Let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of LinkedIn. Although it may seem a little prehistoric in it’s layout and forms of communication at times, it is still a great resource of networking and in developing business to business relationships. The average household income of LinkedIn users is $145,000.00. That is a great statistic, and those numbers indicate that LinkedIn users are relatively ambitious people. This is the perfect audience for prospecting, right?
That’s why I was very excited when I heard LinkedIn was a launching their new Pay Per Click program, DirectAds. I thought that with this new program, I would get the most targeted leads than any of my other paid marketing efforts.
I was shocked to see that the minimum CPC (Cost Per Click) was $2.00, and the suggested bid was $4.00 – $6.00 per click! That is a ridiculously high number for a PPC program, no matter how targeted the leads are. I decided to invest $500 into a campaign, and used the minimum bid of $2.00 to start. My target CPL (cost per lead) is anywhere from $5-$8 per lead, so i was willing to give it a shot.
I ran a few campaigns, and ended up paying $11.50 per lead, which is way too much. I also ran multiple ads and split tested them. I came to a realization that no matter how well my ads were converting and how targeted the leads were, they were just too damn expensive. I can’t imagine anyone using DirectAds to generate leads for a network marketing business. It’s unfortunate, because it would be a perfect match for entrepreneurs looking for quality leads and prospects.
Anthony Busciglio
