Acquisio offered me the opportunity to guest post on their amazing blog, I just had to write all about my top lessons learned from a career standpoint. Check it out: Digital Marketing Career Lessons Learned. In my guest post, I went all out! It’s a really long post, packed with tips. I’m always learning and growing. The tips in this post are those that are top-of-mind right now, and I hope they help in building your career.

While you’re over at Acquisio, I highly recommend subscribing to their blog and checking out their performance marketing platform. Their blog and technology are among the best in our industry.

Image of Career © iStockPhoto – rafal_olechowski

Fun Times Speaking At SMX East New York

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Oct 4 0

This past week, I spoke about Advanced PPC Bidding Strategies at SMX East, New York. It was so much fun. Today, I wanted to share my experience and some cool pictures.

My Speaking Opportunity: It’s All About Great Friendships

PPC Ian and Leo Polanowski (Head of Client Services, Americas – Yahoo!)

If you’ve been reading PPC Ian for a while, you probably know that I’m a huge fan of public speaking. Earlier this year, for example, I enjoyed being the Keynote Speaker At A Big YPO Event. When this SMX East opportunity presented itself, I just had to make it happen! It’s all about networking with the best and brightest in the industry. It’s all about giving back and Associating With Great People. Network in the right way (build real friendships and help others), and these great opportunities have a way of presenting themselves! I’m truly thankful for my friends in the industry who made this opportunity a reality.

My Experience Attending and Speaking At SMX East

PPC Ian and Jay Stampfl Speaking At SMX East

The highlight of my trip to New York was speaking at SMX East. When it comes to public speaking, it’s all about preparation. I actually prepared my presentation a few months ago. To commemorate my 10-plus years in the industry, I decided to present 10 lessons learned on advanced PPC bidding strategies (actually there was an 11th tip too, a bonus one). While my presentation was prepared months ago, it’s all about adding value far above-and-beyond the words printed on the slides. As such, I spent a good amount of time the days leading up to my presentation practicing, writing down notes, and finalizing my presentation. I found that this last minute prep work truly adds value and makes for a stellar presentation.

And, it went flawlessly. I was part of an exciting panel with two other leaders in digital marketing: Jay Stampfl from 3Q Digital and Lauryan Feijen from iProspect. Our panel was moderated by Brad Geddes, another leader in digital marketing. I really enjoy panels because they offer the presenter the opportunity to collaborate and form great friendships. Also, they offer the audience a variety of different viewpoints on the same topic, which is always cool. All three of our presentations were really great, and the questions from the audience kept coming. Really fun times!

Aside from the speaking, the overall SMX East conference and New York experience was amazing. I stayed at the Sheraton New York Times Square. They treated me like a king. Times Square itself was really cool. I enjoyed meeting up with several friends during my trip, including Leo Polanowski (Head of Clients Services, Americas at Yahoo!) and Robby (one of my old friends, a veteran in our indsutry). I found the food in New York truly delicious, especially the the pizza. The weather was stellar (70s), and the week couldn’t have gone better. I left energized and excited about our industry! I also left feeling truly thankful that I have a boss and employer who supported me through the entire process. Thanks, SMX East, for the great opportunity and fun times!

Pictures From SMX East 2014 and My Trip To New York

SMX East Javits Center

Sheraton New York

New York Times Square

Sheraton New York View

New York Pizza

Images in this post © PPCIan.com

Acquisio Gives Back To The Kids

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Sep 28 1

I’m a tremendous fan of the digital marketing career path. Those of us who work hard in digital marketing are able to build truly exciting and rewarding careers. I’m also a tremendous fan of giving back. When you have built a rewarding career, you’re in the driver’s seat to give back. Nicole and I recently participated in (and donated money to) the 20th Annual Lupus 5k, for example.

Today, I wanted to highlight a company that has truly gone above-and-beyond, Acquisio. Each year, my good friend Marc Poirier, Co-Founder and EVP of Business Development, participates in the Make-A-Wish Foundation 48-Hour Ride. This year, Marc personally raised $10,945. In total, Acquisio raised $37,702. Simply amazing!

