Frank Kern Busted by FTC - What Really Went Down

Y'all know Frank Kern right? The so-called $23 million copywriter? You may have noticed I've been slagging him off all over the net. Guess what. I've changed my mind. After talking to him yesterday and finding out the real story behind that FTC slapping I think he's a straight-shooter. Although what he did back in 2003 was dumb. Even he admits that. Read this. It's from his Mass Control blog

How to ruin your business in one easy step!

I’m guessing you probably already know that I was sued by the FTC back in 2003. After all, I talk about it publicly. But there’s probably a lot you don’t know about that whole story as well. So here’s the dirt.

Let’s talk about the dumb shit I did that got me in trouble in the first place.

Back in August of 2001, I created a product called Instant Internet Empires. I remember this well because I got the idea to create the product while I was sitting in a real estate licensing class.

Why was I sitting in a real estate licensing class you ask? Because I had temporarily been overcome with insanity and thought it might be a good idea for me to get a Realtor’s license.

Anyway, the class was boring as hell so my mind started to wander and I got to thinking about all the Internet Marketing products I’d purchased.

…And I noticed a common theme that was really popular back in the day: MASTER RE-PRINT RIGHTS.

Now, the term “Master Reprint Rights” simply means that you have the rights to re-sell a product and keep all the money …and you also have the rights to transfer that ability to others if you so desire.

It was all the rage back in 2001 and not only had I bought a ton of e-Books with Master Reprint Rights, I’d also noticed they were selling like crazy in the Internet Marketing community.

More here - Mass Melt-downBTW I've buried the hatchet with Frank. And I might be doing some stuff for him. Watch this space. "Talk soon" as Frank would say.

Whats Your Site Worth? Online Appraisal.

Have a look at this. This is possibly the best online site appraisal I've found. It's called EbizValuations and it throws up some interesting stats for your site. They say -

This valuation tool follows months of development and research by experts in business valuation, accounting, business brokering and website due diligence, and follows a report prepared for Sitepoint.com, the world's biggest site marketplace: The Ultimate Web Site Valuation Guide.

It's based on the realization that the only accurate way to value sites is a comparative valuation using a database of thousands of sales of similar sites. It's the most accurate free online valuation there is.

It's more than just a valuation. Each search provides a detailed report with a lot of business critical information about the target site.

Tip: if your site makes less than $100 a month this tool won't give an estimation of what it might fetch at a website auction. I enter $500 a month under earnings to get an idea of what the site might sell for.

Adwords Kiss Of Death

G'day campers, I've been yarning with a couple of PPC mates about the things that kill an Adwords Campaign. It's never just one thing is it? It's usually a combination of things. Let's have a look at them shall we?

Google is constantly evolving. Both the Search Division and the Adwords Division. You can't just set up a campaign and let it run. It doesn't work like that - contrary to what some scammers will tell you. You need to be constantly tweaking and keeping an eye on things. If you're new at PayPerClick marketing - specifically Google Adwords Pay Per Click Marketing there are a few things that you need to be on top of. Some common mistakes are (in no particular order) -

Long list of less than targeted keywords

Not identifying unique aspects of your product or service

Lack of keywords in your ad text

Directing users solely to your home page

Creating just a single Ad Group

Using broad match only

Not tracking results

Entering the content network without modifying bids

Sending traffic to a Landing Page that doesn't convert

Having a Low Quality Score from Google as a result of some of the above

Long List of Less Than Targeted Keywords

You know all those Keyword Tools that are on the market? Offering to find you all sorts of nebulous keywords that will boost your earnings? Thousands of the bastards. That might have worked a few years back but it's largely irrelevant now. Some people use those tools and go completely manic on keywords. That's not going to work. What you need is a short list of highly targeted keywords - what marketers call long-tail keywords - keywords and phrases that people enter into a search engine when they are about to buy. For instance, if someone is looking to buy a sailing dinghy to teach their children how to sail, they might enter something like "childrens sailing dinghy" or "cheap childrens sailing dinghy" or "fibreglass childrens sailing dinghy" - something like that rather than just the generic "sailing dinghy". What you're trying to target is the words or phrases that someone might enter When they are about to buy. And then you need to put these keywords into small, tight groups - not just dump 1,000 generic keywords into a single group - that's the Kiss of Death right there.

Not Identifying Unique Aspects of Your Product or Service

Old-school marketers and copywriters call this the USP - Unique Selling Proposition - the thing that stands you apart from your competitors. Have a look at your competitors sites and/or advertising. What have they hung their hat on? Why is your product or service better? Sometimes its not. But maybe the way you advertise will set you apart.

