Category: Marketing Automation

Survey emails are a high-value piece of communication that every business has the ability to send. Let’s cover how to create one, and look at some great survey email examples.
We get it — you need to know what’s going on with your customers, without sounding overly intrusive. That’s why we recommend using survey emails to keep your finger on the pulse. And when done well, it can be a win for both sides.
Let’s unpack exactly what survey emails are, and just why they’re so important for your business.
What exactly is a survey email, anyway?
The global email marketing economy was valued at 8.49 billion in 2021. Email marketing remains the bedrock strategy for almost every brand and vertical. Survey emails are non-negotiable for any business that wants to improve its connection with clients.
Customer survey emails are questionnaire forms sent via email. Companies send them to their customers after a sale or event. The results are tallied and used to guide future strategic business decisions. 
Reaching out via email is the simplest way to stay in touch with your customers. And all it takes is a few clicks.
No time like the present
Nothing is worse than sending out a bunch of survey emails and getting zero replies. 
But your customers are only human. They’re busy people and even the kindest of hearts might need a gentle nudge to get the ball rolling.
So what’s the best way to encourage timely responses from your subscribers?
Customers need to know how long it’s going to take. They want to know that they’re not about to dive into a twenty-minute rabbit hole of intricate google forms and 1,000-word essays on their “consumer experience”.
86% of customers appreciate authenticity from a brand. 
So be honest about how long it will take and your customers will respect that —  just like Ritual did in this survey email example below.

They struck the right tone (we’re grateful, we promise, cheers to your health)
Communicated how long it will take clearly (only take a few minutes)

Kept the email short and focused by using a clear CTA (Take the Survey)

Source: Really Good Emails
Make it worth their while
But saying please won’t be enough for all your customers.
You might need to offer a little something to sweeten the deal. Now we’re not saying you need to Paypal them $20 to fill in your survey emails, but something like a discount on future purchases can go a long way.

Source: Really Good Emails
Take a look at this survey email example from Frye, purveyors of fine footwear. It hit all the right notes by:

 Addressing time concerns “quick and easy”
$50 coupon on future purposes to incentivize clicking

Well-designed with a great image to copy ratio and inverted pyramid design

Embed your surveys to reduce friction
Any marketer worth their salt knows that survey email response rates are not great. Between 5% – 30% is typical.
Getting customers to click a link and leave their inbox is actually pretty difficult. But it doesn’t have to be.
Campaign Monitor syncs seamlessly with the GetFeedback app which allows you to simply drag and drop forms onto your email template — without triggering any spam filters. Check out our guide to email forms to learn more.
This survey email example by Taylor Stitch exemplifies this.

Source: Really Good Emails
They get straight to the point and have all the questions immediately visible to the client. All they have to do is fill them out and click POST. It’s a deceptively simple strategy to try if you’re struggling to get customers to click through to your survey.
Wrap Up
Let’s face it — it’s not easy getting your customers to engage with survey emails. But they’re an essential part of communication, and the best way to stay current with what’s happening and how they feel.
Follow the tips we talked about today and remember to make it worth their while. That’s the best way to increase your survey engagement rates and stay current.
Email is still the number one channel for marketing in any vertical and Campaign Monitor is here to help you with customer survey emails every step of the way.
The post How to Use Survey Emails to Get a Pulse on Your Customer Base appeared first on Campaign Monitor.

Hi All, I’m looking for good examples of preference centres that handle a lot of different subjects/topics/newsletter types – 40+ Can anyone think of any companies that handle this really well?
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Creating a website was once difficult and expensive, but not anymore. Check out our picks for the best free website builders you can use to get growing!

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Infographics are powerful visual communication tools. They have the ability to communicate information in an engaging way while holding the viewer’s attention and persuading them to act. Bringing up infographics in a conversation likely leads to associations with creating brand awareness, increasing user engagement, and driving website traffic. What you may be surprised to hear…
The post How to Use Infographics to Generate Leads appeared first on Benchmark Email.

You know LinkedIn — the professional, polished, responsible sibling of the social media sphere. Considering the social network has 722 million+ members, you almost certainly already have a profile.
What’s unique about this social network is that its users are focused on professional connections. This means LinkedIn users are primed for social selling, and there are ample opportunities to find, connect, and build relationships with potential prospects on the network.

