Buy-side platforms offer marketers wider reach, and a space to buy inventory programmatically. The costs for that inventory differ greatly, even as you target, because the network is driven by real-time bidding. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with some best practices for real-time bidding before you launch your first campaign.

Bidding Basics

When we look at bidding in real time, the effects are somewhat hard to grasp because so much happens so quickly. To break things down, let’s say two people bid for an ad placement. There is also a visitor factored into this equation, and let’s say she will visit five pages before ending her session. Whichever advertiser holds the highest bid will serve his ad to that visitor for all five views, assuming he has not capped the frequency of his ads.

If he has capped his ad frequency at three, for example, the visitor viewing five pages would see advertiser A’s ad three times, and advertiser B’s ad for the other two. This is because the winning advertiser stops bidding on auctions for that visitor after the frequency cap has been reached.

Frequency and Brand Integrity

Frequency plays an important role in your auction. You want the best chances of securing a conversion, but you dilute your brand a little bit each time you show one ad too many. The magic number is not easy to gauge. Some ads will follow you all around the Web while others will appear only a few times per day. Testing is the best method you have for learning which frequency is right for you.

Bio: As the CEO and co-founder, Ted Dhanik is responsible overseeing all business affairs for engage:BDR. Ted Dhanik began in the early 2000s, where he sold engaging advertising for Myspace.com, and he understands the power of direct marketing. To launch your first campaign with engage:BDR, contact Ted Dhanik.

Written by: Allied Time

As your business begins to scale, and you acquire more employees, you will find it necessary to develop a plan that tracks employee hours and activities. Most employers solve this dilemma with a simple time machine, but you may leave yourself open to time card fraud. What about contractors, and those who work off site?

The realities of business demand solutions that are flexible, and time card shorting can lead to legal consequences for the employee and the business. Track employee time worked accurately and report the proper hours to payroll with these tips.

Set Clear Attendance Policies

You should outline the importance of attendance, and set rules that everyone abides by. You might allow for a short late period, or you may not. Every employee should receive a time card or some kind of passcode to clock into work each morning. There should be a central station to do this, multiple stations if the company is large enough, and all new employees should be trained to use it during orientation. Be sure that there are consequences for late appearances. Allow for a certain number of accidents, everyone is late from time to time, but be firm in disciplining employees who are chronically late.

Switch to Biometric

Fingerprint time clocks offer a level of security to both employee and employer. Employees never have to worry about losing time cards, and fingerprint scanning is often faster than waiting to punch in for the day or fumbling about with a code. Employers gain security that employees are working onsite, at the times that they say they are. Time card fraud is difficult when biometrics are deployed because they rely on features of a specific person. Also, this system does not record anything personally identifiable. Even in the case of facial scanners, only a set of data points are saved so a computer can recall the contours of a face.

Final Thoughts

The choice of time clock for your business is dependent on your needs. If you employ many people working offsite, a system with an online component may be more beneficial to you. Cards and “fobs” may work best for those who have secure areas that require restricted access. Biometrics offer the best security, but they may carry a heavier price tag. No system is perfect, and a business may find that one system works best until scaling to more employees. Be prepared to remain flexible and pay attention to how you can make time and attendance a more efficient part of your business.

Mobile usage is on the rise, and there is evidence to suggest that both genders are using it to make purchases. While there is some difference in the kinds of purchases each gender generally makes, what is clear is that marketers stand to capitalize on engaging with customers in the moment.

Mobile customers are by nature on-the-go, making mobile marketing something of a predictive game. Here are some best practices that are sure to help you get started.

Predict Your Customer’s Intent

You will be able to buy mobile traffic specifically, so you should have some idea of what those users might be viewing before you try to market to them. You can make some educated guesses based on interests. Try to imagine whether the messaging in your ad will sync up with what a user might be viewing while she is out and about. Is the user comparison shopping? Is the user searching for something new?

Test your theories with different ad groups and try to expand on your ideas. Never be satisfied with a campaign that performs “ok.”

Use Ad Sizes that Work

Are you using the IAB recommended ad sizes for mobile? Do you know which ad sizes are the top performers from 2014? Have you asked your traffic network which ad sizes perform best in your target market? You can answer some of these questions by doing some competitive research. You will also find that your usage of text and color will impact which ad sizes work best for you as well.

Bio: Ted Dhanik is the co-founder of engage:BDR. Ted Dhanik got his start at MySpace.com, helping to launch that brand in the social media space. Ted Dhanik currently lives in Los Angeles, where he helps brands of all sizes to build their following through targeted advertising.

