Weekly Picks

Weekly Reading Picks| Volume 20

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Bob’s Weekly Reading Picks

2019.5.26 volume 20

Content

1.The Complete Guide to Finding and Recruiting Quality Affiliates
2.The Ultimate Checklist for a Successful Affiliate Program Launch
3.A Beginner’s Guide to Using Google Ads
4.Ecommerce Business Blueprint: How to Build, Launch, and Grow a Profitable Online Store
5.A Social Copywriting Playbook: How to Write Instagram Captions that Drive Engagement and Sales
6.How To Leverage The Rise of “Near Me” Searches
7.The Ultimate Guide to Video Marketing

1.The Complete Guide to Finding and Recruiting Quality Affiliates

Program Launch
Recruit Quality Affiliates

Passive Affiliate Recruitment Strategies
Affiliate directories
Press releases
Affiliate program link on your merchant website homepage
Affiliate Network Listing （logo, bio, creatives, keywords, promotion）

Active Affiliate Recruitment Strategies
Competitive Intelligence
Satisfied Customers (customers are affiliates)
Second-Tier Affiliates
Influencers and Opinion Leaders
Network Recruitment Tool
Cross-Program Recruitment
Related Verticals
Professional Affiliates (Coupon, Deal, Cashback, Price Comparison)
Content Monetization Tools （VigLink, Skimlinks, YieldKit）
Replication （similarsites or similarweb）

See More: Affiliate Marketing Guide

2. The Ultimate Checklist for a Successful Affiliate Program Launch

Affiliate program’s Tracking 
affiliate network VS affiliate tracking software
inhouse vs OPM

Automated Email Templates
Application Denial
Application Approval
Affiliate Invite

Affiliate Program Support
Affiliate Program Page
company description
commission structure
cookie life 
statistics (EPC, conversion rate, average order value,
creatives, data feeds and newsletters
program agreement (PPC)
contact

Announcement of Program Launch
Merchant description
Program details
Statistics
Calls to action

Creatives Inventory
banners, logo, textlinks(deal/coupon), data feed, video…
keywords lists, bestseller lists (generic, seasonal, category-specific)

Affiliate Program Management
recruiting, activating, and motivating affiliates
managing tracking, payments, and reporting
proposing program performance-boosting strategies

Relevant Posts: How to Start an Affiliate Program on ShareASale

3.A Beginner’s Guide to Using Google Ads

What are Google Ads?
Originally called Google Adwords, the search engine company rebranded the service as Google Ads in 2018.

How do Google Ads work?
Bidding and setting a daily budget (CPC,CPM,CPA)
Quality Score (1-10, the higher, the better)
Ad Rank [bid+ ad format + ad quality(CTR+relevancy, landing page)]

Types of Google Ads
Search Network (google search/shopping/maps, search partners)
Display Network (Youtube, blog, gmail and third partners)

Track your Google Ad with Google Analytics

How to advertise on Google
Step 1: Define a winning goal and target audience
Step 2: Craft a captivating ad
Step 3: Select a smart budget
Step 4: Set up your billing

More Reading Materials
Adwords Fundamental
Beginner’s Guide to Google Shopping
How to Hire the Right Google Ads Agency

4.Ecommerce Business Blueprint: How to Build, Launch, and Grow a Profitable Online Store

Choosing a Product

  • Finding a product to sell
  • Evaluating your idea
  • Obtaining your product

Research and Prepare

  • Research your competition
  • Writing a business plan

Setting Up Your Business

  • Naming your business
  • Creating a logo
  • Understanding SEO
  • Building your store
  • Choosing your sales channels

Preparing to Launch

  • Shipping and fulfillment
  • KPI
  • Checklist

Post Launch

  • Acquiring your first customer
  • Marketing your store (email, social, CRO, analytics)

5.A Social Copywriting Playbook: How to Write Instagram Captions that Drive Engagement and Sales

Campaign Goals

  • increase brand awareness
  • Promoting a sale, new product launch, or new collection launch
  • Collecting user-generated content 

Tips for Writing Captions

  • Consider caption length( <2,200 characters; up to 30 hashtags)
  • Make the most of the first sentence
  • Include a CTA or ask a question

Click the link in bio
Leave a comment, usually as the answer to a question
Tag a friend (this is a great tactic for growing your reach)
Post a photo using your branded hashtag (more on this later)

  • Add value
  • Write like a human (not a robot)
  • Draft your Instagram captions on a separate platform
  • Use storytelling
  • Use emojis and have fun with them
  • Use hashtags

6.How To Leverage The Rise of “Near Me” Searches

The Importantance of Local SEO
Amazon Alexa and Google Home
mobile searches for local services
by 2021, mobile devices are expected to influence $1.4 trillion in local sales.

The Rise of “Near Me” Searches

Top ‘Near Me’ Query Categories

  • Food: 84%
  • Entertainment: 56%
  • Banking: 50%
  • Apparel: 41%
  • Persona care: 38%

How To Optimize For “Near Me” Searches

  • List your business on Google My Business and optimize it
  • Use proper schema markup （Local Business Schema Template）
  • Acquire backlinks having geographic anchor text
  • Create pages targeting every location of your business, and optimize them
  • Make your site mobile-friendly
  • Create a blog and acquire local links

7.The Ultimate Guide to Video Marketing

Video Marketing in 2019

Types of Marketing Video

  • Demo Videos
  • Brand Videos
  • Event Videos
  • Expert Interviews
  • Educational or How-To Videos
  • Explainer Videos
  • Animated Videos
  • Case Study and Customer Testimonial Videos
  • Live Videos
  • 360° & Virtual Reality (VR) Videos
  • Augmented Reality (AR) Videos
  • Personalized Messages

The Video Creation Process

Questions to think over

  • Who’s your target audience?
  • What’s the goal?
  • Where’s the video going to live?
  • What’s the budget?
  • When’s it due?
  • What are the creative requirements?
  • What will constitute success for the video?

Step One: Scripting Your Video
Step Two: Understanding Your Camera(s)
Step Three: Setting Up a Studio
Step Four: Preparing Your Talent
Step Five: Shooting for the Edit
Step Six: Organizing Footage
Step Seven: Editing and Editing Tools
Step Eight: Choosing Music and Recording Voice Over
Step Nine: Hosting Your Video

Using Video throughout the Flywheel

flywheel-2

Measuring Video Performance

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