It took me a long time to actually begin using ezine advertising for my business but once I begain cranking out ezine ads I soon came to realize that ezines are actually one of the most effective and affordable forms of website advertising for promoting your products and services and encouraging traffic to your web site.
The number of ezines published on the net has exploded from several hundred in 1996 to literally thousands of publications today that cover a range of topics so they're a pretty good form of advertising for any online business.
You can find ezines that sell ads for as little as $8 an ad, however solo ads generally pull the best resonse. Top sponsor ads on the other hand allow you between 5 and 8 lines of copy and are included in regular ezine issues near the very beginning of the newsletter.
Here's a breakdown of the ezine advertising options…
Classified Ads
Most classified ads are the cheapest type of ezine ad. Classified ads are usually about 2-3 lines and are typically placed at the end of the ezine. For classified ads be sure your ad is in an ezine that has at least 30,000 subscribers or more otherwise your may get little response.
Sponsor Ads
These are the next most expensive ads, but they yield a much better response. Sponsor ads can be placed at the top, middle or bottom of an ezine issue and will allow more text in your ad. Sponsor ads are a great way to test your ad before placing it as a solo ad.
Solo Ads
These are the best of all ezine ads because they will be sent exclusively to everyone on the mailing list and they get full attention of the subscribers, that's because a solo ad is sent just as it says, 'solo'. There are no articles or other ads included.
A Solo ad is more expensive but you'll enjoy about a 20%-30% response rate.
So how do you find a good ezine to advertise in?
If I find an ezine that looks good, I simply subscribe to it. This gives me the best feel for how the ezine works. If I as a subscriber, like the publication, chances are others will too.
Here are the things I look for after subscribing:
1. First of all find an ezine that is targeted to your specific products. Selling advertising for your pet care supplied in a fashion magazine is not likely to bring you much interest.
2. Once you find an ezine that relates to what you are selling check to see if the ezine has a website and if it offers opt-in subscriptions? A publication that has a separate website is a good indication that the publication is a legitimate business and that they are serious about what they do.
Look to see that they also have a clear opt-in form on the site. After you subscribe to the ezine, be sure they send you an email that confirms your subscription. This indicates that their readership is highly targeted and interested.
2. Does the ezine accept all three levels of advertising, classified ads, Sponsor ads and Solo ads?
3. Check for an article archive and for how often they publish. This shows you how long the publisher has been in business but it also shows how often the publications are published. If you begin receiving ads on a daily basis, that's a good sign that viewers may be desensitized to this ezine and its messages. A weekly or bi-weekly publication is preferred.
4. How large is their subscriber base? This is important primarily if you'll be doing classified ads for which you'll want a reader base of about 30,000 or more. In general a good customer base should be at least a 1000 or more.
5. Test the publisher by asking questions. Their response will indicate how helpful they are and how interested they are in your business.
Now let’s write your ad…
1. Create a captivating headline
Write a headline that gets attention and at the same time draws the reader into the body. If you can think about who your customer is it will help a lot in determining what benefits appeal to them and why they would want to purchase.
2. Outline the benefits of your offer in the body. Emotionally connect to the reader with benefits that appeal to their wants and needs.
3. Create a call to action Tell the reader what to do next. Things like 'click here' or 'take a look now'. This step is even more effective if you create a sense of urgency — give them a reason to act immediately.
4. Keep it short
Most ezine ads vary between 25 and 50 words, including your URL. This means that you have limited space to create maximum impact.
5. Test & Tweak
Create 5-10 variations of your ad. Test different headlines, bodies and different calls to action. This will help you see which ads get the best results. When you know you've got a winning ad it will continue to work for you over and over.
6. Run ads multiple times
Running an ad once won't give you enough information about how effective it is. The more the ad appears, the greater the likelihood that the ezine reader will take notice. Over time, you will begin to see which versions of your ad are more effective.
Writing ezine ads takes time so don't expect to crank out perfection right out of the shoot. Remember to get into the head of your readers, figure out what it is they 'really' want in terms of making their life easier, getting it done faster, saving them money, making them look better, etc. Then attach a sense of urgency to it.
Writing an effective ad whether in an ezine, magazine or on your own website, writing copy that sells gives you a huge sales advantage over the competition.
For a great reference I really liked the 'Copywriter's handbook' by Robert Bly. Definitely a good read and it has everything you'll need for writing competitive ads that get the clicks.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog.
Cheers! Sandra. R.