Ezine advertising can be a very effective internet marketing strategy and is often overlooked.
Any resource that is underused can represent an opportunity for clever marketers.
Let's take a look at ezine advertising and some tips and strategies to succeed.
What is an ezine?
An ezine is an online newsletter or magazine delivered by email to people who have subscribed to receive it.
Benefits of Ezine Advertising
can be very inexpensive, some start as low as $10
reach targeted groups - people who subscribe to receive information on a particular topic
delivered via email - very convenient
Types of Ezine Ads
1. Solo Ads
A solo ad is a solo mailing sent to the list of subscribers of the ezine.
This is actually email marketing since you are basically renting a list and sending them your message, with your own subject line and so on.
A solo ad can be much longer than a regular ad so there is more of an opportunity to be creative, tell a story, or be educational and informative.
Solo ads are the most effective form of ezine advertising.
Tip: focus on solo ads.
2. Sponsor Ads
These usually take the form of a small paragraph embedded within the newsletter or ezine, usually in the middle of the page.
Many ezines offer an option to purchase a "top sponsor ad" which, as the name suggests, is featured more prominently.
3. Classified Ads.
These are small 3-4 line ads, much like .
Finding Ezines and Newsletters
Do a Google search using this formula: "keyword" + "newsletter" to find ezines related specifically to your topic.
A simple search Google for "ezines" or "solo ads" will yield a ton of sites to place ads.
You can also use ezine directories such as:
www.ezines-r-us.com
www.bestezines.com
www.ezinead.net
www.directoryofezines.com. This is a paid directory but comes highly recommended and includes many useful resources that can help you in your advertising efforts. (By the way, the link is not an affiliate link).
Choosing an Ezine for Advertising
subscribe to the ezine and read a few recent editions to get a "feel" for the content
look for newsletters that are informative and interactive
the less ads in the ezine, the better the opportunity for you
don't pay too much attention to circulation - this can vary anywhere from under 1,000 to over 200,000 subscribers. It's the quality of the list that matters, along with the effectiveness and response to your ad.
Writing Effective Ads
This is the key to all advertising and I cannot give a course on copywriting here.
Suffice it to say that your headline must grab the readers attention. Here is a post I wrote on "How to Write Killer Headlines" that has links to Copybloggers' excellent series on "Magnetic Headlines".
Focus your ads on the top benefits of your product or service. The benefits I'm talking about are those that help solve someone’s problem, cure their pain, answer their question, or give them the pleasure that they are seeking.
Follow this up with a clear call to action. Make them want to click your link!
Tracking Your Results
This is essential for any advertising campaign.
track your cost per click (CPC)
track your cost per action , whether it is an opt-in, a lead, or a conversion
track your sales and profits
Remember, start small and test and track.
Once you have found ad that generates profit, repeat it and increase the exposure.
Tip: take an ad that produces a profit in an ezine and use it on Google Adwords. Conversely, take a profitable adwords campaign and test it in ezines.
Remember to follow the 7 basic rules of internet advertising I talked about in the first post in this series.
