Should I start with media buys?

20 replies
So this whole week was spent learning about media buys (banner advertising) I've gone through all kinds of courses from Kenster to PPC Coach to SiteScouts webinars and I've learned quite a few things so I can't say I'm a begginer. I learned how to use sites like MixRank/WhatRunsWhere to see what's currently working for my competitors so 50% of the testing is already done for me. I'm planning on depositing 500$ in SiteScout and I know that although I have a lot of intel it doesn't mean that my first campaign will be profitable.

So to get to the point, I've seen in a recent thread someone saying that 1500$ is not enough for someone to start going for media buys and that scared me. So what's you take on this. Do you think I should go on with it or start with PPV/PPC (wich I know nothing about)
#buys #media #start
  • Profile picture of the author sladex
    If you really know what you're do I think you should try.
    But not to play with money without knowing what you're doing.
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  • Profile picture of the author ChrisDH
    $1500 is enough to get started with media buying. Not guaranteeing you will succeed but you can definitely run tests and find profitable campaigns with that.

    Have you thought about doing any small direct to site buys? You will be able to find some highly targeted and cheaper media buys if you approach smaller sites in your niche.

    You can build up a great relationship with some of these smaller guys also and they will help you place and change your ads as you want.

    It is O'k watching videos and reading things but get stuck in there and buy some banner space to really learn.
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    • Profile picture of the author Michael Meaney
      Originally Posted by ChrisDH View Post

      Have you thought about doing any small direct to site buys? You will be able to find some highly targeted and cheaper media buys if you approach smaller sites in your niche.
      I think this is good advice.. smaller sites are more likely to work with you and help you fine tune your approach. For example, a few months ago we were approached by a company who wanted to advertise, so we ran their banner.. the results were ok but nothing to write home about so we ran different banners until it started producing the right results - with copy suggestions coming from us (we know what our visitors will click on, right?).

      Ask questions, and look at the headlines of the articles that have already been published on the site.. match their style and your chances of success improve.
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  • Profile picture of the author ChrisBa
    Originally Posted by AdrianCostan View Post

    So this whole week was spent learning about media buys (banner advertising) I've gone through all kinds of courses from Kenster to PPC Coach to SiteScouts webinars and I've learned quite a few things so I can't say I'm a begginer. I learned how to use sites like MixRank/WhatRunsWhere to see what's currently working for my competitors so 50% of the testing is already done for me. I'm planning on depositing 500$ in SiteScout and I know that although I have a lot of intel it doesn't mean that my first campaign will be profitable.

    So to get to the point, I've seen in a recent thread someone saying that 1500$ is not enough for someone to start going for media buys and that scared me. So what's you take on this. Do you think I should go on with it or start with PPV/PPC (wich I know nothing about)
    I personally don't think mediabuying is a good place to start.. I think POF, PPC, Facebook or even PPV is much easier to learn (IMO)..
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    • Profile picture of the author Greedy
      Originally Posted by ChrisBa View Post

      I personally don't think mediabuying is a good place to start.. I think POF, PPC, Facebook or even PPV is much easier to learn (IMO)..
      I completely agree. Media buying can be a rough place to start.
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    • Profile picture of the author williamrs
      Originally Posted by ChrisBa View Post

      I personally don't think mediabuying is a good place to start.. I think POF, PPC, Facebook or even PPV is much easier to learn (IMO)..
      I agree 100%. Media buying requires a high budget (probably more than $1500) and it's a bit more complicated than social PPC.

      But I won't tell you to stop what you're doing and get started with something different. Since you have already spent a lot of time on learning media buys and have good knowledge about it, give it a shot. Just make sure that you can afford losing the money you will invest. I'm not saying you won't turn a profit, but it's a risky business, so never risk more than you can lose.

      Regardless of your profits/losses, you will certainly learn a lot when you take action and test some campaigns, so it's never a mistake to test campaigns and learn how things work in the practice.


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  • Profile picture of the author Parry
    If you are a beginner start with PPC with a 2nd tier platform like 7search. Once you have profitable campaigns running scale up your campaigns. With a steady stream of profits you can afford to lose your money in media buys which of course is inevitable in the beginning.

    You can also get a coach like William(williamrs) who teaches media buys so that you have someone to guide you when you start out and also teach you the tricks of success from their extensive experience. I can assure you it can save you a lot of money and trouble.
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  • Profile picture of the author alchebank
    NO.

