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Is PPC a Waste of Time for List Building?

by rimam1
32 replies
  • SEO
    • |
Hey guys,

I've tried sending both MSN and Facebook traffic to this squeeze, with abyssmal conversion rates... I haven't broken 20% optin rate. Here's the squeeze:

The #1 Workout Routines Blog for Men (and Women Too :-)

I'm sure I could tweak my squeeze page, and in fact I have 2 other versions that I'm split testing against each other, but I'm starting to think that PPC traffic is useless for building a list.

What do you think?

Raza
#building #list #ppc #time #waste
  • Profile picture of the author PerformanceMan
    20% sounds decent. Is the traffic costing you too much?
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    • Profile picture of the author RogueOne
      Originally Posted by PerformanceMan View Post

      20% sounds decent.
      Not in my book. I convert FB traffic at around 56% overall. I have some ads running through brokers that convert in the high 70%s.
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  • Profile picture of the author RogueOne
    Originally Posted by rimam1 View Post

    I'm starting to think that PPC traffic is useless for building a list.
    Any traffic source is all about how you optimize your campaign. The traffic source is not to blame. You may be targeting improperly, your ads may suck, your squeeze may not be converting.

    You could get the same results from search, forum, blog commenting, article, etc. traffic.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kal Sallam
    Hey Rimam1 that's how I would approach this:

    1. Focus on a much more hypey headline but don't go over board.
    2. Get a nicer looking ebook cover & center your opt-in forum.
    3. Don't send 100 clicks and then say you are at a 20% conv. rate
    You need more traffic to gather some true data.

    Your at 20% you need to be at 50% the least so 30% more to go, with
    Some simple alterations you will get there.

    P.S. PPC traffic from FB & MSN is 1st tier ppc, very high quality clicks
    You are getting there, and also very targeted. Also your ad wording
    Needs to match your headline, your squeeze page, & your offer.


    Kal.
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  • Profile picture of the author jasonl70
    I've looked at this page before.. and have the same comments on it:

    here's 2 that come to mind:

    1) your listing features, not benefits
    2) it sounds like a lot of work (high intensity.. btw, how in h3ll does divulging it's about intensity help you convert???)

    Don't tell me about high intensity training - tell me I'll be in and out of the gym in half the time, with twice the results!! If you're going after lifters with some experience, explain how they'll they'll walk out with pump every time.. how their friends will wonder what andro they're taking.. etc

    for every bullet, ask your self "so what? why do I care".. eventually you'll get to some benefits.

    Talk about benefits.. talk about pain (not of the solution, but the pain of being the dude in the gym with small arms, no pecs,etc; or the guy who needs to stay by the bouncer when he's at the bar so he feels protected ).. but DON'T talk about the features of your ebook!

    Stop tweaking around the edges and rewrite the sales copy.
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  • Profile picture of the author helisell
    You need a niche.

    Just a general 'getting ripped' product is too vague.

    Workout routines for "Mums wanting to lose their excess pregnancy fat and get re-toned" is an example of a niche. There aren't as many of them but they will resonate with your sales message if they fall into that category.

    Workout routines for "crash dieters who have lost weight but been left with excess skin and un-toned muscles" is another example.

    Not saying they are the best examples buy I'm sure you see what I mean.

    If you become the 'go to guy' in a very specific niche like that then you'll find you have massive % sign ups.

    Good luck
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  • Profile picture of the author Pixel Minisite
    The headline needs to be more eye catching and the page needs more killing graphics
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    • Profile picture of the author FromBrokeToRich
      PPC is AWESOME especially with MSN...

      Here's the thing...

      People are getting less and less interested in capture pages with simple ad copy. What is converting the best right now are capture pages like yours but with your own personal video with a strong call to action for visitors to enter their email.
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  • Profile picture of the author napoleonfirst
    Well, you need to think about the lifetime value of your lits. You can send them offers all your life spending dimes per mail. A list is one of the most valuable assets of a I'm business as many list owners value their leads at more than $5 per month.
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  • Profile picture of the author ultimajohn
    Hey,

    I saw your squeeze page and a few things came to mind. It looks a little amateurish. I can tell it's from Optimize Press, but the photo makes it look bad.

