A good friend of mine recently posted an interesting question to Facebook on where to find some of the best marketing resources (to level up their Google/ Facebook Ads skills):

Great question Steve!

To answer his question, I’ve decided to create a bit of a resource guide.

These are the courses or books we refer to when we’re running campaigns for ourselves or our clients OR when we are on-boarding a new team member.

The list is broken into MUST learn and SHOULD learn.

WARNING: You don’t need to go through all of these to start taking action.

One of the biggest problems that entrepreneurs/ business peeps have isn’t the lack of information out there, but the time and energy it takes to process all of it.

Remember – you can read 1,000 books, but DOING for even 1 hour will teach you more.

So, here’s my personal list “best of” marketing resources list:

MUST:

• DigitalMarketer.com
  (or click on this link – it’s a referral link where I get a $10 Amazon voucher if you choose to trial their program. I’m thinking we will use these vouchers to buy toys for sick kids in hospitals etc.)
  
  WHY: I like companies that don’t make most of their income teaching marketing.
  
  With the digital marketing landscape changing so quickly, unless you’re getting your hands dirty every day it’s very hard to keep up.
  
  Not only is the content from Digital Marketer “fresh” (all their content is updated as strategies change), they are all learnt from applying them to REAL businesses. 
  
  Their DM Lab is an absolute steal at $37 a month, although for me – it’s their certification programs is where it’s at.
  
  Their certification programs have helped some of my interns go from having very basic knowledge of how Google/Facebook Ads work, to being able to break down and analyse multi-step campaigns and funnels.
  
  Now, don’t get it wrong – it WON’T turn you into a world class marketer overnight, but it WILL give you the framework to become world class (if you apply the lessons, and earn the experience).

• Books by Perry Marshall (x2):
  
  

  Google Adwords (non-affiliate):
  https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Guide-Google-AdWords-Million/dp/1599185423/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1484524802&sr=8-4&keywords=perry+marshall

  

• Facebook Ads (non-afiiliate):
  https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Guide-Facebook-Advertising-Potential/dp/1599185466/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1484524802&sr=8-3&keywords=perry+marshall

  

  
  
  Perry Marshall is a world class marketer, who has teamed up with high level Google Adwords and Facebook advertisers to write two “must-have” books on advertising.
  
  WHY: I like that these books talk about evergreen CONCEPTS behind the ad platforms as much as the technical side of it.
  
  Principles like copywriting and sales psychology are often overlooked by mediocre marketers, but if you understand the WHY, all the technical stuff can be figured out or outsourced.
  
  Both these books cover fundamentals AND advanced concepts (like re-targeting) well, and the concepts are broken down into easy to understand “chunks”.

SHOULD

• Clickfunnels:
  https://webclass.clickfunnels.com/signup-now?cf_affiliate_id=395171&affiliate_id=395171 (affiliate link)
  https://webclass.clickfunnels.com/signupnow (non affiliate link)

  

  
  
  WHY: A common misconception is that “traffic” is the most important part of any campaign, but in reality, traffic is only the tip of the iceberg.
  
  Much more important than traffic is what happens TO the traffic after they hit the landing page.
  
  If you don’t have a solid process or strategy for converting visitors into leads, and leads into buyers – your campaigns just won’t work.
  
  One of the best training programs I’ve gone through in terms of creating “sales funnels” is through Russell Brunson (founder of ClickFunnels).
  
  Not only does he have some of the best training on funnels out there, ClickFunnels is also now our “go to” tool when creating landing pages and sales funnels for both our own business and our clients.

• Perpetual Traffic podcast:
  www.digitalmarketer.com/podcast

  
  WHY: The perpetual traffic podcast is a joint podcast from two of my favourite sources when it comes to Facebook Ads.
  
  Remember Digital Marketer (number 1 on the list) and the Facebook Ads book by Perry Marshall?
  
  Well the Perpetual Traffic Podcast is hosted by Molly Pittman from Digital Marketer and Keith Krance who co-wrote the Facebook Ads book.
  
  There are nuggets of gold in each podcast, and it’s as informative as it is easy listening.
  
  Great for when you’re working out at the gym or driving.
  
  

• Lynda:
  https://www.lynda.com/Google-AdWords-tutorials/Advanced-Google-AdWords-Tips-Tricks/167026-2.html

  

  
  DISCLAIMER: I’ve only briefly skimmed over this course from Lynda.
  
  Lynda is a fantastic resource for learning a whole range of skills, from design to business to programming.
  
  They were actually acquired by LinkedIn a little while ago, so now if you have a premium LinkedIn account – you get access to Lynda!
  
  A bargain considering I used to pay $30+USD a month for the service.
  
  The courses are all high quality, and run by experts in their area.
  

• Google:
  https://support.google.com/adwords/answer/6146252?hl=en

  
  It’s often overlooked, but sometimes – it pays to go straight to the source.
  
  Google themselves have some great content they share.

  It can be a little bit harder to go through than the courses above, but I know that my Google team speak highly of the training Google themselves put out.

   

So there you have it – a very brief list of my recommended resources to levelling up your Google Adwords or Facebook Ads skills.

Don’t have time to go through all (or any) of these resources?
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