I wanted to take a moment to congratulate Marc and the entire Acquisio team. They are true leaders in our industry from a technology standpoint, and also a generosity standpoint. Their hard work will truly make a difference for the kids. Do you have any team charity events planned? No matter how big or small, no matter whether you are donating money or your time, every little bit counts! And, it’s a great vehicle for team building!

If you’d like to contribute to Marc Poirier’s Make-A-Wish campaign, you can still do so! I was actually a little bit late this time, and my donation went through just fine. Please consider donating to Make-A-Wish, make a difference in a kid’s life today!

Make-A-Wish

Maui 2014, It Was Amazing

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Sep 7 0

"At the Sheraton, they treat you like a King," one of my good friends from Stanford once said. Well, this has never been more true than at the Sheraton Maui at Black Rock. Nicole and I just got back from a fabulous 7-night vacation and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. We try to visit Hawaii every year, and this year’s vacation was one of the best. (We actually visited the Big Island of Hawaii last year for an amazing 7-night stay at the Marriott Waikaloa Village. Unfortunately, I was so busy at that time that I never got around to blogging about it. Not this time… It’s time to talk about incomparable Maui, Hawaii…)

Kaanapali Beach, Where It’s At

I love Kaanapali beach. A truly magnificent setting, Kaanapali beach is home to some of the best hotels on Maui. Kaanapali is special for a multitude of reasons:

Breakfast Buffet at Sheraton Maui

It’s quiet but also offers a lot to do, all within walking distance.
The waters are calm enough for a novice/intermediate swimmer, but also offer some waves for more advanced swimmers (I really enjoyed boogieboarding last time I was on Kaanapali). You experience a diverse array of wave conditions spanning this incredibly long beach. Right near Black Rock, for example, waters are generally calm with amazing snorkeling. Further down, however, waves are large enough for boogieboarding and surfing.
The hotels are literally right on the beach. The ocean is right at your fingertips. Nicole and I enjoyed a few pool and beach days. We’d get a cabana at the pool and rotate between going in the pool and the ocean. (Cabana days are a great way to relax, more on these later…)
The beach boardwalk path allows you to walk the entire beach, connecting all the hotels and attractions. A stroll on this path never gets old. The scenery of the Island of Lanai (just across the water), the incomparable sunsets (unlike any sunset I have ever seen), or simply the waves crashing will truly make your day.
For those that really love shopping (like Nicole and myself), Whaler’s Village Shopping Center is amazing. I enjoyed shopping at one of my favorite stores, Tory Richard. They also offer outstanding restaurants like Leilani’s (more on this later).
For those that like earning loyalty points at their favorite hotel chain, you’ll find many major brands such as Sheraton (where we stayed this time), Westin (where we stayed last time), Marriott, Hyatt, and more. I was delighted to earn Starwood points while relaxing in paradise.
There is so much here and so much to do, but it’s also incredibly relaxed and quiet. I mentioned this back in point number one but want to reiterate because that’s the true magic, in my opinion. And, given the number of hotels and attractions, it’s hard to believe, but incredibly true.

Highlighting Our Favorite Experiences This Time In Maui

As I get older, I have come to realize that it’s all about special experiences. Special moments spent on vacation with your loved ones are worth every last penny, and are the times in life that I truly cherish. Over the years, I have learned that these breaks are mandatory to recharge my batteries, and stay healthy. I encourage you to also take time for yourself! In the spirit of priceless memories, I want to transition into some of my favorite moments from our 2014 Maui, Hawaii vacation.

Cabana Days

Maui Pool Cabana Day

The Pool at Sheraton Maui offers an array of cabanas for rent. Knowing that the sun in Hawaii is strong, cabanas offer shade while enjoying the pool and ocean. Not to mention, they offer a bit of privacy, better cushions/comfort, and come with great food and drink service. Nicole and I enjoyed two different cabanas on this vacation, one facing the pool and one facing the ocean. We really enjoyed these lazy days of resting at the cabana, swimming in the Sheraton’s "lazy river-style" pool, and enjoying the ocean. The Sheraton offers cool oversized drink containers that can be purchased and refilled with your favorite beverage. I enjoyed my fair share of lava flows, a delicious tropical mix of Pina Colada and Strawberry Daiquiri in one delicious drink. As incredibly busy marketing professionals, I feel like these days allowed us to recharge our batteries. Getting a healthy dose of UV rays was also very welcomed and refreshing.