    Here are some suggestiongs:

    1. Trying removing the photo
    2. Change the header and had more value (The Gary Halbert Letter) check headers section.
    3. Add more benefits in your content area (again, the gary halbert letters site can help).
    4. Find successful squeeze pages and copy their layouts.

    Adwords and PPC are one of the best traffic sources. And they do work. Theres a marketing genius by the name of Brittany Lynch. She specializes in PPC. She knows her stuff. Check out her webinar on this exact method:

    http://www.webinarswaps.com/webinars/replay/traffic

    Also, Clay Collins has some really good Squeeze page scripts that work wonders. I think it's called Lead Pages; just google it.

    Oh, yeah... check out this link: The Anatomy of A "Guru" Type Squeeze Page Funnel

    Josh has a similar squeeze page to yours, and he says it's converting more than 30%.

    Hope this helps


    John
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  • Profile picture of the author PPC-Coach
    All the advice above is solid, but it's your expectations that are a bit high.

    20% is pretty good. Sure you can tweak things to get it higher but if you're expecting 100%, you're dreaming. Nobody gets 100% optin ever. You could give away 1,000,000 dollars and still wouldn't get 100% optin.

    You're not hitting their pain points and the calls to action are weak. Work on those and it'll increase your optin rate.
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  • Profile picture of the author Joey Starkey
    I have done PPC, but I find it too expensive for my taste.

    Too many other ways to get a subscriber.

    @GlenH I sent you a PM
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  • Profile picture of the author Robert Montgomery
    20% is ok but with PPC you need to always tweak it to see better results split testing is a must with PPC IMO and even changing a word in your ad can make a difference.
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  • Profile picture of the author shabit87
    Are you doing any type of split testing? I know that is a lot of the problem there, I myself am guilty of not split testing, it can make all the difference. Sometimes a simple pic will do while other times a video is best. I'd test out headlines and the graphic. Then go from there to see which is converting more. Spend a small amount of your funding to drive traffic to specific pages and test the conversions. You may find that it's as simple as changing your headline...you may find out that the pop-up to the right bottom, is a distraction. Test, track, and revise :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author denysapu
    I do agree with RogueOne
    that you don't need to blame the traffic source "You could get the same results from search, forum, blog commenting, article, etc. traffic."
    You think I should change my ad copy to say that there's actually something they download?
    Yes, why not to try?
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  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    The problem may be your PPC source. Have you tested Adwords? Were you banned from them or something?
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  • Profile picture of the author chempez
    targeted traffic may give you good ctr. have you tried POF ?

    offcourse you need to modify your ad and landing page.. ever tried video presentation / testimonial for your LP ? fiverrr works well for it
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  • Profile picture of the author khooster1
    Change to a one line heading. Less is more..
    I am sure you can improve on the conversion.

    I just change mine: The Ultimate List Building Strategy | Auto Pilot Income in 30 Days!
    Can do for your reference.
    This increased my conversion by 50%.
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  • Profile picture of the author RachelLily
    PPC can be a very effective way to generate new contacts, leads and sales. But there can be a lot of money at stake so play smart and careful. Make sure you use all the tricks available to create landing pages with strong conversions. If you put in the effort up-front you can avoid throwing good money away directing people to generic pages like your home page.

    Try asking friends or co-workers to take a look at your page (for 5 to 15 seconds) and then give you some feedback. Make sure not to prime the pump by telling them what the page is for... instead have them look at it blind and then ask them questions like:
    What do you remember about the page?
    What is the main message of the page?
    What is the product or service being offered?

    If the answers you get correlate to your goals and objectives you are off to a reasonable start... if not you may want to go back to the drawing board before spending valuable time and money on live testing with PPC.
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  • Profile picture of the author lloydmc
    Originally Posted by rimam1 View Post

    Hey guys,

    I've tried sending both MSN and Facebook traffic to this squeeze, with abyssmal conversion rates... I haven't broken 20% optin rate. Here's the squeeze:

    The #1 Workout Routines Blog for Men (and Women Too :-)

    I'm sure I could tweak my squeeze page, and in fact I have 2 other versions that I'm split testing against each other, but I'm starting to think that PPC traffic is useless for building a list.

