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The Introduction (In Which You Are Introduced to the Problem and Made to Feel Like Shit About It)

Do you ever get overwhelmed by AdWords?

All the techniques, all the networks, all the settings, all the tricks and strategies and best practices.

And they’re constantly changing, aren’t they? What was a best practice in 2010 is illegal in 2011, or outdated, or just plain stupid.

While I would love to tell you that AdWords is actually quite simple, I can’t.

While I would love to tell you that you can read a 20-page ebook and compete with the best of the best, I can’t.

While I would love to tell you that the latest under the radar trick will get you tons of leads and sales at half the cost per click you’re currently paying, I can’t.

After all, I’m the guy who makes a living writing 400+ page books on the topic. And my agency runs AdWords campaigns that require dozens of hours per month of expert attention and optimization. If we could work less and get the same results, we sure would!

But here’s what I can tell you: most advertisers don’t understand the true power of AdWords.

They don’t know what Search really is.

In other words, they don’t have a feel for the fundamentals.

 Fundamentals First

Most advertisers (and agencies, from my experience) treat AdWords as a technically complex series of pipes, in which marketing messages travel from the merchant to the searcher. They don’t realize that the AdWords machine is the least important part of the equation.

It’s like taking a huge, strong guy and trying to turn him into an offensive lineman in football. You could teach him blocking techniques. You could have him memorize the playbook. You could explain every single rule and infraction and penalty. But if he doesn’t understand that the big goal of the offense is to score touchdowns, he’s not going to be an effective lineman.

Regardless of his skills, and regardless of his strength, and regardless of his knowledge of the playbook and the rulebook.

In fact, until he understands the big picture, teaching him the technical skills and strategies and rules will be excruciatingly slow, difficult, and ineffective.

 The AdWords Fundamentals

I don’t feel like writing a really long sales letter teasing you by talking about the AdWords fundamentals and not telling you what they are.

So here they are:

1. AdWords is a tool that allows you to dig deep empathy with your prospects
2. AdWords is a positioning playground where you can define your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) in triangulation with the market and your competitors
3. AdWords is a test bed for your best guesses on 1 and 2 above

Not complicated. Not technically challenging. Nothing you need to memorize to pass the AdWords Qualified Individual exam.

Just the three key concepts that separate the AdWords success stories from everyone else.

And once you understand these three concepts – not intellectually or theoretically, but practically and experientially – then all the technical details fall into place.

The Checkmate Method – The Missing Part of Your AdWords Education

I’ve taught Checkmate to about 3500 people in the entire world, through Camp Checkmate events, workshops, webinars, private consultations, and the Checkmate home study course that I’m about to ram down your throat on this page ;)

When I share it with students, the responses vary from “I can’t wait to implement this” to “I feel like I’m finally meeting my customer for the first time.” And once they implement, they see the vistas and opportunities opening up as soon as the first results come in.

When I shared Checkmate with Perry Marshall, his response was, “I wish I’d thought of it.”

When I shared Checkmate with Glenn Livingston, his response was, “This is awesome. Let’s do a teleseminar.” (Thanks to Glenn, the method grew larger than a fill-in-the-blanks table in a Word document on my hard drive.)

When I shared Checkmate with the legendary direct marketer Drayton Bird, his response was, “ I’ve seen many people around the world try to teach people to sell things. Howie enables you to do this supremely well, in a way which is almost childishly simple, but hugely effective. You should give him a shot.”

Like I said, Checkmate is the fundamentals part. But it’s more than that. Checkmate is also a method that allows you to write better ads than you’ve ever written before in about 30 minutes.

It isn’t magic. But it helps you access knowledge and insight and intuition that you may not have realized that you already possess.

What You Get With Checkmate Checkmate Fundamentals Quick Start Guide (1 page!) Ever buy a home-study course and get overwhelmed? The quick start guide shows you, step by step, how to get the most out of Checkmate in the least time. You’ll be writing awesome ads in a couple of hours by following these simple steps.

The Checkmate Matrix

The Matrix is a one-page blank table that’s the heart of the Checkmate method. You’ll use the matrix again and again to insert yourself into the sweet spot of your market for any given keyword. At first, you’ll complete a matrix in about 30 minutes. With a little practice, you’ll get it down to 5.