Surfing Goat Dairy Farm

Ian and Nicole at Surfing Goat Dairy Farm

We have seen so many amazing things on Maui over the years. Each time, we search for new and special attractions. One of this year’s favorites was Surfing Goat Dairy. Maui (and the Hawaiian Islands in general) attract some of the best farmers around. Not only are the conditions pristine for farming, but the talent is unparalleled. This year, we were captivated by this boutique goat dairy farm. We especially enjoyed feeding the goats and sampling the goat cheese. Our tour guide was really great and even took a picture of us with a cute baby goat in our lap, too cool!

Ocean Vodka Tour

Have you enjoyed Vodka on Hawaiian Airlines? Chances are you have had Ocean Vodka, the official vodka of the airline. While this Vodka producer has been around a while, they only started doing tours a few years back. I was incredibly impressed with the vodka (delicious), the facility, and more than anything the vision. Ocean Vodka was started by the son of a long-time construction family on Maui. He had a unique vision: Create the best vodka around from hand-harvested cane sugar, while leveraging his family’s construction background in building a world-class facility. He found a way to create a special product, build a dazzling facility/operation, incorporate his entire family into the business (even his mom was working there), and achieve true success. These are the types of businesses that impress me the most; Ones that develop top-notch products, and live the dream while doing it.

Dinner At Leilani’s and their Hula Pie

Dinner at Leilani’s Maui

The food on Maui is unparalleled. Nicole and I enjoyed dining out at a variety of restaurants. We enjoyed following Yelp which took us to Paia Fish Market in the surfer town of Paia. We enjoyed casual dining at the Sheraton pool while watching the sun set. We enjoyed Kimo’s, an old favorite in downtown Lahaina. We enjoyed the lavish breakfast buffet each morning, offering everything you could ever hope for. Most of all, we enjoyed Leilani’s, a staple of Whaler’s Village. The fish at Leilani’s was so good we want back twice! Tip for those going: Bring back your receipt from the first night and you may be eligible for a free Hula Pie, one of the best deserts I have ever had. The fish and fresh fruit/vegetables on Hawaii are the best in the world, in my opinion.

Chilling In The Ocean

I recently wrote a blog post about the calming power of running called Running Is Clarity. Well, there is an equally calming force out there, the ocean. I enjoyed swimming in the ocean at the end of many days. I’d go out, swim around, tread water for a bit, and see the sights. All the hotels on Kaanapali beach look so incredible from the ocean. It’s so calming in the ocean, and a wonderful way to relax and unwind. If I lived in Hawaii you’d probably find me starting and/or ending each day with some chilling and thinking out in the ocean.

The Road To Hana

There were so many delightful highlights on this year’s Maui trip that I could go on for a long time. However, I’ll continue with just one more, The Road To Hana. if you’ve been to Maui or heard about Maui, you’ve probably heard about The Road To Hana. It’s famous! This incredible road is truly windy and breathtaking. You better bring your best driving skills to The Road To Hana, as its very windy, with many one-lane bridges. We had so much fun seeing the picturesque landscape, stopping to hike and see the sights, and enjoying the beautiful nature that is Maui. We especially enjoyed stopping to hike to waterfalls, and also exploring a beautiful tropical botanical garden.

