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Brick No145: My license to print money expires on 31 May
By Matt Weston, Thursday 19 May 2005 My license to print money expires on 31 May Before I start, a quick word to everybody who has joined this list in the last 60 days or so. It's been pointed out - I think fairly - that sometimes the Bricks don't make as much sense out of context. If your first week was Brick No141, for instance, you might have felt a bit disoriented. If you're looking for the best place to start, it has to be the archive. I've just added the 144th Brick. And - stop press - a search box. Reading through them, you'll get the gist of what to expect, and how I write. And one "back Brick" is worthy of extra mention today. If you joined recently, you probably missed out on it. Brick No115 was about Google AdWords. (They're the small, text-based ads that appear to the right of the results every time you search Google. As I said in Brick No115, I think they're the single best way to get niche, tight-budget websites selling.) On 26 November last year, I got hold of a batch of Google AdWords Vouchers. Each voucher was (is) worth £20 in fr*e advertising on AdWords. They had (have) an "enjoy by" date of 31 May 2005. So, if you've claimed one already, you have 13 days left to use it. I've given out 813 vouchers to date, but I still have a few spare. Sadly: (1) If you've claimed one already, you can't claim another, (2) They only work for readers who've never advertised on Google before. Otherwise, drop a blank email to google@businessbricks.co.uk (you have to promise to use it by the 31st). Two Must-Buy Google AdWords Ebooks, And Two Must-Attend Workshops Because you gave such a show of helium hands in response to the Google AdWords offer, I thought I'd revisit the subject one more time today. If you're a complete newcomer to AdWords, you could do worse than read, or reread, Brick Nos 110, 116, 121, 132, 135 and 137. Again, all in the easily searchable archive. But for those who've had a play, I highly, highly recommend two ebooks . . . oh, and one workshop: (1) Andrew Goodman's "Google AdWords Handbook" "Don't tell your competitors about these 21 pay-per- click ad secrets", the blurb reads. Now, I think most guides that claim to tell you how to "beat" Google AdWords are a rip-off. But after a night of painstaking research, I bought Andrew Goodman's ebook last August. It cost me £36.77 ($69). It's difficult to calculate exactly, but I think it's saved me - i.e. made me - about 60 times that. (You might want to read that last line again.) Andrew Goodman's ebook shows you how to buy traffic i.e. buy clicks to your site . . . how to zoom in on untapped keywords, use inexpensive keyword variation techniques, negative keywords etc. I spoke to a reader about this last week. As a side project, he is writing a book on Speedway. (A subject I know nothing about.) Pre-AdWords, the way to market this was trek along to race meetings. But now! Only 146 people plug "Tony Rickardsson" - Speedway's Freddie Ljungberg - into Google a year. Alone this isn't much. But right now, nobody else advertises on that phrase. And what if he can unearth 200 similar searches? AG has taught 15,000+ advertisers how to win at AdWords. He runs a consultancy that does nothing but. The Google AdWords Handbook prints off to 153 pages. But what you're really getting is many thousands of hours of experience nobody - yes, nobody - else has. http://snipurl.com/Andrew_Goodman (2) Seth Godin's "Knock Knock" As Seth puts it in his new ebook - only unleashed on Monday - "Any fool with money can buy traffic." In four words: It's all about conversion. It's relatively easy with Google AdWords to buy traffic. (AG's book, above, simply helps you buy the right traffic, at the right price.) This easy-to-read 41-page ebook touches on AdWords, but mainly deals with what happens when traffic hits your site. How exactly does your site convert clicks into customers (or leads)? At only $9, a steal. http://snipurl.com/Knock_Knock (3) Business Bricks Website Workshops I'm going to be hosting two website workshops in September. They'll be extremely interactive, and the idea will be to work hands-on on your website. All I'm asking for today is a show of interest, as I've yet to confirm all the details. This much I do know: (a) The first will be in London, the second somewhere else (Brighton and Manchester have been mooted). (b) Duration will be 3-4 hours, 15 minutes of me talking and the rest working on your websites. (c) The spotlight will be on converting traffic to sales (not on getting traffic). (d) Space for both will be quite limited, but if you drop an email to workshops@businessbricks.co.uk today you'll be at the front of the queue. (e) Brickies will get a discount, and get to jump the queue. Bric-A-Brac (1) I borrowed the phrase "enjoy by" date from the lid of an Innocent smoothie. Why is it everyone else talks about "use by", "expiry", and "best before" dates? Proof word power works. (2) Seth's ebook "Knock Knock" should make you rethink the way you hire web designers. DON'T hire on the basis of a pretty portfolio. DO hire on whether the sites in their portfolio convert clicks to customers. (Ask for figures.) Oh, and DO use the Brickies Directory to make a shortlist. (3) Another successful meeting for our group of BB readers in Liverpool. Join them for the June meet-up by following this link. (4) I got an email from Nick Mitev. Nick had his site praised and pilloried by you lot in Brick No141. Anyway, he's completed his redesign. Remember to sign up: back to top |
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