"Google AdWords 1-2-3"

I must be careful how I review this eBook by Greg Heslin. It's written for "newbies" and I'm definitely not in that category!

What seems obvious to me is not going to be obvious to a newcomer to internet marketing.

But here goes - I'll try to put myself inside the head of a "newbie" (but see "What I Learnt" below).

What Is It About?

To start with, "Google AdWords 1-2-3" is a misleading title. It is not just about how to use Google AdWords; it is how to earn money as an affiliate marketer using AdWords. At least, that's what the sales page implies. But the eBook goes beyond being just the AdWords topic; it's more like an affiliate marketing handbook.

After the preliminary "What's Affiliate Marketing All About" intro, the eBook is broken down into a series of logical sections:

• Preliminary Sign-up phase: where you can find products, which pay-per-click search engines you can sign up for.
  
• Affiliate Marketing Step-By-Step Instructions: extremely detailed and methodical.. do this, then do that etc. Surprisingly, it even includes a rudimentary guide to building a simple website, including a webpage editor I hadn't heard of before (must check that out).
  
• Setting Up Your 1st Google Campaign: ah yes, I remember the trepidation when I set up my first AdWords campaign, risking $5 a day! I think I'd have been happier if I'd had Greg's guide, but it isn't all that difficult to follow Google AdWords' instructions.
  
• Daily Tracking Of Your Campaigns: I bet this is the one step which most affiliate marketers fall down on. Why? Probably because they are lazy! Greg correctly highlights the absolute necessity of daily monitoring, and details exactly what you must do.

What I Like About "Google AdWords 1-2-3"

• The concise and easy-to-read writing style: It doesn't matter how good the information is, if it isn't easy to read, people will not get value from an information resource (because we are all basically lazy!)
  
• The amount of detail: This is essential in an eBook aimed at "newbies". Greg doesn't just tell us what to do, he describes in concise detail exactly how to do things and, importantly, why we should do things his way (if we don't understand why we have to do something, we might tend to dismiss it).
  
• Greg's unique focus on the consumer: Maybe this is the most important (and distinguishing) part of his eBook. Unusually, he trains us to get inside the head of the consumer, and doesn't focus (as most eBooks on affiliate marketing do) on product, prices and profits. Using his strategies in this context could get people light-years ahead of other affiliate marketers.
  
  I guess that this technique stems from Greg's background in "dirt world" (i.e. off-line marketing), which he and I share. Maybe I go back a little further than him; I started my marketing career in (gulp, now you can guess how really old I am) 1963!
  
• The links to useful resources: These are all set in the context of the material, and not just lumped together at the end of the eBook. I found myself diving off to have a look at these resources as I was reading the eBook.
  
• The production and design of the eBook: It's in PDF format, and so many writers just write their eBook in MS Word and turn it into a PDF. Greg has used many of the Adobe Acrobat tools to make his PDF highly useable e.g. a contents page where you can click directly through to each section and sub-section and the creation of PDF "Bookmarks", which means that you can have an index always open whilst you are reading the eBook. Also, the page layout is attractive.
  
• The lack of advertising: Apart from some of the links to resources being affiliate links (and I don't blame him for that), there's none of the pages of advertising for other products that you sometimes see in other internet marketer's eBooks. Greg stays focused on his topics.

What I Didn't Like About It

Rather minor points really:

• The screen shots showing Greg's income: He shows how much cash he made on a couple of days, with screen shots of his ClickBank statement. As a "reserved Brit", this brashness makes me cringe! But I suppose that it helps to give Greg credibility!
  
• Vagueness of some of the resource links: I haven't checked every one but I found a few where Greg could have sent us direct to the page of interest, but didn't (e.g. signing up for a LookSmart advertising account). And some of the links are out of date (e.g. FindWhat is now part of Miva). I know that it's difficult keeping up to date, but FindWhat took on the Miva name in June 2005. It's really easy to update an eBook, and it can be done regularly.
  
• Some affiliate techniques are not described: I noticed, in particular, the lack of mention of the need to cloak affiliate links. I know this isn't necessary when using AdWords, but since this eBook covers affiliate marketing in much greater depth than just using AdWords (a strength of the eBook), affiliate link cloaking is an important technique, both to increase the click-through rate and to reduce commission hijacking (another topic Greg doesn't mention).

What I Learned From The eBook

I thought that I wouldn't learn much from Greg's eBook. I was wrong. Here's just a few things I learnt:

• I've been sloppy about the criteria I use to select affiliate programs. Greg has helped me to focus more tightly, giving me a formula to use (page 35)
  
• I've only used two places on the web to find good affiliate programs. Now I know a third one (page 41)
  
• The simple technique to cut down pay-per-click costs by eliminating freebie-chasing time-wasters (page 73)
  
• I didn't know that people using search engines sometimes did this (page 84). This has added to my knowledge of keyword generation!
  
• I didn't know about the free online tool that Greg mentions (page 85), which will save me hours when generating the two additional keyword match options for AdWords (the " " and the [ ] options). Try adding these manually to a list of 200 keywords / key phrases!
  
• I was only doing two out of the four daily tasks that he recommends (page 113), and I haven't been certain when to ditch a campaign. He's given me this info. This alone is going to increase my income many times the cost of Greg's eBook.

Conclusion

If you consider yourself a "newbie" and you want to break into affiliate marketing, you really should consider the modest investment in "Google AdWords 1-2-3". I've read more comprehensive eBooks (such as Ken Evoy's massive - and free - work), but I've not seen before such a clearly laid out description of how to get your affiliate marketing off the ground and earning money quickly (something that most people, not just "newbies" really want).

If you consider yourself to be a more experienced marketer (and, putting modesty aside, I put myself in this category!), you might think that "1-2-3" is too basic for you. My view is that if you can learn just a few new cash-generating tips from an information resource, then it's worth spending money (and time - don't forget your time investment in reading the eBook) on it. You may find more or less than I did, but I'm pretty certain you'll find something of value in "1-2-3".

Find out more about "Google AdWords 1-2-3" from here