Sheraton vs. Westin, Two Special Kaanapali Beach Hotels

Chilling At The Banyan Tree In Lahaina

Are you thinking about taking a trip to Kaanapali beach? Are you a fan of Starwood properties but unsure which to choose? Having stayed at both the Westin and the Sheraton, I’m here to say that you really can’t go wrong with either, although we slightly prefer the Sheraton. They are both tremendous properties. The Westin offers a super fun waterside (it’s really fast and tall), the Westin name, a central location towards the middle of Kaanapali, proximity to Whalers Village (it’s literally right next door), cool birds (especially flamingos) right in the lobby, and more. However, it’s more of a high rise feel, rooms seem smaller, and self-parking can be incredibly competitive. The Sheraton (the original/first hotel built on Kaanapali) offers a relaxed lower rise feel, very expansive grounds, the best beach on all of Kaanapali, an open feel to the buildings, better/newer rooms, and location near picturesque Black Rock. I only have two areas where the Sheraton could improve: We didn’t get a preview of our hotel bill under the door the night before checkout and they didn’t restock the bottled water in our room. Overall, we slightly prefer the Sheraton, and hope to visit again very soon. Please note that Starwood also offers the Westin Villas further up the coastline (you need a shuttle to get there), but we have not yet visited (other than for dinner) so I’m unable to compare the Villas in this post, but hope to visit one day in the future.

Thanks for reading! Do you enjoy Hawaii? Any unique experiences in Maui?

Want to read about some of our other Hawaii adventures? Make sure to check out some of these blog posts:

More Pictures From Maui, Hawaii

Sugar Cane Maui

Ian and Nicole Maui

PPC Ian Sheraton Maui

PPC Ian Maui Hawaii Tropical Plantation

Maui Sheraton Beach

Maui Hawaii Waterfall

Maui Hawaii Sunset

All images in this this post © PPCIan.com

Running Is Clarity

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Aug 25 2

If you’ve been reading PPC Ian for a while, you probably know that I enjoy running. You’ll find me running a good 10-12 miles per week. From time-to-time, I enjoy participating in 5K charity races (I’ve even done a 10K and half marathon too). I’m not very fast, but I sure have endurance. More than anything, I enjoy running after a long day of work. For the busy business professional with a demanding schedule and hectic life, running brings clarity.

Runners I’m here to encourage you to get out there and run! Do you find yourself so busy at work that it’s difficult to take a step back and think strategy? I’m not talking about business strategy here. I’m talking about your life. I’m talking about your future. I’m talking about building your dream life. Thinking about your future requires clarity. It requires slowing everything down. Running brings that clarity and slows the world down.

Some other reasons I recommend running:

You get to listen to your favorite music while running, as loud as you’d like! And, you know PPC Ian enjoys bumping that rap music while running (and blogging).
Running is an investment in your health, and there is nothing more important than your health. Your health is your longevity. Your health is your energy. Your health is your ticket to living a long life, providing for your family, and getting the most out of your workday.
Running helps you sleep better at night. After a long run, I’m so exhausted that I cannot wait to get a solid night’s sleep. Most of us digital marketing professionals probably don’t have problems sleeping anyways (since we work such long hours) but the extra solid sleep is definitely nice.
Running is a sport for winners. I cannot tell you how many awesome, amazing people I have encountered at various charity races. Running brings out the best of the best, the real leaders and positive winners.
Running is something you can do almost anywhere: Before work, after work, on vacation, during business travel. Running is almost always possible.
Running eliminates stress. Difficult workday? Get out there and run your stress away.

Next time you are looking to slow things down and experience clarity, get out there and run as fast and as far as you can!

Associate With Great People

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Aug 17 0

Who do you associate with? Is your inner circle uplifting your life and career? Are they pushing you forward and challenging your mind? If your answer is “yes”, you are on a great path. Associating with great people, and great digital marketers, will push your own potential to the maximum.

However, what if that is not the case? What if you’ve got a few bad apples around? They could be in your business/professional life or personal life. If you’re not associating with great people, your progress could be stagnated or, even worse, reversed. While most professionals in digital marketing are great, I have run across a few bad apples over the years.

Today, I’m thrilled to share some tips on how to Associate With Great Digital Marketers. To read my tips, you’ll want to click the previous link and head on over to my friends at 3Q Digital, one of the top digital marketing agencies around. If you’ve been a PPC Ian reader for a while, you may know that I have the honor of guest posting over at 3Q Digital from time-to-time. I’m a tremendous fan of 3Q Digital and hope you enjoy reading today’s guest post. Above and beyond the world of digital marketing, I hope today’s tips help provide food for thought around your overall business and life strategy!

