On
the Fast Track with…
AdMinder
We recommend
that you print out this chapter so that you can follow along as you
enter your AdMinder site for the first time.
Purpose:
The main goal of this
Tutorial is to assist you in setting up your AdMinder TRACKING
URL.
A "tracking URL" is
a special URL that keeps track of the total number of
"clicks" your ad gets. A "click" simply
means that someone has read your ad, and is sufficiently impressed
by what you had to say that they use the link in your ad to go to
your website for further information (and hopefully to
purchase the product you are promoting!)
Your AdMinder
tracking URL is also a redirect URL.
It is called a
"redirect URL" because it first takes your prospect
to the AdMinder site for a split second. It is during this
tiniest fraction of a second that the AdMinder site logs this
particular click to the total clicks in your account. Thus you
can see at any time how effective your ad is by looking at the
number of clicks you have in your AdMinder member's area.
Then - after the click is
logged - your prospect is immediately redirected to another, second
URL. It is this second
URL that actually takes your prospect to the website you are
promoting.
Would you like to
guess what that second URL is?
Yep! That's
right! If you are promoting the Big Dogs program, that second
URL is your ClickBank hoplink! (And - before you ask the
question - yes, ClickBank hoplinks and AdMinder Tracking URL's are
BOTH different types of "redirect URL's")
So here's how it
works...
1. Your
prospect reads your ad. He is excited by what you have to say
and wants to learn more by going to your website.
2. By way of
your AdMinder tracking URL he is first taken to the AdMinder
site where that click is logged.
He is then
"redirected" to your ClickBank hoplink.
3. By way of
your ClickBank hoplink he is first taken to the ClickBank
site where he is "connected" to your ClickBank
nickname.
He is then "redirected"
(a second time) to your actual
website - the Secrets of the Big Dogs website.
Got it!?
AdMinder tracks
your total CLICKS (but not your sales). ClickBank tracks your
total SALES (but not your clicks).
And you need both
of these numbers to tell how effective your advertising is, don't
you? We all wish that ALL clicks resulted in sales. But
that's not the case, is it? (sigh) For example, if over
a period of time your AdMinder stats show that you've had 100
clicks, and your ClickBank stats show you've had 50 sales, THAT is a
pretty dog-gone good ad, isn't it? (100 clicks and 50 sales
gives you a 50% closing average). But let's say over a period
of time you run another ad and your AdMinder stats show that you've
had 1,000 clicks and your ClickBank stats show you've had just one
sale. Now THAT is a lousy ad, right? (1,000 clicks and 1
sale gives you a .1% closing average.)
You
need BOTH total clicks AND total sales to judge the overall
performance of your advertising.
So
now let's set up your AdMinder Tracking URL...
Step
1:
Bookmark or make the AdMinder
site as one of your “favorite places,” so you can get to it as
quickly as possible when you desire.
The URL you will need to bookmark is:
http://www.adminder.com/login.shtml
Bookmark it, and
name it, simply, “AdMinder."
Step
2:
Now that you have the
AdMinder login site set up as one of your favorite places, click on
the link to go there.
Step
3:
On the AdMinder
"Login" page, enter your Username and Password that you
chose when initially signing up for the service. Click on the
gray "Login" button to the immediate right.
You are now on the Main AdMinder Control Panel page.
Step
4:
If this is your
first time on your Control Panel page, you will note that this page
consists simply of five horizontal blocks at the top of the page.
(There is also a row of six blue hotlinks below the fifth block.)
Block 1 is a large
gray block running across the page from left to right. The
text in this block reads, "AdMinder. Automated.
Proven. Guaranteed. V3.3 Website Advertising
Manager"
Block 2 is a
thinner, light tan block. In the immediate left of this block
you will see, "Control Panel for....." followed by
your username. To the RIGHT you will see five blue hotlinks:
"main," "new," "groups,"
"reports," and "logout." These are the
links that allow you to navigate the AdMinder site and to set up
your tracking URL's.
Block 3, the white
block, ("Welcome back...") can be ignored for right
now.