Checkmate Crash Course (Print Manual and Audios)

Part 1: Checkmate Revealed

• The single most important and overlooked factor in searcher’s decision-making process
• The importance of the searcher’s “story” – and how to uncover it
• The hidden search motivator: the trigger
• How to balance relevance and difference in your ads
• How to sneak through the filter in your prospect’s mind
• Should you use the keyword in the headline? Some surprising advice
• How to craft a powerful USP (and evaluate whether yours is up to snuff)
• The nine elements of every ad (knowing these will allow you to evaluate any SERP in minutes and find your own Checkmate positioning)
• A live example – applying Checkmate to the GMAT Prep market

Crash Course Review

Simple two-page fill in the blanks quiz to keep you focused on the most important concepts and skills. Complete this review as you read and/or listen to the Crash Course. (Comes with answer sheet – but no peaking ;)

Part 2: Checkmate in Action – Example, Analysis and Coaching

Checkmate Applications (Print Manual and Audios)

Live Coaching in 3 Diverse Markets:

• Goal Setting (selling education)
• Backup Cameras (selling a physical product)
• Septic Problems (selling a service and product)

Checkmate Tools (Print Manual, and Audio Instructions)

6 easy-to-complete tools that lead you to finding your unique Checkmate Voice, as well as the Tools “Personal Trainer” (step by step instructions to complete the tools)

The most powerful and overlooked ad writing technique is what I call “voice” – the way your prospect hears your ad in their head as they view it. The 6 Checkmate Tools allow you to put an attractive and unique voice into a 4 line pay per click ad that speaks directly to your customer. It cuts through the clutter of the page and makes your ad stand out like new white shoelaces under black light.

Bonus: The 7 Levels of Persuasion

There are 7 levels of persuasion that marketers use to convince prospects to buy. The 3 highest and most powerful levels are rarely used, and used correctly even less often. Discover them in this bonus recording.

How Much Would You Pay For Checkmate?

Usually, when you read that line in a sales letter, you know you’re about to be subjected to a “value build” – where I tell you how much every component is worth (usually ending up with a total of $24,875 or some such number) and then reveal the actual price to be many orders of magnitude lower (only $3997!).

I’ve done that in sales letters. It works pretty well, too. But not today.

Inspired by my friend Tad Hargrave of Marketing for Hippies, I’m actually serious when I ask how much you would pay. Because when you give me your answer, I’ll respond by saying, “OK, it’s a deal.”

Announcing the “Pay What You Can” Checkmate Sale

Checkmate, the home study course, has sold for $467 or $497, depending on whether you wanted all the goodies.

As an experiment, I’m offering a sliding scale on price designed to make price a non-issue.

You can pay any of the following amounts and get the entire digital Checkmate course (eliminating the production and mailing of a manual and CDs allows me to offer a full range of pricing options):

$37           $97          $177          $247          $497

It really makes no difference to me which one you choose. You have to pay something to complete the energetic exchange, but the amount is up to you. After all, different people have different abilities to pay, and depending on what sort of business you have and what level of AdWords you’re playing at, the information in Checkmate will have different value to you.

And of course, whatever you pay, if you aren’t happy with the product, you get a full refund (of the amount you paid, not any other amount ;)

This offer feels very good to me. I hope it feels accessible and risk-free and good to you to.

What’s the Catch?

Were you wondering about a catch? I mention it in the video above, but I’ll spell it out here.

I believe that once you discover and begin implementing Checkmate, you’ll want to experience it in a group setting, with my guidance. So within the next two months I’ll be letting you know about a Virtual Camp Checkmate (that will also be offered on a sliding scale).

You’re much more likely to join an interactive Checkmate group if you own and use the Checkmate home study course. So that’s my hidden agenda. (Oops, not hidden anymore.)

The Obligatory Big Fat Bowl of Urgency

(In my best car commercial announcer voice) You must act now to get this incredible deal. Quantities are limited.

What? No they’re not!

But you do have to make up your mind relatively soon. As I said, this is an experiment. I reserve the right to stop it at any time if it doesn’t feel right.

And as an added incentive for quick action, I’ll hold a bonus webinar on November 30 for everyone who’s signed up by then. The topic: The Magic Shortcut Called “Last Ad Standing.” (I’ll share a Checkmate shortcut that you can use to write great ads when you don’t have time to do full Checkmate.)

Ready to get started?

Click the amount you feel comfortable paying to head to the checkout page.

$37
$97
$177
$247
$497

Want to read more? Here’s the original Checkmate sales letter – but come back here to order if you don’t want to pay full price.

