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GENERAL
What’s the current state of mobile apps?
Generally, it’s good. But maybe not ideal for affiliates.
If you’ve been around the past 2 years or more, you know that utilities CPI were the bread and butter for many affiliates. That has changed significantly – retention rate and other KPIs made affiliate methods less viable.
Lower and lower payouts also didn’t help.
With all this, apps have not disappeared, just look at your phone!
And those apps can’t always be throwing money away. What has happened is that the market is slowly maturing and looking more to actually make a positive ROI on their spend.
And this is where the report from AppsFlyer comes into play. According to it, since 2016, marketing-driven revenue has grown 80%.
So mobile is not dead, it’s just more mature and focused on ROI (as it should be).
If you are running apps, or want to test out some CPI offers, the report is well worth a read, so you better understand what the advertiser is looking for for their bottom line.
Knowing that should help you improve the quality of your traffic.
Depesh Mandalia’s FB Ads setup
It was in the Facebook Ads Experts Academy, a group started by Depesh, where we had a discussion about what tools people find very useful when it comes to managing FB campaigns.
Depesh chimed in with his own setup, and also gave a more detailed reason why he uses certain third party tools and why not.
Here’s a quick rundown:
- Ads Manager to edit ads, run some segmentation and deep dives.
- The old Power Editor method (now in Ads Manager) of exporting/importing to make large updates.
- Good ol’ CSV template to create a new account structure.
- Google Sheets exports for daily analysis.
- Slack to receive regular alerts and insights to take action.
- Trello to maintain a testing schedule.
We see no mention of AdEspresso or similar, a tool which is very popular for Facebook Ads. Why?
It really depends on each person’s desired setup. Depesh found most 3rd party tools to be rigid, lack support or just not worth the money for their added value.
We’re also more on the side of using less 3rd party tools when it comes to Facebook, especially over the past year, when the Ads Manager has been upgraded significantly.
PS: You have to be connected to Depesh to see the original post.
Hit the snooze on your newsfeed
In an attempt to give users more control, Facebook is testing out a featurewhere you can snooze certain keywords from your newsfeed.
Now you can avoid spoilers from your favourite TV shows or latest courses from your most hated guru.
“If you choose to “snooze” a keyword, you won’t see posts in your News Feed containing that exact word or phrase from any person, Page or Group for 30 days. In other words, fewer spoilers.”
Facebook says it brings more control, which is true. We’d like to add that if used intensively it could also be another organic reach limiting feature.
Weird how limiting organic reach is so good both for the users and Facebook’s Ads business.
Say “Goodbye!” to Google AdWords
And welcome Google Ads. But wait there’s more…
Google’s doing a big rebranding for their marketing and advertising tools.
Aside from AdWords becoming Google Ads, they are also merging DoubleClick for advertised and Google Analytics 360 Suite into the Google Marketing Platform.
DoubleClick for publishers is not left out – it’s getting turned into Google Ad Manager by unifying it with DoubleClick Ad Exchange.
Time to learn the new lingo, and update those course titles!
INTERVIEW
We told you we have more of these coming, right?
Through this series of WHAT THE AFF interviews we want to bring you short (OK, sometimes not that short) and sweet interviews with the top online marketers on this side of the Milky Way.
Today’s guest is Nick Peroni, who describes himself as a professional dream chaser living the free life.
He’s someone who’s built several e-commerce stores, has been a speaker at Affiliate World Asia but is probably most known for his Facebook group, called Ecom Empires, which now boasts over 60,000 members.
Let’s just dive into it!
WTAFF Crew: Describe yourself in 20 words or less (focus on personality, not affiliate experience).
Nick Peroni: Successful online entrepreneur travelling the world while building my empire and helping thousands around the world find success with e-commerce.
WTAFF Crew: How would you explain what you do for a living to your grandmother?
Nick Peroni: I use social media to sell things online and teach others how to be successful.
WTAFF Crew: What tip would you give people starting out in e-commerce today? What are the biggest mistakes beginners make there?
Nick Peroni: I think the biggest mistake most people make when starting out is not having a clearly defined strategy. To be fair, most people getting started are bombarded with different sources of information from ads and webinars and videos from so many self-proclaimed experts.
Unfortunately, this leads to people mixing a bunch of different ideas out of context while never seeing the full picture. So they’re constantly trying new things and they lack the consistency to ever get real results.
The biggest tip I could give people is to really spend time in the beginning to build a solid foundation for your business. Understand your vision and your strategy, and learn how to create processes that will give you a system to remove the guesswork and find success.
WTAFF Crew: FB limited reach of pages, that’s something we all know. You run one of the biggest FB groups for e-commerce entrepreneurs. What do you think of the idea of building a group (alongside a page) for your e-commerce store?
Nick Peroni: Facebook groups are more powerful than pages when it comes to organic reach. Facebook has already announced they are prioritizing group posts in the Newsfeed because Facebook wants people to join groups. It encourages the community effect Facebook strives for and keeps people on the platform more.
That being said, not every niche can benefit or find a purpose from a Facebook group.
So if you’re in a niche where a group makes sense and you have value to give, then you should definitely consider that. I know many examples of people using groups to help build their brand through awareness and sales with Facebook groups.
I think niches that work really well are the type so niches based around passions, hobbies, lifestyles, and things people enjoy sharing/talking about with others.
WTAFF Crew: What are your thoughts on Messenger marketing? Have you played around with it? What pros and cons you see to it?