    You should start from PPC, POF, or PPV first because your money will be run out very fast in Media Buys and you might get nothing back.

    You need to know the basic of affiliate marketing first. For example, how to research demographics, how to write ads copies, how to design a landing page, how to design a banner, how to do split testing, etc. from PPC, POF, PPV, which are easier to start.
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  • Profile picture of the author gallaco
    I am seeing some good tips here since I am exactly in the same situation.
    I will try 7search
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  • Profile picture of the author Kenster
    I have seen just as many people do well with small budgets as large budgets. Large budgets encourage sloppiness...not testing and tracking and being diligent enough. When you have a small budget, you have no option but to keep track of every penny and make sure every penny counts...and that's why so many success stories start from people with not a dollar to their name.

    So don't worry on the actual investment as much as the process.

    Sure you need SOME capital to invest but the different between $1k and $10k to invest isn't as big as you would think...in my opinion

    Focus on the process!
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    • Profile picture of the author Spartan78
      I will start a media buying campaign in few days. I will use pulse360. My Skype is spartanu1978. Add me and we can talk there. And I think we can speak in our language)) RO
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  • Profile picture of the author alchebank
    I've just developed my Banner Tracking tool that you can find in my signature. If you'd like to start media buys with low budget, it's a good tool for you because you can contact the owners of the website to place your banner and get traffic directly from there.

    If you start media buys with self serve platform like SiteScout, the minimum deposit is $500, which is expensive for beginners.
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  • Profile picture of the author mcmcmcmc5
    "Should I start with media buys?"

    My definition of a media buy is any process whereby you are spending money in order to get traffic.

    This can include (by no means a full list):

    Direct Site Banners
    Search Engine PPC (Google, Bing etc)
    PPV
    Facebook Ads
    Radio Advertisments
    Exchange Banner buys
    Buying leads from a CPA network

    If you are just learning how to arbitrage purchased traffic with affiliate offers (buying traffic to send to affiliate offers to make a profit) my suggestion is to choose one traffic source, and focus on that.

    I would not suggest you go straight into direct site buys, as if you are just beginning, your rep at the sites will most probably smell this a mile off, and you won't be able to get the best deals.

    Have a speak with the guys around here who are experts in their respective traffic sources, be it PPC, PPV, banner media, etc, about what running the various sources of traffic involve. See which one interests you the most.

    Then, get to know this source inside out. Live and breath this source. Spend you time researching what is currently working there, and get a feel for the source. Then stick at it, and focus on this one source.

    You may be lucky and turn a profit immediately. You may not.

    Just remember, if you are looking for stability, you most probably won't find that initially. Campaigns do have a limited lifespan!

    Plan your cashflow, and treat it like a business, as you would treat any other.

    For what it's worth, if I were starting out as a solo affiliate looking to buy media, I would either use Sitescout, or one of the mobile platforms. The campaign optimization skills you'll learn in Sitescout can be applied to direct site buys/portal buys etc if you choose to move in that direction.

    Mobile traffic is still undervalued, and is certainly growing year on year, especially in international geos, latam especially.

    Any questions, let me know.
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    • Profile picture of the author Penn86
      Great info here guys, thanks. I too am researching how to best optimize media buying from the start so not to waste time and money. A good free webinar by Gauher Chaudhry here answered a lot of my questions;
      Click Here To Watch The Replay don't think it will be up much longer as he's promoting his work shop held in early May.
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  • Profile picture of the author junkdna
    if I may give you any advice, spend $200 on AdBeat and find what is working for other people. You'll be surprised how right (or wrong) your initial plans were. Most importantly, AdBeat is going to show you not just which markets work, but wich are the best placements (websites to publish your ads). You can spend fortune just testing which sites work best with your offers. AdBeat completely eliminates that waste.
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  • Profile picture of the author Monja
    none amount will give you a guarantee for success so you can also start with $500 or even $100... as long as you know what you are do, just do, don't get nervous after a day or two, i think that is pretty important
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  • Profile picture of the author SandraLarkin
    Banned
    I think more research is necessary than delving directly into high risk media buys.


    You need to know exactly how your offers convert with the specific type of traffic. I would recommend starting somewhere else.
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  • Profile picture of the author tahir100
    i highly recommend ppv but not the media buying as a starting point..
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