Display advertising has the potential to outperform text ads if you know how to harness that potential. It’s a form of direct marketing, so your messaging and your work need to be spot on. Testing and execution are keys in this equation, so you need to be able to produce ads that will perform quickly. Learning these essential tips is sure to help your performance metrics improve.

Copy is Key

When you are working with banners, copy is more than just the words. You have to consider the colors and images on your banner, as well as the space your banner will occupy. Make sure what you and your ad exchange’s preferred sizes are, and that you work within those constraints. It helps to write from a place of knowledge, so perform some quick competitive research on Google to determine which tag lines are working. The closer you get to find that pain point, the better your conversion rate will become.

Outsource Work

Don’t be afraid to outsource the technical aspects of your work to someone more knowledgeable than you. You can easily find a developer to design a landing page for your campaign within a budget of a few hundred dollars. If you can host your own banner advertising, you can capture more data about your target market.

Hiring designers and developers takes time, and you should be prepared to check a few sources to find the work you need. Keep your project simple, and limit yourself to only a few assets. The less you have to work with, the better for your long term efforts.

Bio: For over ten years, Ted Dhanik has used display advertising to boost sales for businesses of all sizes. Ted Dhanik is the co-founder of engage:BDR, and a mentor at the startup accelerator Start Engine. Ted Dhanik also publishes advice to Ad Age and Venture Beat.

Retargeting is a huge benefit, if you know how to use it. If you don’t, you might end up paying more money to actually lose customers! Retargeting tries to match your messaging with customers who have visited your site. It’s great for branding too. Retargeting often costs less than using standard targeting methods, but it’s very easy to break your retargeting efforts. If you find retargeting isn’t delivering the response you had hoped for, you might want to try adjusting a few parameters.

Frequency

The biggest change you can make is to the frequency with which your ads show. If your ads are presented to users too often, your “effective” messaging comes across as intrusive badgering. Be sure that you set a frequency cap, or a limit to how many times your display advertising will show to a certain person on a certain day, so that you’re not bothering people with your ads.

Messaging

The best kind of display advertising, especially on mobile, is succinct. Think about what you want your advertising to say, like benefits of your product or service, and highlight that in banner form. Try to distill what you want to say into one sentence, or even better, just a few words. Also, be sure that you adjust your messaging. If you are retargeting customers who bought from you already, for instance, showing them the same banner would be redundant. Instead, try to focus on a new benefit or product they have not seen and you might score an upsell.

Bio: Ted Dhanik is the CEO of engage:BDR, a digital marketing company that offers real-time bidding. Ted Dhanik has been in direct marketing for over 15 years. Find out how to generate leads for your business with advice from Ted Dhanik.

Lead generation is one of the most common methods of affiliate marketing, and the business has become competitive. Smart marketers and newbies would do well to take advantage of channels that can quickly scale a campaign, building on your early success. Here are some of the fastest growing channels in lead generation.

Banner Advertising

It’s no secret that display advertising is a major contributor to successful affiliate campaigns. There was some debate as to whether CPM was still a relevant metric, but consider that major companies like MasterCard have listed CPM as one of five metrics that represent a clearer picture of the success of marketing campaigns. Display advertising is highly targeted, allows for retargeting, and is still available at budget prices for newbies looking to get in on the ground floor.

Email Marketing

Growing right out of banner advertising is email marketing. Because banners are targeted so well, marketers are able to capitalize on the lists they create through those efforts. You will not need to guess at the demographics of your list, nor will you need to gauge their motivation. This makes it easier for you to choose new campaigns to email to your existing list.

Scaling Tips

Once you have found the formula for success in buy-side platforms, you can branch out and explore other networks to build more traffic. Also consider SEO, which can bring you long term boosts for a minimal effort over time. Although paid advertising should be your largest source of leads, it doesn’t need to be your only opportunity.

Bio: Based out of Los Angeles, Ted Dhanik is a display marketer. Ted Dhanik began his career with MySpace.com and has also worked for LowerMyBills.com. Ted Dhanik teaches the concepts behind successful banner advertising campaigns online, through blogs and various media channels.

Mobile users are ready to buy, but you have to know how to sell to this growing market segment. Screen size plays a role, but simple tips like setting proper targeting settings can go a long way. Learn the tricks to make mobile display advertising work for you.

Geotargeting

Mobile users are on-the-go, so it makes sense that their queries are location sensitive. Geotargeting display advertising for these users based on their immediate location can encourage more foot traffic in a brick and mortar business. You can also try to tap in on deals related to what users might be doing, for instance offering lower prices on retail goods that can be drop shipped.