Nick Peroni: I’ve been starting to incorporate Messenger marketing more in 2018. Ezra Firestone calls it the future of social media marketing, and I think it’s going to play a big role in how e-commerce stores interact with customers.
Messenger gets fantastic open rates and engagement and offers a really valuable way to connect with your audience.
The cons to it right now are challenges with Facebook constantly updating terms of use for ecom stores using Messenger. But as with all things Facebook, there’s a middle ground and it can be really powerful when done correctly.
WTAFF Crew: Digital nomad or well-established HQ? Why?
Nick Peroni: Hmm I think this is really a matter of your own personal vision for your business.
I think the draw to having an established HQ is the idea of building a big company with a large team and scaling your operations. Which is cool, if that’s what you want.
Some people would rather travel the world and make fantastic money while living a free life and experiencing everything they can.
Personally for me right now, I like a hybrid model. I want to build an empire, but don’t really feel the need for an established HQ at this time. I’d rather just build a remote team.
Whichever one you choose, I think it’s more a matter of your leadership and the systems you create to manage your business.
WTAFF Crew: What software / online service can you absolutely not live without for your operations and why?
Nick Peroni: Right now that would be Clickfunnels and Shopify.
Shopify for e-commerce, just because I love the platform and think it provides an excellent foundation for anyone to learn and duplicate success.
Of course, there are other platforms out there, but Shopify is the most user-friendly, has the best built-in conversion attribution model, and the best app ecosystem. In my opinion.
Clickfunnels for everything else because they’ve done such a great job at making the job of building any type of funnel for any type of business such a streamlined process.
WTAFF Crew: Affiliates and online marketers like to show off sometimes. We want to switch it around so we ask what’s the purchase you are least proud of?
Nick Peroni: Interesting question. I’ve never really spent a lot of money on pointless physical possessions. I mostly spend my money on travel, experiences, and investing in my online business.
Now, I’ve definitely bought some info products along the way that were pointless. And I’ve definitely spent money on stupid “make money online” ideas in the past.
When I first started making a lot of money with ecommerce, there were a few times I thought “Hey, why not try this push-button online money idea? You got money, and maybe it really works.” Haha, I learned my lesson quickly though, and decided to just stick with the things I’m good at. So I’d say the money there lost was probably my least proud purchase.
WTAFF Crew: What events do you find most useful? Where can people find you usually?
Nick Peroni: I think attending masterminds are the most beneficial events for people. And I never really understood this until I started my Worldwide Ecom Tour hosting masterminds around the world.
Masterminds are great for a few reasons…
First, when you go to a good one, you get in a room with some really smart people that are only going to help you raise your ecom IQ and get better at making money.
But even more than that, masterminds bring like-minded people together on the same mission as you that you may have never otherwise met. Being an online entrepreneur can be a lonely road when you walk it alone. It’s awesome to have a support group and find people who will push you to be the best version of yourself.
It’s also really motivating. Anytime you attend a mastermind and meet with people who are all working to take their business to the next level, that’s naturally going to make you work even harder. It’s an amazing effect, and something you can’t really find anywhere else.
That’s why I love traveling and not only hosting and speaking at events, but also attending events. It keeps me in a constant state of motivation to get better, and that environment also helps you develop as a professional.
WTAFF Crew: Thanks for your time and answers, Nick! We wish you all the best in your future endeavours.
If you have feedback, hit that reply button and let us know! Got some good questions we should ask future guests? Do you want to suggest a guest? Whatever it is, let us know!
SPONSORED
Grab some of those offers
You’ve probably read about Grabads and their cool Rotate script in some of our previous emails. The one that automatically rotates your offers based on their EPC, so you don’t have to always spend time refreshing stats.
We want to tell you a little more about Grabads.
If you haven’t been living under a rock, you know that crypto is one of the best verticals of 2018. It’s something that came to be by mixing trading offers with the novelty of cryptocurrencies.
Many affiliates got on the crypto train by buying coins or trading but obviously, the most affiliate way to make money with this trend is to run offers.
The team there, led by Ryan Hurry, is one that goes above and beyond for making their affiliates perform. The script mentioned before is one thing but they also make sure to have an affiliate manager that is suitable for your timezone.
Not just that, I Am Attila is working on a step by step guide on how to run Grabads crypto offers profitably.
So if you were on the fence before, now’s definitely the time to make the jump. We strongly encourage you to sign up with them now so you can be ready to test asap.
It’s not often that a trend as big as crypto comes around so it’s certainly a must to get your feet wet and see if you can work your affiliate magic there.
You know by now that signups from our readers are put first in queue so you get quick approval.
POOLSIDE CHAT
Cool tech, (funny) business, lifestyle and all the other things affiliates like to chat about while sipping cocktails by the pool.
“Stop playing video games and do something useful with your life!”
All that nagging from your parents does have some backup.
“Gaming disorder” is officially recognized by the World Health Organization. Here are the 3 signs you, or someone you know, might have it.
- Impaired control over gaming (e.g. onset, frequency, intensity, duration, termination, context)
- Increasing priority given to gaming to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other life interests and daily activities
- Continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences
Before you worry too much, putting in a 24-hour gaming marathon doesn’t mean you have a disorder. Many health professionals agree that the 3 points are broad and subjective.
That said, gaming too much can have negative effects…
Or it can turn you into the next Ninja, who just signed a partnership deal with RedBull and is by far the most successful streamer out there.
What seems like an addiction to some can be the reason others succeed – just like entrepreneurship, it’s hard to draw the line but it’s something you should be mindful of.
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