LinkedIn Groups are a great way to connect with people within your industry and get the most out of this massive network. Let’s explore what they are, how to join one, and some best practices to follow.
Groups represent a targeted opportunity to build your personal brand and professional community on LinkedIn.
Only members of a given group can view, post, or comment on conversations within that group. Groups can set their own admissions criteria and establish admins as gatekeepers.

By default, your Group affiliations show up at the bottom of your LinkedIn Profile under the ‘Interests’ section. You can edit the visibility for specific groups –– just one of the many ways to customize how your LinkedIn profile represents your personal and professional brand.
Unlisted Groups don’t appear in search results, and only fellow group members will see the group’s information on your Profile. These more private communities require a direct link or admin invitation for access.
Best Practices for Navigating LinkedIn Groups
To get the most out of LinkedIn Groups communities, be a good community member. Consider that your Golden Rule in this ecosystem. Let your work and your insight speak for themselves –– avoiding blatant self-promotion or outright spam.
Other best practices for becoming a valued group member include:

Contribute first – Bring value to the group. This builds trust and offers greater value to you long-term as well. Jumping in with an off-topic post or link to your own content is a great way to get banned or panned [/ignored].

Listen and engage – Unless you’re the Group’s founder and creator, remember that you’re joining an ongoing conversation. Take some time to listen and observe. Pay attention to topics, tone, and who the group recognizes as experts or authorities. Try liking and commenting on a few posts before you spout off some contrarian or opposing views.

Encourage discussion – Ask questions. Then listen and respond, seeking to further the conversation.

Keep it professional – People are on the platform for work, remember? If you wouldn’t say it to a colleague or your boss in person, don’t say it here.

Think before you link – LinkedIn is pretty clear about this. Any URL to commercial sites that try to sell a product or service will be reported and removed, as will those redirecting to inappropriate/spam-like content.

Use a tool – Want to capitalize on the time you spend acclimating yourself to a LinkedIn Group and its particular community? Consider Leadjet. It’s a browser extension that helps salespeople work faster and more efficiently. You can also leverage HubSpot’s integration with LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator to keep track of your LinkedIn prospects.

Look for Groups directly in the Search bar, just as you would find connections, companies, or anything else on LinkedIn.

On the search results page, click on the “Groups” filter option.

Look through the groups and click on the ones you’re interested in joining.

If you’re not sure which group you want to join and want to browse through all the available groups on LinkedIn, try the LinkedIn Groups Directory.
It’s essentially a shortcut to the Groups search results page and allows you to browse over 2 million active Groups.
The downside of this option is that you cannot filter your results by industry, region, interests, or connections.
How to Join Groups on LinkedIn
You can join a Group on LinkedIn by click “Request to Join” on a Group’s home or profile page.

Your request goes directly to the Group Admins, who evaluate your fit for the Group.
If a connection invites you to join a group, simply click ‘Accept’ on the invite from your inbox or notifications screen, just as you would a standard Connection request.
Where are my Groups on LinkedIn?
You can find the Groups you belong to by clicking on the ‘Work’ grid on your Navigation bar, or visiting linkedin.com/groups.

LinkedIn Groups impact the appearance of your LinkedIn Profile in several ways.
As mentioned, people looking at Groups can see which of their connections are already members. As seen in the example below.

Additionally, the ‘Interests’ section at the bottom portion of your Profile displays your interests, which includes your Group memberships.

If you’ve been on LinkedIn for a while, you may have some outdated or inactive Group memberships. You can curate what displays on your Profile by leaving Groups that no longer interest you.
Want to continue receiving messages from certain Groups but don’t want them to appear on your profile? There’s a feature for that.
On the page listing all of your Group affiliations, click the three dots to the right of any Group listing and select “Update your settings.”

Once you land on that page, toggle “Display group on profile” to “No,” which maintains your membership but hides it from the ‘Interests’ section of your profile.