Lack of Keywords in Your Ad Text

It's kinda the done thing to use your keywords in the headline at least. That can be hard. With Adwords you only have 25 words to do it. If you can squeeze it into the descriptive lines below as well, it's a good thing. You have 35 words per line. And if you can work your keywords into your Landing Page URL, even better. Adwords copywriting won't win any creative awards at Cannes. Its simple and tight and goes for the jugular. Your Sailing Dinghy spot might read -

Childrens Sailing Dinghy
Easy-to-rig Childs Sailing Dinghy.
Buy now and get free life-jackets.
www.ChildrensSailingDinghy.com

And of course Google will bold the keywords in the ad. Some people say the first line of description should be the benefits and the second the features as I've done here. You'll notice I've used a derivative of the main keywords in the first line of description with "Childs Sailing Dinghy" . That's cool - Google likes that.

Directing Users Solely to Your Home Page

So instead of sending visitors (clickers) to my homepage I should send them to a landing page which is headed with my keywords - Childrens Sailing Dinghy. Again, Google loves this and it adds to your Quality Score (more on this later).

Creation of Single Ad Groups

As talked about before, the idea is not to have a single ad group with a million generic keywords but a bunch of different ad groups with relevant keywords. And some of these ad groups may only have a handful of keywords. For instance , "Childrens Sailing Dinghy" and "Fireball Racing Dinghy" are hardly the same.

Using Broad Match Only

Broad matches are less targeted than exact and phrase matching. The default on Google Adwords is Broad Match. This means your "Childrens Sailing Dinghy" keywords will be served up with all sorts of shit you don't want - like "racing dinghy", "rowing dinghy", "fishing dinghy" etcetera etcetera. You're better off using Exact Match - put your keywords in inverted commas to match the phrase or square brackets to exactly match the word. Good idea to use Negative keyword option as well (and more on this later).

Broad match-
Default option:
Childrens Sailing Dinghy

Phrase match-
Surround the keyword in quotes:
"Childrens Sailing Dinghy"

Exact match-
Surround the keyword in square brackets:
[Childrens Sailing Dinghy]

Negative match-
Place a negative character before the keyword:
-Racing Dinghy

Not Tracking Results

You must track your results. Get rid of the ads that don't work and stick with the higher CTR ones. Use the tools that Google provides. Use Google Analytics.

Entering The Content Network Without Modifying Bids

Generally, set lower bids for the content network compared to that of the search network.

I've only really touched on how to make money from Google Adwords here. To learn more...to become a master of the art...you need to go read this book...this Bible of Google Adwords - Perry Mason's...uh...I mean Perry Marshall's "The Definitive Guide To Google Adwords".

Hudson Plane Crash

"There's a plane in the Hudson. I'm on the ferry going to pick up the people. Crazy."

Click on the thumbnail of this amazing Hudson Plane Crash yesterday. The Hudson River, New York. That's gotta be the News Shot of the Year don't you think? It came from JKrums Twitter stream.

The US Airways plane crashed into the Hudson River in New York after apparently being hit by birds.

All of the 148 passengers, two pilots and three cabin staff on board the Airbus A320 aircraft survived although New York's Fire Department said 78 people were injured.

"The flight took off at 3.26 eastern time. We believe it was airborne for three minutes after take-off when it crashed into the Hudson River. The reports of bird strikes come from eyewitnesses on the ground,"

The somewhat lucky survivors waited on the wings of the plane until they were picked up by ferries and other vessels.

A passenger on the plane, Jeff Kolodjay, said -

"About three minutes into the flight, the left engine blew just in front of where I was sitting. There was a lot of fire coming out and we dropped 100 feet or so very quickly."

The pilot warned passengers saying -

"you guys have got to brace for impact"

Now how can I optimise this? I know...I'll see if Google Adwords will run it...with the keywords "Hudson Plane Crash" and "New York Plane Crash" targeting United States. Or perhaps I should just target New York?

Hmmm...maybe I should go back and read Perry Marshall's iconic (is that the right word?) bible of Adwords The Definitive Guide To Google Adwords
This is, after all, a blog about Adwords and Pay-Per-Click Marketing.

Hey...Hudson Plane Crashes in New York aside, there is still plenty of money to be made on Google's Adwords Pay Per Click program. Have a look around this site for Adwords Tips and tweaks. ;-)

Oh Yeah...the Pilot Chesley B. Sullenberger – "Sully" - was hailed a hero for managing to land the plane flat in the freezing waters of the Hudson, rather than crash-landing into the city.

Sullenberg is a former US Air Force pilot and has been flying with US Airways for 29 years.

Click on this image of the plane before any rescue craft arrived. The survivors - everyone aboard, were brought ashore on both sides of the Hudson River. Most were treated for exposure to the brutal cold: 18F degrees in the air and about 35F degrees in the water - about 1.5° Centigrade. Experts say that serious hypothermia would have set in after five minutes of being in water that cold.

Yeah Perry Marshall - the absolute King of Adwords PPC. Click on that link and he'll send you a bunch of free stuff on How to make Money From Adwords (yes even in this economy). How did you find me BTW? Did you click on an Adwords spot or did you find me through organic Search Listings?