Don’t Own Stocks? You Should (With Loyal3)

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Aug 4 6

This blog is all about careers in marketing. Why then, do I spend so much time on personal finance? First and foremost, I love personal finance. Second, I believe personal finance is key to your career (it’s a great topic to discuss with executives) and your longevity (invest wisely now and you could retire while still a relatively young marketing professional). I’m truly excited to introduce Loyal3 today, a disruptive game-changer.

What is Loyal3?

Invest

Loyal3 is an SIPC member stock broker that makes investing accessible to everyone (including you). Ever want to buy an individual stock but don’t want to pay commissions? Loyal3 charges no commissions by batching your order with others (they execute fewer trades this way), and receiving compensation from companies. Brands pay Loyal3 because smaller, loyal shareholders mean less volatility in share price and consumer brand loyalty. (Hmmm… Wait a minute, I think I have been drinking more Starbucks since I started purchasing SBUX via Loyal3. Loyal3, you got me!)

Ever want to buy stock but don’t have enough money to buy a single share (especially for more expensive issues like GOOG and AAPL)? Loyal3 allows you to buy fractional shares, starting at a minimum investment of $10 per trade. Ever want to buy stocks, but don’t know where to start? Loyal3 offers only the biggest and best brands (about 50 stocks are offered for purchase. (While some may see this as limiting, I see it as pure clarity. I’m personally all about the big brands that pay big, growing dividends. Maybe it’s because I’m a marketer and truly admire a great brand…)

In other words, Loyal3 removes all barriers that have ever kept you from owning individual stocks. In my opinion, no business professional should say, "I don’t own individual stocks", with this cool new invention called Loyal3.

Loyal3 also offers the ability for small investors to participate in IPOs. I wanted to call this out because it’s incredibly cool, but didn’t want it to be the focus of today’s post because I prefer a brand-driven, long-term strategy. (Many are in IPOs for a quick gain, only to sell the issue later.)

PPC Ian’s Personal Loyal3 Strategy

So how am I personally leveraging Loyal3? As a long-time investor and finance enthusiast, you may be thinking, "PPC Ian probably already has a broker. Does he really need another one?" My answer is, "Yes and yes!" Here’s why:

I can buy via credit card and earn rewards points. You read that correctly: Loyal3 allows investors to purchase stock commission-free via credit card. Due to the rewards points, not only am I avoiding commissions, but I’m essentially being compensated to buy stock in my favorite brands. Loyal3 limits credit card-based trades to $50, however you can execute as many as you like. I’m actually in the platform buying stock almost every single day, sometimes multiple times in one day. (I see this transaction size limit as another benefit, see my later point about dollar cost averaging.)

Before we move on, two incredibly important points about credit cards. First, always pay your balance in full each and every month. Leverage your card for points, but do it responsibly. You don’t want to go into debt to buy stock. If you’re in debt already, pay your debt off first.

Second, please don’t use Loyal3 as a churn-and-burn platform. I have read some blog posts about how some individuals are buying stock via credit card and then selling as quickly as possible. They are using Loyal3 to hit their spend thresholds to achieve sign-on bonuses for credit cards. I feel like this type of activity is against the charter of Loyal3 (creating loyal shareholders) and is a deceptive practice that could hurt this cool, little brokerage. Get those points, but only do it if you’re a real, long-term investor and plan on holding your stock. Let’s do the right thing here so this credit card option is around for a long, long time (for those of us who use it responsibly).

As hinted at above, another big aspect of my Loyal3 strategy is dollar cost averaging. It’s difficult (impossible perhaps) to accurately predict the future of the overall stock market, and individual stocks too. Dollar cost averaging is all about risk mitigation. With no commissions to hold you back, I like to buy many smaller lots on a very frequent, recurring basis. Odds are, I will be buying when prices are high, medium, and low (my favorite scenario). It’s the average that matters, and I’m not going to buy the absolute market top in one big lot this way. Moreover, dollar cost averaging creates discipline. I’m buying rain or shine. This is possible with traditional Internet-based discount brokerages on perhaps a weekly or monthly basis, but definitely not a daily basis, at least given the size of my investing budget. (The fees would be way too high Asa percentage of my dollars invested.)

