http://www.google.com/search?output=googleabout

I compared the search results to the normal google and they’re the same.   Pretty interesting, I haven’t seen google that way for a long time.  I bet this doesn’t last for long.

 I found out about it here: http://labnol.blogspot.com/2007/05/secret-google-search-url-that-removes.html

How it works

Basically we need to look to track actions by users and manage those users differently.

In the case of email, the most common action to track is clicks.  So if we mail to a large list and receive a certain segment of the list clicking on the creative, those users have indicated a certain level of interest in that particular topic.  Some people do this with opens, but via clicks is a far more accurate indicator.

Once you have smaller targeted lists that have responded via clicks, you can focus on sending targeted offers to those segments only, or broker that data separately.

Most ESP’s don’t support tracking clicks by category unfortunately.   And if you don’t track this, you’re losing a whole level of valuable data.  Lets say you’re mailing to an email list, but you also have full postal data on your users.  If you are tracking category clicks as you mail to your list, suddenly that postal data has a whole new level of information about it, which can be rebrokered offline at far higher CPM’s.  I’ve talked to a couple of direct mail brokers and they love this kind of data, since users have clearly indicated their preferences.

Who is doing it?

Larry Organ is a real pioneer in this space, with his company ConsumerBase.  I first read about Larry in Forbes magazine (http://members.forbes.com/forbes/2006/0327/052.html).  They had a rather scary article about how he was invading everyone’s privacy.  And while this kind of data definitely has some serious privacy implications, its not going to be as bad as Forbes made out.

Basically, Larry likes to add value to data.  Therefore he takes existing data, and adds a behavioral level in on top of it, by tracking clicks.  He’s systematized this so well that he’s even filed for a patent on this – which if he gets it, I think will be very valuable one day.

He’s been doing this for quite a long time, segmenting his data by different interest categories. Try his data out and see if it works for you – and let me know if it works well.  They have 20 million names all broken down by interest categories with full email and full postal.

Another company that is starting to apply behavioral analysis to email is Q Interactive.  They recently released an email service which does behavioral email follow-up.  Over time they build profiles on what users like depending on a number of different variables.  According to their press release, they use “more than 1600 unique segments, including self-reported demographic, geographic, behavioral and transactional data and category interests”.  So over time, Q Interactive is learning what users like, build profiles for them, and therefore do a better job marketing to them.

Behavioral email marketing can open up a whole host of ethical issues, as raised by Larry Organ’s Forbes article.  But over time these will be worked out.   And so, at some point we can expect Google to get into behavioral marketing – however it’s not going to be so easy for them.  They are extremely concerned about the affect privacy issues will have on their brand.  Therefore the door is currently open for many companies to enter the behavioral space.  Long term, we can expect Google to become involved since behavioral targeting is likely to become the way Google can complete with traditional TV – the ads for video will only really become effective when behavioral data is added, improving the targeting.

TV Behavioural targeting

How would TV behavioural targeting work in practice?  Well, you might be mailing to your list, tracking clicks by category, building up profiles of your users.  You then become part of a behavioral targeting network, feeding this data into the network.  As TV shows are being broadcast online, users will be shown ads during the shows.  The targeting for the ads will be done based on your email click data.  You’ll get paid extra for your data, and the TV shows will able to earn higher ECPM’s because the audiences being targeted will be far more relevant.  Today’s version of this will be for feeding data into the banner networks.

If you’re interested in learning more about how to do this kind of targeting to your list, a great book about it is called “Drilling Down”, I’ve written a review about it here:

http://www.adrianbye.com/favourite-books/

You’re also welcome to join my list at http://tasmaniaconsulting.com, where I talk more about this topic.

So remember, track your clicks!  They’re worth a lot!

I don’t like this market, since selling into it generally does much more harm than good – but it can be instructive for how other markets develop. Since the grant market has such a high ECPM the most competitive marketing methods are used to make the offers work. If your market is not using some of these techniques currently, they will be in the future, so this is your chance to implement them first and profit!

Stage 1: $19.99 ebook, 50% rev share for affiliates.

In the beginning there was little competition and the Internet had not seen an offer like this, so it performed extremely well. Publishers were happy making $10/sale, and everyone made good money.

Stage 2: $19.99 ebook, $19 monthly continuity program.

As the market became more competitive, the payouts were forced to increase to continue to drive traffic. A monthly continuity program was implemented, which was “forced” continuity, meaning the customers were signed up when they purchased the ebook. This allowed payouts of $25 – $30/sale. Obviously the level of risk in this model is much higher, since the model has now gone negative at the point of sale. The typical retention for this program was 3-4 months.

Stage 3: $2.95 trial offer?

Notice how we don’t have a low price trial to low price continuity program (eg $19/month). This is because the ECPM payout to publishers will not support it, and will force the advertiser to lose money too early.

Stage 3: $2.95 trial, $199 one time billing.

This was an extremely aggressive offer put where users were charged a cheap trial, then sent a package they were billed $199 for. This offer didn’t last long since the market was not able to afford a $199 package for grants information, causing a high level of charge backs and refunds. However while it worked, it was extremely competitive.

Stage 4: $2.95 trial (free + shipping for a CD), plus multiple continuity programs.

This is where the market is today. The user pays for a free+shipping program and then is enrolled in several ongoing continuity programs. The consumer is excited because they are receiving a CD perceived to have a very high value. Then one continuity program will start initially, and another one, or more, start several weeks later, without the consumer realizing they are being billed, sometimes using different credit card descriptors.

Lead generation

In the grants market, people generally have not been successfully reselling the leads to phonerooms. This may be partially due to legal regulations, but also because the market simply cannot afford to pay for high priced coaching programs. Most leads from a grant offer don’t command a very high resale value.

What are the lessons from this?

1. If your market is undeveloped you can gain a huge advantage over others by adopting these techniques.

2. If your market is relatively poor, a high price won’t work no matter how you do it.

3. In direct response marketing, we are always going to see extremely aggressive offers implemented. So someone in your market may try to implement aggressive multiple continuity programs. This type of advertising is unfortunate because it makes it extremely difficult for everyone else to compete since the competitor can purchase more advertising. But it may well happen, enabling your competitor to buy more media than you.

Many successful offers today receiving a lot of volume don’t follow all the points above. Making some fairly simple changes will see your ECPM’s increase dramatically. Watch and learn from the most sophisticated markets!