Step 1: Read this post

I was recently asked, “If you could speak with Evan 2013, what would you tell him are the most important areas he needs to explore in order to grow into Evan 2015?” My internal conversation between me in 2015 and 2013 went a little something like this:

“Evan, grow up. You’re 6’8” and you’re never gonna find skinny jeans for a man your height! So stop looking now. They’re ‘Big & Tall.’ So either deal with the clothes being too ‘big’ to fit your tall, or get fat so the clothes actually fit you big-and-tall-wise.”

Now that that’s out of the way and I can move on with my life…

It’s hard to tell my past self what questions to ask, because 2013 Evan was already on his way to asking them, hence the reason I know them today. So I guess it would have helped me to learn those things sooner, rather than later, but I still would have learned them regardless.

Here are the 4 tips to be more successful in 2015 and grow in this industry, based on what I would tell my 2013 self.

1. Be a master

It’s rare to be the master in everything, but find something to be the master at and identify yourself as the “go-to” person for that area. You could be the Bing master, display advertising master, the branding, facebook, linkedin, remarketing, or something else master. By offering yourself as a resource to something that you’re the master of, you’ll grow by teaching and sharing that experience with peers, and in return they will find ways to teach you things you don’t know.

[Tweet “Find something to be the master at and identify yourself as the “go-to” person for that area.”]

2. Expand beyond AdWords 

Bing, Adroll, Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, etc. Learn these other outlets well. Everyone in an agency should know how to manage a campaign on Google. If your Google campaign isn’t working, you risk losing that business.

Use other platforms to advertise and test for better success. Google is usually a “standard,” but it’s not always the answer. In addition, if your Google campaign is going great you can improve your results by advertising on Bing or platforms, which will grow your business. In my experience, it’s easier to grow an account by expanding to new outlets than it is to ask for more money for just one platform.

3. Don’t overthink it.

You can get lost for hours or days (not joking) staring at a mass of data in an AdWords account without making a single change. Don’t overthink it. Have your goals in mind. For example, if your goal is to increase conversion volume, don’t focus on the amount you’re spending for your average position.

Go in there with tasks in mind that will help you to increase your conversion volume. Make those changes, and be done. You might find yourself going in to test something to get a higher conversion volume, and it won’t always work. Test again. By continually testing, you will find those solutions that actually do work. Scrap what sucks, test, run with what works. Don’t overthink it.

[Tweet “When you are a happier, and more successful person, you’ll do better work for your clients, and by consequence get better results.”]

4. Don’t worry about what you can’t control

Do what you can based on what you can control. You can’t control the closing rate of leads. So if you’re getting 500 leads at a $1.50 CPL and the campaign is not profitable, offer some guidance on how to close leads better and focus your efforts on improving lead quality, but don’t overstress it because you can’t directly control how many leads close. Unfortunately poor leads will ALWAYS find their way in, so don’t worry about it too much.

By setting goals and working to become a master, expanding your realm of advertising outlets, not overthinking tasks, and not stressing about what you can’t control; you will not only be more successful in advertising, but you will be a happier person.

When you are a happier, and more successful person, you’ll do better work for your clients, and by consequence get better results. You’ll also build better relationships, and in time you’ll lose that desire to keep searching aimlessly for your equivalent of slim, extra tall, skinny jeans.