The final pillar of my Loyal3 strategy is one of simplicity and record keeping. In other accounts, I already own some of the stocks that Loyal3 offers. I was very close doubling down and setting up some recurring buys in Loyal3 as well. However, I then realized the record keeping would get too intense: (Recurring) buys of the same stock across different brokerage accounts. I concluded to simply focus on stocks I wanted to own anyway, but didn’t already have in other accounts. Why not keep things easy on myself? While I don’t plan on selling, I’m very much an advocate of impeccable records.

In sum, I’m really excited about Loyal3. I guess I’m a finance geek at heart, with new innovations like Lending Club and Loyal3 topping my list of favorite inventions in the last few years. Now, combine a Loyal3 strategy (stocks) with a Lending Club strategy (loans), and you’ve got a really rockin’ portfolio strategy!

Disclaimer: Long SBUX
Disclaimer: I’m not a financial advisor. This is not investment advice. This is for entertainment purposes only. Please contact your financial advisor before making any investment decisions.
Image of invest © iStockPhoto – frankpeters

Acquisio Bing Ads Promotion Ends Soon (7/31)

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Jul 27 0

I’m a huge fan of diversification. Whether we’re talking about investments, digital marketing, or life in general, it’s all about diversifying away risk. Are you newer to digital marketing? Do you allocate all of your digital marketing budget to Google AdWords? This is how most people start, and makes total sense. However, as your business grows (or even if you’re in a happy steady state and are looking to lower risk), you may want to consider branching out beyond Google. The best place to start, in my opinion: Bing Ads, the platform that powers Yahoo! and Bing.

Today, I want to feature a special promotion from my good friends at Acquisio, a leading performance marketing platform. I have been great friends with the Acquisio team for a number of years. They are amazing and offer one of the best digital marketing technologies around. Acquisio is leveraged by advanced marketing operations, and is the platform of choice for digital marketing agencies. Also, they offer client services from industry experts. Combining a solid technology platform plus seasoned digital marketing client services support is the winning combination for success in today’s complex online marketing landscape.

Like yours truly, Acquisio believes in the power of diversification. They are confident that Bing Ads is a great opportunity for digital marketers. In fact, they are so confident that they are offering up to $2,500 Bing Ads free advertising. Make sure to head on over to Acqusio to learn more and, if interested, move quickly. This particular opportunity ends July 31, 2014 at 11:59 PM EST.

Here’s why I’m such a fan of this particular promotion:

Bing Ads works! I have been a long-time advertiser on Bing Ads and its predecessors (such as Microsoft adCenter, Yahoo! Search Marketing, and Overture) since the early 2000s.
In many verticals, Bing Ads tends to be less competitive than Google. (True, search volume is lower on Bing Ads, however the lower level of competition makes it easy to drive high quality traffic to your business.)
Just like Google, Bing Ads offers world-class technology and support. They have a great desktop editor application, cutting-edge features, and a super support team (powered by Yahoo!).
Acquisio is an amazing technology platform and company. I have learned so much from them over the years (via their speaking at industry conferences, personal friendships, and their industry-leading whitepapers and eBooks). Aside from the free money, this is simply a great opportunity to work with very smart people in building your Bing strategy. The value you extract from this opportunity should far exceed the simple monetary benefit.
Have you been considering Acquisio as the platform of choice to power your digital marketing operations? This is a great time to audition their platform while taking advantage of a sweet deal.
Every dollar helps. I’m a very frugal digital marketer. I drive the best possible results with the lowest possible spend. I’m scrappy. I have found that the scrappy, frugal approach works wonders for any business. I very rarely pass by free money, and here’s your opportunity to get some free money. You have to spend money to get the free credit (check out Acquisio for more info on the details), but free money is free money. And, if you wanted to test Bing anyways, why not get free money and special support from an incredibly successful platform and client services team?
It’s all about testing and diversification. If you’re not on Bing Ads, you really should be, in my opinion. Leverage this opportunity to diversify your digital marketing mix.

Thanks, Acquisio, for sharing such a special deal!

This promotion is being run by Acquisio. Restrictions may apply. Please make sure you check out Acquisio’s website (and contact them) to learn the full details.
Image in this post © Acquisio

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