So often we hear of individuals who get exceptional returns-on-investment from their advertising campaigns. However, what we don’t often hear are intimate details of how these people work their strategies. Marketer Diane Hughes has agreed to give us nitty gritty of her latest solo ad project, including how she consistently earns 24% in profits.

KARON: Hi Diane! Thanks for letting me bend your ear a bit.

DIANE: No problem, Karon. Anytime :)

KARON: This last promotion paid off immediately for you. I know, because you emailed me right after its launch to tell me what wonderful success you’d had. Let me ask you about what you did, OK?

DIANE: Sure! What would you like to know?

KARON: What product were you promoting?

DIANE: MarketersDream.com. It offers guaranteed traffic (and let me say that it is truly targeted) for Web sites.

KARON: Sounds very interesting! So, was this an initial launch?

DIANE: Yes.

KARON: And what audience were you trying to reach?

DIANE: Online business owners and entrepreneurs who have products/services for sale.

KARON: What mediums did you choose to reach this audience?

DIANE: Only ezine solo ads. That’s it!

KARON: How could you be sure you would reach those you wanted to reach?

DIANE: Prior use -- I have my small "secret" list of proven lists .... plus my own. :o)

KARON: Now, I can’t let you get away with that, Diane! Come on… fess up!

DIANE: OK, OK ... I will divulge a couple --- can't reveal all my secrets, though. :o)

My own newsletter: http://www.ProBizTips.com

Kris Stringer's EzineHits http://www.ezinehits.com/ad-rates.htm

Bob Silber's Web Head Central News http://www.whcnews.com/ezineads.html

KARON: And these work for you over and over again?

DIANE: Oh yes!!

KARON: How many ads did you run?

DIANE: Nine total.

KARON: What total circulation did you reach?

DIANE: Over 200,000.

KARON: And how much did total campaign cost you?

DIANE: The total cost of all ezine solos was approximately $900.

KARON: That’s a pretty hefty sum, Diane! You must have been very sure this would work.

DIANE: Well, it has worked before on other products over and over again, so I had no doubts that it would pull for me again.

KARON: OK… we have general info, but now let’s get to “how” and “why” questions. How did you track results?

DIANE: I used a Lightning Track script.

NOTE: This is a heavy-duty script that requires some high-end system requirements. If you do not have programming experience to use Lightning Track, you might also do a search on your favorite engine for “free ad tracking system” or like.

KARON: How much did you make from this promotion?

DIANE: Approximately $4000.

KARON: WOW! That’s about 24% ROI, Diane. That’s great!!

DIANE: Yeah… I was pretty pleased.

KARON: Are these “typical" results? I mean, you said you do this consistently, but is ROI always around 24% or higher?

DIANE: While this was typical, results were a little higher than I expected.

KARON: Now, tell me about copy you used.

Depending on who you ask, you can receive two dozen different answers as to what factors will get you that coveted #1 spot on your favorite search engine. However, proof is in pudding, as saying goes. Well, my pudding has bubbled and boiled and is now ready for tasting!

Let me tell you about my experience with getting my latest site ranked #1 for its chosen keyphrase on Google. Incidentally, it is also ranked #2 with Lycos.

Step One – Don’t Guess About Keywords

This is an all-important step. Choosing wrong keywords will stop you before you even start. A case in point… initially, name of my site was going to be different. I was going to call it The Step-By-Step Copywriting Workshop. However, much to my surprise, keyphrase “copywriting workshop” was not searched for by surfers. Had I chosen that keyphrase, I could have set myself up for lower rankings.

I use a service called WordTracker (www.wordtracker.com). This is, without a doubt, one of best keyword analysis services I’ve come across. With WordTracker, I was able to find exact keywords/phrases that those interested in learning to write copy were using online. Thanks to this service, I was able to come up with a much stronger keyphrase… copywriting course. That’s what I decided would be primary keyphrase for my new site, and name of ebook.

Step Two – Plan Your Site