Update: Somebody just sent me the link to Captain Sullenberger's site - SafetyReliability.com

"Our Mission: To utilize our expertise to apply the most effective methods to your organization to achieve the highest levels of safety, performance and reliability."

Update on Saturday, January 17, 2009 at 12:13PM by Malcolm Lambe

Hudson River Plane Crash - From The Cockpit

They Laughed When I Sat Down At The Computer

This 1926 John Caples ad is one of the most famous press advertisements ever written. It truly set the standard for Direct Response and other forms of copywriting.

They Laughed When I Sat Down At the Piano...But When I Started to Play!

I'd like to paraphrase this in a Pay Per Click landing page. I'm thinking -

They Laughed When I Sat Down At The Computer...But When It Started to Pay!

Picture Caption: "Does it really pay?" a girl whispered. "Heavens no!" Arthur exclaimed. "He's wasting his time."

Body Copy:
Arthur had just shown everyone his (doctored) Clickbank earnings. The room rang with applause. I decided that this would be a dramatic moment for me to make my debut. To the amazement of all my friends, I strode confidently over to the computer and sat down.

"Jack is up to his old tricks," somebody chuckled. The crowd laughed. They were all certain that I didn't have a clue.

"Does it really pay?" I heard a girl whisper to Arthur.

"Heavens, no!" Arthur exclaimed "He's wasting his time. He's never taken a trick in his life...But just you watch him. This is going to be good."

I decided to make the most of the situation. With mock dignity I drew out a silk handkerchief and lightly dusted off the computer keys. Then I rose and gave the revolving stool a quarter of a turn, just as I had seen Bill Gates do one time.

"What do you think of his keywords?" called a voice from the rear.

"They're crap!" came back the answer, and the crowd rocked with laughter.

Then I Started to Log In to Adwords

Instantly a tense silence fell on the guests. The laughter died on their lips as if by magic. I showed them my ClickThroughRate of 10%. I heard gasps of amazement. My friends sat breathless - spellbound!

I checked through my stats and as I did I forgot the people around me. I forgot the hour, the place, the breathless watchers. The little world I lived in seemed to fade - seemed to grow dim - unreal. Only the Stats were real. Only the CTR and the money it brought me. Visions as beautiful and as changing as the wind blown clouds and drifting moonlight that long ago inspired the master marketers. It seemed as if the master marketer himself Perry Marshall was speaking to me - speaking through the medium of keywords - not just any keywords but my keywords. Exquisite high-paying keywords!

A Complete Triumph!

As the last clicks of the keyboard died away, the room resounded with a sudden roar of applause. I found myself surrounded by excited faces. How my friends carried on! Men shook my hand - wildly congratulated me - pounded me on the back in their enthusiasm! Everybody was exclaiming with delight - plying me with rapid questions... "Jack! Why didn't you tell us you could make money like that?"... "Where did you learn?" - "How long have you studied?" - "Who was your teacher?"

"I have never even seen my teacher," I replied. "And just a short while ago I couldn't find a keyword."

"Quit your kidding," laughed Arthur, himself an accomplished pay-per-clicker. "You've been studying for years. I can tell."

"I have been studying only a short while," I insisted. "I decided to keep it a secret so that I could surprise all you folks."

Then I told them the whole story.

"Have you ever heard of
The Definitive Guide To Google Adwords I asked.

A few of my friends nodded. "That's a best-seller, isn't it?" they exclaimed.

"Exactly," I replied. "They have a new dynamic method that can teach you to make money from Adwords in just a matter of days."

How I Learned to Make Money From Adwords

And then I explained how for years I had longed to make money online and be my own boss.

"A few months ago," I continued, "I saw an interesting ad for
The Definitive Guide To Google Adwords - a way of learning Adwords which only cost a few cents a day! The ad told how a woman had mastered Adwords in her spare time at home - and without a teacher! Best of all, the wonderful new method she used, required no laborious work - no heartless exercises - no tiresome practising. It sounded so convincing that I filled out the coupon requesting the Free Ebook."

"The free ebook arrived promptly and I started in that very night to study the Demonstration Lesson. I was amazed to see how easy it was to play this new way. Then I sent for the course.

"When the course arrived I found it was just as the ad said - as easy as A.B.C.! And, as the lessons continued they got easier and easier. Before I knew it I was starting my own Adwords campaigns. Nothing stopped me. I could pick whatever keywords I liked and I soon got hooked on CTR!"

Play Any Pay Per Click Program

You too, can now teach yourself to be an accomplished Pay Per Click Marketer - right at home - in half the usual time. You can't go wrong with this simple new method which has already shown hundreds of thousands of people How to Make Money on Adwords. Forget the old-fashioned idea that you need special "talent." Just read the book, pick your keywords, write your ads and get ready to bank the cheques. And bear in mind no matter which Pay Per Click program you choose, the cost in each case will be the same - just a few cents a day. No matter whether you are a mere beginner or already a good online marketer, you will be interested in learning about this new and wonderful method.

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The Definitive Guide To Google Adwords