Ok great.
So lets say it is 3 placements so 15 ads total. In regards to copy and images, do you create 15 completely different ads (different headlines and images)?
Or do you only have 5 different ads, and then make sure all 3 sets are using the same ones?
Also, do you focus on testing copy/angles first or the images first?
Thanks for the help.
On first run of anything ( even if Adwords ) I create totally different ones, see which ones stick ( messaging ) and then find the 1-2 that do best and make revisions of those for the others and replace them. Sometimes you just dont need 5 though and the 1-2 sets that seem to work are enough for a while by themselves. You just need to go and do it and see.
I have one. For a noob SEOer what is your recommended steps for becoming a GREAT SEO guy like grindstone or some of the other great SEO guys on here?
Just do it, and test shit people say doesnt work. Dont read forums, books, or anything else. Read serps, track serps, test your own ideas and just do it.
You're over thinking it. Just create a few different ads for each placement, split test, and after enough impressions to draw conclusions drop the shitty ones and add in some new ones to split test against your winners. Rinse/repeat.
^^ this
Looking back, what would you say have been reasons of dropping some projects? other than lost interest. Like at which point would you say, this won't work. No specifics just need advise on when to persist and when to throw the towel.
I get too many projects started, and I do them all myself it seems. I have people that help on simple mundane tasks ( VA type work, partners that do shit in their own areas ) but it still seems I handle a lot of the bulk of most things I dream up. With that in mind, it just comes down to time.
I am a long term plan killer. I might have 50 ideas in my head on projects I want to do and I might actually start ( in some shape or form ) 35 of them ( from buying a domain, setting up paperwork, etc ). Maybe only 10 of that 35 will make it to step 2 ( done enough to market it ) and then maybe only 5 will make it to step 3 which is actually marketing it and making my first dollar on it. Of those 5, maybe only 1 actually makes enough money to be worthwhile enough for me to continue or hand off to someone else to babysit it.
The reason the other 49 didn't make it ( out of 50 ) was time. Im doing all the setup and work in the beginning and THEN handing it off to someone once the idea is validated with money. For some reason, I cant seem to hand off projects before validation because I think to myself "maybe XYZ wasn't done right by VA #2 and thats why it is not making money". Even after I hand it off to someone else when its making money, it might take a dip in revenue in month 3 and then Im back to fooling with the project again in month 4 on my own and putting off all the new ideas I could be doing.
Also, every project that started successful and made it through all the steps doesn't always make money its entire life. For my ecom stuff, summer is a killer because sales take a huge dip down in the summer months compared to the rest of the year. This dip refocuses all I do because my time gets spent trying new things for the ecom stuff in summer to try to lessen that impact. This of course, hurts all my other projects. Its like a never ending hamster wheel at times, but with lots of projects and lots of timeframes.
I think to answer your question a bit better now that you know that, here is a list of reasons that I dropped projects ( doesnt mean they were good reasons ):
1. Time to finish. I have 100 other more important things to finish and simply cant do this or give attention to it. Mainly boils down to what is making the money now and needs attention
2. Money. Do I really want to sink $25k into this idea? Should I just pull the trigger and do it or think it over and invest this money into something else?
3. Too late to the game. When I thought this idea up, I didnt see very many if any competitors, but now that I am thinking about it a lot, I see a ton I didnt see before. More then I like too. ( kinda like when you buy a car no has, then you see them all the time, your mind just wasnt set on it before ).
4. Idea couldn't make money on its own within X timeframe. I have a short attention span, if it doesn't make at least a a couple dollar within X days, I get frustrated and maybe try 2-3 more things with it then move on ( and then forget about it ). If it does make some money upfront but then goes south ( maybe the freshness concept helped it make money ) I might also try a few more things and then move on.
5. Outside factors distracted me. Right now I am in the middle of getting my taxes set up. I also have some side business's that require their own attention at this moment and I also have a sink and a shower head I need to replace and the damn nut wont come off the pipe. I could hire a plumber, but where I live finding one is already one hell of a job in itself, let alone one that I want to trust enough to come to my house. Plumbers dont like driving 1-2 hours just to fix simple shit so I am left to dealing with it and spending time on it. The side business stuff is just shit that popped up and things I need to take care of ( employee shit that came up this week with some of them ) and then my taxes I just need to gather all my shit up and sit down with the CPA and go over it. All takes time, time that could be put on ideas.
I dont like to throw in the towel unless I know personally I have tried at least 2-4 different things ( big impact things ) to get a project jump started or running correctly again. People may question if those 2-4 things were the RIGHT things to do, but I try not to abandon unless I know I have put in the effort and made 2-4 different attacks on it before giving up, otherwise I am left with "what if".
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