Fool-Proof Advertising Tactics to Save You Time AND Money
© 1999, by Harmony Major
There are several ways in which F.A.T. can save you time and
money. What? No, I don't mean the cellulite on the backs of your
thighs, I mean "Foolproof Advertising Techniques" -- in ezines.
Whatever you're trying to promote online, ezine advertising is
*definitely* one of the most effective ways to do it. But, you
have to make sure that you're doing it right, or it'll flop ...
just like any other poorly executed advertising campaign. But,
before we get down to the nitty-gritty of ezine advertising,
let's answer two of the most common questions
1. Why advertise in ezines?
Ezines are one of the best forms of advertising because of your
ability to target who YOU want to read your ad. You don't have to
hunt your prospects down -- all you have to do is make sure you
target your market correctly. When I say "target," I mean to make
sure that the people that you're showing your ad to have a
DEFINITE interest in whatever you're advertising.
For example, advertising your website design service in a Web
design ezine is *good.* You know that Webmasters reading that
ezine are looking for ways to clean up their website, or their
design skills. However, advertising your website design service
in a business opportunity ezine is *bad.* Sure, some of the
opportunity-seekers MIGHT have a website, and they MIGHT be
looking for someone to design it for them ... but why take the
chance?
Ezine advertising is also one of the FASTEST ways to get results.
Within minutes of subscribers reading your ad, you can be making
more sales, getting more traffic to your website, or getting new
subscribers to YOUR ezine. Whatever your goal is by placing your
ad, it can be accomplished almost instantly.
2. What kind of advertising budget do you need to advertise in
ezines?
This varies. An ezine ad can cost as much as $275 an issue .. or
as little as nothing. There are a lot of ways to get free ads in
ezines -- you've just got to be a bit creative. But, for best
results, DON'T expect much from advertising in ezines that offer
free ads! Why? Because, these don't usually work! This means that
the ezine publisher is either:
(a) Trying to build their subscriber database, which means
that your ad won't get a lot of exposure anyway;
(b) Sending their ezine to a bunch of people that don't want
it, like advertisers that posted to their FFA page; or
(c) Crazy! Why else would a publisher waste a chance to make
a few honest dollars from selling their ad space?
So, now that you know the basics of advertising in ezines, let's
go over *how* to pull it off!. The most important rule to follow
to be sure that your ad campaign is a success is...
-> TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT EZINE!
If you skip this step, there's no point in advertising at all.
This is the single most important aspect of ezine advertising,
aside from targeting your market well and, (of course), writing
a quality ad. To choose a quality ezine, you'll need to take all
of the following into account:
(a) How many ads run in each issue?
If your ad is going to be competing with 20 or 30 others,
it's not worth your time or your money. Your advertising
dollars will get lost in the sea of advertisements -- just
like your ad will. 10 to 15 ads should be the ABSOLUTE
maximum number of ads you're willing to compete with, or
you won't get any exposure.
(b) Where are the ads located?
If all of the ads are stuck at the very end of the ezine
after all of the useful information, forget it. I know that
this is the standard place for ezine ads, but it's also the
most overlooked. If the ads are at the end of the ezine,
make sure there's a reason for the subscriber to scroll
down that far. Is there advertising info, a contest
announcement, etc.? If there's nothing there but the
copyright info and disclaimer, you're in trouble!
(c) How good is the actual ezine?
Before you advertise in a specific publication, request a
sample issue. This is your last chance to make sure that
you're targeting your prospects right, and to find out if
the ezine is even worth the advertising dollars. If the
ezine doesn't have any useful or interesting content,
chances are, the subscriber won't be too eager to read it.
And, they'll most likely skip right over your ad.
(d) How many subscribers do they have?
This one isn't as important as the others, but you still
need to consider it. If the first three rules are followed,
this one won't make or break your ad campaign -- but, be
cautious! If the ezine has 650 subscribers, excellent
content, features three ads per issue, and puts the ads
close to the top, more than likely, it's going to be a good
investment. Just make sure that ad space is reasonably
priced. Likewise, if an ezine has 10,000 subscribers,
features 40 ads an issue, they're all at the bottom, and
the content leaves more than a little to be desired, your
ad results probably will, too!
(e) Are there usually high-quality ads featured in the ezine?
If the editor of the ezine doesn't edit out things like
spelling and grammatical errors, hype, and known scams,
their subscribers probably skip right over the ad section.
Careless errors make both the advertiser AND the publisher
look bad, and readers may get annoyed by this carelessness,
thus conditioning themselves to ignore those ads.
On the other hand, if subscribers have had positive
experiences with the ads in a publication, and aren't given
the impression that they're just a bunch of hype and scams,
they're likely to continue to pay attention to them. This
type of ezine is your BEST advertising choice.
(f) How can you get FREE ezine advertising?
The easiest and most common way to get free ads in ezines
is to run ad swaps with other publishers. This is when you
and another ezine publisher both offer to run each other's
ad in your respective ezines at no cost. BUT, if you don't
have an ezine, this method could create a problem. :-) In
this situation, you would simply barter for a free ad.
You can offer the publisher a service or product of equal
or *greater* value in exchange for his or her ad. For
example, if you run a submission service that usually costs
$45, and you barter with an ezine publisher that charges
$35 per ad, they'll likely take you up on the offer. You
may want to offer them that's a little more valuable than
what you're asking of them. This makes your proposal more
attractive, thus making them more likely to accept it.
If you follow these "Foolproof Advertising Techniques" for
choosing a quality ezine, your ezine advertising campaign should
ALWAYS be a success. Of course, it takes trial and error when
writing an effective ad and choosing the most suitable ezine to
run your ad in. But, as with every important skill -- practice
makes perfect. And, in this case, "practice" will definitely
help pay the bills. ;-)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Harmony Major is the author of Yahoo! Secrets, where she reveals
how YOU can drive HUNDREDS more visitors to your site each day,
by getting a #1 listing on Yahoo. Don't just settle for "getting
listed." Use her instantly-effective tactics to boost your site
traffic with a TOP Yahoo listing! Visit: http://YahooSecrets.com
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