    What do you think?

    Raza
    20% sounds like you want to be testing and testing some more... its not abysmal but you should try to shoot for 30% no matter what the conditions, if you can that is...
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  • Profile picture of the author MikeThomas
    Originally Posted by rimam1 View Post

    Hey guys,

    I've tried sending both MSN and Facebook traffic to this squeeze, with abyssmal conversion rates... I haven't broken 20% optin rate. Here's the squeeze:

    The #1 Workout Routines Blog for Men (and Women Too :-)

    I'm sure I could tweak my squeeze page, and in fact I have 2 other versions that I'm split testing against each other, but I'm starting to think that PPC traffic is useless for building a list.

    What do you think?

    Raza
    PPC is not useless for list building.

    20% Conversion rate means nothing. Were not in the response percentage game, were in the ROI game.

    The real question you need to ask is what are you willing to pay to get a customer.

    What is your cost per lead?
    What is your cost per sale?
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    P.P.S If you'd like to discover how to create high converting money-getting video salesletters you should check out my most recent WSO Video Conversion Cash Machine

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  • Profile picture of the author nicholasb
    not unless yo udo it right, you have to keep in mind that ppc is cold traffic and needs to be wormed up.

    What I like to do is right after opt in for a free gift, I usually do a series of 4 videos that promotes a webinar then wait to do any selling until the last 5 minutes of the webianr.

    This way they get warmed up with out selling them anything at first, this will also lower their defenses.

    You can also direct them to a low priced $4.95-$7 offer right after they optin, to help offset the cost of the ppc. everyone who buys that will be put on a special buyer list, but will stil receive the 4 free videos and invite to the webianr.

    as far as your page have you setup any split tests on the headline, the headline should promise a direct result. Like How gain 7 pounds of muscle in 16 days in under 2 hours per week.

    Another important part of a headline is believability, people have to believe what you promise is actually possible.
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  • Profile picture of the author eniggma
    You gotta keep testing and tweaking man. As was mentioned earlier you have to focus on the biggest benefit with an attention getting headline. A targeted headline. That's the thing about ppc you gotta be willing to lose money testing before you get positive ROI. And that means more than 100 clicks.
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  • Profile picture of the author tomerep
    PPC advertising can be an effective way to build your email list. PPC is a quick way to jumpstart any online program but the dollars will begin to add up very quickly.

    If you plan to use PPC to build your email list you have to spend some time creating effective landing pages. You are spending real money to drive this traffic so your pages must work hard to convert your traffic into registered email recipients that you can follow up with later in an attempt to create new business and paying customers.
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  • Profile picture of the author webtolight
    The landing page looks good.

    Maybe I would put more eye-catching graphics or design it some more.

    Conversion rate sounds great, but definitely it can be better.

    Sometimes the traffic is that great and would definitely look into more "quality" sources.

    Hope it goes well for you!
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  • Profile picture of the author howtogurus
    A better way to look at it is how much each lead is costing you. As long as you are getting leads in the price range you want to pay then it is successful. I have had good luck with Bing in the past. The real trick of course is converting those leads into buyers. That is where you can figure out how much you can afford to pay for each lead.
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  • Profile picture of the author winsoar
    You've chosen a very high competition area, so probably the cost per clicks will be high.

    I've used the Yahoo/Bing network very successfully to build profitable lists in other niches, admittedly ones that are not as competative as weight loss/exercise.
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  • Profile picture of the author Marty Foley
    I'm assuming you're using both conversion tracking and web analytics to find out exactly which keywords, keyword match types, ad variations, landing page variations, geographic areas, traffic sources, etc. are working best for you, and which aren't?

    Armed with such data (the more the better) you can increase conversions and reduce costs simply by applying the 80/20 rule toward improving and expanding on what's working, and working on improving, reducing or eliminating what's not working, or not working as well.

    ~ Marty Foley
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