This ensures that only fellow members or people searching directly for that Group can potentially see your affiliation.
Unlisted Groups, on the other hand, are not publicly searchable and will not appear on your profile, except to other Group members. Potential members can only see or access the Group after receiving an invitation from a current member or Admin.
Best Groups to Join on LinkedIn
Whatever your industry, role, or goal for joining LinkedIn Groups, there’s likely no shortage of curated recommendations for the best Groups.
Start by looking for groups that match your industry and interests by searching for relevant titles, keywords, or phrases.
It’s also helpful to think beyond immediate or explicit professional affiliations. Don’t limit yourself to only joining groups directly related to your industry. Alumni groups are often both particularly active and helpful – especially if you’re trying to break into a new field or build relationships in a new region.
Seek out groups that your ideal customers belong to. Then, be an active, engaged member of the groups you join to maximize the potential for meaningful networking and social selling.
Get started with one or two groups in your industry, and another based on where you went to school or personal interests.
Think of them as digital versions of groups and spaces you’d consider visiting offline, too. Begin observing the conversations, looking for ways to contribute, and assessing how you might fit into the Group’s community.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in January 2021 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Whether you’re looking to increase revenue, sign-ups, social shares, or engagement, A/B testing and optimization can help you get there.But for many marketers out there, the tough part about A/B testing is often finding the right test to drive the biggest impact — especially when you’re just getting started.
So, what’s the recipe for high-impact success?
Truthfully, there is no one-size-fits-all recipe. What works for one business won’t work for another — and vice versa.
But just because you can’t replicate the same test and expect the same result doesn’t mean you can’t get inspired by other companies’ tests.
In this post, let’s review how an hypothesis will get you started with your testing, and review excellent examples from real businesses using A/B testing. While the same tests may not get you the same results, they can get you inspired to run creative tests of your own.

A/B Testing Hypothesis Examples
A hypothesis can make or break your experiment, especially when it comes to A/B testing. When creating your hypothesis, you want to make sure that it is: 

Focused on one specific problem you want to solve or understand
Able to be proven or disproven
Focused on making an impact (bringing higher conversion rates, lower bounce rate, etc.)

When creating a hypothesis, following the “If, then” structure can be helpful, where if you changed a specific variable, then a particular result would happen. Here are some examples of what that would look like in an A/B Testing Hypothesis: 

Shortening contact submission forms to only contain required fields would increase the number of sign-ups. 
Changing the call-to-action text from “Download now” to “Download this free guide” would increase the number of downloads. 
Reducing the frequency of mobile app notifications from 5 times per day to 2 times per day will increase mobile app retention rates.
Using featured images that are more contextually related to our blog posts will contribute to a lower bounce rate. 
Greeting customers by name in emails will increase the total number of clicks.  

Let’s go over some real-life examples of A/B testing to prepare you for your own. 

1. HubSpot’s Site Search
Most websites contain a search bar at the top of the page that gives users the ability to search for a specific topic or term.
Based on previous data, HubSpot found that non-bounce desktop users who engage with search have a 163.8% higher blog lead conversion rate than those who do not. However, only a very small percent of blog traffic interacts with the search bar. That’s why HubSpot decided to test the visual prominence and functionality of the site search bar.
HubSpot used three variants for this test, using offer thank you page views as the primary metric.
For variant A, the site search bar increased visual prominence and altered the placeholder text to “search by topic.”

For variant B, the search bar had increased visual prominence, the placeholder text was altered to “search by topic,” and the search function searched the blog, rather than the whole site.
For variant C, the search bar had increased visual prominence, the placeholder text was changed to “search the blog,” and the search function searched the blog, rather than the whole site.

As a result, HubSpot found that all three variants increased the conversion rate. However, variant C showed a 3.4% increase in conversion rate and a 6.46% increase in users who engage in the search bar.
2. Groove’s Landing Page Design

Every marketer will have to build a landing page at some point. But building a landing page that’ll convert is hard.
Groove experienced that first hand when the company learned one of its landing pages was only converting at 2.3%.
However, Groove wasn’t sure why the page wasn’t converting. To figure it out, its team went on a journey. They looked up resources and talked to marketing experts to figure out why their site wasn’t working.
That’s when the company learned that the messaging was all wrong. To figure out how to appeal to its customers, Groove decided to reach out and actually talk to real users.
Then, when the team rebuilt their landing page, they focused on copy first, and design second. Only when the copy was completely finished and approved did they start the visual aspect of designing.
Overall, the tweaks to messaging ultimately doubled their conversions to 4.7%.