In most markets, the Google search results page is a confusing Sea of Sameness (SOS). The advertisers all following “best practices” end up looking and sounding more or less identical.

Maybe it seems impossible to write a breakthrough ad – after all, if everyone’s saying the same thing, it’s probably the right thing to say, right?

In an article published yesterday in Fast Company, I share a quick and powerful method for creating “Cut through the Clutter” ads, so you become the obvious choice amid that Sea of Sameness:

Read it here.

A favor: if you like the article, please log in or register with Fast Company online so you can leave a comment. Agree, disagree, have a question, tell your own story of a breakthrough ad; it’s all good.

From Roy Williams, the Wizard of Ads, comes 6 minutes of audio brilliance:

http://www.mondaymorningmemo.com/newsletters/listen/1910

If you want to know what bald dogs and plumbers, farts and wedding chapels, and coffins and Florida tourism have in common, this is a must-listen.

Also, if you’re a fan of the novelist Tom Robbins, you’ll get an extra jolt of inspiration.

Thanks, Lester, for the link!

When we write ads, we generally think about the problems our prospects face, and the solutions they want.

But there’s another layer to the onion; the way they want to change their feeling-state.

These two questions can help you write better ads, and also will aid in the design and copy decisions you make regarding your landing page.

+ Click here to read the transcript

Please post a comment below, so we can keep the conversation going.

A reader from the UK writes:

I'm a UK adword convert after buying and reading your book. I'm running what I think is a reasonably successful campaign and learning all the time. Recently one of my competitors adverts has been carrying underneath it a little blue cross and the words "show products from ….http://co.uk" when you click on it his advert extends and you see four of his products complete with images and descriptions. I've tried using google help to find out how to do it for my adverts but have drawn a blank. Can you tell me how to access this feature please?

My reply:

You can access this feature by setting up a Google Merchant Center account and connecting it to your AdWords account.

For those of you who aren't sure what we're talking about, here's a quick visual tour:

The first and third ads both have "Product Plus Boxes", such as the reader describes in his question. When a searcher clicks the plus sign (at no charge to the advertiser), they see an array of relevant products:

If you sell physical products that people are searching for by name, make, model, function, or price, and you're not using Product Plus Box and your competitors are, you're at a definite disadvantage. 

So let's take a quick look inside AdWords to see how to set that up.

First, though, you need to get a Google Merchant Center account at http://www.google.com/merchants. Then you have to do all sorts of complicated things, like set up XML product feeds, upload products directly, or use the Google API to let Google know what you've got to sell.

Then, go into your AdWords Campaign settings to hook up the Merchant Center:

When you click the "Edit" link within the red box above, you're given an opportunity to connect the Merchant Center:

The bad news about this is that it isn't something you can put together in a couple of hours. The good news, of course, is that this isn't something your competitors can put together in a couple of hours, either. 

Oh, and one more thing

If your eyes were peeled as you were looking at the Google screen shots above, you may also have noticed the "[Merchant] is rated [Number of stars] on Google Products" feature next to select ads.

Right now, Google automatically shows this line if you have at least 30 reviews averaging 4 stars or higher. And the advertiser doesn't get charged for a click if the searcher goes to the review page. Here's an example of what you'd see if you clicked the amazon ad:

So as the title of this post says, if you're not moving with AdWords, you're falling back rather than standing still.

If you'd like help navigating the ever-changing world of AdWords from folks who spend a lot more time than you do fretting over these things, here are some options from the world of askhowie:

1. Get an AdWords X-Ray with me 
2. Hire me to tell you what to do with an AdWords Genie
3. Hire my online marketing company, The PPC Agency, to manage your AdWords and Facebook accounts on an ongoing basis
4. Join the Ring of Fire and get answers to your marketing questions, as well as interviews and group coaching calls, starting at $20/month

I promote Camp Checkmate as a way to "Checkmate Your Competition."

To get more clicks, more leads, more sales, more profit.

That's what people want out of their AdWords campaigns, after all.

But in order to achieve those goals, we have to do something counter-intuitive and maybe even a bit shocking:

We forget about them for 90% of the time at Camp Checkmate.

Why Focusing on Extrinsic Rewards is Counterproductive

In Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, Daniel Pink reveals one of the most robust – and least respected – findings from social science research:

The bigger the carrot (or the sharper the stick), the less well people perform complex tasks that require creativity.