Day Parting

Certain campaigns tend to do better at certain times of the day, so adjust when your ads show accordingly. This cuts down on the volume of traffic that you receive, but it also adds quality visits to your campaign. Think of it this way, you’re sacrificing a wider net for the safety of showing banner advertising only when those visitors are most likely to convert.

Demographics

Market research is key to any serious attempt at affiliate marketing. You need to know the age of your demographic, but should also have key information like income level or type of employment.

Final Thoughts

Pay attention to the leads your campaigns bring in. Mine those leads for data you can use to improve your campaigns, like demographic or location.

Bio: Ted Dhanik is the CEO and co-founder of engage:BDR. Ted Dhanik has fifteen years of experience in the direct marketing agency, with special emphasis on display advertising. Learn how to make mobile a part of your business with tips from Ted Dhanik.

By Allied Time

Just about every company will struggle with staff punctuality at one time or another. It doesn’t necessarily mean your employees are being lazy or thoughtless, often it just becomes part of the natural rhythm of the office. But there comes a time when it’s necessary to knock out the problem once and for all. And if you’ve reached that point, one of the best solutions out there is employee time clock software.

 

Thanks to modern advances in technology, there are more options than ever before. This also means that many perfectly suitable varieties are cheaper than ever too. So your company doesn’t have to break the bank in order to make sure they have time clock systems that keep people on schedule.

There are a number of different versions you can choose from of course. Some of the best, however, are those that make reporting easy. This way you can get perspective on the issue at will. You can also easily approach the employee or employees in question and let them know how big the problem is and that you’re able to keep an eye on it with ease.

Lastly, look for systems like those that check fingerprints to stop employees from trying to help each other out by checking in for them.

Allied Time sells all kinds of employee time clock options you can use to enhance punctuality. For example, your company can use web time and attendance system better track your employees’ attendance thanks to options like those from Icon time systems.

This article was written by Ted Dhanik

Multivariate testing is the first step an affiliate marketer takes towards scaling a successful display advertising campaign. Testing is so important that even Google does it, famously scrutinizing which shade of blue is best for its logo. Data should drive your decision making, so learn how to harness it and apply it to your situations.

Segment Campaigns

Start by segmenting your campaign based on the kinds of testing you want to accomplish. For example, testing for keyword and location, or keyword and demographic. Dividing your campaigns this way helps you focus on your objectives, and record your results. Don’t forget to encode your URLs with some kind of tracking ID so you can verify which campaigns actually deliver leads to you.

Have a Theory

Approaching your banner advertising with a certain outcome in mind will help inform your decision making. One way to make this work for you is to identify something that works about your campaign and then improve the results. For example, you might recognize that a banner gets plenty of clicks and work toward scaling that for conversions.

Create a Process

Document your testing process and be sure that you follow that protocol with each test that you set up. You need to establish what you measure, how you report those results, and some standards for changes to make. Without these rules, you risk testing yourself off-topic. It helps to establish a protocol for reporting too, because that helps you focus on the results you want.

Bio: Ted Dhanik is an expert in the field of display advertising and direct marketing. With over fifteen years of experience in sales, Ted Dhanik has the experience to help businesses convert more customers. Read Ted Dhanik online for tips on how media buying can grow your business.

This article was written by Ted Dhanik.

Banner advertising relies on the integration of text and imagery to create compelling sales propositions. If you’re hunting for a new banner to advertise, or you are designing your own, there are some important practices you need to know if you expect to get conversions. Be prepared to spend money on testing, but you can achieve the results you want if you make intelligent decisions on your experiments.

Research

Begin by researching your audience. Find out which sites they visit, what other products they buy and get a feel for what motivates them. It’s helpful to know their age demographics, and a bit about where they live. Especially if you’re working in real estate or other programs that are highly specific to locations. The more you know, the more targeting you can do to narrow down the irrelevant clicks you’ll receive.

Copywriting

You should choose every word in your text very carefully. With display advertising, you have a very limited space to include text. You need to make sure that the text sells your products with compelling language. Too much text and your banner will look cluttered and unprofessional. Too little and you risk missing the key sales propositions for your clients. Try reviewing your competition, taking note of common words or phrases that you see in the ads you review.

Provide Value

The last trick is to provide actual value to customers. Whether that is a free report or an estimate for the service you provide, use something valuable to entice them. For instance, a mortgage offer looks more compelling when the user can see real savings figures based on their situations.

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Ted Dhanik, provider of display advertising and high performance marketing solutions. Ted Dhanik is the CEO of marketing company engage:BDR. Ted Dhanik mentors business owners interested in start-ups.