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3. Csek Creative Homepage Design

The copy on your homepage is important because it helps users decide whether they want to continue looking deeper into your site.
In this example, a digital agency decided to test the tagline on its homepage. Ultimately, the goal was to decrease the bounce rate.
Before the A/B test, Csek’s tagline read: “Csek Creative is a Kelowna based digital agency that delivers the results that make business sense.”

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To make the copy less vague and more explanatory of the services it offered, Csek Creative changed the verbiage to: “Csek Creative is a digital agency that helps companies with their online and offline marketing needs.”

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Expecting minor results, this change actually resulted in an 8.2% increase in click-throughs to other pages on the site.
4. Humana’s Site Banners

Many landing pages showcase large banners at the top of the page. That’s valuable real estate, and if the banner isn’t optimal, it could end up doing more harm than good.
That’s why Humana, a healthcare insurance provider, decided to test its landing page banners.
In the control, Humana had been using a banner that displayed a lot of copy, a weak CTA, and no clear and concise message.

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However, for variation B the company decided to simplify the message. This variation ended up receiving 433% more clickthroughs than the control.

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Humana didn’t stop there. Once variant B became successful, the company decided to make it the new control and wanted to test the CTA.
With variation C, Humana switched the CTA language to include language that was a harder sell, such as “Shop.” The company decided this would be a good approach because customers signing up for Medicare have a limited window to make a decision.

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The change in language resulted in a 192% increase in clickthrough.
Email A/B Testing Example
5. HubSpot’s Email vs. In-App Notification Center
Gathering reviews from users isn’t always an easy task. That’s why HubSpot decided to A/B test ways to reach out to customers. The methods tested? In-app notifications versus email.
HubSpot decided to send an in-app notification and email alerting users that they were the champion user of the month and would receive a $10 gift card if they left a review on the Capterra site.
For variant A, HubSpot sent a plain text email to users.
For variant B, HubSpot used a certification, templated email.

For variant C, HubSpot sent an in-app notification.

HubSpot found that unlike with emails, in-app notifications are often overlooked or missed by users. The emails outperformed in-app notifications by 1.4x. From both emails, 24.9% of those who opened the email left a review, compared to 10.3% of those who opened the in-app notification.
6. Unbounce’s Tweet vs. Email CTA

On most landing pages, marketers typically ask users for an email address to deliver their content offers.
However, Unbounce decided to test whether customers would rather give an email address or just tweet about a product.
Both options have pros and cons for the company. Asking for an email address means your company can build a list of potential prospects while asking people to tweet can build viral momentum and increase social exposure.
The first landing page in this A/B test asked users to give their email address in exchange for an ebook.

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The second landing page asked users to send a tweet in exchange for the ebook.

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Overall, people far preferred giving out an email address. In the end, the email landing page had a 24% conversion lift.
Mobile A/B Testing Example
7. HubSpot’s Mobile Calls-to-Action
HubSpot uses several different calls-to-action in its blog posts. For instance, on this blog, you’ll notice anchor text in the introduction, a graphic CTA at the bottom, and a slide-in CTA when you scroll through the post.
However, on mobile, these CTAs might seem intrusive. That’s why HubSpot tested mobile CTAs.
Previous A/B tests revealed that HubSpot’s mobile audience was 44% more likely to click through to an offer landing page and 18% more likely to convert on the offer if all CTAs were stripped from blog posts and there was only one CTA bar at the bottom of the page with no ability to exit.
So, HubSpot decided to test different versions of the bottom-of-the-page CTA bar, using thank you page views as the primary metric and CTA clicks as the secondary metric.
HubSpot used four variants for this test.
For variant A, the control, the traditional placement of CTAs remained unchanged.
For variant B, the CTA had a maximize/minimize option so readers could dismiss the CTA. This could be accomplished by an up/down caret.

For variant C, the CTA had an X that would completely dismiss the CTA from the post. At this point, there would be no formal CTA on the blog.

For variant D, the CTA had no X or minimize/maximize option.