In study after study, big rewards (or the threat of big penalties) hampered performance of complicated tasks.

And if you look up "complicated task requiring huge amounts of creativity" in the dictionary, you see a picture of yourself trying to market your business.

Narrow Focus is the Enemy of Creativity

When we are consciously motivated by the money we'll make if we get it right, we narrow our focus. We look for the straight path to success. We miss lateral opportunities.

And as marketers, thinking about our needs is the exact mindset that prevents us from thinking about – and thinking like – our ideal customers.

Camp Checkmate is One Big Bait and Switch

So even though you signed up for Camp Checkmate Chicago June 10-11 (you have signed up, right ;) because you want to increase your business, that's not the focus of the middle 90% of Camp Checkmate.

We start there, by looking at the competitive landscape (for about 15 minutes) and consciously looking for ways to outmaneuver and outsmart our competitors. We do that to get our subconscious minds oriented toward the ultimate goal.

And we end there, when we return from the land of creativity and breakthrough and divergent thinking during the last hour of Camp Checkmate. We harvest the fruit of our creative output and plan to deploy it in the days and weeks ahead.

But in the middle, we leave the ultimate goal at the door, and concentrate instead on creative curiosity and playful expression.

Because that's the mindset that produces the truly profitable breakthroughs.

Today's the last day for Early Bird pricing. Sign up by midnight tonight and save $800 off the full tuition.

If you haven't been following Google's whirlwind evolution since the publication of Google AdWords For Dummies less than a year ago, you might be surprised what's new. This cute and very clear video gives you the lay of the land in about 75 seconds:

Help Me Help You

Which of these models are you most interested in learning more about? Take this quick poll and I'll find guest experts who can show you how to advertise profitably and painlessly with  the new models:

Quick and Dirty Online Research – Free Webinar Thursday 11 March 2010

Join me for a Camp Checkmate preview call Thursday, 11 March 2010 at 1:00pm EST, where I'll take you through a 30-minute exercise that will give you insight into what your market wants and isn't getting. 

You'll discover how to play the Google search results page like a 1955 Gretsch Chet Atkins 6120 guitar, so that you can cut through the clutter and become the obvious choice for your market.

Full disclosure: this is a preview call for the Camp Checkmate live event coming up in Durham NC in 3 weeks, on April 1-2. Frankly, I've done a sucky job of promotion so far, so my plan is to entice you with my best stuff and then make you an offer you can't refuse. 

Click here to register for the webinar.

I recently came across the story of Leonid Rogozov, the Russian surgeon who removed his own appendix while overwintering in an Antarctic polar base in 1961.

You can Google his name and find photos of the operation, which I have chosen not to reproduce here in the interests of I just had lunch.

You can also read a fascinating description of the operation in the British Medical Journal.

This isn’t the sort of how-to information that one hopes will be useful some day, but it certainly puts the toil of writing AdWords ads in perspective.

And that, funnily enough, is what I want to talk about today.

Are You Removing Your Own Appendix?

I’m a huge believer in business owners taking responsibility for their marketing. They can outsource execution, but should be driving the strategic direction. They can outsource customer outreach, but must intimately understand the customer.

So when I tell you that you are probably the worst person to be writing your own AdWords ads, you are right to look at me quizzically.

But that’s what I’ve decided.

Writing your own marketing messages is in some ways very much like trying to remove your own appendix.

No matter your skill at the operation, you’re still a little too close to the action to be as effective as you might want.

To say nothing of the pain.

I discovered this by accident, during a mastermind group I was leading last year.

One of the participants, let’s call him Doug (even though his real name is Alfred), requested help with his ads. So the rest of us grilled Doug on his product, his ideal customer, his top competitors, etc.

And I must have been getting tired, because I suggested that we all take a few minutes working independently, writing ads and then handing them to Doug.

The results were astonishing.

From spinning his wheels in a Google Rut three inches wide and two miles deep, Doug now had a dozen radically new messages to test.

And many of them were brilliant.

And all of them were inside him, but he couldn’t get them out himself.

Much like that infected Russian appendix.

How to Outsource Marketing Messages

OK, so I’m not suggesting you just hire someone to write your marketing message for you.

You wouldn’t pay a doctor to insert an appendix, would you?

(This is a crappy and illogical metaphor; I’m aware of that. But I’m on a roll, it seems to me. So on I plow.)

