The 5-Point Checklist for Getting Advertisers to Your Ezine
© 2000, by Harmony Major
These points shouldn't even need to be discussed, but it never
ceases to amaze me how many ezine publishers give no thought to
the content of their advertising page. There are no "secrets" to
be told here. Just good, old-fashioned common sense is all it
takes to get more advertisers to your ezine on a regular basis.
It doesn't take much to make me give up my advertising dollars
for a quality ezine, and I'm more than ready -- IF I can find
one, that is. So, here are five easy steps for getting us
advertising "tight wads" to spend our money on advertising in
YOUR ezine:
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1. Tell us how many subscribers you have!
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Wouldn't you know I was out looking for ezines to advertise in
recently, and only about 1 out of every 15 ezines had their
current circulation listed on the site? Most times, even that one
STILL didn't have it ON the actual advertising page, but buried
somewhere else on the site.
I had to go hunting around on the home page, on the contact page,
on the subscribe page ... and why? What the heck do potential
subscribers care how many subscribers you ALREADY have to your
ezine? DUH! But, surprisingly enough (sarcasm), these publishers
were sure to have all the payment methods outlined nicely on the
order page. So eager for our hard-earned advertising dollars, but
not in the least bit interested in giving us the information we
need to make an informed buying decision.
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2. Give us the option of paying for our ads NOW!
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Again, only about 3 out of every 15 publishers offered the option
of paying for advertising by credit card or online check. Can you
guess the most popular method of payment offered?? You got it --
U.S. SNAIL MAIL! Now I don't know about you, but when I'm ready
to start making money, I'm ready to start making money! I don't
want to have to go through the trouble of writing you out a check
and wasting stamps to send you a check with my ad enclosed.
Why don't these people have online payment options? I mean,
Clickbank processes orders for advertising services, and even
accommodates International clients. So what's the deal? Although
they recently started charging a $40 set up fee, I think it's a
smart investment to help you guilty publishers secure the other
85% of your sales that you're letting slip away by NOT accepting
credit cards online.
I'm not even about to consider buying any ads that I can't pay
for and submit online. One of the main benefits of ezine
advertising is getting your ad run as soon as humanly possible.
Why should I have to wait a week or more for you to get my money
by postal mail, then *possibly* approve my ad? I wouldn't. And,
neither would half of the other potential advertisers out there.
In short? You're definitely losing money.
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3. Supply us with a recent issue of your ezine!
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"What's this now? A sample issue? My, you're demanding..."
Doggone right I am. Part of finding a profitable ezine to
advertise in involves actually checking out a few issues of that
ezine. Are there a lot of repeat advertisers? Are the ads placed
in a visible spot? Are there tons of ads that mine will be forced
to compete with? Is the sponsor ad spot buried below a mess of
editor's notes, "welcome to this issue" verbiage, and other
equally suffocating information?
These are all things that advertisers need to take into account
when choosing ezines, which is why a sample issue is necessary.
At least 75% of the sites I went to made me subscribe to get an
issue. They could have put one on an autoresponder, in archives
online, or something else immediate. But I suppose the concept of
using autoresponders to supply immediate information is still too
new (again, sarcasm).
Anyway, when I gave in and subscribed for the sample issue I was
promised, I found out that it wasn't really a sample at all. I'd
have to wait for the next issue to come before I could even hope
to evaluate that ezine as an advertising choice. And by the time
I get that first issue, I'll probably have forgotten that it's to
be evaluated for advertising, not just to be read.
In short? No good.
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4. Tell me when my ad is going to run!
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Okay. So after weeks of searching, I FINALLY found one or two
quality ezines to advertise in, and I paid for my ads online ...
and I waited. And waited some more. Then, after a few more days
of waiting, I had to e-mail the publisher.
"What's up with my ads," I ask? "When will they be run?"
I think that's a nice thing to know when you're supposed to be
tracking your ads like effective marketers do, don't you? Even
after we decide to spend our advertising dollars in their ezines,
would you believe that we'll probably never hear from them again
unless *we* email *them* for ad running dates?
We haven't heard from them before the transaction, unless we've
contacted them for info, (or that elusive sample issue!), and we
likely won't hear from them again UNLESS we contact them AGAIN.
What's up with that?
I really couldn't care less if you don't write me to say "hi,"
but can't you at least tell me when the ads that I BOUGHT from
you will run? Sheesh ... I know that's a lot to ask and all.
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5. Create a prime ad spot for advertisers that
actually care about quality results!
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Most ezines have classified ads thrown at the very bottom of the
issue, branded with the dreaded word "Classifieds" in big, hairy,
uninviting letters. I like to advertise in ezines that just kind
of throw an ad or two at the reader unexpectedly, so they're
"surprised" into reading the headline of the ad. So many ezines
cast them all down at the very bottom without giving them a
second thought.
"Hey! Those are our advertising dollars you're shoving down
there!"
Yep. And they just got thrown away.
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To sum it all up...
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So, you're still thinking of offering advertising in your ezine?
Well beware, my friend. There are more potholes than you know.
The very things that you might dismiss as unimportant are the
same things that are driving potential advertisers away. So wise
up and get YOUR ezine right so you can start pulling in some real
money.
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NOTE: For more tips on creating an ezine that gets advertisers,
AND finding the right ezines to advertise in, read the article
here: mailto:FAT@homebasedheaven.com
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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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