Overall, variant B saw a 7.9% increase, variant C saw an 11.4% decrease, and variant D saw a 14.6% increase.
From those numbers, HubSpot was able to project that using variant D on mobile would lead to about 1,300 additional submissions each month.
8. Houseparty’s Mobile Onboarding Design

Houseparty is a social app where users can have face-to-face conversations with their close friends. The business had a goal to incrementally improve the functionality and design of the app without causing significant dips in metrics, so it opted to use multiple A/B tests. 
One of the things Houseparty aimed to improve was the onboarding funnel and how users are prompted to add friends through push notifications. Originally, users received permission requests to access their phone contacts with little context, and most users clicked “Don’t Allow” (as shown in the image below), making it difficult to connect with friends on the app. 

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After running A/B tests to improve this experience for customers, Houseparty notifies users of pop-up notifications and their context before they occur to understand why giving access is important (as shown in the image below). 

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The final version, which was A/B tested, found that users sent 2X more friend requests on their first day, and there was a 15% increase in permissions to access contacts. 
9. HelloFresh Menu Display

HelloFresh is a meal kit subscription service that delivers recipes to global users. As its user base grew, its recipe count grew, but it became more difficult for users to navigate through the app and find what they needed. 
The business set out to redesign its menu pages for a seamless user experience while also drawing attention to upselling opportunities. HelloFresh ran an experiment that compared the impact of the original control menu display to a new version. The image below shows the control menu display. 

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And the image below displays the variant and final version, which contributed to a 7% increase in upselling revenue. 

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A/B Testing Takeaways for Marketers
A lot of different factors can go into A/B testing, depending on your business needs. However, there are a few key things to keep in mind: 

Every A/B test should start with a hypothesis focused on one specific problem that you can test. 
Ensure you’re testing a control variable (your original version) and a treatment variable (a new version that you think will perform better). 
You can test various things, like landing pages, CTAs, emails, or mobile app designs. 
The best way to understand if your results mean something is to determine statistical significance once the experiment is over. 
There are a variety of goals to focus on for A/B testing (increased site traffic, lower bounce rates, etc.), but they should be testable and able to be supported or disproven. 
When testing, ensure you’re splitting your sample groups equally and randomly, so your data is viable and not due to chance. 
Take action based on the results you obtain.

These companies all saw these amazing results because they started testing. If you want to get the same results, you’ve got to get started, too. For more information, be sure to check out the on-demand webinar “Optimize Your Online Marketing Channels,” hosted by Optimizely and HubSpot.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in October 2014 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Even if you aren’t completely sure what a pre roll ad is, odds are you’ve seen a few of them.
Click on any YouTube video and, more often than not, a short advert will automatically play before the video. This is known as a pre roll ad. Here’s an example: 

For consumers, these ads can feel like a digital thorn in the side. But for marketers, these short adverts can pack a powerful punch in terms of brand awareness and ad recall.

Let’s learn more about pre rolls ads, how to get these ads on YouTube, and look at some effective examples in action.

There are three main types of pre roll ads on YouTube:

Bumper: Available in select markets, bump ads are non-skippable, six-second ads.

Skippable: In a skippable video ad, viewers are given a choice to skip the ad after the initial five seconds. In order to work, these ads must be more than 12 seconds long.

Non-skippable: In a non-skippable video ad, viewers are not given a choice to skip the ad. These ads can be a maximum of 15 seconds.

There are many benefits to incorporating pre roll ads in your digital marketing strategy. To start, let’s look at the medium — YouTube.
YouTube is the second most popular website in the world (behind Google, which owns YouTube). In fact, users worldwide collectively consume 1 billion hours worth of videos on it each day.
Yes, you read that right — 1 billion hours in a single day.
With so many people watching, it’s the perfect opportunity to engage with potential customers. Just a handful of seconds is enough to expose viewers to a brand and create an impression — making it a great addition to your “top of the funnel” marketing strategy.
Second, one of the biggest hurdles for marketers is reaching the right people at the right time. YouTube makes this process easy with targeting. Powered by Google Ads, you can target your audience by interests, topics, demographics, geography, keywords, and language.
For example, suppose you own a yoga studio and you currently offer a free yoga class for new members. You could target your audience by their location and demographics, and select categories that mirror their interests, such as “Health & Fitness” or “Yoga Lovers” (psst: these are actual categories from Google Adwords).
Perhaps the biggest hurdle to pre roll adverts is, well, making them. Here are nine examples to help you brainstorm the best way to delight your YouTube viewers without getting in the way of their chosen video.
9 Exceptional Pre Roll Ads on YouTube
1. Lyft
Campaign: #HowtoHuman