No, what you want is someone who can draw insight and empathy out of you. Who can see with a clearer perspective what your customer cares about. Who can accurately see how you are truly different from your competitors.

You provide the raw material, based on your experience.

Your “marketing surgeon” provides a third-party view and fresh eyes.

Click here for a PDF tutorial on a 7-step exercise that you can do with a friend that will give you tremendous insight into your Ideal Customer.

Proof

At Perry Marshall’s exclusive Roundtable meeting in Orlando last month, I led a Checkmate exercise that culminated in members writing ads for each other.

Each participant had six minutes: two to describe their ideal customer, two to answer a specific set of questions from other members, and two to sit back and watch the other folks write new ads for them.

Here’s a short video montage of their reactions to this exercise:

The exercise worked so well because everyone in the room was oriented in Checkmate methodology (that took 20 minutes), everyone understood the power questions that lead to breakthroughs (10 minutes), and everyone was sincerely interested in being of service to each other (that’s thanks to Perry, and everyone’s upbringing – I can’t claim credit there ;)

Buoyed by the success of a brief Camp Checkmate exercise at Perry’s Roundtable, I am taking Camp Checkmate on the road.

But I’m keeping the workshops small, so I can manage the interactions and ensure that everyone leaves with new marketing copy and a polished and streamlined strategic direction.

As in, these workshops will sell out because there’s scarcity built right in.

I Outsource My Own Appendix Removal

I finally bit the bullet and hired a copywriter to help me describe Camp Checkmate. As fine a writer as my mother tells me I am, I was just getting in my own way. I wasn’t describing the benefits of Camp Checkmate clearly and powerfully. I was getting too caught up in process description, and not articulating the amazing outcome that everyone who has gone through the process has experienced.

So I’m waiting for the new and improved sales letter, which should be ready to go by March 1.

But that leaves me 3 weeks just sitting here staring at my own appendix, and my fingers are getting twitchy.

So if you’d like to be one of the few, the proud, the Camp Checkmate grads (note to self: look into Camp Checkmate t-shirts, hats and water bottles), then skip the rush when the good sales letter comes out, and reserve your place now.

Camp Checkmate Details

East Coast Camp: April 1-2, 2010: Durham NC

Midwest Camp: June 10-11, 2010: Chicago IL (with guest appearances by Perry Marshall and Glenn Livingston)

Cost: $1497, or three payments of $532, and you can bring one guest (significant business or life partner) for an extra $95 to cover the cost of food and materials. (Just click the "Camp Checkmate – Colleague" link at the bottom of the shopping cart page.)

Includes: Two full days of Camp Checkmate, full lunch and refreshments, course materials, the AdWords Checkmate Deluxe digital home study course, and one year of the Chess Club, a monthly coaching club for Checkmate grads.

Act Now, Save Big

Early bird discount for Gold Key Members, good until Friday February 12, 2010. When you click one of the links below, you'll save $500. As in, Camp Checkmate for just $997, or three payments of $366. 

Go here for the single payment plan.

Go here for the three-payment plan.

Once you register, I'll be in touch with all the details, and you'll get immediate electronic access to the complete Checkmate Deluxe package.

Looking forward to seeing you at one of the upcoming Camp Checkmate workshops!

Pricing, decoys, headlines – these aren't just the stuff of savvy online marketers.

They're also key components of menu psychology.

Check out this NY Times article by Sarah Kershaw on research into how menu decisions can affect restaurant profitability (thanks to Mark Hurst of CreativeGood.com for bringing it to my attention).

Decoys: A Powerful Marketing Technique

Using decoy items is one of my favorite marketing techniques. Writes Kershaw,

"Some restaurants use what researchers call decoys. For example, they may place a really expensive item at the top of the menu, so that other dishes look more reasonably priced; research shows that diners tend to order neither the most nor least expensive items, drifting toward the middle. Or restaurants might play up a profitable dish by using more appetizing adjectives and placing it next to a less profitable dish with less description so the contrast entices the diner to order the profitable dish."

Decoys work so well because they capitalize on our brain's powerful tendency to save energy when making decisions. Instead of considering all the possibilities the universe has to offer us, we focus on the select few right in front of our nose. As a marketer, if you can influence the set of options, you can influence the final decision.

That's the whole principle behind my AdWords Checkmate method, which I'm finally ready to share in all its glory with the online marketing community. 

To get the early bird scoop, go here.