Block 4 (the gray
block) will shortly "change" and look completely
different, after you set up your initial tracking URL. So,
for right now, it also can be ignored.
Read the text in
Block 5 (the light tan block) at the bottom. It states that... "If this is
your first time using AdMinder V3.2, we strongly suggest you review
the User Guide."
But you
can forget about the User Guide for right now.
Here's why: Remember that AdMinder is a very powerful, comprehensive ad-tracking
tool - powerful enough for even the most sophisticated of Internet
marketers. However, the majority of marketers, especially
beginners, will find it necessary to use and understand just a small
percentage of all that AdMinder can do.
That "small
percentage" is the subject of this Fast Track Tutorial and will
get you well on your way to using the basic ad-tracking capabilities
of the program.
Later on, as
your Internet marketing career progresses and you find the need for
more sophisticated applications, you can then investigate the
AdMinder User Guide in much greater detail.
Step
5:
In Block 2, the
light tan block, click on the second hotlink
from the left entitled, "New" to set up your tracking URL.
Step
6:
You will be on the "Create
a New Ad Code" page.
There are two main
areas of the page. The first area entitled, "Required
Information" has nine fields of information that must be
completed.
Field # 1 -
“Ad Code”
This is the code you will assign to a specific ad, or to an
entire series of ads promoting one program.
Obviously, your ad code should be as short and simple as possible.
If you are
promoting the Big Dogs program simply enter...
bigdogs
...into the Ad Code block.
Make sure to use all lower case letters and no spaces. In
other words, for your ad code, DO NOT use...
Big
Dogs
...or your
Tracking URL will NOT work!
Field # 2 -
"Group"
This should be set at "default."
Field # 3 -
"Purpose"
Click on the small black arrowhead to display the drop down
menu, and select "Neither - Traffic Only."
Field # 4 -
"Redirect To"
IMPORTANT! This is where you will enter the URL of the website to which you want your prospects to go.
For example, if you are promoting the Big Dogs program, you would
enter your ClickBank hoplink into this block.
In other words,
if your ClickBank nickname is "hotdog," then your
"redirect to" URL in Field # 4 would be....
http://hotdog.bigdogs.hop.clickbank.net
Folks, I
shouldn't have to tell you this by now, but it is EXTREMELY
important - crucial, in fact - that your ClickBank hoplink
be completely accurate! You should first verify that your
hoplink takes you to YOUR sales page for the "Secrets of the
Big Dogs" ebook, and then COPY AND PASTE YOUR HOPLINK
into Field # 4.
(Note:
Naturally, if you are promoting a DIFFERENT program - not the Big
Dogs program - in the "Redirect To" block you would
enter your reseller URL for THAT program.)
Field # 5 -
"Verify URL"
This block should always be checked.
Field # 6 -
"Description"
In this block you can enter a lengthier description of your
ad code from Field # 1. For example, in Field # 1 your Ad
Code was bigdogs, assuming you are promoting the Big Dogs
program. In Field # 6 you could enter Big
Dogs Ad,
Or perhaps you're
promoting another, different program of your choosing.
Let's say that this program is called "Internet Hot
Shot." Then block # 6 would contain Internet Hot
Shot Ad. Got it?
As your Internet
marketing career progresses you could eventually have DOZENS of different ad codes, so this description block
insures you won't forget what each code refers to.
Field # 7 -
"Ad Cost"
Here is where you can enter the cost of your ad so that the
AdMinder program can automatically calculate your "cost per
click."
For example, if you are using
the C.H.I.P. programs to generate traffic, you could enter the total
monthly fees of all the programs of which you are a member, MINUS
those that do not directly generate traffic. (In
other words, you would not include the cost of the AdMinder
program itself, since the AdMinder program is not designed to generate
traffic. You would also not include the cost of the Big Dogs
Administration Fee, since it, also, does not generate traffic.) Enter the final amount you come up with
numerically, starting with a dollar sign, and ending with
the cents. Like so:
$70.00
Here's what we
mean...