If you’re like me, you’ve fumbled through a few post-lockdown conversations in your day-to-day life. Lyft decided to showcase these awkward encounters under a humorous lens for their campaign #HowtoHuman.
In this ad, we hear the internal monologue of a man who isn’t sure how to talk to his Lyft driver after a year in hibernation (“Just say hello! Maybe wassup? Or howdy there?”).
The advert is not only funny, but it also leans into the category of “how to” videos that are popular on YouTube. But what really makes this advert shine is its relatability. We’ve all felt out of practice with day-to-day interactions — so why not laugh about it.
2. The General
Campaign: Driving Without Insurance is a Bad Idea

What happens if you get a tattoo with a cold? Watch this six-second advert to find out (hint: it’s not pretty).
Just like getting a tattoo with a cold is a bad idea, so is driving without insurance. The General does a stellar job in conveying this message with humor and a touch of absurdity. If you have a few more seconds to spare, check out the extended version of this ad featuring the legend himself, Shaq.
3. Dove
Campaign: #WashtoCare

Many call-to-actions ask you to click a button, subscribe to a newsletter, or visit a website. But have you ever been called to wash your hands?
Dove’s #WashtoCare campaign conveys a poignant message: the act of washing your hands is actually an act of compassion for yourself, your loved ones, and the world.
Dove’s ad is not only timely, but also hits at a simple truth about today’s consumers: they are belief-driven. Increasingly, consumers want to see brands improve the world along with making a profit. Dove aligns with this shift, stating, “Washing your hands is the best way to show you care. No matter what soap you use.”
4. Domino’s Pizza
Campaign: #FreesNotFees

We all know giveaways are a great way to delight customers and increase engagement, and Domino’s does just that for its #FreeNotFees campaign.
The ad pinpoints a common pain point for customers — ordering food, navigating to the checkout, and feeling slighted by all of the hidden fees. By flipping the experience on its head (offering surprise freebies instead), viewers are enticed to order from Domino’s the next time dinner rolls around.
Of course, the close-up of the gooey chocolate lava cake doesn’t hurt, either. 
5. Sketchers
Campaign: You’ll Never Want to Stop Walking

Imagine walking for days upon days and… enjoying it. According to Sketchers, that dream could become a reality with their GO WALK 6 shoes.
Viewers are left with one question: could the shoes really be that comfortable? It’s the sense of intrigue that makes the advert so engaging. Of course, the distressed husband, the oblivious wife, and the tumbleweed rolling in the background make for a funny lasting impression, too.
6. Vistaprint
Campaign: Ready for Anything

Small business owners are often warned to “be ready for anything.” But what if that “anything” was a large asteroid about to hit the Earth? That’s the premise of Vistaprint’s Ready for Anything advert.
The ad starts with a business owner opening a package of brochures and stickers for her new yoga studio. Before you know it, the asteroid scorches right through the studio.
In an extreme act of adaptability, the business owner buys a new batch of marketing materials from Vistaprint — this time for a hot yoga studio.
While funny and ludicrous, the ad also reflects on the importance of adaptability and resilience in business. Vistaprint wants you to know that it will be a steadfast partner in times of uncertainty, and such honesty signals confidence and builds trust.
7. Chewy
Campaign: All the moments

Do you know the saying, “Look good, feel good?” That extends to our pets, too.
While videos of cute, soapy dogs in the bathtub play on screen, Chewy artfully narrates its breadth of products, from shampoos and toothbrushes to grooming tools. In the last few seconds, we shuffle through a variety of homes, all of which have a blue Chewy box sitting on the front stoop.
Sure, there’s some psychology to adding animals to ads. But where Chewy exceeds is capturing both the excitement of getting a package delivered with the love we have for our pets. Sounds like a winning combo.
8. H&M
Campaign: #HMConscious

What makes H&M different from other fashion brands at the mall? All it takes is one listen to this ad to find out.
This ad is effective because it shines a light on H&M’s unique selling proposition (USP): to create great fashion in a sustainable way. And in the age of fast fashion, this USP certainly takes a loud stance.
Remember, some of the most effective ads don’t push consumers to buy or do something. Sometimes, simply sharing your brand story and what makes you different from the rest can be just as powerful.
9. Mercedes-Benz
Campaign: Mercedes-AMG GT S

