The fundamentals of sales, marketing, and buyer psychology are timeless. Because as complicated as humans can be, sometimes they’re also pretty predictable.

(Don’t believe me? Just ask your partner what they want to do for dinner… “I dunno what do YOU want to do?“)

So if you’re getting the basics from great training and books, such as CopyChiefGreat Leads, Breakthrough Advertising, and Influence – then you’re already miles ahead of most marketers ‘winging it’ on the field every day. 

But with the rapidly changing landscape of new technology, social media, and videos of Drake inspiring misled youth to dance precariously next to moving vehicles (#kekechallenge)…

…how do you know what techniques are working best in today’s modern marketing world? 

Here are 5 ways to find out what’s working now so you can stay on top of the conversion game. 

1 Browse native advertising networks

Look through huge content-focused websites that run ads from native advertising networks like Taboolah and Outbrain. When you see advertisements or articles running repeatedly, it’s a good indication that those are bringing big bookoo bucks back to their advertisers. 

Usually you can find these ads-disguised-as-content at the bottom or along the side of articles on sites, such as: 

  • DailyMail
  • Wired
  • USA Today
  • TIME
  • The Atlantic
  • People
  • And so many more.

Just be careful not to fall down the rabbit hole and get sucked into these sites for hours. These guys know what they’re doing (I should know, I write for them) and even the most vigilant fall prey to siren call of clickbait headlines. 

2 Use tracking tools to spy on other advertisers. 

You can also use tools that reveal information about pay-per-click campaigns or native advertising to see where other advertisers are spending their money. 

For example, AdBeat.com lets you type in a website and see where that company is placing their ads, which ads have been running the longest, what kind of pictures they’re using, etc. 

You’ll need to pay to get access to the full advertiser profile, but even the free version can give you a lot of inspiration when creating your own material.

Other tools which let you spy on the competition include, Ghostery.com – this lets you identify advertising pixels on websites you visit – and a free Chrome plugin called “Follow” does the trick as well. 

3 Sign up for relevant newsletters 

Look for marketers who you know are doing well in your space and sign up for their email newsletters. Keep an eye on techniques they use, or content they share again and again.

This lets you reverse-engineer what’s working well for them, since you’ll see which campaigns get regularly promoted vs. which disappear into the black hole of digital marketing – never to be seen again.

You can also use the Follow Chrome Plugin I mentioned above to see their ads, traffic sources, and how consistent their traffic is. 

4 Pay attention to ads in your social media feeds

Keep an eye on ads you see popping up in your social media feeds. Which ones do you see appearing again and again?

If an ad appears regularly, that means someone is dumping more and more money into it. This is a good indicator that it’s doing well and bringing profitable returns. 

Also look at what kind of comments these ads are getting if they’re in-feed ads such as Facebook ads. The discussion around a company or offer can be extremely revealing.

This also gives you a direct line to what the target audience is thinking and feeling about the offer in the ad. Just keep in mind that trolls LURV to live in the comments of ads, so take everything with a grain of salt as you’re doing your research.  

5 Go old school and look through magazines in your space

If you want to get a little analog, go to your local newsstand or bookstore (they still have those, right?) and browse through the magazine rack.

Look at magazines in your space and pay attention to the ads they’re running. 

Even better if you can get recent back issues of the magazine and see which ads have run across multiple issues. Again, seeing campaigns run multiple times is a good indicator that they’re profitable and working well. 

Where Else Can You Discover What’s Working Now?

Of course there are lots of other ways to find out what the top marketers are doing to stay ahead of the game. One of the best ways is to simply ask people what they’re doing that’s currently working well!

Go to industry events, join mastermind groups, and start a dialog with someone you respect who you know is killing it in their space.

Not only will you discover the most effective conversion techniques for the current marketing landscape, but you’ll also develop relationships with smart marketers, which will help you grow your business and your skills long term. 

Need some help analyzing what’s working well in YOUR space? Let’s jump on a quick call and take a look at what you’re working with. 

Click here to schedule a 30 min call.