If you were to
join all of the current C.H.I.P. programs your monthly cost would
be $191.19. BUT!... the Big Dogs Administration Fee of
$10.00 does not generate traffic, nor does the AdMinder program
($19.95 per month) generate traffic. So your actual monthly
cost for the programs that actually generate traffic is $161.24
($191.19 minus $10.00 minus $19.95 = $161.24. And this is
what would be entered in the ad cost block. Like so:
$161.24
Then, make SURE to check the block marked "monthly" to
the extreme right.
(Note: f you someday
start to use pay-per-click search engines to generate traffic, you would enter
the cost you are paying for each click at that particular search
engine. Make sure to then check the block marked "PPC"
which is second from the right. If you eventually
run ads in ezines, you would simply enter the cost for the ad.)
Fields # 8
& 9 - "Start Date/End Date"
These fields are used if you purchased, say, a series of
four ads in a particular ezine that will begin and end on specific
dates.
However, the C.H.I.P. programs run continuously
month after month, so there IS no specific "start" and
"end" date, is there. So, until you start doing some ezine
advertising in the future, just let the default values as they
are.
You
are now done entering all the necessary information in the "Required
Information" area. We now turn to the "Optional
Information" area...
Fields # 1- 4 - "Contact"
"Site URL" "Email" "Phone"
These fields generally refer to ezine advertising.
For example there is a block where you can enter the name of your
contact at that ezine, his email address, phone number, etc.
These fields can remain blank for now, however.
Field # 5 "Ad/Notes"
is where you can enter any notes or other information about a
particular ad or ad campaign. You can even enter your entire
ad here. However, to simplify matters, for now just let
this field blank.
Step
7:
When you are satisfied that
all information you'd like to include about your ad is complete,
simply click on the "Create New Ad Code" button at
the bottom.
You will be taken back
to the Main AdMinder Control Panel page.
Step
8:
Blocks 1, 2, and 3 (the gray,
tan and white blocks) remain pretty much the same as they were when you first
visited this page in Step 4, above.
However, Blocks 4
and 5 have changed dramatically!
In
block 4 you
will now see three boxes arranged horizontally. They
are: "Ad Group," "Ad Status,"
and "Time Period."
Don't be concerned
at this point with the "Ad Group" and "Ad
Status" blocks, but let's look briefly at the "Time
Period" box.
The "Time
Period" box (the last box on the right) is able to show
your ad statistics for various time frames of your choosing, and is probably
the ONLY box in this area that you will be using for some time.
Clicking on the small black arrowhead brings up a drop-down menu
showing your "Time Period" options. These options
are: "All,"
"Today," "Yesterday," "This Week,"
"Last Week," "This Month,"
"Last Month," "This Year," and "Last
Year."
Select the "This
Week" option. The "This Week" option will
show the total number of clicks your ad received in the most recent
seven day period.
Step
9:
Since you have now set up
your tracking URL, Block 5 now contains your main
statistics display. Note that this statistics display
shows a whopping TWELVE columns of information about your ads!
(We TOLD you AdMinder was a comprehensive program!)
Now,
there is no need to feel overwhelmed.
There are only TWO
columns that 99% of all marketers will find necessary. Those
two columns are the second and third columns entitled, "Ad
Code" and "C".
"Ad Code"
(column 2) of course refers to the code that you assign to your ad
or ad series. (If you are promoting the Big Dogs program and you've followed our directions up to this
point, this column will have bigdogs in it.)
"C"
(column 3) refers to the number of unique clicks that ad receives.
One of many nice features of the
AdMinder program is that it tracks only "UNIQUE" clicks.
In other words, if a person clicks on the link in your ad a dozen
times in a day, or even a hundred times in one day, AdMinder will
show only one click - the UNIQUE click. This is a useful
feature since counting ALL clicks would give you a false sense of
how many DIFFERENT prospects viewed your site.
Step
10:
Click on the actual ad
code (which is a hotlink) in column 2. For example, if your ad code is
bigdogs click on THIS light blue hotlink (NOT on the column title of
"Ad Code").