Mercedes-Benz targets the Singapore market in this bumper ad for a new two-door sports car. The video uses swift video cuts and a roaring engine to engage its viewers’ senses. This way, its audience can actually see and hear the intensity of reaching 60 MPH in only 3.8 seconds.
Pre roll ad rates
How much does a pre roll ad cost? Like most other types of online advertising, it depends. 
The cost of YouTube ads is based on views. Each view can cost between $0.10 and $0.30, depending on your industry and target keywords.
You set yourself a budget of what you are willing to spend per day, which can be as little or as much as you want. For instance, a business may allot $10 per day for its YouTube advertising budget, and then raise or lower this rate according to its goals.
YouTube will also ask you to set a maximum figure you are willing to pay per day. This means you can avoid any surprises should you find more people watching your ad than anticipated.
And remember, you only pay when somebody engages with your ad. For example, a viewer may watch your skippable ad for 30 seconds, or click on your website. If no action is taken, you don’t pay. Not a bad deal, right?
How to Get Pre Roll Ads on YouTube
By now, you probably have a few ideas for a pre roll ad. Now let’s outline the steps to bring your idea to YouTube.
1. Shoot a video and upload it to YouTube.
To state the obvious, you first need to create a video that will become the pre roll ad. Once the video is shot and edited, upload it to your YouTube channel (not your personal account).
2. Create a new campaign in Google Ads.
Now you’re ready to create a new campaign in Google Ads. First, go to your Google Ads account. If you don’t have one, you can sign up through Gmail.
In the dashboard, select “+New Campaign.”
Next, you will be prompted to select a goal, such as leads or website traffic. Choose whatever goal you’d prefer.
Under campaign type, select video. Now you have the option to choose a campaign subtype, including a bumper ad, a skippable ad, or a non-skippable ad.

Lastly, enter a name for your campaign.
3. Define your budget.
It’s time to crunch the numbers. You can set your budget per day or for the entire campaign. Setting a daily budget can help ensure you have an even distribution of your ad spend throughout your campaign.
Then, input the start and end date. Some marketers leave the end date open and stop the campaign manually when needed.
4. Select where your pre roll ad will (and will not) play
Now it’s time to decide where your pre roll ad will (and will not) play. These options are known as networks. Since we want the ad to appear in videos on YouTube, select “YouTube videos.”
Next, choose the locations of the users you want to target. You can also exclude certain locations.
Lastly, choose the languages that your target audience speaks.
5. Choose your targets.
Here comes the fun part — choosing your targets.
In this step, you have the opportunity to target your audience based on demographics, including gender, age, parental status, and household income.
Further refine your audience using the Audiences section. Here you can choose the type of videos most relevant to your ad by inputting keywords and topics, such as Finance, Health, or Food & Drink.
As in our earlier example, if you are the owner of a yoga studio running a new membership deal, you could choose Health or Beauty & Fitness as a topic.
You can also choose specific Placements for where you want your ad to play. This means you can target specific videos and channels on YouTube, such as those that feature yoga workouts.
It’s a good idea to run multiple campaigns to target different groups of users to see who is most engaged, rather than including everyone you want to target in one single campaign.
6. Place a bid
Next, determine the max price you will pay for each view. On YouTube, a view is when someone watches your ad for at least 30 seconds (or in its entirety for videos under 30 seconds). You can always increase or decrease this figure later.
7. Create the Pre Roll Ad
At last, your ad is ready to run. Well, almost.
Remember the video you created in step one? Now it’s time to copy and paste its URL into Google Adwords. Then, select the video ad format, such as a bumper ad or skippable in-stream ad.
Next, input the URL where you want people to go when they click your ad. This could be a custom landing page or the homepage of your website.
Finally, you have the option to create a call-to-action button that appears over your pre roll ad, and a companion banner that appears to the right of the YouTube video.
Once you’re satisfied with your ad, click Create Campaign.
Final Thoughts
As a part of a video marketing campaign, pre roll ads are effective vehicles to boost brand awareness and ad recall. And, when done correctly, you can provide an interesting or entertaining break to viewers, who may convert to customers.