Step
11:
You will be on the "Details
for Ad Code "bigdogs" page. This
screen shows all of the data you entered in Step 6, above. But we
are concerned at this point with just ONE item - the all-important GATE
URL.
The sixth item from the top, the "Gate
URL,"
is the whole reason why we're here!
THIS
is your tracking URL!
It was automatically generated for you by the AdMinder program when
you clicked on the "Create New Ad Code" button two pages
previously.
Now, then, ALL
AdMinder tracking URL's are in the same basic format.....
http://www.adminder.com/c.cgi?XXXXXX&YYYYYY
The "XXXXXX"
is replaced by your AdMinder username. Thus all of YOUR
AdMinder tracking URL's will be identical up to the "&"
The "YYYYYY"
will be replaced by your ad code.
For example, if
your AdMinder username is hotdog and the ad code you're
using is bigdogs, then your AdMinder tracking URL
for the Big Dogs program will be.....
http://www.adminder.com/c.cgi?hotdog&bigdogs
Enter your
AdMinder Tracking URL for the Big Dogs Program under "d"
of "My AdMinder Information" on the Master Information
Sheet.
Remember!
This "Gate URL" is
your tracking URL that will take your
prospects to the website you are promoting and will automatically
count your total clicks - your unique visitors.
Another nice
feature of AdMinder is that you can immediately verify that
you've set up the tracking URL properly. Notice that the tracking URL
("Gate URL") is
given in the form of a hotlink. Thus, all you need do is to
click on that hotlink to verify that your tracking URL will take
your prospect to the right website.
Later
- MUCH later - in your marketing career, you may wish to format
additional tracking URL's. When that time comes you need repeat
only Steps 5 through 11.
However,
for the foreseeable future - as long as you are promoting Big Dogs
using the C.H.I.P. programs -
you will need just ONE tracking URL. And that is the tracking URL you just formatted. It
does NOT have to be changed when your ads change.
Summary
OK!
Assuming that this was your first time to the AdMinder site, you have
now set up your TRACKING URL. Congratulations!
So, are
we done yet? Is it our AdMinder Tracking URL that we place in
our ads? Not quite.
There are three
reasons why you must never use your actual AdMinder Tracking URL in an
ad.
The first
reason is that AdMinder's Terms of Service (similar to ClickBank's)
simply do not permit placing their tracking URL's in any form of email
advertising.
The second
reason is that the standard form of the AdMinder Tracking URL...
http://www.adminder.com/c.cgi?XXXXXX&YYYYYY
...is rather lengthy
and "ugly." Many email programs automatically
make all URL's in an email a hotlink. If your prospect is
fortunate enough to have such an email program, then all they have to
do to get to your website is click on the URL in the email.
However, if their email program does NOT automatically make it a
hotlink, then they would need to copy and paste that long URL into
their browser to go to you website. But, y'see, a lot of newbies
always try to TYPE that URL into their browser, instead of
copying and pasting it. With such a long URL, typing errors
invariably occur, resulting in your prospect thinking that your
website no longer exists! BAM! Sale lost!!!!
The third
reason is this: As the premier ad tracking program on the
Internet, AdMinder is VERY well known - perhaps TOO well known.
Many prospects see that URL in your email and, without thinking, they
automatically ASSUME that your email is a solicitation to purchase the
AdMinder program! Thus they don't even bother with it.
BAM! Another sale lost!!!!
What can you do about
it? How can you make your
URL "short and sweet" so even a "newbie" can type
it into their browser without mistakes, AND fulfill AdMinder's Terms
of Service all at the same time?
The answer is simple
and is the subject of our next Tutorial, "On the Fast-Track
with Your Target URL"
(Note:
Each of the companies in the CHIP program are independent entities.
As such, the owners of these companies may change the directions on
how to use their program at any time. If you find that the
directions on the website deviate from those in this Fast Track
Guide, please inform the Big Dogs Home Office at Stan@BigDogSecrets.com
so that we may update the Guide.)
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